Hot rod a NA 3.8?

[WE287GN]

Not sure if this belongs here or not..,
But after reading about charlief1's 82 GN project , and reading a little on some carbed turbo stuff..The thought crossed my mind about using a 3.8 NA setup for a drivetrain solution in my extra 84 Regal body..
I was thinking slap a NA cam in it 4bbl carb/intake set up and utilize a set of hooker turbo headers I have..
Just throwing this up here in case anyone wants to join in..
I was thinking this would be way more interesting than a 350 swap..And I already have a NA 3.8 and hei dist , and headers..
Wonder what I could expect from it??? BAd idea??

TIA

 

[dr_frankenstein]

sounds like alot of fun.

gona need a 4bbl intake for sure, an edelbrock or the stocker is a great piece.

the hooker headers are AWESOME used in a NA application.

but i wouldnt expect tooo much... maybe 250hp? 3 if your really trying.

i bet a carbed turbo system wouldnt set ya back that much.

A.j.

 

[WE287GN]

Hmm, food for thought Dr.. Have do do some more research.. Wouldnt we be talking turbo pistons and all of that good stuff? Or do the NA's have the same dish just with out the skirts??
Funny My first Buick ever was an 84 Regal 4.1/2004r light blue/dk blue top with the rally wheels..Dint know what I had till years later..It was as close as a GN as I could get at the time LOL..

 

[dr_frankenstein]

Hmm, food for thought Dr.. Have do do some more research.. Wouldnt we be talking turbo pistons and all of that good stuff? Or do the NA's have the same dish just with out the skirts??
Funny My first Buick ever was an 84 Regal 4.1/2004r light blue/dk blue top with the rally wheels..Dint know what I had till years later..It was as close as a GN as I could get at the time LOL..

yea it would want turbo pistons and all that jazz, but it seems that alot of people get by with a NA bottom and have some fun. i mean, NA 3.8s are everywhere... so you make a mistake and cook it.... another one is cheep (atleast in my area)


going on the NA route, it would be alot of fun too - a cheep melling flat tappet, pop a set of z28 springs on the heads, maybe spend the time to go through the oilpump. should be a riot.

A.j.

 

[WE287GN]

"going on the NA route, it would be alot of fun too - a cheep melling flat tappet, pop a set of z28 springs on the heads, maybe spend the time to go through the oilpump. should be a riot.

A.j."

Kinda what I was thinking, just keep it simple, dont get me wrong, the carbed turbo thing looks fun, but I am thinking save that for a resto project down the road, maybe find an 82 or 83 ..
I have some left over dual exhaust, just need to adapt to the hookers..have some fun welding ..lol..Man I am going to be in trouble ..lol

 

[49-blues]

200hp and 25 mpg-been there done that,still have a complete true dual catback custom exhaust system including headers if anyone needs them.

 

[WE287GN]

Just entertaining the idea for now 49-blues..
what was your exact setup if ya dont mind, just for conversation sake.
cam, pistons,intake, carb?
I'm kinda just thinking about using as much of my spare part collection,.
Thanks

 

[charlief1]

Have some fun

Kinda what I was thinking, just keep it simple, dont get me wrong, the carbed turbo thing looks fun, but I am thinking save that for a resto project down the road, maybe find an 82 or 83 ..
I have some left over dual exhaust, just need to adapt to the hookers..have some fun welding ..lol..Man I am going to be in trouble ..lol

Why do I have this kind of effect on people? LOL:biggrin: Do yourself a favor and cut the drivers side a little to shorten so you can do a cross over. The 3.8 loves short pipes with long collectors, it really does. Do a 2.5" until you join both sides and then go 3" to the cat and then split from there, or go single. As far as intake I prefer the 4.1 and if you look I have a thread on how to mod it for better flow. It's not hard but it does take some time to do. I have 1 just about ready to go but I'm not cheap unless you're a REALLY cute lady. lol:biggrin: Port the SNOT out of the heads and switch the exhaust valves out to the TTA ones and cut the guides real short and add seals to the exhaust. Cam is up to you and I think Aj said PAW has one at a decent price that's just above the stock one fairly cheap. If you do it right 200 isn't a problem and in my old Skyhawk I even twised the frame (unichasis) so you can make some power for sure. There are several things you can do to make the car take off faster and I will be adding them to the restomod thread when I get to that point so keep an eye on it.:biggrin:
And yes, this is the place to post it.:biggrin:

 

[WE287GN]

Thanks a bunch guys,
going to sit on this for a while, but I am pretty sure I can make it happen.
If I do , wouldnt do to much to the long block except a cam maybe..
Biggest hurdle I see for now will be picking up a intake/carb, and all the little stuff to make it work..
Like your idea about thhe crossover, this way I could utilize the factory cat flange..more pondering..

 

[charlief1]

If all you plan on doing is the cam change then PM Aj (dr_frankenstein) and get the info on the cam. You shouldn't have to change anything but the valve springs and everything clears.

 

[dr_frankenstein]

PAW has 3 grinds available...... but i would reckon there all actually melling grinds.

theres a few melling grinds on ebay too...

price is anywhere from 75 to 145$

A.j.

 

[notacarlo]

Stage II NA V6:biggrin:

 

[dr_frankenstein]

Stage II NA V6:biggrin:

So I guess the cheap part goes out the window huh?

LOL

Buick and women fall into the same bracket..... pain in the ass and expensive as all hell.

A.j.

 

[notacarlo]

So I guess the cheap part goes out the window huh?

LOL

Buick and women fall into the same bracket..... pain in the ass and expensive as all hell.

A.j.

I'ts like you can read my mind.

 

[WE287GN]

If all you plan on doing is the cam change then PM Aj (dr_frankenstein) and get the info on the cam. You shouldn't have to change anything but the valve springs and everything clears.

Thanks for the info, ya, would want to try to keep this simple for now, but have enough sets of heads where I could work a set kinda back burner ish.. , trying to balance two other projects

PAW has 3 grinds available...... but i would reckon there all actually melling grinds.

theres a few melling grinds on ebay too...

price is anywhere from 75 to 145$

A.j.

Thanks for the info, will check those out..I am assuming none of these are pushing the limits on lift?

Stage II NA V6:biggrin:

I am guessing this could be fun as well. If I came across one of these I think I would definately save it for my GN.lol

Thanks a bunch guys

 

[dr_frankenstein]

no, the lift on those is resonable, more than stock - but enough to tame with cheep springs.

its nice to see somebody having FUN! not the usual.... if I do this will this and this happen and bla bla bla............

**** drop the 2 barrel in her and a 200 shot of nos and lets see how far it goes!

wooo hoo

I love carnage.

A.j.

 

[WE287GN]

no, the lift on those is resonable, more than stock - but enough to tame with cheep springs.

its nice to see somebody having FUN! not the usual.... if I do this will this and this happen and bla bla bla............

**** drop the 2 barrel in her and a 200 shot of nos and lets see how far it goes!

wooo hoo

I love carnage.

A.j.

heh, the thought has crossed my mind with the nos..but this is all just talk right now..
I dont mond spending on a new cam and lifters, have everything else, except, intake/carb..just need to find a good deal and I could be off and running..got to keep this on the cheap, for now..

Have plenty of converter i think, stock d5, nl art carr..
think I can score a mcss 3.73 really cheap..
my mind is wandering too much
was just reading a post on compresion and piston availabitlity..my long block as some good cylinder ridge..
Its funny cause my 70 350 pistons are suposedly a higher comp than later years(i think its because of the pistons),
could buy the 10:1's for that and use the factorys in the 3.8..But I have a feeling the cylinders are beyond stock bore..
Again just having fun conversatin for now and thinking out loud..

 

[eastwoodad]

All i gotta say is....DO IT!!! They can be fun little engines to mess with. Adding to what the others have said, get some compression in that thing, either by milling the heads/block, steel shim head gasket, or both. Port the heads yourself, using the info/tips/tricks found by searching this site. As long as you dont have too much machining of the rotating assembly or bore, you should be able to put together a pretty inexpensive 200 or so horsepower. Then comes the 100 shot...it will take it.

It has been widely circulated that stock heads won't take any more than .420 lift and the valveguides need to be cut. Cut them anyway to put better seals on and to put seals on the exhaust guides as well.

Here's what mine sounds like...the specs are in the box labeled "more info" on the youtube page.

YouTube - 1981 Buick Regal V6

 

[WE287GN]

All i gotta say is....DO IT!!! They can be fun little engines to mess with. Adding to what the others have said, get some compression in that thing, either by milling the heads/block, steel shim head gasket, or both. Port the heads yourself, using the info/tips/tricks found by searching this site. As long as you dont have too much machining of the rotating assembly or bore, you should be able to put together a pretty inexpensive 200 or so horsepower. Then comes the 100 shot...it will take it.

It has been widely circulated that stock heads won't take any more than .420 lift and the valveguides need to be cut. Cut them anyway to put better seals on and to put seals on the exhaust guides as well.

Here's what mine sounds like...the specs are in the box labeled "more info" on the youtube page.

YouTube - 1981 Buick Regal V6

Really dig the video..Very Nice..Like the blue motor color. I will consider these mods and try to read up on it..very good info, thanks..
Its funny dont know a thing about nitrous, i do hear referances to the diff style setups..
How would tat get incorporated into a carbed setup?

 

[charlief1]

All i gotta say is....DO IT!!! They can be fun little engines to mess with. Adding to what the others have said, get some compression in that thing, either by milling the heads/block, steel shim head gasket, or both. Port the heads yourself, using the info/tips/tricks found by searching this site. As long as you dont have too much machining of the rotating assembly or bore, you should be able to put together a pretty inexpensive 200 or so horsepower. Then comes the 100 shot...it will take it.

It has been widely circulated that stock heads won't take any more than .420 lift and the valveguides need to be cut. Cut them anyway to put better seals on and to put seals on the exhaust guides as well.

Here's what mine sounds like...the specs are in the box labeled "more info" on the youtube page.

YouTube - 1981 Buick Regal V6

Aaron has a thread on his car somewhere on here so you might wnat to look up his posts. Noice jobe but he does need to update it for the rest of us.:biggrin:

Really dig the video..Very Nice..Like the blue motor color. I will consider these mods and try to read up on it..very good info, thanks..
Its funny dont know a thing about nitrous, i do hear referances to the diff style setups..
How would that get incorporated into a carbed setup?

Several ways. You can get a boost plate that goes under the carb or drill into the intake and put a pipe in it or drill each runner and add nozzles there. As far as max lift on the heads uncut you can get away with a .448 and not upset anything on the exhaust, the intakes with the seals on them can only go to .420. I did some measuring one night because of the old debate. It's on here somewhere.