Frank Kurz, of CA, designed and built this small turbocharger in 1980 as an experiment. Superchargers are typically belt driven; however, turbochargers are driven by the exhaust gases produced from a running engine. As the engine speed increases, the exhaust drives the turbo faster which creates more pressure to the cylinders, producing more horsepower. Frank machined it from aluminum and steel bar stock, and he tested the turbo on a small engine, but the test results are unknown. Courtesy of Dick Pretel.
Miniature Turbocharger
