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Project: Master T35

mogas

New Member
Hi all!

As mentioned in Welcome mogas to There is more to life with TurboRenault.co.uk! I own a 1984 Renault T35 van. Since it has received a new engine in the past, it's now the proud owner of a J7T 2.2 liter injection engine, the most powerful (yes really) this van has ever been built with.
However, it's 96HP is still a bit disappointing. With it's current gearbox (UN5 with the shortest ratio of all UN5's) it'll do 4500 rpm in 5th gear at 120 km/h / 75 mph. And it's LOUD.

That's why I bought a different UN5 box with the longest available ratio (from a turbodiesel van). But the J7T doesn't really have enough power to actually do something with this thing aside from cruising in 4th gear on the highway with even more noise. The UN5 gearbox is awesome: it'll handle loads and loads of power, it has a 4 spider diff in it (and a 1:5.85 final drive ratio but let's not talk about that...)

So... we need more power! More torque really, that's what's the most fun with this thing anyway. That's why this will turn into the following project: T35 Turbo.
Along with the turbo, I want this thing to run on LPG. Life is expensive enough with silly projects like these. That's why in all likelyhood I'll build a completely new engine with everything I want on it. And that's what this topic is for, mostly. I'm gonna need some tips from more experienced people like you to make this thing work (and last).

Aside from this i'll probably also post some extra things in this topic, because it's not the only thing I'm working on. Because of some crazy rule, this thing is only allowed to run on LPG about 8 years from now, or I'll face some insane taxes. After 8 years it's tax free and I can do whatever I want.

Here's a list of things I want to do with the engine:
  • Turbo (twin scroll perhaps?)
  • Custom exhaust manifold (for said turbo, and it's REALLY tight in there, so perhaps a twin scroll manifold lets me still get huge torque with unequal length runners)
  • Probably custom inlet manifold, or depending on power loss of current log style manifold, just modify this one for LPG injectors
  • Pistons? Rotating assembly? Head/camshaft/valves? No idea!
  • Reinforcement plate?
  • Custom ECU for LPG and turbo and everything together, no piggyback stuff
  • Intercooler (probably air to water, to reduce length: this thing is mid engined!)
  • Custom exhaust
Goal for the engine: about 220Nm of torque at 2000rpm. Power: 150 to 200HP, whatever I really need to just go around traffic quickly. But... who knows what happens if we get silly... and I heard LPG has quite a high octane rating :p

Other things on the list for the van itself:
  • Electric power steering pump
  • Put 24V alternator in place of old steering pump
  • Finish 24V compressor
  • Add 24V heater
  • Finish generator exhaust and housing for 230V and 24V compressors
  • Finish interior
  • Add sunscreen and uhh... a spoiler or something, with 3rd brake light? Don't know
  • Finish Espace dashboard to swap in, so I have revcounter, water temp, oil temp, boost and oil pressure gauges, a complete project on itself
  • Add rear view camera and fix parking sensors
  • Bigger wheels and lift? Just for even lower revs!
SO... here's the first question! What would you guys do? I ended up here because of the Fuego J7T Turbo project (J7T 2.2L Turbo Fuego "UPDATE pg4" ), and I'd love to hear how that ended, and how I could use that knowledge to my advantage!
 
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Lets just cut to the chase:

Why aren't you putting a Renault 21 Turbo J7R and UN1 'box in there? :)
In all likelyhood the UN1 box would be too long... With the bigger wheels of this thing the UN5 box I have now is actually pretty good. 3600 rpm at 120 km/h calculated in stead of 4500.
And... J7R turbo... Well, if I could find a good one, who knows! Really depends on the size of the turbo, because there is very, very little room in the engine bay (you sit on it fercrissakes). The engine sits right in the middle of the chassis beams.

What would be the price of a thing like that by the way?

That's why it would be nice if I could pick up a J7T engine (in France for about 100EUR or so) and just build that to match.
 
What would be the price of a thing like that by the way?
You could get one in the UK for a couple of hundred quid.

My Parents used to have a Master with a carb'd J7R lump and I always wanted to turbo it. I was sure it would fit. Could see the engine through the panel in the floor :)
 
Hmm... That does sound like fun...
Or perhaps put in the bottom end of the J7T for those extra 180CC's...

The cool thing is, by the way, that you can actually mount the engine backwards. Completely symmetric bay and mounts. And that, of course, combined with different gearbox and rear end, sounds fun too... But first things first!
 
f4r 776 ? That has to be a winner winner chicken dinner ?
Damn, that is a compact engine. Would probably involve an adapter plate for bell housing and new engine mounts...

I've actually dreamed a long time of putting a ES9J4 PSA engine in it (Renault L7X), but am very very afraid that I'd need to take out the engine to change spark plugs...
Or well... Why not a Chevy LS1 if we're going that way :D
 
What is the width of the van ? Why not use the ND0 from the meg as well ?
The width of the engine bay is about 67 cm! On top of that: the floor plate has a bit of overhang so any engine wider than about 55cm I'd need to put in from the bottom. Longitudinal engine so no go for the ND0...
 
Allright! The dash is something i've been working on as well:
This is what we start with (cover removed)
i.imgur.com_WnBqGQX.webp
Bought the following for about 40 euros (excl shipping) (yes everything, even the manifold, for my other car!)
i.imgur.com_wQlG8u9.webp
And of course the default thing isn't good enough I decided to change up the oil level gauge for something that's actually useful. After some thinking, designing and 3D-printing we end up with this:
i.imgur.com_L5cgXNj.webp
Now to design some stuff so this thing will actually work: (that little pcb is the old driver print)
i.imgur.com_FlBwLRa.webp
i.imgur.com_vAbAR5L.webp
i.imgur.com_Cw3ESIA.webp
i.imgur.com_ePOeoAE.webp
And we have lights!
i.imgur.com_IB61Gjh.webp
The thing sweeps the dial for the oil pressure, and lights up the bar of LEDs for oil temperature. Whole thing is now put in the Espace II dash.
Just need some sensors (built the whole driver for default VDO sensors, cause those things are well documented) and I can swap it in. Just thinking up some extra uses for all the extra lights I have. Dash plugs are all the same, just need to swap some wires and add some extra, and we're good. I also need new stickers for the indicator lights.
 
I agree with Dave, looking back with mine the main downfall was the ng ratios, vans are geared too low. Again top speed of about 80mph. It rattled through the gears then ran out of puff.
J7R un1 setup would certainly be much better for motorway use, paddle clutch to cope with the torque.
Maybe a little shoehorning to get in but much less cost and effort in the long run imo.
200bhp+ and 150mph, eventually. Makes sense :ag:
 
I agree with Dave, looking back with mine the main downfall was the ng ratios, vans are geared too low. Again top speed of about 80mph. It rattled through the gears then ran out of puff.
J7R un1 setup would certainly be much better for motorway use, paddle clutch to cope with the torque.
Maybe a little shoehorning to get in but much less cost and effort in the long run imo.
200bhp+ and 150mph, eventually. Makes sense :ag:
Lol, I'll be lucky if I'll ever make it to 120! And... Scared to death if I actually go that fast! If I redline it with the UN5 I'll ectually reach that speed...

By the way... Any simple BBcode to scale down the images?
 
Mine was a t1000 so not as big to throw about haha.
It was more so it wasn't possible to cruise on the motorway without the engine screaming.
Still, assuming your bellhousing is the same as the un1 you could always keep the box and swap to turbo engine for now? Look forward to seeing the outcome
 
I know the bellhousing is a bit different (room for bigger crown gear in UN5 housing) but I have no idea about the bolt pattern. That might well be the same.
UN5 is way stronger though. J7R swap does sound like lots of fun, quick bang for buck!
 
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