August 2001 Mopar of the Month: twin turbo 440
1965 Belvedere II
Kevin Alexander writes:
The twin turbo 440 is up and running. I can tell you that 8 psi of boost is absolutely mind blowing! This thing is an animal. I recently dumped the clutch in 2nd gear (1.69 ratio) at 30 mph and did the longest John Force type burnout of my life!
I'll get dyno numbers to you when they're available. The car is not NHRA legal and the guys at the track don't buy the "it only runs 12s" bit. Bummer.
Currently, I'm running the 4.30 gears and 833 OD tranny. The gear splits are horrible but the torque covers it nicely! I'm expecting low 11s or high 10s in it's current state of tune. I was aiming for 650 hp at 8 psi and Desktop Dyno says 635 to 667 depending upon a few variables. It also says 851 hp with 15 psi. Most interesting since that's the boost level I'm aiming
for.
I have been averaging 15 miles per gallon in the city and 17 hwy. Can't beat that with a stick! City mileage should improve slightly once the 3.23 gears and 18 spline 833 go in. The closer gear spacing will make city driving much better. As it is, the OD converts the 4.30s into 3.21 so highway driving should be the same.
By the way, my custom plates have been ordered. The car will be known to the DMV and motoring public as "2hi psi"
Gottaloveit!
the twin turbo 440 specs:
- 1971 440 +.030", steel crank 10/10, resized LY rods, SpeedPro forged 9:1 flat tops, FM high volume oil pump, and ARP rod bolts. Calculated 8.7 compression.
- Heads - stock 452 castings, springs/locks/retainers to match cam. Composite gaskets. Cam - custom Comp Cams grind. Designed with assistance from Corky Bell (www.cartech.net) and Comp's senior guys (not the first on one the phone). Intake is 236* and .474" Exhaust is 232 degrees and .483" LSA is 112 with 10 degrees overlap. Made on 3 bolt blank for use with Pete Jackson gear drive.
- Breathing - Performer intake and carb is a Holley 650DP massaged by Scott at SDCE. (They offer centrifugal
blower kits for carbed Mopars.) The intake plumbing is now twin 2-1/4 inch exhaust tubes joining into one 3 inch pipe
feeding the carb. [ed. note: updated since original pictures were taken]
- Exhaust - A and B Muffler, Irving, TX. Hooker Super Comp headers hacked-n-slashed to route upwards and towards the radiator. 1-7/8" primaries. Temporary exhaust is made from 2-1/2" with turbo mufflers.
- Turbos - T4/T3 hybrids from Mike at Majestic Turbos (www.dallasturbo.com) made from Garrett T4 60-1 compressor wheels in ported 50 trim housings and Turbonetics T3 Stage III .48 A/R turbines.
- Wastegates - Tial .65 Bar wastegates from Alamo Autosport (they occasionally do more than ricers).
- Blow Off Valves - twin Chrysler 2.2 Turbo bov's.
- Intercooler - massive Cummins/Dodge item that straddles the radiator. Will modify in/out to suit.
- Plumbing - PVC piping from Home Depot. Schedule 40 holds 200 psi and cost $9 for 10 feet.
- Fuel - 3/8" pickup modification (Brink Racecraft) and 3/8" aluminum lines by me. Stock 5/16" line used for return. Carter electric 100 gph 15 psi pump and Mallory 8306 boost referenced regulator. I fat fingered the fuel sending unit gasket so I dump fuel overboard at an alarming rate.
- Ignition - MSD 6A, Autozone wires, champion plugs. [ed. note: updated information since original pictures were taken.]
- 3 row radiator cooled with a Spal 16 inch electric fan and a parts house 16 inch pusher fan, for long periods of idling.
On the to-do list.
Cooling - flex fan, no shroud, 3 core 26" radiator. Electric fan to be tried. If it will not hold, shroud will be used.
Tranny - 18 spline 833 will replace 833 OD after gear swap. MP 10.5" clutch will replace AutoZone 23 spline /6 clutch.
Rear - 8-3/4" 489 casting. 4.30 gears to swap for 3.23 set. Clutch SG, but no real preference.
Tires - bigs-n-littles. Gotta improve upon the 275/50-15 BFG T/A Radials. Goals: 650 hp, 130 mph in the quarter, pump gas. 8 psi carbed.
SpeedPro injection and higher boost at a later date.
Does it heat up? Today was 80 degrees and it cruised at 190 degrees (190 thermostat).
Would I run a Vortech? Probably not. For an aluminum lung, I'd probably go Roots style. Cheaper and pure intimidation. Less efficient but more fun. Why turbos? More efficient than blowers. More exotic for a big block. I was told I couldn't do it. 'Nuff said?
Packaging problems? Not after I cut holes and stuck the turbos through the inner fenders. Easy to reach plugs/wires. Upward headers means no more burned boots! Keep in mind, the engine is sitting about 2" forward of stock because of the Schumacher mounts and poly 318 K frame. '66 and later B bodies would be a breeze. Same with C's. A/F/M bodies shouldn't be difficult with a small block.
Look for this Plymouth at the August 2001 Mopar Nationals! Tell Keven you saw his '65 here! :-)
[Ed. note: More tech data on this setup will get updated after August 2001, per Kevin. Also see
Wayne Township Speedshop for additional information about Kevin's Plymouth.]
Visit a Previous Mopar of the Month / Go back to the 1962-1965 Mopar Home Page
