Bought a GN, came here for info.

[Powertechn2]

As it states, I bought a GN. It is kinda rough, it went a frame off resto about 12-15 years ago that was never 100% finished. Then it saw a most unfortunate fate and sat in a yard outside in Michigan for about 7 years.

It is running, however runs wayyy too rich when not under boost. The scanmaster is there but not working, seems like it got disconnected. The last owner said he unhooked some wires as the fan was staying on and would just shove the relay activation wire into the fusebox when it needed to come on

Body wise it is decent, however both rear quarters have rusted from the inside out in front of the tires.
I know the turbo is a precision, I think 66mm, It has a different downpipe (from the guy who was arrested for liking kids a little too much, forget his name, just this is how the downpipe was described to me when I asked about it) also has front mount intercooler, larger injectors ( I believe 62lb) ported and polished stock heads. Trans was built, has trans brake and shift kit and a few other upgrades, not sure exactly what.



I am a noob to turbo cars, but at least have some knowledge of how they work. I know the guy who did the resto and he had owned the car since about 1998 or so, I also know the guy who bought it two years ago and didn't do anything at all to it but seem to mess things up... It also came with an extra girdled block (105 I believe, the better block)

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Congrats on the car. Do some reading before you start buying stuff or go into boost. Here's a good place to start.
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/info-for-new-turbo-regal-owners.380856/ These little engines make a ton of power. Everything needs to be in good working order or you're going to hurt the engine soon. Find out what chip and injectors you have. I've never heard of 62 lbs injectors. What area do you live in? Use the search to find info. If you can't find the answers, don't be afraid to ask. There's lots of good info and great people here.

Welcome to he site and happy spooling.

Mike Barnard

 

[Powertechn2]

Thanks for the welcome, as well as the info.

I live in Michigan, Oakland County area.
I may be wrong about the injectors. Only going off of memory from a while ago when I first wanted to buy this car about two years ago.
I know that everything needs to be in proper working order or it can go south very quickly, hence my concern for the scanmaster not being connected when the last guy had it and drove it.
Also not really sure as to why the factory tach in the dash is stuck around 4k rpm. Not sure if it reads what the ecu see's or if it gets a signal from something else.

I will find out what the car has exactly, just takes a little time to get info when you buy a project that someone else started and never finished.

I will likely get with you about the rear bumper filler you have listed as mine was cracked and fell apart while gently removing snow before it got towed to indoor storage... In time anyways, way more important issues first... Also the fiberglass front bumper is shot, someone caught the corner on something and ripped it off the passenger mount and cracked it in the middle...

I do know that when I asked the previous to last owner a few questions, the one that did all the work way back, he said it would max out near 24lbs of boost, but that it could only handle 22 and make it down the track without blowing the head gaskets ( his trial and error I am assuming) and said it was last set up for 20lbs, has an adjustable wastegate. It is funny because the person that had the car (I would say originally, but I know he was the second or third owner at the very least) he put a lot of time, money, and effort. Somewhere along the line he gave up I guess. At one point he had an SRT8 Kee, and would say how much faster the Buick was, but never touched it, it just sat there lonely in the barn, moving to the yard eventually. He had talent, shoe-horned a 12v Cummins diesel into an s-10 even.

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

All the best go-fast parts in the world won't make your car run good if you don't know how to tune it. That's where most people fail. And that info is FREE! Right here. That's the fun of these things. Take your time and learn what makes these little engines happy. You'll go faster, have more fun and enjoy the journey far more than if you just mindlessly buy parts and don't know how they truly affect the car. I know it probably seems like a very complicated system. It's not. We'll help you. We're all here to learn too.

If someone here takes the time to help you with something, It's because someone once helped them. Some day, you can help the next guy out with what you learned. That's how it works here.

There is a strong Turbo Buick following in your area. Post up a "New guy" thread below in the Mid Western section. Some of the locals will give you a hand if needed. This will be another good source for parts and knowledge. Also, go to some of the shows in your area and see what others are doing.

Mike B.

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

One more thing. Get a steel bumper on that thing if it's a street car. You'll thank me if you ever get into a fender bender.

 

[Powertechn2]

Yea, I fully understand that tuning counts more than the amount of money that has been thrown at something. I actually was doing data logging for Bullydog for a while with a programmer on my truck and sending it to them to try to fix tuning issues, ended up in 3 different tune updates that even they had wrong from the get-go.
I was more into quads and bikes than cars, however with economy tanking and getting older which means busier I just can't find the time to take a worthwhile 4.5 hour drive up north to go riding. I have seen people on quad forums throw stage 3 cams and big bore kits and carbs with bored out venturi's at an engine and they would get spanked by a bone stock quad... ALL because it wasn't tuned correctly. I have a wide band commander sitting in my home office just waiting to be installed on my quad still, I was able to get it dialed in to +/- 10% without it. Then got too busy. Every time I pull it out I get pulled over, even when safely riding around the neighborhood just to blow the dust off it.

I was more saying as to what was done, and what I know the car has on it. The guy who had it before was an active member online, but this was in the stone age, like 98-2002, back when it would take you three hours to download 3 pages of text with pics hahaha. It did run at least mostly right at one point before it was left ignored. Chances are someone on here may have helped the guy build it originally, I have known him for over 10 years, I remember him saying he had help/guidance from someone with several GN's.

And as for the front bumper, yea, I already wanted to replace it with steel. I don't mind the glass, but I know glass has issues sometimes holding screws, as well as if anything happens they can be rather fragile in comparison to a real steel bumper. I am not planning on dragging this car. It may not even be on the street much this year, it needs work. Lots of it.
I had been intrigued by another GN about a week after I bought this one, however after seeing pic of it and claims that it was an original less than 60k mile car and seeing the steering wheel worn out, interior half apart, center console pulled out... I realized I did decent on what I bought.

Really wish the snow would melt and it would warm up here. Also the car is currently not stored on my property, buddies garage. He just had another kid, gonna be a while till I can find out what is what on it, but it's better inside there than outside here.

Thanks for the guidance.