Ghetto boost controller

[vrg3]

My boost control solenoid's been slowly starting to flake out, so I've been planning on coming up with some other method of boost control. I was at the local Bishops Home Center hardware store on unrelated business, and, as always, felt a strong gravitational draw over to the end of the store where they have all the little trays full of cool little fasteners and stuff.

They had ball bearings. They had springs. They had pipe fittings.

So, I picked up a brass 1/8" MPT to 3/16" I.D. hose barb, an 1/8" MPT to 1/4" hose barb, an 1/8" FPT union, a 3/16" ball bearing, and a little spring that fit loosely inside the hose barb fittings.

I basically put the barbs together with the union, and inside put the ball bearing and spring. The ball bearing went on the 3/16" barb side.

Then I spent about half an hour tweaking it, not including the 20 minutes I spent trying to explain to the University Police why I was doing full throttle runs in the Vet School parking lot. :) I capped off the two side nipples on the stock boost control solenoid and stuck this valve there instead. I had to do a lot of tweaking of the spring; I cut it first, and then I stretched it, but then I stretched it too far, so I had to shorten it, and... so forth. I eventually got it boosting about 7psi, and I can increase or decrease it by putting the fittings together a little tighter or looser.

I did end up having to drill a little #60 hole in the outlet barb because it was spiking too much. Now it still spikes by a pound or two but it's pretty decent. My stock control was spiking by at least as much.

It cost me three bucks and change... So if you want something to go with Morgie's Cheap FCD, this could be it... =)

[vrg3]

Hmm, now that I think of it, one of these setups could be used as an FCD like Morgie's, but it could actually allow low boost through to the MAP sensor.