TA-49 modifications

brandnu6

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2014
Hello. I was thinking about hanging on to my TA-49, however, it should be checked for possible rebuild. My question, is there any "upgrades" that can be made? Changes that will bring it into the 21st century through machining and ingenuity? A Billet wheel would be nice! thanks...
 
Not sure about upgrades…..

Chopper at Limit Engineering just took my 49 to a 60. Full rebuild. Biggest ya can go in that housing.

Not sure if that interests you or not.
 
It all comes down to what you want the car to do/what your set up is and if you are running a stock D5, if you are the 49 and the stock converter are hard to beat for a 11sec street car with alky of course anything bigger will compromise spool up. no need to upgrade that specific turbo
 
It all comes down to what you want the car to do/what your set up is and if you are running a stock D5, if you are the 49 and the stock converter are hard to beat for a 11sec street car with alky of course anything bigger will compromise spool up. no need to upgrade that specific turbo
Hey man, thanks for getting back to me. I've got all the popular mods. I do not however have "Alky." I'm probably the only guy on the site that doesn't. Anyway, you are right. I do not want to effect "spool-up" with a larger turbo or F.M.I.C. like a lot of guys immediately do when they start making changes. I am very conservative. I don't go to the track. I just use the car on weekends and car shows during the summer months. By the way, I use "Bisons" 3021 converter. The stock intercooler has "Dutt neck." I've got a "wideband" gauge in the car, along with an electric "fuel pressure" gauge which allows me to see what's going on at that time. 17 psi and 93 octane fuel. With T.T.'s 42 pounder's and chip. The car runs great. '87 Turbo-T Limited. Leather and roof. I might reach out to Bison, if anything can be done with 49, he'd know. Take care...
 
The boost level at 17psi on a stock motor is the limiting factor.
To raise boost you will need octane
Alky is a great way to get it as it is a secondary fuel system.
Do you mean Dave's 3021 converter?
If so a 3021 from dave will allow for more turbo but as suggested above if your not going to run the turbos hard it really isn't worth it.
Also if you plan on turning the boost up once you get octane in the motor
The transmission will need to be brought up to par.
I would recommend you dont seek more power without the trans done.
 
The boost level at 17psi on a stock motor is the limiting factor.
To raise boost you will need octane
Alky is a great way to get it as it is a secondary fuel system.
Do you mean Dave's 3021 converter?
If so a 3021 from dave will allow for more turbo but as suggested above if your not going to run the turbos hard it really isn't worth it.
Also if you plan on turning the boost up once you get octane in the motor
The transmission will need to be brought up to par.
I would recommend you dont seek more power without the trans done.
Mr Spool is absolutely correct. Throw more HP/Torque at a stock transmission and it'll start slipping on the 2-3 shift in short order. When you build your transmission...have it built for more HP than what you're gonna throw at it.
 
The boost level at 17psi on a stock motor is the limiting factor.
To raise boost you will need octane
Alky is a great way to get it as it is a secondary fuel system.
Do you mean Dave's 3021 converter?
If so a 3021 from dave will allow for more turbo but as suggested above if your not going to run the turbos hard it really isn't worth it.
Also if you plan on turning the boost up once you get octane in the motor
The transmission will need to be brought up to par.
I would recommend you dont seek more power without the trans done.
Hello. My bad. Dave Husek. And yes, the trans. would need to be upgraded. Dave would be the person I'd reach out to on that. However, my question with regard to "upgrade/modify TA-49. Is it doable? Is a "billet wheel" possible in that housing? '87 Turbo-T said he had "Limited Engineering" upsize his "49." what is your opinion? Thanks for feedback.
 
Hello. My bad. Dave Husek. And yes, the trans. would need to be upgraded. Dave would be the person I'd reach out to on that. However, my question with regard to "upgrade/modify TA-49. Is it doable? Is a "billet wheel" possible in that housing? '87 Turbo-T said he had "Limited Engineering" upsize his "49." what is your opinion? Thanks for feedback.
Your turbo selection should be based on power and how fast you would realistically like to go.
I've ran well into the 10s back in the day with a 49 with the whip.
It's a good turbo on the stock motors and stockish combos that will take most to mid to low 11s and spool very fast.
With new double and triple bb turbos with advanced wheel designs having a turbo car has never yielded a better time to make power.
But....
You need suspension,tires,and rd to take advantage.
Things cost.
So the reality is how fast do you want to go and is their a budget to sustain the thirst?
 
At 17psi you're nowhere near maxing out that turbo. You'd be better off investing the money in higher octane (alky system or e85 chip/injectors) to hit 25psi with it. A bigger turbo will only spool slower and make about the same power at 17psi, no fun around town. My old journal bearing Te44 (nearly the same as your Ta49) hits harder and spools faster down low than my current 6165 ball bearing turbo. North of 20psi the bigger turbo really shines. If the 49 needs a rebuild the newer 58mm turbos look interesting but I have no experience with them.
 
Your turbo selection should be based on power and how fast you would realistically like to go.
I've ran well into the 10s back in the day with a 49 with the whip.
It's a good turbo on the stock motors and stockish combos that will take most to mid to low 11s and spool very fast.
With new double and triple bb turbos with advanced wheel designs having a turbo car has never yielded a better time to make power.
But....
You need suspension,tires,and rd to take advantage.
Things cost.
So the reality is how fast do you want to go and is their a budget to sustain the thirst?
Mr. Spool: I've read your responses before, they are always on point. To be clear do not want to replace the 49. I do however want to have it checked for clearances, and possibly upgrade wheel, that's all. As you said, all the "power adders" cost $, and compromise reliability. But just because I'm not racing the car at the track, doesn't mean I can't have fun on the street: LOL. For some reason, I cannot load images. Message said, "file to large!" I even tried in separate post. Oh well. thanks for your imput...
 
If you're using Erics 5.7 chip, then dialing in low gear fuel/timing with Powerlogger will net you far more than messing with your turbo. I constantly see low gear fueling in the 830's to 850's. Dial it down to the 770's and see what happens.
 
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Mr. Spool: I've read your responses before, they are always on point. To be clear do not want to replace the 49. I do however want to have it checked for clearances, and possibly upgrade wheel, that's all. As you said, all the "power adders" cost $, and compromise reliability. But just because I'm not racing the car at the track, doesn't mean I can't have fun on the street: LOL. For some reason, I cannot load images. Message said, "file to large!" I even tried in separate post. Oh well. thanks for your imput...
Lol
I understand.
remember it's your car 😉
Just choose wisely the whirlwind of mods can happen very fast.
I have my turbos checked but they are pushed really hard.
 
Not many people max out there turbo's before they look for a new one, ive tested dozens of turbos on many combos , the 49/44 is a completely different turbo at 25 psi then at 17, if you have dave's 3021 and ported heads you can step it up a bit, but be prepared to search for the perfect tuning storm between spool-up and street-ability
 
Not many people max out there turbo's before they look for a new one, ive tested dozens of turbos on many combos , the 49/44 is a completely different turbo at 25 psi then at 17, if you have dave's 3021 and ported heads you can step it up a bit, but be prepared to search for the perfect tuning storm between spool-up and street-ability
Hello Sleeper. I do have Dave's 3021. And I also was fortunate to find out about "Champion Heads" being back in business. I have a set of ported irons that I will be installing over the winter. The springs are for 212/212 flat tappet comp. cam. I was thinking of upgrading to a roller set-up. But as you know, we have a "supply chain" issue. So, when I called Comp Cams, they said, we will "put you on a list." Remnants of Covid19, bummer! And yes, I have read what you have said with regard to "Alky injection" and turning up the boost. I guess that is the "missing piece" of my build up for speed. As opposed to spending tons of money on it. I will have to add it to my list of "winter storage" maintenance items, purging the Alcohol. Hopefully the tranny holds up. Take care, and thanks...
 
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