82 turbo regal questions

[braintumor]

So I'm new to the turbo regals, not new to cars or turbos. this being my first turbo regal and always wanting a GN/T type I've got a few questions. first is the VIN of course. carfax comes up as an 82 regal 3.8 no biggie. but the various VIN decoders on the web and forums dosnt come up as factory turbo or anything relevant to such. the trunk sticker is gone and the plate under the hood by the windshield dosnt tell me much either. all the intake/block/plenum numbers seem to match with an 82/83 turbo but I still cant tell if its the car came with a turbo from the factory or if its a swap. Id like to know if its a rare one or a swapped basic regal. any help is appreciated.

 

[WarWagon]

Your machine would be missing all the sport coupe emblems and turbo hood. More than likely the chassis is the base 2bbl 3.8v6 with draw through turbo parts installed on it.
Block casting number of 290 is a bit odd to be in this chassis, that's a 1983 casting. So that leads more to the realization that the engine has been swapped around and not original to the chassis.
Still cool, not a whole bunch of draw through cars around.

 

[braintumor]

yeah figured as much it was swapped. just didnt know why someone would go through the trouble though. no turbo hood and lack of extra gauges on cluster (boost). pass head also has a heat button from reman places on it. havnt checked the block for one, still cleaning it all off. so for 500 started right up and drove home I'm ok with it not being an original.

 

[b4black]

It's an '83 motor in a '82 Body. The question become how complete was the swap?

Just some things to consider: Is it a 200 metric trans or the 200-4r overdrive? What rear axle ratio? Did they swap the ECM and wiring? If not, they may not be a functioning knock sensor/module. Does the Check Engine light work?

It's a cool motor either way, you just need to know what you are dealing with. The motor is a funky shade of blue, so it was repainted while it was out.

 

[braintumor]

rear axle dosnt have any gear tag on it or any other indicator, has the computer and all wiring swapped in along with knock sensor and check engine light works. along with the blue engine, the trans pan and drive shaft are both painted candy purple (I believe it was used as a lowrider at one point). as far as the trans goes I have no idea how to tell the 200 from the 200/4r (but looks only slightly larger than a powerglide, so Im guessing just a 200). but Ill keep searching the forum for more info on all of it. thanks so far for all the info.

well trans appears to be a th350. that possible?

 

[b4black]

A 350 trans is very possible and a good choice.

An '82 Turbo Regal would have had a 350C (lock up) trans from the factory. 3.08 gear in the rear axle.

 

[jiho2]

The last part of the VIN is stamped on the block, just above the area with the '290 casting number and the "3.8L". That would match the VIN of the car the block came from, which would at least tell you a little more.