A small detour here. Couple of weeks ago over on the bp board someone posted a question about the 3-bolt 152t manifold, as he had acquired a partial setup from someone. As it turned out he did not have the manifold or the wedge. Those are critical, unobtanium parts. I wasn't in the market for more 152t parts but knowing he'd collect social security checks before those would ever appear separately, after some discussion I acquired his parts. Offsetting my cost was the fact that I had no problem selling the e-wheel from the turbo that seized. So what the heck. What I acquired explained some of the finer details about the system that I did not know before.
What I bought: the heat shield for the turbo. I saw one in pictures but never in the flesh. It's in fair shape and will fit my project application. I didn't know that there were little buttons swedged into the four corners and one would mold it around the turbo and then wire the buttons together. Clever. This piece should clean up nicely. The heat shield for the exhaust manifold is in very sad shape, chunks missing and battered. Because of its condition - and the fact I have another one in nice shape - I'll use this one and the matching shield that bolts to it for covering the starter - to modify and tap off heat for the heat stove. This will require cutting a 2" hole in it and sticking a stub of tubing in. This starter shield is one of two I got in a previous kit, the other very nice and this one missing a chunk of material.
The intake adaptor actually has the original 1904 carb mounted to it [edit: not original per the part number but other than having the wrong jet - a #62 instead of the #65 called for, would have made little difference]. I hadn't looked at a 1904 in decades, and had forgotten how tiny the inlet opening is (where the choke plate goes) - 1.2". This small carb's restriction is probably how they kept the boost under control, and not on the exhaust end of things, which, being 2 1/2", was probably unnecessarily large.
The first production models used a large oil-bath air cleaner. In these parts I obtained the later paper-element air cleaner. I did some measurements and see it would use an element 10" in diameter and maybe 2 1/4" high. A quick internet search turns up a gazillion elements that would fit. What's interesting in this thing is that it predates the concept of a snorkel. The base plate is 10" in diameter and the cover is 12" and overhangs the element. Air enters from the circular gap beneath. The air cleaner has been dented up good but should be restorable.
There was an intake elbow and cast iron exhaust elbow, both in excellent shape.
The turbo was complete and turns easily. A peek at the blades shows them in great shape, so I believe this turbo was in decent operating condition when last shut down. I'm going to strip it to check its condition, but at worst there are some good spare parts here.
A couple of minor, but interesting details: there is a special sintered (?) metal donut ring that fits between the exhaust manifold and cast iron elbow. On my two manifolds it is in place and appears pressed in. Included here is a ring that fits and is obviously the correct part. I had never seen it separated out before. It is like an oem metal donut for the regular two-ear manifold, except conical on
both Sides, not just on one (and flat on the other). Also, there is a comparable metal donut they used between the turbo outlet and exhaust pipe. Whaaazzzup with that? GM used a fibrous packing.
I heard back from the guy working on the parts I sent off for evaluation. I'll be getting back a properly cleaned b flow turbine, and possibly another turbine (had buggered threads that might be repairable), and some b and f compressor wheels that will have been blessed as serviceable. Edit: the turbine with the buggered threads had 0.020" run-out and was toast, but now have one very nice b flow turbine. Hopefully this week can get the corvair f flow compressor housing to the machine shop for "facing" so I can adapt my current adapter to it.
Now it looks like I have a complete spare setup. Maybe one day I'll find another early champagne model...