Decision time

[gearhead125]

Well i've been lurking around these turbo buick sites for a while, at the moment i own a 87' Monte carlo ss with a mild 350, ran a best of 13.7 on a slipping trans. Graduation is coming up and my parent and grand parents want to get me a car. I love all g-bodies especially turbo regals. Im looking for a reliable car that could run mid 11's and still be daily driven. Is a T-type the way to go or should i just stick with a good 'ol sb? is there any major problems that frequently occur with these cars, would i have to be changing hg's everytime i go to the track?

any input would be apreciated

 

[83ttypecooled]

reliability

Hi,
If you want reliability in an 11 second, it depends on how you define the term. You are going to have to work on it to keep it fast. I'll bet if you bought a brand spanking new Z06 Corvette, you couldn't run 11s all day long for too many passes before maintenance issues surfaced. I would say that a turbo Buick is more reliable than most fast cars, just keep the knock down, head gasket problems should be minimal. Bottom end problems are almost non existent, which is more than I can say for a lot of smallblock chevys. Big rods, full skirt pistons and a deep skirt block have a lot of strength advantages. Just under 500 hp should give you high 11s, maybe faster.Our cars are lots of fun,but that fun comes at a price. If you have been tagging this website for a while, you know what I mean. Good luck in your choice, and congratulations on your impending graduation!

 

[John Larkin]

Get the Turbo Trans Am. The thugs don't make hopping cars out of them, rednecks will think it's a GTA, and they go 11s with minimal mods. Plus they are stable in price overall. G-bodies are just waiting to be stolen when you park them out of your sight. I don't feel comfortable walking away from mine anymore. Sad....

 

[8AV8]

Nothing will make you want to throw-up faster than waking up an your GN not being where you left it...I promise

 

[rev. 3:11]

I really like the sheetmetal on the SS (don't be hatin'! ) but there is a aura around the TR; besides everybody will call it an SS anyway, so you can't miss if you hang on to the Monte as well. as for the theft issue I'm on my 2nd GN and the pit of the stomach feeling ain't good, but htere are some good theft deterrents out there that weren't available back in the day. My son just gradiatted :wink: and I found him an '85 Riviera T-Type hot air turbo & he's jazzed ('cause it looks real '80's!?!WTF!?! ) anyway turbo's can be a load of fun, just take your time and research all the boards for tuning and tweaking. It really is nice to blow away a ricer and them have them ask about your "Big Block" or where your got the supercharger etc, etc...
D

 

[Purple87SS]

been there...dont that!!

Well I was in your shoes... I have an 87 Monte Carlo SS with a 350 and some work and I love it. Thats my daily driver. I had some money and came across a 87 Turbo T WE4 and I ended up buying it. I love it! I definetly would say buy it if you have:

1. The money to up-keep both cars,
2. A safe place to store the TR during the winter and bad weather (beacuse you really don't want to drive it everyday-people love to jack these cars)
3. and finally your ready to accept the adiction of Boost!

Good Luck and just don't settle for the first one you come across. When you find the right one you will know!

 

[madhat]

To me a Monte is cool, but its just a plain old V8 - I had a friend try to talk me into gettting a Monte rather than a Regal because "I'll be just as fast as a STOCK TR if you do some cam work or something!" but even at that, there isnt that wonderful feeling of boost that you get from even a stock TR. As much as I complain about my daily driver GN, it really hasnt had problems since I got the Poston trash the guy before me threw together. But, I am a very calm driver and only boost maybe gettting on the highway....I havent floored it in months. (If you drive hard, somethig WILL break and I dont have the money/time to fix it!) If you look at a T-top check it very carefully! Nothing is worse than getting a t-top car that is rusted out and leaks like Niagra falls.
Hey, something you may consider - get your hands on a 3.8 Turbo drivetrain and throw it in the Monte!
And for your future, you may consider a t-top car(makes getting the baby in and out of the back seat much easier!) But, man those back seat belts are obnoxious...

 

[DMan]

I don't think there are many 11 second GNs out there that are as reliable as a daily driver ought to be WITHOUT having spent a lot of money.

Next year, the final iteration of these cars will start their 20th anniversary. These are old cars with old parts. Unless you buy a nice low mile example, hoping for 11 seconds, and daily-driver-type-reliability, out of a 20 yo car with 80-100k miles on the odo is a crapshoot. Really. (I'm assuming your family is NOT going to spend $15-$20k on a nice low mile GN for you..would be nice if they did! )

You won't blow HG every time at the track IF you use race gas/water-alcohol/EGT gauge/Knock gauge..etc etc ie MONEY. There are no *major* gotchas with this car - it works great but - once you up the power level your pushing the reliability envelope - tranny will start to slip..engine may need a refresh..ie MONEY.

I LOVE these cars. Have owned mine for 14 years and I wouldn't part with it. But its not my daily driver, and I still have gone long stretches of time without it for engine/tranny rebuilds and whatnot.

As an alternative, I think you can have low 13s/high 12s reliably WITH relatively low investment. You can have 11s reliably, with higher investment.