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G-bodyRookie

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Joined
Jan 9, 2011
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I have a 1985 Buick Regal with 231 v6 nonturbo. Over time I would to get this as close to a grand national as I can. Engine is currently stock. But I have no idea where to start to acheive this. What are a few things can I do to get started in the right direction. im trying to learn by reading posts but none tell me where to start.
 
to notacarlo

I don't want a mustang. Im interested in putting money in this car over time.as a project and to learn about this car. I use to have onebehen I was a teen. So I wanna keep this and soup it up. Thx though
 
Maybe you misunderstood what I said.


You desire to convert a N/A V6 regal into a GN. More time and money to do this than sell what you have, save up for a bit and buy a TR.

Find a TR that needs some tlc if you want to learn. You are going backwards.


You can find a running TR for less than 5k that needs someone to learn on.
Restore one rather than create one.
 
This is gonna tell u how dumb I am. What is an TR? Time is no problem as im only 32. Money is and isn't a problem. Right now I only have $3000 to play with. And my calculator looks like 500+ a month to throw into it.
 
Oh and fyi I am a mustang guy. I prefer the 05 -08 body style as I use to have a 2005 mustang gt. And will be obtaining another in the near future. Somewhere while im midway in playing with this regal.
 
TR - Turbo Regal, encompases all of the turbo V6 Buicks.

you can clone the car, but a good motor and a tranny that can take it will break your budget. The engine you currently have cannot be converted to the turbo set up without really tearing into things.

Don't feel like any question is a dumb one. Like you stated before, you are here to learn. There is so much good information and wonderful resources here your head might explode.

Post some pics of what you have and a description of what you want to do with it.

Dan
 
Welcome to the dark side.


Here is the Turbo regal (TR) and Grand National (GN) starter pack.
Read everything you can.

Vortex Buicks

Turbo Regal Web Site


Knowing nothing about these cars and building one from scratch is not the wisest approach but good luck and welcome.
 
Buy a Turbo Buick (TB), ok and you will be a head of the game. With what you have to spend a month you will be ok,
 
Turbo Buicks are cheap right now. I too would start with a Turbo Buick. If you choose not to, just search and read. There is so much great info on this site and if you get stuck on something, post up and I'm sure you'll get help. Good luck.

Peter
 
your only course of action is to save up some cash then sell what you have and go buy a 1986-87 turbo buick. you would be looking at YEARS of blood,sweat,misery,bankruptcy and divorce if you try and convert what you have now in to what you want.
 
berserker6 said:
your only course of action is to save up some cash then sell what you have and go buy a 1986-87 turbo buick. you would be looking at YEARS of blood,sweat,misery,bankruptcy and divorce if you try and convert what you have now in to what you want.
Click to expand...

And when you get an 86-87 you could still be looking at years of blood, sweat, misery, bankruptcy and divorce but it will be well worth it in the end :rolleyes: :biggrin: Also welcome to the dark side :smile:
 
Yup....I have a Conversion car, the swap is pretty easy, ya just gotta switch everything over. The thing about a conversion is that it will nickel and dime you to death though.

This is what I paid:

Complete Motor- $2,000
Trans/Converter- $2,650
Rear-$600
Gas Tank/pump-$275

Total- $5525...and that doesn't include radiator..hoses..Engine harness..list goes on and on...by the time your done figure $6500...so that equals a GN....:D
 
Welcome we all love our cars and probably would have done things different when I was purchasing my 1987. Just trying to save you LOTS of money and time. A Regular regal would need way too many upgrades really the only thing you can use is the Body. The fuel lines,Almost every electrical wire, vacuum hose, Rear end, gas tank all would need to be out of a Turbo Buick car. It's all different parts. When you do go buy a Turbo Buick buy a Buick Grand National or T-type from 1986 to 1987. More upgrades and easier to make them go fast. Good luck and don't be afraid to keep asking question even if you don't have a turbo car. Be prepared to see ALOT of acronyms when people talk about these cars. Get to know people who have these cars locally so when you do purchase your 1st one you know what your looking at.
 
Thanks

album.php
You guys are pretty cool. I didnt expect to get so many responses. Everyones thoughts gave me alot to think about just in a matter of days of signing on, When I had wanted to attempt to convert it since I 1st bought the car. I will post a pic of it as soon as I figure out how, FYI, I replaced front bumper clip with a 85 style cutlass front clip. And my solution as far as which direction im headed will be to just squeeze a few horsepower just to give it a kick and use this as my daily driver, save a few grand and attempt to locate a TR or GN whichver seems possible at the time. Thanks again guys,

Apparently my camera pixels are too big (hi-def) Heres the link to what it looks like:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6156&id=100000568063402&l=6c6c06f779
 
Wow! Very clean. It is a nice daily at the least. If I were you, I would see about locating a blow thru carb set-up. This will give you the power of a turbo, and the quick torque at the low end. You should be able to locate one for around.. 700$? I think. It also should not affect the internals of the engine as it does not push that much power. This should get you by till you find that TR or that 87 engine.

Nix
 
Blow through carb setup is that something like the aftermarket carbs I see that say something like 650cfm or whatever or is it completely different
 
It is a turbo set-up that runs through a carburetter. Hence the "blow through" because you are technically blowing air through the carb instead of just the carb sucking it in. If you are interested in this I suggest checking out the section called "Before Black". Post in the Before Black BS'ing thread for a quick answer because these guys are usually on. I myself, have no knowledge of these set ups. I own a Hot Air Fuel Injected car.
 
Blow thru carb.

Thats definitely an alternative because its already stock. Like I said im to the point now im just trying to get a descent kick during a daily drive , until I can puchase the TR or GN. Thanks for that info, im gonna look into that
 
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