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Europa TCST

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TurboFource:
My First Europa is a one owner, never wrecked 73 Twin Cam Special (it even has the ashtray).
Came with lots of information, documentation, manuals etc. A complete restoration is needed as it has been sitting for over 40 years (on pavement and covered).

It also has something "special" under the hood, a Schwitzer 3LD turbo (thus the T after TCS) Piranha ignition, home made water/methanol injection, headers etc. This was all done back in 1975 so special engineering had to be done as turbos back then did not have seals on the compressor and they would allow oil to be pulled into the engine if they saw vacuum.
It was estimated to make over 200hp.

The first owner was CWTech who is a member here. Lots of interesting engineering was performed by him to make this system work with the limitations of what was available back then. I plan to upgrade and simplify the system with a more modern turbo with the required compressor seal and a waste gate as they tried to limit boost back then by the size of the exhaust housing or restricting things. I will restore the original system and save it as it rather interesting.

The car has a sunroof (which I may leave) but CWTech saved the roof cut out thankfully. The frame appears to be solid except for the bottom of the T-section, all the metal around the suspension points seems solid when poked with a scribe. I will first remove the body to repair and preserve the frame and redo all the running gear. Then interior, aesthetics will be last in case I run out of funds and have to save again. This will not be a concours restoration (though I am picky) but will be built to be driven! I will do all work myself as the budget is a concern ( no paint job that costs many times what I paid for the car!)

CWTech is a great a guy and I hope he posts more about the history of the car!

I guess it is fitting my first Europa is turbocharged since I go by TurboFource 8)

BDA:
That sounds like a really interesting project, Turbo! I look forward to seeing more about it along with some pictures!

Keep us up to date!

TurboFource:
The turbo system is draw through which was pretty much the norm in the 70s. He tried a side draft Weber first and had great difficulty getting the jetting right. He switched to a single Stromberg CD175 with a different needle and said that worked quite well. My research shows this carb is good for about 250hp draw through and much more blow through. Interestingly, Volvo sold a blow through set up in Europe using this carb.....

In order to monitor things there are boost gauges for intake and exhaust pressure, I believe there are 6 thermocouples that are displayed on a dash gauge using a rotary switch to select which thermocouple is being used.

BDA:
I remember a turbo kit and as I remember, it used a single Stromberg. Somebody will probably have an old brochure on it.

jbcollier:

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