From Grandma Grocery Getter to Hell Raiser

The first thing we did was disconnect the battery before we turned any other wrenches.

Before tackling the turbo system installation, Urist removed the intake manifold to install the larger fuel injectors, which are included in the kit.

Here, Urist bolts on the fuel-pressure regulator. It is not included in the kit, but he highly recommends installing one when putting on the turbo system. This piece offers a 1:1 fuel-pressure spike when it senses boost--that means for every 1 pound of boost the fuel pressure is increased by 1 psi.

This a close-up of the 42-pound injectors that are included in the kit.

The smog pump equipment was removed in this application. However, Hellion's kit does enable all smog pump equipment to be retained and workable for those who want to have their Mustang pass the sniffer test.

It is necessary to punch a hole in your oil pan. In this photo, Urist taps the hole that he punched out using the supplied hole-puncher. This will be used for the oil return line from the turbo head unit. Turbos are lubricated using engine oil.

To punch the hole in the oil pan, Urist removes the stock H-pipe while the car is lifted in the air.

A Bassani shorty header gets installed on the driver side. Sealing the headers to the exhaust port are Bassani's stainless steel header gaskets. These items are standard in the 5-liter kit.

With the turbo being mounted on the passenger side, Hellion has fabricated this log header. After trying several different tube header designs, this was the best way to build a header that did not require any cutting of the factory equipment, i.e. air conditioning and smog pump stuff. Through continual testing, this log header proved to be as good as a regular turbo header in most street applications. In fact, Hellion has made 750 rwhp with an in-house Mustang with this header configuration and larger turbo. The tubular header did not make a difference on that car compared to the Hellion log header.

The turbo placement requires you drop the alternator and smog pump a bit. This Hellion bracket is reminiscent of how the accessories are moved down in a centrifugal blower application.

It is necessary to remove the front bumper in order to install the air-to-air intercooler.

The intercooler comes with its own brackets that bolt on to existing holes in the radiator support.

A Mitsubishi blow-off valve is mounted on the pipe that comes out of the intercooler and is hidden behind the front bumper.

The only modification needed for the intercooler to fit, is to trim a corner of the lower valance. When fitting it on the car, the tight spot will be quite obvious. Trimming is required only on LX style front noses--GT noses do not have any clearance issues.

Higher boost levels mean greater cylinder pressure, which means a higher risk of pre-ignition. These spark plugs are one heat range colder than stock. Using a colder plug will stave off pre-ignition woes when running moderate boost levels--provided you have ample fuel delivery and don't have the timing jacked up all the way.

The root of all things evil! But this time, evil is actually good. The Turbonetics 62mm turbocharger belted out 9 psi of boost thanks to the stock nature of the test subject. Hellion recommends this turbo for applications up to 600-or-so rear-wheel horsepower. Standard output on our kit was rated at 8-10 psi depending on the induction system.

The downpipe is secured to the turbo exhaust housing via a V-band clamp to ensure it never blows off.

Like the centrifugal blowers, the turbo oil feed is tee'd off the oil sensor unit.

Hellion designed the MAF sensor placement to be as straight as possible. As this is a blow-through-style setup, it is critical the airflow runs straight into the meter. A C&L MAF sensor housing is included in the kit, and you simply transfer the stock meter to the new housing.

Once everything on the upper part of the car is mounted, it's time to put on all the charge piping. The polished pipes add a great touch to the engine compartment. The rubber couplers and quality clamps keep the system leak-free and prevent the pipes from blowing off under boost.

With a completed upper part of the system, we turned our attention to under the car. Here, Dwayne James fits up the crossover pipe that connects the driver-side header to the turbo.

The wastegate is placed underneath the car and out of the way. Here, Dwayne bolts it to the exhaust pipes and runs a vacuum line to the engine.

Replacing the wimpy 88-lph stock fuel pump is a 255-lph unit that is a direct-fit pump. You will need to drop the tank to install it.

This Y-pipe connects the single exhaust tube from the downpipe to the stock after-cat exhaust system.

An ant's view of the undercarriage shows the entire exhaust system and cross-over piping.

For those who would like to keep their car emissions friendly, Hellion offers a catalytic converter upgrade. Bassani Xhaust's high-flow cats are used to ensure there's no loss in horsepower.

Ready for the dyno! A K&N air filter was fitted directly to the turbo inlet to keep out dirt.

Computer tuning is not required and it really depends on the application. In our testing, Urist used fuel pressure and timing to extract maximum power out of this kit. To help idling issues, he simply rotated the C&L housing. Moving it out toward the fender made it leaner at idle, and moving toward the engine richens the idle. We found the most power was made with 32 psi of fuel pressure and 23 degrees total timing. It was conservative, yet powerful.

All chassis dyno runs were made at Speed Dreams in New Mexico. The helpful staff didn't even get mad when we popped the lower radiator hose and made a mess of their shop.

"I'd like a burger and fries to go along with my smoking tires." Urist's face may not show it, but he was pleased with the results.

Here is a chassis dyno graph of the stock engine with Hellion's turbo system producing 9 psi of boost.