Engine is in the shop... recommendations?

[T Rubble]

Well, I pulled the motor of my 1987 we4 and took it to my local machinist. It blew a head gasket, not sure of the cause but replacing everything that we think could have caused it. We are replacing the bearings since they got worn due to the chocolate milk oil. It has forged rods and pistons but what I am wondering is what if anything else do you think I would need to upgrade to a GT6776BB turbo in terms of the engine since it is already open and out? Thanks for any help...

 

[Boost231]

put a nice cam in it and put some better heads on the car.

 

[T Rubble]

I have the stock heads with a valve job and a small cam already what would you suggest?

 

[Boost231]

put some max ported irons and a nice roller cam. what cam you have in there now?

 

[87we410877]

Billit caps, align hone, main studs, all depends on how much HP you wanna make, type of driving and $ you want to spend.

 

[T Rubble]

The cam in there right now is a 208/206 or something close to that. If I put the BB turbo in there is it likely to crack the block or cause any damage?

 

[T Rubble]

Also, the block has all ARP bolts, and main studs i think.

 

[BlackBandit]

Well, I pulled the motor of my 1987 we4 and took it to my local machinist. It blew a head gasket, not sure of the cause but replacing everything that we think could have caused it. We are replacing the bearings since they got worn due to the chocolate milk oil. It has forged rods and pistons but what I am wondering is what if anything else do you think I would need to upgrade to a GT6776BB turbo in terms of the engine since it is already open and out? Thanks for any help...

How many miles on the engine? It's not like there's really anything that can cause a headgasket to fail in an engine as long as the tolerances where correct and it was assembled proberly. Maybe if you had a warped deck or head when it was assembled, but that should be checked. Other than that it's probably operator error. (sorry) IE: it was overheated, detonated, there was pre-ignition, over revved, that sort of stuff.

As for what needs to be done to it to run that turbo, the short answer is probably nothing special. If you take care of the bearings and check and make sure it assembled properly you can run that turbo. Now if you want to run that turbo hard then, like 87we410877 said, how much power are you going to make? If you're going for 11's I wouldn't do anything special as you've probably got plenty there to get it done. I mean, the stock builds held up in the 11's. If you want 10's you might want billet stuff and maybe some ported heads. All depends on where you want to go and how you want to get there.

 

[Brer Rabbit]

Steel crank and two middle billet mains.

Its a must in my opinion. its peace of mind, knowing the crank is flexing around tearing up ur brand new bearings. Especially now that the prices have come down soo much.

 

[T Rubble]

The motor has about 100k on it and had only 8k on the most recent rebuild according to the previous owner. I never saw more than 3-4 degrees of knock retard on the scanmaster while I was driving it. The cause of the blown headgasket is still unknown to me but the thermostat was in suspect prior to the blown gasket. The heads are going to get decked and they were warped slightly according to the machine shop; could they have been like that since I bought the car because it has been drinking water since I bought it? Also, where can I get these cheap parts everyone is always talking about (what is the newer cheaper stuff compared to the older more expensive)?

 

[T Rubble]

Also, thought about a different cam... what specs would you recommend for more power? I am throwing all my money into this already what is another $100 or so? Would like to run into the high-mid 10's or so pretty consistently as far as power when the boost is turned up and still be able to drive normally on the streets with it turned down.

 

[BlackBandit]

Give us a complete list of what you have from injectors to transmission and you'll get several opinions on how to meet your goals.

 

[T Rubble]

3200 stall
60 lb injectors
200r4 rebuilt
stock heads with valve job and minor porting
208/206 cam I dont remember exact specs would have to dig through papers.
ARP bolts and main studs
70mm throttlebody and upper plenum
Precision FMIC
3" downpipe
3" catback
.30 over forged pistons
forged rods
Alky injection

 

[T Rubble]

bump, let me know what u think

 

[T Rubble]

oh yea, should I get cometic gaskets?

 

[BlackBandit]

If it was me, and it's important to note here that I don't have a mid 10 second Buick, I would get a good set of heads, a girdle, steel crank and a roller cam. Call one of the vendors and see what they recommend for cam specs. I would guess a 206/206 would get you there easily. And yes, for a 10 second car I would run cometics and studs. HTH. james

 

[Hot Air]

Is the machine shop one that regularily works on turbo Buick V-6 motors (i.e., one of the advertisers on turbobuick.com)? If not, pull it out of the local machine shop and take it to one of the Buick vendors NOW! If you don't, odds are high that you will get to do the work again.
Conrad

 

[workingdan]

Is the machine shop one that regularily works on turbo Buick V-6 motors (i.e., one of the advertisers on turbobuick.com)? If not, pull it out of the local machine shop and take it to one of the Buick vendors NOW! If you don't, odds are high that you will get to do the work again.
Conrad

What needs to be done to a buick V-6 that is different than say a small block chevy?

 

[Hot Air]

Let me preface this by telling you that I have no direct knowledge of the rebuilding experience. My TB engine is still in it's virginal state.

But, numerous past posts on turbobuick.com, turbobuicks.com, and tb.com have indicated that a history of successful machine shop work on a SBC is no indication of successful work on a TB. IF you are capable of directing all the machining work (including appropriate clearances for every single item and step), then a machine shop that is "in control and capable" will be fine. If you are depending on the machine shop to know what the appropriate clearances are for a TB, BEWARE!

I personally would not let a non-turbo buick shop touch my engine. Our supporting vendors (Jack Cotton, Greg Anderson, Cal Hartline, Weber, etc) have extensive knowledge on "what works" and "what doesn't work" such that it is, in MY opinion, short-sighted to go to anyone else. The only thing worse than paying good money for engine work is paying it a second time to get it done right.
Conrad

 

[turbofabricator]

If your machinist sets the clearance for a SBC, then they'll be too loose. The crank needs to have .0017" clearance on the rods and mains. The timing cover needs to be modified and set-up REAL tight. I like to keep oil pump thrust clearance to .0005"-.001" (One thousandths of an inch or less) It takes alot of patience to get everything right. The machinst I use will not touch anything of mine unless I am standing right there. He builds 700 hp Sprint car engines and will not do ANYTHIG unless I give him EXACT dimensions to work to. He thinks I am NUTS, but he will do as I ask.
Ask around and find some shop, even 100 miles away, that has good results building a turbo Buick. It is worth the effort. It sounds crazy, but experiance goes a LONG way wit these engines. I know a local macine shop that KILLED stageII engines (two of them) all together 5 times or more. He also builds some of the highest power blown BBC there is, but he had a hell of a time getting the Buick V6 to work. (He now does a decent job, though.)

You really need to get a good set of heads. Iron heads work best for the street. If you primarily race the car, step up to a set of TA or GN1 aluminum heads.
PM me if you need any help.