Just acquired a 2003 Monte Carlo for dirt cheap (poor condition). Needs tons of cosmetic work. I mostly got the car to increase my restoration skills and try mods that I wouldnt want to try on my daily drivers.

I want to put in a ebay turbo, mostly for the experience. I have never done it so I have no idea where to start and what I need. I know I need a turbo, but what kind(A link to a ebay turbo would be great). What kind of other things do I need? Currently the car is full stock and I need a turbo that doesn't require me to upgrade the rest of the engine. Looking for a little gain just to experiment with to see how it works and if I would be interested in installing a better model in my other cars.

 

I couldn't bring myself to buy a turbo off ebay.

 

Its mostly a educational purchase. I do everything myself and don't want to put out the big bucks for something I have no experience with. I am ok with spending $150-$200 just to try it though.

 

I could see buying an 'ebay turbo' for the piping and trashing the turbo, but honestly that's about it. That being said, a lot of the 'ebay' turbo's are just knock-off turbo's and honestly do quite well if they have a proper oil feed.

If you want to do it, go for it, but don't expect great results and much over 5-7 psi out of that turbo.

 

I may be wrong but you aren't going to be able to have a turbo build on just $200 or everyone would have one haha

 

which engine do you have? 3.4 or 3.8?

the size of the engine and output of the engine is part of the equation as to what turbo to choose. also, when would you prefer the power to come "on" with the turbo? are you going for max power or just fun driving?

be carefull of the ebay chinese turbo's. many of them are NOT what they say they are in the advert. i would stay away from the cheapest ones on ebay. spend the $500-$1000 on a GOOD name brand turbo.

a $175 turbo will give you $2000 worth of problems.

after that, you still need a LONG LONG LONG list of supplies and parts just to install it. then comes the hours and hours of tuning the car to get it dialed in right. so, unless you can weld, have a cnc to make your flanges, and proper knowledge on how to make/build your turbo setup, you are only asking for troubles.


i would recommend you do a LOT of research before you jump on ebay and buy the first turbo you come across for a "good deal".

 

oil feed is one thing, advertising a 70 trim inducer and getting a 58 in a 70 shell is another.

the bushings used in the chinese turbo's are absolute junk and will be eating away.

sure it will produce power and get you faster, but for a week, a month, or maybe even 3 months or more if you are lucky. there are far more unlucky than lucky consumers of chinese turbos. sure some of it is installer/operator error, but the fail rate on the chinese ones are just horrible.

 

Do you speak from experience or opinion?

I've seen some actual decent results on ebay turbo's when done right.

Would I build with an ebay turbo? No, does that mean it can't be done? No.

 

I can weld no problem. So there is no way of getting a $200 turbo setup? I have 0 experience with them so thats why I want to get a cheap one. TBH I don't even want it to give me a noticeable boost. Just want to try to install it and see if it actually works without blowing up the engine. Experience is everything.

 

My $1200 Precision turbo was bought off of eBay and it lasted for over 4 years, finally died when some exhaust manifold fragments went through it.

There are reputable authorized brand name sellers on eBay for Turbonetic's, Precision, Holset, Borg-Warner, Garrett on eBay. Not everything is going to be Chinese knock off marginal equipment.

You just have to pay attention to the seller and his being an authorized seller. Many have actual stores and eBay accounts, the same as Summit, Jegs etc. as another venue to sell their products. Just pay attention to the if it seems too good to be true gut feeling.