This summer i was looking into either doing a Bluebird swap or a custom turbo setup in my 96 SE. My questions are about the turbo setup...

I was going to get a T28 turbo with a greddy intercooler and BOV, and i wasnt sure what else i would need to run that to my engine. I can have the piping done and all that i just need to know what would be a better choice..the custom turbo and buy a kit from hotshot?

Any help with this problem would be great, thanks everyone.

If you want it safe, and you want to add power in the future, go for the DET swap. It simply can't be beat. You can still add big effin' compressors and wild fuel systems later, and you'll be fine. In the mean time, though, it's the safest way to have a little fun without too much money.

If you just want a turbo and want it now, F-Max and Hot Shot both have good kits. They're not much cheaper than a DET swap, from what I've seen, though, and don't offer much of a future without spending lots more money. Take it easy with the boost controller, too; 9:1 compression and 14 PSI of boost is a dangerous combination if you don't have water injection.

If you want to be single-handedly responsible for the valuation of Glaxo SmithKline (http://www.tums.com/) and Wyeth (http://www.advil.com/migraine/index.asp), go ahead and piece it together. Almost as expensive in the long run as a DET swap ("Oh, shit, what did I forget this time?"), almost as restrictive as an F-Max or HS kit. Okay, so that was a pretty abysmal description, and not too accurate...

In the end, it depends on how many risks you want to take. A DET is good enough to be OEM. F-Max and HS make fine kits. With the right friends, you could make a custom T28 configuration work; lots of people have. It's on you, Bubba.