Carburetor Suggestions for Turbo 231?

[231T]

I have a 1983 231 turbo from a T-Type Regal.

The engine was in rough shape, but now has been machined and I would like to pick your brains for recommendations for a carburetor, as I wish to keep the draw-through turbo setup. Unfortunately, the original 4-barrel feedback quadrajet has been beaten to bits, and the computer was missing when I got the motor.

I've been advised to look into quadrajets or other 4-barrel carbs with a vacuum secondary to help account for the change of pressure under boost.

Any feedback would be great!

 

[WE2Regal]

You'll need a Holley carburetor that is boost referenced and a Quadrajet to Holley adapter plate to mount it on the upper intake manifold. You'll have to speak with Holley or a carburetor specialist to get a recommendation and one set up correctly. There is a small raised pad on top of the '82-'83 aluminum intake manifold in the correct location needed that you can drill and tap to screw in a fitting to get a vacuum signal for the Holley to work. Beyond that, you still have several problems to overcome. Without a computer, the '83 distributor won't work. You'll have to source one for a non computer controlled engine. These carbed draw through turbo engines are prone to detonation. Without a computer with a knock sensor hooked up to retard timing , you'll have to play it really safe with boost and timing. Especially on regular pump gas. Or a company called J&S Safeguard makes an ignition system that has a knock sensor.

 

[WarWagon]

Definitely look into J&S Safeguard to handle ignition. There's an older version of a holley carb that has spread bore already if you wanted to go that route without adapters for hood clearance.

 

[231T]

I have made new discoveries about my engine and the car that now accompanies it.

Both are 1981 (non-matching), and I have a Turbo Control Center on hand now. I had my old quadrajet looked over by a former turbo Buick tech, and he found the carburetor is fine, save for needing rebuilt.

I've been looking for a gasket set, but so far, none look like the gaskets I pulled out of it. Does anyone know where I can find gaskets that fit an '81 E4ME Rochester?

 

[WE2Regal]

Nice catch matching up that gasket kit before installing them. Are you trying to use the 78-80 turbo control center with a CCC carb? The 1981 carb would be computer controlled and won't work with that module. You would need an older 78-80 carb that enriches from vacuum coming from a PEVR valve in the intake manifold.

 

[231T]

Truth be told, we aren't sure what year the TCC came from, but the carburetor is original to the motor. I've been told there should be a module under the dash somewhere, but I haven't been able to find it yet.

That being said, the dash is slated for removal to prepare for the new heater and A/C system.

 

[WE2Regal]

Is the wiring harness still in place? If so you could follow it into the dash. But if the harness has been cut you'll probably never find a replacement. I have a couple NOS CCC 4.1 carbs that I think would work fine if the harness is still there. Have a few non CCC turbo carbs too but no extra PEVR valves to make them work properly.

 

[231T]

It appears to be, yes. I'll have to see what I can find after the dash comes out. Not sure when that will be.

 

[mikemcvaney]

I have made new discoveries about my engine and the car that now accompanies it.

Both are 1981 (non-matching), and I have a Turbo Control Center on hand now. I had my old quadrajet looked over by a former turbo Buick tech, and he found the carburetor is fine, save for needing rebuilt.

I've been looking for a gasket set, but so far, none look like the gaskets I pulled out of it. Does anyone know where I can find gaskets that fit an '81 E4ME Rochester?

Throw the turbo control center away . They are total garbage and cause more problems then help

 

[mikemcvaney]

I have a 1983 231 turbo from a T-Type Regal.

The engine was in rough shape, but now has been machined and I would like to pick your brains for recommendations for a carburetor, as I wish to keep the draw-through turbo setup. Unfortunately, the original 4-barrel feedback quadrajet has been beaten to bits, and the computer was missing when I got the motor.

I've been advised to look into quadrajets or other 4-barrel carbs with a vacuum secondary to help account for the change of pressure under boost.

Any feedback would be

 

[231T]

Throw the turbo control center away . They are total garbage and cause more problems then help

I picked it up as a "just in case," but I'm not sure that I completely understand the electrical systems in place on this car yet. I'm hoping and trying to keep as much original as possible.

With the original CCC carb being good to clean and rebuilt, I want to keep the operating systems as close to original as possible.

 

[b4black]

The Turbo Control Center is for pre-ECM set ups. The knock retard system is built into the ECM set up for 1981 and later. There would be a ESC module under the dash in 1981, but it was moved to the passenger inner fender in 1983. Knock sensors changed in 1983 from accelerometers to piezo (same from 1983 to 1987)

Without the ECM, there is no point to running the electronic Quadrajet.

I would suggest going without the ECM, find a different carb, run it on E85 and not worrying about knock control.

 

[231T]

Were the early ECM-style spark retard problematic? I know the previous owner mentioned the car having a computer under the dash, but I was still under the impression that this car was using the older TCC system.

I have a good core carb that needs cleaned and rebuilt, and a car with mostly intact wiring harness from what I have seen, save for a few cut wires under the hood.

On the note of ESC and spark knock, I understand these systems were quite prone to this issue. Is that due to the heat built up in the chambers? Or is it a multifaceted issue that can't easily be corrected by lowering operating temperatures? I was planning to drop operating temperatures to around 180°F.

 

[WE2Regal]

Not to sound discouraging but the water temp is the least of your worries. There are several things that contribute to detonation. But that's putting the cart before the horse. This was first posted a year ago and it doesn't seem you are any closer to figuring out if the "81 computer and wiring harness is in useable in order to make it run. All the other parts needed like carburetor and distributor depend on whether you are staying computer controlled or not. You need to find a wiring diagram for the '81 or get a service manual from somewhere like Ebay. It could be the best money you've spent so far. I'd forget about retrofitting that TCC. That too requires additional parts that you probably do not have.

 

[231T]

I have the service manuals on hand, just haven't made as much time as I should to look through them in detail. With now knowing the TCC system predates this car, that will remain unused. I would like to keep this vehicle as a computer controlled unit if possible by the time I am able to install the engine.

I don't have as much time as I would like to work with the car, but am trying to learn what I can about it to help further my efforts of restoring it to running condition. I'm considering a temporary V8 option until I can get the money to properly rebuild the V6 Turbo engine that started this journey.

 

[231T]

Were the early ECM-style spark retard problematic? I know the previous owner mentioned the car having a computer under the dash, but I was still under the impression that this car was using the older TCC system.

I have a good core carb that needs cleaned and rebuilt, and a car with mostly intact wiring harness from what I have seen, save for a few cut wires under the hood.

On the note of ESC and spark knock, I understand these systems were quite prone to this issue. Is that due to the heat built up in the chambers? Or is it a multifaceted issue that can't easily be corrected by lowering operating temperatures? I was planning to drop operating temperatures to around 180°F.

With my previous post in mind, I should say that you're right. This thread was started before I had the car, when I was exploring the idea of using a different carburetor to replace the CCC Quadrajet that I thought was damaged beyond repair.

Over all, at this point in time and with everything else taken into consideration, I agree, this is very much a cart before the horse situation now.

I intend to keep the CCC system if I can, but need to do more research and learn more about this car's systems and functions. I will make time to explore this car piece by piece, starting with the electrical systems.