I'm a total newbie to turbo Buicks!

jbeier

Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
I'm definitely not a newbie to turbo cars, but I just got my first Turbo Buick, an '84 T-Type. Traded my '92 Vette for it. So far I've ripped the top end apart to discover blown head gaskets. Luckily, it was leaking combustion gases into the lifter valley and not making a coolant/oil milkshake. I bought OEM style Victor Rienz gaskets for it and I'm waiting on the ARP hardware before I start reassembly. The heads and block are still flat, amazingly, so things are looking good. While I have everything apart, I'm doing my fair share of cleaning and refinishing and repair and all that good stuff. I know I'll catch crap for it, but I've also decided to add a front mount intercooler as well. I'll be changing the layout to put the throttle body post turbo to eliminate the potential for lag on a long charge pipe run. There will be a good amount of custom fabrication on this car, so I'll be sure to start a build thread if I can find a good place to put it without pissing off the hot air guys. I have respect for the guys who make the hot air cars fast with no IC, but I'm taking the easy way out, being a fabricator.
 
Have fun and don't be afraid to think outside the box. Good or bad. Post your honest results and you'll get respect here.
Also, use the search function to learn from other people's mistakes. Too many people here wont try something new or different because "That's not how it's done"!
I say "BS". Many people here say that things wont work or shouldn't be tried and have absolutely NO data to back up their point.

This is your thread. There are no stupid questions here. Ask anything you want. I find it refreshing to here an outsider's point of view. What else are you thinking of trying?

Welcome to the site and happy spooling.

Mike Barnard
 
Thanks, Mike. I plan on doing just that. I'm going to glean as much info as I can here along the way, but I'm also not going to let anyone tell me what can or can't be done. One thing I keep seeing is that people are saying the easiest and cheapest way to go intercooled is to buy an '86-'87 setup. That may be true if you can't weld, but I've always been about making my own parts when feasible. I'll start a new thread to post pics and progress in, as well as results when I get it on the road.
 
Note: There are quite a few differences between the "hot air" non- IC engines and the 86-87 IC engines. It's not quite as simple as slapping an IC on the car to get the same results. Brent on here (Boost231) took a hot air car almost into the tens before going ICed. I'll send him a link to this thread to get his input.

Buy the way, what state do you live in?
 
I'm in eastern PA, just north of Allentown. I'm not looking to go tens, just want to see what I can do with the least amount of cash tied up. The front mount I got as a freebie from a buddy who decided not to use it on his Procharged Impala. I'll be doing fuel and ECM upgrades as well, as it actually seems pretty cheap to swap in a later ecm and get a turbotweak chip with the 42 lb injectors. I'll be wiring up my own version of the hotwire harness for the fuel pump. The only thing I'm "wasting" money on is an external wastegate, since I don't trust the stock one. The actuator seems way stiff for a car supposed to be running 14-15 psi. That's probably why the original head gaskets popped. I'll honestly be super happy with mid to high 12's if it spools quick. Then I can turn my attention to making it handle. I love drag racing, but I used to love auto crossing and it's been too long, and I need to fill the hole left by trading in the Vette.
 
Note: There are quite a few differences between the "hot air" non- IC engines and the 86-87 IC engines. It's not quite as simple as slapping an IC on the car to get the same results. Brent on here (Boost231) took a hot air car almost into the tens before going ICed. I'll send him a link to this thread to get his input.

Buy the way, what state do you live in?
Slight typo, almost went 9s. Had the power but didnt go to the track much..

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