High Mileage Regal Gs, Worth Modding???

[eskimo619]

Hey guys, im the new owner of a 2001 Buick Regal Gs Joseph abboud edition. It was my buddies who got a new truck and was just going to have it junked because it needed a little bit of work he didnt want to deal with it anymore. I got it for $350 an its in relatively good shape. Has about 185,000 miles on it. All stock, not that well maintained through the years. Im doing all the basics, oil change, supercharger oil, both belts and a few pullies, plugs and wires. Also needs a front wheel bearing but im going to buy the whole hub assembly since its cheaper. And needs a new battery. That out of the way are the miles to high to think about modifying it a bit? Im not looking to go crazy, maybe get it into the mid-high 13's as that seems achievable on a low budget. Ive done some searching and most seem to have a different opinion. Id rather not change the headers but im open to most other mods. Im in the process of making my own intake, whether its to the fender well or not im not certain yet. What do you guys think? And what woukd be the best route and bang for my buck mods? Thanks

 

[we4Mateo]

Cold intake, smaller pulley (3.4"), and a new reprogrammed ECM. With good gas, that'll get you in the 13's with a good hook. You don't need to do much to get a lot more out of those cars.

 

[eskimo619]

I have read about a smaller pulley and a modular setup is what i was thinking about in the future for ease of swapping pulleys, but i also read that its best to max out the stock pulley do several other mods first and then look into the smaller pulley and a tune. I dont want to risk it not being daily driveable or something breaking since it does have a lot of miles. As for a cai i was thinking of running 4" aluminum intake piping to a kandn cone filter near the fender well but not quite directly into it. Ive read a lot of people use pvc and i saw zzp website has flexible intake tubing. Is there anyhing wrong with aluminum piping, also what if i ran 3.5" piping instead? Im just trying to keep things basic. Maybe ubend delete, possible resonator delete and ad magnaflow muffler for exhaust. 180 thermostat, maybe colder plugs. Its just everyones gone a different route so its tough to know which routes best.

 

[bison]

Replace the ex manifolds and reprogram and run well into the 13's

 

[eskimo619]

I was hoping to not have to replace the manifolds but i did come across what seems like a sweet deal on some speed daddy headers that come with everything to replace the cat and upend all at once for under $300 shipped. Im actually considering it. But to be honest id have no idea how to go about doing a job like this. Luckily i have a truck i use daily so it wouldn't matter if it didn't get done in one day. If i go that route id also replace the stock muffler with maybe a magna flow and decide wether or not to delete the resonator. I should have the an intake setup soon. Ive read about the colder plugs, 180 thermostat and then maybe a smaller pulley and tune. I don't think i'll dig into the motor at all unless i found parts real cheap for a cam/rockers. Seeing as how i got the car for $350 i still wouldn't be into it for all that much if i did go this route with the headers. Id just hope the miles don't come back to haunt me and have something break after modifying it.

 

[TurboHungry]

Just be aware the engine will take the mods even with the high mileage, it's the tranny at that mileage even stock you gotta hope keeps going. Mine went at 173k and if you search on the regalgs.org forum you will find some of them have went out as early as 120k on factory engines. I babied the tranny, didn't do any tire slipping unless it was straight and I didn't sit there and burn me off either. In the end the hills did it in and the temps were even ok through the dying process. The best priced good rebuild online with shipping will run 2k easy and these cars won't hold value like our classic TRs. My opinion would be to get everything working well and drive it, maybe make your own intake cause supercharger whine is cool but the HP bug might bite you and now your $350 car is past $5000 cause it needs to be faster.


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[eskimo619]

That was my exact worry was the transmission, it feels okay now but it could go anytime. And since i bought the car for $350 i dont want to get to deep into it and be able to hopefully come out even. It needs about $250 in maintanance parts with a battery being the most costly. I shohld be into it for $600 total hopefully ready to go. That being said i may keep the mods to a minimum, as far as the intake goes ive read and see a few different pictures and i cant decide how to go about doing it. I thought of leaving the stock rubber throttle body peice, using a right size aluminum intake pipe to a kandn cone filter behind the headlight or maybe sticking into the fenderwell but not all the way. Is aluminum pipe okay? Seems a a lot of people are using pvc pipe or the flexible hose that can be had at zzp performance. Is one really better than the other? Also is 3.5" pipe okay or 4" really that much better? Besides that maybe ill do the ubend delete since its cheap, resonator delete and a new muffler. All pretty cheap and free up some flow.

 

[we4Mateo]

Replace the ex manifolds and reprogram and run well into the 13's

The manifolds don't get you much on these cars unless you are pushing 12's. Thermostat and plugs is a good idea, but the best bang for your buck is pulley, CAI, and a tune. u-bend delete won't get you much either until you're deep in the 13's. Maybe my car didn't respond like others though. I highly doubt you'll get well into the 13's without a pulley. The boost doesn't change with a tune, so that'll hold you back until you push more through.

 

[eskimo619]

I think im going to hold off on the pulley and header route for now to make sure the car doesnt break down on me. I figure the intake, ubend, res delete and new muffler are all cheap ways to free up flow both in and out. And ill throw on the 180 thermostat, new fuel filter cause im sure it needs it, new plugs and wires, fresh supercharger oil, 2 new belts and a few new pullies and should be good to go, and a new battery. With all that said if anything should break im still not into it for that much, maybe $700 total with the extra exhaust mods including the cost of the car. And i may use it for daily driving with my truck to save gas, or flip it. Not entirely sure yet. Its growing more on me each day.

 

[87natl]

The exhaust work should be your second mod, after the Cai. You cant just drop pulleys on these cars and expext them to hold up. Even stock pullied cars register knock untill you free up the exhaust. The headers are a terrific bang for your buck. Start there, and then see how far you want to go. Oh, and go easy on that trans....

 

[eskimo619]

I think what im going to end up doing is leaving the car stock for now, ill probably do a stock replacement k&n air filter but otherwise the basic maintanance ive mentioned previously. Im figuring its my safest bet considering the miles and the last thing i need is for something like the tranny to let go. I plan to sell the car once its ready to go since i should be able to make some decent money on it with what ill be into it for. If it had less miles i would definatly be modifying it. Maybe in the future i can pick up another low mileage gs and have my fun with it. Any opinions on what i could expect to get for the car money wise? Should have no issues mechanically once i run through everything. Body in good shape, no damage just some scratches and two spots it was keyed. Josesh abboud edition fully loaded interior in good shape besides driver seat has cracks but to be expected. Im going to shampoo the carpets. I know what the book value it but i know realistically its worth what someone would pay.

 

[TurboHungry]

No idea on value other than start with book. Mine was worth about 2500 but it was a 98, and that is before the tranny died. I got 800, but this was a very nice car garaged and well kept. It didn't have any of the common problems like clear coat peel, DIC dimming or window regulators. Btw I had a 4inch inner diameter intake, that's bigger than then throttle body is I think that's overkill. If I remember the throttle body is something like 3.6 so a pipe that's 3.5 should still yield good flow. For a cheap exhaust mod you can grab a cat back off a Grand Prix GT or GTP which have smaller resonators and dual mufflers. This will give you a little growl you can hear outside the car, with all the sound dampening you won't here it inside.


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[eskimo619]

I guess ill start at low book value and work my way down which is roughly $2300. If i cant seem to get a good price for it, i mean anything over say $1000 is profit anyway but if i cant even get that i might just start throwin some mods into it and see how it holds up.

 

[murphinator]

I agree with Bison and 87natl that if your dropping pullies you should be ditching the manifolds , headers are best but zzp powerlog and ported rear with a 3" bolt in downpipe which eliminates the second biggest restriction ( double wall downpipe) and the biggest restriction ( u bend) are a viable option also. I recently sold my 220,000 mile bolt on gs toa buddy of mine, modded and running mid to low 13's for its last 120,000 miles he is just starting to have tranny issues (226k), I sold him a 130k mile engine/trans/cradle/halfshafts ,rack etc.....out of a parts car for $450 last week , if notcomfortable putting a used trans in a stock rebuild can be under a grand depending on who you know and you can add the gemini chain for under $200 which puts it at high 12's capable as long as your not trying to dead hook it .to make a bulletproof trans is close to $4k but I have seen stock trans crack11's a few times but they dont last at that power level ( check out the guy that went 11.8 with under a grand including purchase of car on regal forum).

I swapped my MPS back to stock size pulley (3.8") for one pass to give a guy I had beaten all night a chance to beat me , had my worst 60 of the night and still went 13.91 @101 I feel if I had commited to spending a night tuning for and making passes on the 3.8 pulley I could have gotten into the 13.7's heres the pass :

car had just over 200k at the time. I have always wanted to take a stock internal stock pulley car into the 12's ,more timing on the wagon wheel pulley , weight reduction , removing all the parasitic drag accessories (AC/PS/WP) and cutting the "parachute" out of the rear bumper cover would have gotten that car real close IMO

 

[murphinator]

also dont buy new mods get on the regal forum and buy used mods you will get further for less and can always turn around and sell the mods again for approx. what you paid if your smart whether demodding or taking it the next step , you can also buy modded cars that got hit or rotted out etc... some people dont want to put the time/effort into demodding - I bought a gtp that ran 13.3 for $600 once ( 2 door with torque star wheels-lightest gm w body wheel , headers , modified stock rockers, intake , 3.4 pulley , tune thats it and ran 13.3 guy that built it had a low 12 second cammed/intercooled car so his tune and track experience along with his dr's from his other car helped it run that well , it was his wifes daily lol

 

[eskimo619]

So it looks like i have decided to do some mods after all. I figure since i got the car for $350 and it does run and drive well i might as well throw some mods on it. Ive already replaced both belts and a bad pulley and changed the supercharger oil. Regular oil was changed about a thousand miles ago so its good for a while still. I have spark plug wires being shipped as well as a k&n drop in air filter. Once the car is fully maintained i will begin modifications. Heres my list. I know i should be doing headers and the price isn't bad at all, its just not the route I'm willing to go right now. Planned mods are

zzp stainless front powerlog,
zzp ceramic coated crossover pipe,
zzp 3" cat less down pipe,
autolite 104 spark plugs,
180 thermostat,
zzp high flow fuel filter,
custom cai/fenderwell intake with cone k&n filter.
Tune and a modular pulley system with a 3.5/3.6 pulley.

Not sure which one at the moment, may do a 3.4 depending on how she runs with all the mods. May do an aftermarket muffler as well but not sure yet. Want to keep it as stock looking as possible, and not to loud but sounding nice under load. Ive looked for parts used but nothing coming up on a few forums i checked. Even so all these parts new would run me about $650. I friend of a friend might have some leftover parts from his supercharged 3800 like an intake, tuned pcm and modular pulley system. I would just need the right pulley for my mods so i might have a hookup on those few parts which would help out. The way i see it, I'm $350 into the car purchase, and at full cost of all the new parts another $650 in mods. For a grand total, hopefully less i should be pretty well off into the 13's. Ive read mid 13's is what this setup could yield. As far as maintenance cost goes I'm in for another maybe $250 with a battery being most of that. So call it $1250 total when all is said and done. I feel like thats a pretty sweet deal. What do you guys think? And what kind of numbers should this setup get me? Hopefully buying most of this when taxes come in.

 

[eskimo619]

This is the car

 

[murphinator]

zzp stainless front powerlog,
zzp ceramic coated crossover pipe,
zzp 3" cat less down pipe,
automate 104 spark plugs,
180 thermostat,
zzp high flow fuel filter,
custom cai/fenderwell intake with cone k&n filter.
Tune and a modular pulley system with a 3.5/3.6 pulley.

.

that list is a good start and will change the whole attitude of the car in a sinister direction... I would swap the ceramic crossover for something more likely to give a measurable gain - maybe a cutout or a stage1 throttlebody ?

as for what it will et that will mostly rely on your ability as a racer to get it down the track , pick good racing weather etc...show up on an 80* humid day and mash it on regular tires it will run 15 seconds lol , learning how to 60 foot a fwd takes some practice , all my decent passes have been on DR's using the "cable mod" ( jack the car up in the rear then cable the strut to the rear subframe to trap strut in fully extended position using stainless 3/16 cable and cable clamps ) ** for track use only car will ride like ass and you will feel every pebble.

You havent mentioned your location but here in the northeast where negative density altitude is easy to find spring and fall your setup should go 13's on any sub 2.0 60 foot pass

 

[eskimo619]

I figured id do the crossover pipe since it will be another fresh new exhaust component over the old stock one. I considered the throttle body but for $200 its a tough call and the crossover pipe being $60 its a little easier to swallow, plus if it lowers under hood/throttlebody temps even a little then i'll take it. Im located in Southern Massachusetts. I don't really plan on going to the track due to the tranny having high miles, but if i get around to it i would make a pass or 2. Im just hoping for the mid 13's power with the mods i have planned. The tires don't have much left in them especially as easy as this thing already spins tires. Im not liking the rims that are on it currently, they may be the most base ugly rims offered. If i can find a good deal i'll get some rims off another regal or similar. Also any suggestion on regular street tires? And size? Id like a little more bite so if i can go a little bigger/wider than stock that would be nice. I just love the whole idea of a car that looks so unassuming but has some serious balls. I have a truck i daily drive so this is my toy/gas saver for when i do use it.

 

[murphinator]

well your in luck for good racing weather new england dragway is not far for you , I am an hour from there. Those wheels are the same ones my 02 gs I used to race a lot had , they are the lightest that buick used on 97-04 gs 18 pounds , but pontiac grand prix torque stars are the lightest at 16. not any street tires other than dr's that will stand a chance at hooking a modded L67 , the problem with hooking a L67 w body is that the sc makes all its power early , right off idle coupled with weight coming off the drive wheels trying to get out of the hole.

A combo like your building will go up in a ball on a 30mph stomp on street tires in good weather . fyi one of the hardest things on the trans is the off and on power caused by the traction control - even when you shut off the trac control on the center console there are still layers present in the tune to fully disable it you need to pull the fuse , passenger dash end bottom row , 3rd slot in from the left red 10 amp , this kils abs/trac control/magnasteer and will give you a trac control and abs light on the dash , those of us that race them remove the fuse to gain predictability , personally to help limit power out of the hole at the track I loaded another tune with reduced timing in the cells it would hit between releasing the brake at raised rpm ( brake stand) right through the cells it would hit in the first 60-100 feet by trial and error

That looks like a heck of a nice abboud for short money...