[r.barn]

Well its not a Ford much less a Mustang
but figured I'd share my latest "quick" project with yall.
Most of the parts are here just waiting on few more.

Project: Turbo Tahoe .... or .... Holy Shyt We Just Got Spanked by That ?!?!


Bone stock 2002 5.3L Tahoe with 70,000 miles.



The 5.3L is really a kick ass little sleeper engine. Comes with aluminum heads that
flow with-in 1cfm of LS1 heads and has the unbreakable iron block Gen-III (LS) block.
They love some boost to shove air past the anemic "truck cam" and "truck intake"

At 11-12psi I should see over 500rwtq at 3,500rpm .... and 425-450rwhp at 5,000-5,500rpm
(good for say 13.00 in the Qrt mile in a 5,000+lbs truck)

Engine is staying bone stock. Just putting some hotter 6.0L Escalade coil packs
on it and removing the mechanical fan for some late model OEM Tahoe E-fans.


Build is super simple. Nothing has to be moved, cut, trimmed or other wised
customized. TONS of room.

Stock driver side exhaust manifold into simple 2.5" cross over under trans.

Into 3" log header on pasngr side that I got from Trick Performance freak'n work of art.



3" down pipe into stock 3" cat back with Magnaflow 3" CAT for emissions.

Turbonetic 62-1 with .81 will come on line quick and should flow 12psi
no problem. Was going to use MP T-70 but went with the 62 for better spool
Picked it up local off the shelf for $850.


$100 ebay 27X12X3 intercooler fits perfect between bumper frame rails.
Just had to remove a plastic splash shield.



Fuel system will just be a high press. Walbro 255 in the tank and some
42 or 50 lbs injectors. Stock computer can be switched to straight SD set-up
and tuned and data logged with HPTuners software

[Hourofpain]

Nice man

sounds wicked
give us more info as it comes

[Racinjason81]

you shoulda stuck with the t70 cuz itll give you some room to build your motor ,but you want it to spool quick . you should see if you can replace that stock DS exhaust manifold with a better flowing header something on the thicker side like 14g. tubing. that sounds like a cool project keep us posted on the results

[r.barn]

Made some progress.

Intercooler is mounted and trimmed front bumper to
get some airflow thru it.





New RV trans cooler is mounted.




Will get the new fuel pump installed tomorrow and new "built" trans installed on Monday.
Then start some serious fab work on the downpipe and crossover.

Originally Posted by Racinjason81 you shoulda stuck with the t70 cuz itll give you some room to build your motor ,but you want it to spool quick . you should see if you can replace that stock DS exhaust manifold with a better flowing header something on the thicker side like 14g. tubing. that sounds like a cool project keep us posted on the results

Wasnt going for all out power. 425-450rwhp will be just right and 62-1
should fit that bill perfect and spool nice and quick.

Stock header is a cast iron manifold header like come on the Camaro's
and Vet's, strong as strong gets and they actually have pretty decent
flow.

[04mustang232]

the welds on that manilfold are beautiful. I gotta say, ive never seen something like this. Good luck man, keep us posted.

[Racinjason81]

I cant wait to hear some kill stories.

[HBK_2007]

reminds me of the gen 1 that trucks tv put a sts turbo on

[Whitehorse]

That's awesome man. I was on the road one night and I got completely destroyed by a huge quad cab turbo diesel Silverado, so I know that "I just got spanked by that?! WTF?!" feeling. Of course I knew you could make turbo diesel trucks pretty quick but who would expect a Tahoe?? haha Looks really cool man, good luck, and lets get plenty of pics and maybe some vids!

[r.barn]

New built trans got installed today
Shifts nice and snappy now.




Got a stock y-pipe out of the junk yard and cut off the
ends to connect downpipe to stock cat-back and crossover to
stock driver manifold.

Tail wastegate came in too. Has 10psi spring in it now, but think
I'm going to go ahead and order the 13psi spring for it.

[rk_2000_Z/28]

That's a sleaper for sure man. Gotta love a big ass truck that can move out and surprise a lot of people.

Are you planning on keeping the stock cam in there or going with something a little more aggressive? I know that the stock cam on those motors will get the job done and be safe and mild, but you could probably flow a little more air with something a little different, matched with machined stock heads. And yeah, those 5.3 heads are good. A lot of guys with mild aftermarket cams pick those up for cheap and slap them on the LS1 in the f-bodies. I was actually considering taking that route on my old SS.

[svtkidd23]

dam i want

[r.barn]

Got the late model Tahoe e-fans in yesterday. Running the wiring
and cold side from intercooler to TB this morning.

Start on the hot-side this afternoon probably.

e-fan took all of 30secs to install. Slipped right into existing tabs
and bolt holes from the factory. Even had a hole on top of the fan
in same place for factory radiator hose retaining clip.

$250 off ebay, brand spank'n new, not used.

[k2boarder3187]

heres a video a performance shop did a town over from me. Its a stroked 6.3 LS1 turbo tahoe

YouTube - Pruven Performance - 2007 Chevy turbo...

[buddyantunez1]

looks like a pretty cool project. keep us updated!

[r.barn]

Cold side from cooler to TB is done. Took about 20mins
Just need a 4" to 3" coupler for the TB

[r.barn]

Originally Posted by k2boarder3187 heres a video a performance shop did a town over from me. Its a stroked 6.3 LS1 turbo tahoe YouTube - Pruven Performance - 2007 Chevy turbo Tahoe LS1

Pretty cool, but actually just looks like a modified STS kit, which is a hunk-a-junk. Oil return in the filler cap and dumb crap like that.
Not to mention that rear low mount turbos are the worst place to put a turbo.

Dont get the dyno graph at end of vid either. Torque dropped off like
a mo-fo at the top of the pull after it hit it's high.

[r.barn]

Houston, we have turbage ......... LQ9 coilpacks are on too

[r.barn]

Started on DP fabrication

[04mustang232]

looks really good man, its coming along nicely.

[ChrisJ]

Hell Yeah...