307-3.8 turbo

[87bigcut]

Hi guys i bought a 87 cutlass from flordia awhile ago and have been looking at engine options. Now it has the weak 307 with a grand national rearend going in soon that I bought. I am pretty sure i want a 3.8 turbo for this car and wonder how hard this swap is. I was thinking find a 3.8 block from a g-body like mine. Build it from the ground up...Do they make a girdle or billet mains? where can i find con rods? what is a good crank to use? pistons? How hard is it to mount the intercooler and where should i put it? What is a good aftermarket intercooler? What tranny should I use, turbo, injectors? i could get like a painless wiring kit and wire up the EFI and computer like that right? Are there full aftermarked wiring harnesses or computers for 3.8 turbos? Then get a scanmaster, boost gauge, other gauges. Now to say what i want to do with this car:
I want a fast street car, probably wont see drag duty but i want a car that will carve corners like an iroc camaro. I would like it to be fast enough to run mid-10 in the quarter if i did drag it and put DOT's on. Is this streetable, i saw one car that ran high tens and got 22+ mpg's which is what i would like. Thanks,
Please give me all the info you can so i can learn.

Joe

 

[broke1]

Do a search and ALL your ????s will be anwsered. Then contact Bweavy at G Body Parts and hell be able to hook you up with EVERYTHING you need to make the swap.HTH

 

[87bigcut]

How does the intercooler mount in the grand national? Does it hang on brackets or what? and if so where can i get some? How necessary is the GN gas tank people are saying to get? maybe you could direct me to a specific post on how to do this swap because i cant find one anywhere. thanks,
Joe

 

[dconnor]

Do they make a girdle or billet mains?

where can i find con rods?

what is a good crank to use?

pistons?

How hard is it to mount the intercooler and where should i put it?

What is a good aftermarket intercooler?

What tranny should I use, turbo, injectors?

i could get like a painless wiring kit and wire up the EFI and computer like that right?

Are there full aftermarked wiring harnesses or computers for 3.8 turbos?

Then get a scanmaster, boost gauge, other gauges. Now to say what i want to do with this car:

I want a fast street car, probably wont see drag duty but i want a car that will carve corners like an iroc camaro. I would like it to be fast enough to run mid-10 in the quarter if i did drag it and put DOT's on. Is this streetable, i saw one car that ran high tens and got 22+ mpg's which is what i would like

Yes and yes

Stock are fine deep into the 10's

Stock again is fine for solid 10's , just be sure it's from a turbo 3.8 or 4.1 (has rolled fillets)

TRW forged if you're on a budget, otherwise JE, Venolia, Wiseco, etc... work great

Stock intercooler mounts just in front of the engine & behind the radiator, you could also run a front mount which goes behind the grill & in front of the rad. Check www.gnttype.org's picture guide

Mease, Precision, Action Fab, etc.... there are many different choices

200r4 is what they come with stock & can be built up to handle 9's with the right parts, some guys go to a TH400 which are cheaper to bulletproof than the 200r4 but you lose the overdrive which can make a big difference on a street driven car. Turbo depends on your ET goals & driving habits, check out Limit Engineering and Precision Turbo for more info. Injectors I'm going to suggest 57lb high impedance minimum or you can go with low impedance injectors but this requires a modification to the ECM.

Don't think that Painless Wiring makes a kit for the GN but Caspers Electronics does or you can use a salvaged one from a used parts dealer.

Again, check with Caspers Electronics

Mid 10's on DOT's & being streetable is a pretty tall order combined with you desire for a corner carver. You'll need to build a high 9 second motor IMHO & spend a lot of $$$$ on the suspension to have the adjustability your looking for. HAL adjustable shocks will help but they run ~ $150 per shock if I'm remembering right, then you'll have $$$ for brake upgrade, tubulat control arms, etc.... it's going to add up very quickly!

What you're looking for is definately possible, just going to take time, effort & a lot of $$$$$$$ I think your best bet would be to find a complete Turbo Buick drivetrain for sale as a unit (engine, turbo, wiring, tranny) or even better a complete donor car.

Doug C.

 

[87bigcut]

will this motor swap and build if i shot for high tens low 11's cost more than a built oldsmobile 455? like 4-5 grand?