85 to 86 conversion

[Tampa T-Type]

Any one have a list of parts need for this?

 

[blown okie]

find one '86 or '87 car complete, and you'll have everything and realize you just saved a bunch of work hunting down parts, dont swap anything, and have two good buicks. just my 2 cents, did the swap on the '84 wouldn't recommend trying it to anybody. hotairs are good cars too.

 

[Squid4life]

I bought an 85 because I could afford a nice car with good body and interior, whereas if I bought an 87, I would have had to buy one that needed a lot more work or was worn out and tired. I thought the 85 HA setup would hold me over performance-wise, but after much consideration, and wanting to go faster easier and cheaper (my first opinion, no offense to anyone), I decided to convert. I bought most of my parts from a vendor here on the board. You can slowly collect them if you want, buy them all at once for about $1500-$2000, or just buy an 86-87 car and be done with it. It is all about the $ with these cars, just depends on what you have, or want to spend.

Some items you'll need:
wiring harness
ECM
MAF
pass header
pass valve cover
intake
dog house
throttle body
front bracket
alt
PS pump, reservoir, bracket
turbo
downpipe
crank sensor
cam sensor
electric fan
radiator hold down
hard coolant lines
intercooler
up pipe
clamps and hoses (IC)
upper rad hose
heater core selector valve
heater hoses
coil pack and module
tranny dipstick tube
oil dipstick
cruise cable
throttle cable
etc, etc, etc

 

[Geoff87]

Look for a donor car. That's what I did.

After that, you'll still need to figure out where to install a fuel filter. The '84-'85 cars have the filter in front. '86-'87 cars have them on the drivers side frame rail towards the rear of the car. I relocated mine where the factory tank lines are.

 

[49-blues]

Good idea. i just put a remote fuel filter up front- permacool with a moisture drain on it.

 

[49-blues]

The conversion is alot parts and alot of work.

 

[fullahotair]

why don't you just put an 86/87 intake on your car, trim a 86/87 plenum so your turbo fits, use a 86/87 t-body and plumb in a stock IC? I am doing this right now, with the help of another board member who has already done it with great success.

The parts are so far: (all 86/87) of course this will require an 86/87 ECM conversion which most do anyway, electric fan, and chip.

t-body and associated sensors
plenum
lower intake
throttle cable and bracket
IC and associated pieces(brackets, shroud, etc)
modified water neck

I will be fabricating the plumbing for the IC, plenum, and water neck. If i can help you out, let me know...

N8

 

[49-blues]

Any pics of this? I guess you re talking about like a 1/2 conversion then.

 

[fullahotair]

yeah pretty much. You will only be converting the top end over, instead of the exhaust and the front accessories. As for the oil drain for the turbo, you will drill a hole in the back of the intake, much the like the 84/85 intake has. It'll save you from drilling into your oil pan or the front of the block.

N8

 

[Tampa T-Type]

What is the gain?

What do you gain by doing this?

 

[49-blues]

Alot less parts, time and money.

 

[fullahotair]

The major gains coming from the hot air side are the IC, better flowing intake, and the throttlebody located after the turbo.

I'll try to post some pics of the fellow board member who has done this already. Should be up by days end.

Thanks,
Nathyn

 

[fullahotair]

Here are some pics of an 86/87 intake on a hot air. I failed to mention you have to modify you accessory bracket slightly for clearence.

N8

 

[Rob_85Ttype]

If I had to make the choice again, words can't express how much I wish I had left mine '84-'85, and then added mods like fullahotair did. The parts list is endless and then some.