Supercharge, turbocharge, what will they do

I have a 1965 Ford Falcon and I am rebuilding the original 170 CI straight six. I plan on doing the port polish, bore/stroke, etc. However, I wanted to know if it would be possible to supercharge or turbocharge it.
I am wondering that becuase my engine is so small and a straight six if it will get messed up when i do this. Will it?

No, if you do everything properly there won't be any damage. Just make sure that the carb can provide enough fuel for the added air.

Yes you can do it, and yes it will work, but it probably is not going to be cost effective.

If I was going to spend that amount of money, I would just replace the 170 with a much larger later model EFI engine. There will be far fewer problems that way, and the results are guaranteed.

The way to do it would be to replace the whole lot, engine, gearbox, radiator and so on. It should be pretty much a straight bolt in job. These later engines are very smooth and powerful, far better than the old 170 will ever be. A lot has changed in the last 30 years !

but if i were to do an engine swap i would have to reweld all the engine mounts and totally re-vamp my cockpit...Trust me i would love to put a 5.0 in it or some type of big block but i would also have to change the suspension...It would end up being expensive.

No you have missed the point.

If you replace your 170 with a late model 4.0 litre straight six with overhead cam and EFI, it would just about bolt straight in, and probably double the power for less than the cost of having a turbo fitted.

If you also replace the gearbox with the later gearbox as well at the same time, you are going to have a strong and totally reliable package.

If you spend a few thousand dollars on your 170, you are going to start breaking things if you double the power, and really start using it. Probably the first ting to go will be the clutch or auto transmission, depending on what you have. It will keep you poor for years fixing things.

Trust me, been there done that.

with that be the 220 CI? Where would be the best place to find one of those already rebuilt?
I was also going to get a new clutch and i am working on the Tranny now (3 speed on the column making a four on the floor)

to convert from CI to L, multiply by 0.01638706.
220 CI would be 3.6L

Since you're rounding off, anything from 241 to 247 CI could be called a 4.0L; 241 CI would be a 3.9L, 248 CI would be a 4.1L...

Hi Lady Luke.

I just realized the reason for your confusion, for some reason I thought you were here in Australia. Sorry about that.

Ford Australia is quite independent of Ford USA, and over here we see mainly six cylinder engines rather than V8s. The six cylinder engines in the Falcon range have slowly developed over the years into something that is now quite impressive.

I believe few or none of these engines are available in the US, believe it or not. The latest BA Falcon has a 4.0 Litre six cylinder in-line engine, with DOHC, four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, and a very large Garrett ball bearing GT40 turbo.

www.newsmotoring.news.com.au/heraldsun/printpage/0,8297,5786880%255E21825,00.html

It is widely known that the power developed by this engine was a total embarrassment to the Ford engineers, and they have deliberately restricted the power output to 240Kw (321 BHP) by restricting the engine with super mild camshafts and a tamper proof ECU. It has absolutely enormous tuning potential.

There are earlier versions of this engine with cross-flow and push-rods, single OHC, or with DOHC, normally aspirated and so on. Fitting something like this in Australia at least makes much more sense than fitting a V8. However trying to do this in America by importing the parts may not be feasible or economic.

DAMMMNNNNN!!!
How do you know this...Are you located in Australia?
If so please send me an email or send me an email anyway at
[email protected]

LadyLuke, you have mail.

By turbocharging the original engine a power increase of around 50-100% or maybe even more is possible from around $1000 and up. Of course this isn't close to what you can get from a newer engine but at least it's cheap.

I want to put a turbocharger in a 4I (I think 2.0) VW Golf (96)

Would this be cost effective, or would I be better to just put in a new engine?

Well it all depends really.

If you can do all the work yourself, and fabricate all the parts at home, and engineer it all yourself, and sort out all the inevitable problems that will crop up, without professional assistance, it probably would be.

If you buy a commercial kit (if one is available) and have it professionally fitted and tuned, probably not.

And if you just take it to a workshop drive in/drive out and let them do all the development and custom fabrication, and final tuning, the cost will probably give you a heart attack.

On the other hand, an engine swap may be a fairly straightforward bolt in, and you know what the results are going to be before you even begin.

So there is probably not a single answer for everyone. it depends on your own capability and how you go about it I suppose.

Originally posted by Rollin619
I want to put a turbocharger in a 4I (I think 2.0) VW Golf (96)

Would this be cost effective, or would I be better to just put in a new engine?

Buy an audi/vw 1.8T, they can be found from around $1000. If you want more power tune that engine, there are many parts availible for that engine.