I just wanted to document this process for posterity. I seemed to find myself occasionally saying on the forums that turbo is such a great bang/$ option compared to the TRD/Magnuson route (which is also a great option, depending on your needs [CA]). But rather than just typing it on an internet board and feeling smug about what I had read somewhere, I thought why not actually try it? Thanks to @scottryana, @lilevo, @mtncruiser97 and @2KCruiser for providing some ideas. 
It should be said that I do not suffer from the acute OCD/”while you’re in there-syndrome” commonly found on ih8mud. I am more of a “good’nuf” type of guy. I did not do any PM in preparation for the turbo: no HG, head studs, injector cleaning, etc. The plan is just to slap this thing together and see how it works.
The idea is to basically mimic the TRD/Magnuson supercharger: 5-6 psi, no intercooler, no tuning. Once I’ve done that and documented my results, I’d like to add either an intercooler or meth injection and maybe turn up the boost a little bit.
I will be following the basic recipe that @scottryana was so kind to provide: So are there any TRD Superchargers left?
I did deviate from the recipe here and there to save a buck, but all the major components are quality USA or Japan parts. If you’re not concerned about Chinese junk, you could probably save about $300-$400 compared to what I spent by getting a knockoff wastegate, BOV and turbo. If you have better fabrication skills than me, you could save a few more Benjamins by making your own y-pipe using the stock exhaust manifolds (this would be awesome with my twin-scroll turbine housing), but after some buddies and I cobbled together a DIY turbo kit for a 3.4 Tundra last week (crossover pipe and turbo flange was a lot of work and a lot of “oh s***” moments), I gave up on that idea and just coughed up the money for a cast manifold. That was a tough battle with my inner cheapo.
Baseline dyno is scheduled for next Wednesday and I still have parts trickling in the mail, so don’t hound me for updates BTW, the dyno is mainly for MUD. I should start a gofundme account so you guys can pitch in on my dyno pulls (I told you I was cheap!)
So anyway, without further ado, I present my victim: 1996 LX450 with a salvage title and 310k miles.
It should be said that I do not suffer from the acute OCD/”while you’re in there-syndrome” commonly found on ih8mud. I am more of a “good’nuf” type of guy. I did not do any PM in preparation for the turbo: no HG, head studs, injector cleaning, etc. The plan is just to slap this thing together and see how it works.
The idea is to basically mimic the TRD/Magnuson supercharger: 5-6 psi, no intercooler, no tuning. Once I’ve done that and documented my results, I’d like to add either an intercooler or meth injection and maybe turn up the boost a little bit.
I will be following the basic recipe that @scottryana was so kind to provide: So are there any TRD Superchargers left?
I did deviate from the recipe here and there to save a buck, but all the major components are quality USA or Japan parts. If you’re not concerned about Chinese junk, you could probably save about $300-$400 compared to what I spent by getting a knockoff wastegate, BOV and turbo. If you have better fabrication skills than me, you could save a few more Benjamins by making your own y-pipe using the stock exhaust manifolds (this would be awesome with my twin-scroll turbine housing), but after some buddies and I cobbled together a DIY turbo kit for a 3.4 Tundra last week (crossover pipe and turbo flange was a lot of work and a lot of “oh s***” moments), I gave up on that idea and just coughed up the money for a cast manifold. That was a tough battle with my inner cheapo.
Baseline dyno is scheduled for next Wednesday and I still have parts trickling in the mail, so don’t hound me for updates
BTW, the dyno is mainly for MUD. I should start a gofundme account so you guys can pitch in on my dyno pulls (I told you I was cheap!) So anyway, without further ado, I present my victim: 1996 LX450 with a salvage title and 310k miles.
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Cast just seems like the better option for a truck, even if I do lose a few HP. Turbo is the same Borg Warner listed in Ryan's formula in the OP. S300SX .91a/r. I just happened to get a really good deal on it by shopping around 
