What turbos will work on an NA Barra

[John E (Johnny) Hurmuses]

Hi ! New member here in Vancouver BC Canada.

I recently was lucky enough to purchase an NA Barra engine complete with automatic transmission and (supposedly) all the necessary wiring and even the steering column and steering wheel. Not quite sure what vehicle it will end up in, but for now I am getting ready to focus on getting it started before I spend any real money.

For this forum entry I am going to assume it runs. I am aware of the head bolt/stud situation and am reading some articles about the oil pump upgrades. However I am wondering what source would I search for a turbo. What other vehicles have turbos that are at least close to what this engine needs? There's obviously no turbo Barras in the scrap yards here to get parts from so I have to find alternatives. How much (if any) of the NA intake and exhaust are likely to be worth using or modifying to use with a turbo? Does the bellhousing bolt pattern match anything else (preferably something I can find locally) ? And last question; are there any issues with the computer if I was to swap a manual transmission onto the Barra?

Thanks !

[Mrs Jeturbo]

Depends what model it came out of to begin with as they can vary. 

The Turbo Barra is a different engine to the N/A Barra to begin with incase you weren’t aware. 

 

Best of luck. 

[MBAF]

depends on what you want out of the car, how hard you want to push it? list goes on!

 

a good start would be a standard turbo from that model, like a 3540 or 3576 in the later models.

[John E (Johnny) Hurmuses]

HRM Fluff, can you define "different" in that context? As in different how, in what ways? From what I have read so far, I was under the assumption they were nearly identical internally other than compression ratio.

 

MBAF, I am hoping for around 275 to 350 kw and it's first stop will possibly be a Triumph Spitfire until something more suitable turns up. So I won't be pushing very hard.

And the closest car I can get the parts from is 13, 026 km away, according to Google maps.

 

And thank you both for the input ! Appreciate any information I can get.

[Mrs Jeturbo]

If something has higher compression ratio then it cannot be nearly identical.

There are many ancillary devices that are different.

Eg. intake and exhaust manifolds, injectors, fuel pressure regulators, exhaust valves in the cylinder head, sumps, pistons are different on some models, con rods are different on some models, cams are different on some models and valve springs are different on some models. 

 

The best of all the N/A’s is the latest model.

[MBAF]

Differences are the later model is slightly smaller (turbo I’m directly talking about). 

 

Honestly if if you are chasing 350rwkw it’s likely the n/a block won’t last long. Ideally the gas n/a blocks have stronger rods than the earlier b/a models, but later models they are mostly streamlined in case you had an earlier model. 

 

If you plan on beating it hard it hard you’d probably limit the power to around the ~300rwkw mark on e85 if that’s what you are planning on running as it will have some life in it. Pump gas may hurt it quickly but this is also tune dependant. That being said here in aus n/a blocks have seen 600hp and been given a very hard time for years so it’s all subjective

 

id spend a few buck upfront and throw some rotating gear in it. (Rods/pistons/bearings) and then you will be much much happier and maybe some peace of mind

Edited 05/04/19 09:22 AM by MBAF

[John E (Johnny) Hurmuses]

K, I am getting a bit more detail now. Thanks to you both for your help. I have some decisions to make, and I am not sure what to do with the engine now.

For the record, the engine is a 2005. We do not get E85 here, as far as I am aware, at least. I was expecting to use 94 octane pump gasoline, or possibly that with additives, or maybe buying Sunoco race fuel by the barrel and blending with the 94 octane. I may just leave the engine on the shelf or possibly use it as a transporter engine. How are they NA for fuel consumption?

If I was going to spend the cash for the rotating assembly, because of availability only, I would go with one of my quad cam 4.6 modular V8's or big block 460 engines. With the 460, it does not require much more than a few hundred dollars to have effortless power that will virtually go forever. Ford made them for 30 years and I imagine they made more than one million of them. Parts are everywhere here. I have heard and read some saying they use lots of fuel, but I have found it to be very, very efficient compared to other petrol engines. Just have to gear the vehicle right. Let the torque do the work.

But they weigh 700 lbs. That's the only negative side.

I bought the Barra on an impulse because I heard lots of positives and virtually no negatives about them. And I know that the Ford big six is absolutely the best petrol powered truck engine ever made and figured the family connection was a plus.

[k31th]

You can do about high 7 to low 8 litres per 100km on an N/A.

 

94 (if it's the same as the US one) will do the job on the turbo's.

[BeerTurbo]

The standard Ba/Bf turbos are a garret GT3582 with 1.06 rear housing.

The standard FG turbo is a Gt3576 with 1.06 housing.

these standard turbos are able to flow quite a bit more psi/power than whats comes out standard.

 

I placed a GT3582 with a .86 rear housing on a NA BA motor, it spooled super quick but it choked out the motor in the mid to top end. it was verry hard to maintain a solid boost curve as it would just blow the gate open with back-pressure.

Changing to a 1.06 rear housing removed this problem and was able to maintain a solid boost curve.

 

My na motor was fed e85 and 12psi and made just over 400 rwhp.

 

If you are limited to sh*t fuel you wouldn't want to push one of these NA motors verry far, keep in mind even the turbo barra motors come out running SFA boost standard around 5-8psi depending on the varent.

 

I think the morale of the story is pretty much use a different motor if you not going to run decent fuel or build the motor.

The barras are great here in aus as there so abundant and you can get parts for them anywhere and cheap.