Tech, Repairs, Upgrades > Engine & Drivetrain Swaps

Capri Nonturbo to Turbo Conversion

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Rocketman:
This is a very frequently asked question!

CAN I TURBO MY NONTURBO CAPRI!?!?
The short answer is YES you can. This discussion assumes you mean "readily available" stock XR2 turbo parts.

You'll need the turbo manifold, turbo, downpipe, intercooler, intake piping. Also needed are the ECU, engine harness, distributor, knockbox, knock sensor, VAF, and fuel injectors from the XR2. I would strongly discourage trying to run the turbo on stock nonturbo electronics (even with an FMU) the stock turbo electronics work very well for a stock setup and they're pretty available, so it would be silly to try that.
You'll need to add an oil drain to your oilpan. You'll need to modify the exhaust downpipe, or obtain a turbo downpipe.

If this is an automatic capri, good luck with your transmission. That's about all I'll say about that.
If this is into a manual capri - you will immediately find the limits of your clutch. And probably the F-Series differential, too. Grenades are fun though, right?!?

So here's the LONG ANSWER:
Yes you can add a turbo, but your best bet for a reliable, controllable setup is to swap the entire XR2 drivetrain. Do it right!

The benefits of this, in short:
-Much larger clutch with good options for upgraded units
-Larger G-series transmission, made to handle the extra power of the turbo engine. Added benefit: Limited Slip Differential is available for it.
-Equal length axles for reduced torque steer
-The stock XR2 engine is lower compression & can handle high boost levels from both the stock & upgraded turbo
-Stock oil cooler

What you'll need from your donor car: (Did I mention you'll want a donor car? It's entirely possible to piece this together, but much easier with a donor)

* Pedal Assembly
* Entire engine & transmission (flywheel, clutch, etc)
* Rear transmission mount
* Clutch cable
* Turbo engine harness, ECU
* Turbo electronics: Firewall sensors, knockbox, knock sensor, distributor, VAF, injectors, everything.
* Axles - all three pieces. Passenger axle, intermediate shaft, and driverside axle
* Intake piping, intercooler
* Shifter assembly if you have an Automatic
* Brake/knuckle assemblies (Automatics - if you have the small brake package, measure yours)
Once you get all these parts it's very straightforward - drop everything in as it came out of your donor. The XR2 harness will plug directly into the chassis harness and work with no mods needed. The *only* thing you won't have is the boost gauge in the gauge cluster. You can choose to swap clusters, I am unsure if the gauge will work, the wire for it may or may not be there. You SHOULD run an aftermarket gauge anyway though, so save yourself the extra work!

There may be some additional complications if going from an automatic capri to turbo/manual conversion - I've never done this before but it shouldn't be too much. The pedal assembly should swap just fine, you may have to do some digging to remove the transmission electrical harness & PCM from under the dash. I am not sure if it will try to throw codes or not - you'll have to research this (pull the bulb in the gauge cluster?)

Also worth noting: The N/A's did not get the same swaybars the turbo had. Grab these too!

This should cover everything, but I'm not a complete robot (yet) so forgive me if I've omitted anything!

CapriTypeR:
Excellent write-up! I get this question 4 times a month! I now have someplace to refer them to...... 8)

Jim Simms:
Check out a YouTube video where the Car Mod Guys (from Austrailia) put a turbo into an n/a car. I believe it was an MX5.  They modified the exhaust manifold for the turbo, drilled into the block for an oil line to the turbo, and it was quite cool for this part changer (not mechanic) to watch.
These guys have informative and interesting videos. Maybe we can find some Capri owners who are handsome enough to make a video.

supercowmoo3:
did i mention how much i love this post? esspecially the "Grenades are fun though, right?!?" part. Hopefully one day ill get a capri xr2 donor car with everything for a turbo conversion.

mcanchola2:
hey rocket i got my donor car.. im just mising the MAF sensor that someone..(Tyler  ;D) forgot to throw it in the car when i picked it up... so a question i had was could it be possible to keep the hydralic clutch assembly?

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