11.5 car whats it take

[big reazon]

I have a 81 chevy malibu that I am currently building and have bought a grand national motor and trans complete for 1500 bucks. Now I know these motor combos were 14 second combos back in the day. But being that my last sbc in my other malibu ran 11.6s to 11.8s I would like to beat that or at least match that or I feel that the swap would be a waste. I feel the gm high tech performance is very discouraging because they make it seem like you have to spend 7 to to 10 grand to get there. Now what do you guys say. Im real mechanical so labor isn't really a problem it is what parts do I grab and install I have George at Turbo Tech to tune it if he can even tune these older computers. I want to run at least an 11.5 maybe high 10s one day But I dont want to do things twice and I dont want to have to take a loan out on the house so what are the necessities currently the motor is all stock.

 

[1984 t-type]

I'm not sure how to copy and paste links but if you go over to gnttype.org and search they have a section that they call recipes and it pretty much outlines what's needed to reach different goals.

 

[turbo george]

champion stock ported intake (upgraded hat and throttle body also), champion irons (i would get the aluminum ones though), roller cam, fmic, 60 lb injectors plus chip & alocohol should get you there however to hold it together for the long haul do the short block i would also make sure the oil system pumps oil at a high volume before you get started research research research

 

[pacecarta]

not much

ported heads and ported intake, bigger throttle body and plenum are definitely not needed until you want 10s unless your goal is to do it with 15-17 psi boost , i dont even run a ported intake on my 86 and stock plenum has been 9s with only a bored out stock tb
stock heads would need some porting for 10s unless your car is light

, hv pumps are not needed nor is high oil pressure , the stock bottom end can and has taken some serious power and held up reliably at 500hp (some fool has made over 600hp repeatedly for years running mid 10s )
dont detonate and things will stay together longer , detonate and even good stuff goes boom

for 10s repeatedly i would go with a steel shim headgastet and head studs ( or arp good bolts ) as it will take a minor tuning error without spitting the gasket and milkshaking the oil

stock cam will go 9s , flat tappet cams are risky but ive run one for years mid 10s , if doing a cam a roller is a wise move but youll also have to upgrade the heads (cut exhaust guides down) and upgrde to stiffer springs and consider stronger rocker shafts and shaft braces or TD roller rocker
figure well over 1000 just on the roller cam kit and head mods and thats without labor


good running engine without any compression , ignition , or voltage issues (gnttype.org spring cleaning and basics
replace all the vac lines and use zip ties
160 therm and good working cooling system
rjc powerplate (air distribution plate) under plenum
use good couplers and clamps on the intercooler hoses
duttneck on ic would help or go stretch or fmic
good 255lph fuel pump and hotwire for it, adj fuel regulator
upgrade the injectors to atleast 36s (stock 28s wont get you there without a lot of alky)
and get a turbotweak chip for the combo
get the brakes in order as youll want to build some boost at the line and youll want to stop, linelock for burnout
redo the valvesprings
look at the timing chain and replace if needed (some have already been done but you wont know till you look)
scanmaster is mandatory for starters and will help in tuning ( www.vortexbuick-etc.com ) also consider the powerlogger or wideband to get even more data but for 11.5s unless you have issues its not really needed


TA49, or tE44 (or todays equivalent 5856 or so)
stock D5 converter will work but a 2800 converter spools faster
the trans if healthy BRF might survive but typically 12.0 is the point where it should have a performance rebuild done and get a trans cooler
sticky tires , mickey thompson radials any size will get it done as 115 for 11.5 wont be winding the motor out too far
26"s are all you should need but the 27"(255/60) will do or the 28" (275/60) ,or slicks if you like them

Turbo tweak chip burned for your car
razor alky and r43ts plugs at .030 or race gas and r42s and a means to crank the boost up to 23psi or so

 

[big reazon]

Does it sound like a totally bad idea to from the jump go to a 6266 turbo and 9/11 converter.With everything else in the previous post. What would this yield? I just dont want to get to 11.5 and to go any fast have to change everything again more money down the drain. What do you guys think?

 

[pacecarta]

6266, port the heads, 65#injectors alky or race gas , stretch or fmic, 3200 converter good rebuild on trans is a solid high 10s combo capable of mid 10s though id go with a double pumper intank or one of the new 300lph pumps for mid 10s

 

[ZNix]

I have never heard of the 6266? Do you mean the 6265 turbo?

 

[Pronto]

Its the newest version, check their website

 

[bison]

He's looking to run 10.80-11.50. Not looking for low 10's. With his car ge can go a really long way with a set of heads with just a bowl clean up and good valve job, small turbo like a 6262, and alky/93. He could doeasily on a single intank pump with a chip. My rec would be get the car going on the stock longblock and turbo/intercooler. I'd make sure everything was good to go tune up wise, get a wideband, some 112 octane, and go to te drag strip and see what he can get out of it. Just to get used to the combo. Once he gets it to 12.0 which should be fairly easy with a Malibu especially if it's under 3500lbs. From there he could run a larger turbo and continue running higher boost till he hits the 11.50 goal. A 6262 on a stock long block will do it around 25psi. At that point an intercooler and a set of cleaned up heads would net a lot and give it the power it needs to run high tens. The $7-10k number is very realistic to have a combo that can repeatedly run high 10's. I had a combo run 10.60 on some simple parts. I had an xfi on that combo but it's not needed to get the times i did. The only real hardcore item in there besides the xfi is the 9.5" ptc converter and the trans has a billet forward shaft and is good to high 9's. All else is pretty much a bunch of junk i bad laying around. The heads are stock iron bowls cleaned up and stock valves. It was on 93/alky. The thread was 10.61@127.85 with a 60-1 compressor. Fwiw it's a 59mm compressor. About $4500 of what is spent will be behind the engine. The converter, trans, driveshaft, limited slip, and axles arent needed to make the power but will add up to several thousand for safety and reliability

 

[big reazon]

Thanks Yeah im trying to run 92 octane and alky. So it sounds like just get the car running first with the current stock setup then add to it because it sounds like it will be a bolt on situation except for maybe heads so the short block should be fine. I definitely want a stall from the jump so that will probably go in before the motor even goes in the car for the first time.

 

[bison]

Thanks Yeah im trying to run 92 octane and alky. So it sounds like just get the car running first with the current stock setup then add to it because it sounds like it will be a bolt on situation except for maybe heads so the short block should be fine. I definitely want a stall from the jump so that will probably go in before the motor even goes in the car for the first time.

The converter selection will be a big part of it if you want to make power and use it with the stock cam. I run the the best converter out there to squeeze the small compressor and crappy heads for all their worth. The engine never went over 5500 rpm.

 

[big reazon]

What converter do you recommend for my situation? This car will also be on the street will run a 29" tall tire on the street and a 28 to 26 on the strack as my street wheels are heavy.

 

[big reazon]

And whats the best way to do a egr delete that works I see some people say you can just use the block off plate.

 

[84BuickGNYorkPA]

pacecarta and bison are very knowledgeable Buick Guys, read and reread there responses...they will save you time and money...

Chuck

 

[QUIP'6']

What converter do you recommend for my situation? This car will also be on the street will run a 29" tall tire on the street and a 28 to 26 on the strack as my street wheels are heavy.

i went mid 11's with a stock car, heavy chrome wheels, ta-49 with 42 pound injectors, walbro fuel pump, 3 inch downpipe, duttneck intercooler, alky and 23 psi.

 

[Detomaso71]

11.40s all day long, drove hours to track and raced all week and always drove it home.
I did this with only new valve springs, hotwire and larger injectors, and 67mm turbo. I had zero turbo lag on the street. the engine was and has never been operated on other than new LT1 style valve springs.
although the porting and heads makes a huge difference you dont have to do it, also if you get a slightly larger turbo you can grow into it and use it with the heads and porting etc if you end up doing it.
I hate "re buying" stuff so before you buy anything think ahead. I knew i would eventually want to go faster so each time I bought something I tried to make sure it would work down the road if I upgraded the engine.

 

[HelloBozos]

I went 11.99 on McCeary L-60's street tires (1.70 short),Full (cat-gutted) Stock Exhuast,Bone Stock Motor/Turbo/Inj with over 60,000 miles on the O.D. using One 150hp NOS kit ,One fogger nossle in the turbo inlet pipe to the throttle body. worry about your rear-end an tranny the most first!!! 8^)

Enjoy!

 

[big reazon]

Guess I have to do a rebuild pulled all spark plugs and did a compression test the results were as followed 1-100,3-100,5-110,2-120,4-80,6-100. What mods should I do while it is apart are their preferred cheaper pistons? Do I need rods and crank upgrades for my goal other than arp bolts? Will porting and polishing the heads make since if I leave the intake stock other than an rjc plate? Dont have the money to spend on a roller cam right now what would people recommend this kinda bums me out because I payed for a good running motor or atleast it was advertised that way. Would it be worthwhile looking for a 4.1 block?

 

[Robert Wilson]

Is this engine running yet or did you compression test it cold? You should check it after its has been to operating temperature.

 

[big reazon]

The engine is still cold on the engine stand. I pulled all the spark plugs and accessories from the front of the engine Turbo removed also So these results are na. When I added oil to the cylinders 3 went from 100 to 150 and 4 went from 80 to 100 so I think I still have some kind of problem.