is the spearco ic setup "hook up & run?

[usetaboost]

just wondering if the 1100 spent on a setup is worth it and if anything else is needed as far as tuning. i will probably have an 85 gn in 2-3 weeks, needs rockers, door, and small patch in quarter but the rest is fine. 20k on motor and rb turbo. car is pretty much stock. what are the best bang for the buck mods to start off with? and what are the most common problems with these cars. i appreciate all the feedback you guys give me. this site kicks butt!

 

[skostur79]

sound like what i bought,

fixed the body for now ,still needs a mint paint job but
love crusing around in it

start with the basic
k&n, more air
hotter spark
chip
loose the cat or gut it
elec fans help too
dont for get the gauges!

send some pics when u get it

 

[usetaboost]

was not aware the 85 doesn't have electric fans. do i have to get one from an 86/87 or will another application work. could u give details on how to wire it up properly and have it look good and work right?

 

[85 ttypewh1]

Congrats if you get it. Do not be discouraged about people who say you should have got a 86-87. Yes they are faster and more and cheaper parts, but they cost more to buy ( the car ), and they get stolen alot more than the 84-85 model because the theives know that they can sell the motor and i/c setup to a hot air guy for a couple grand. If you are going to mod it do it right. Searc, search and search some more about diff mods you can do and do it right the first time. Go to www.gnttype.org and www.turbobuicks.com and www.vortexbuick.com to get all the info you will ever need. What i would suggest first is the spring cleaning on the gnttype site. Then on the same site do the 87 ecm swap along with the coil and module swap. Then get a scanmaster,triple a pillar pod with a boost/vac gauge, knock gauge, and a/f gauge, then get the console dual pod with oil psi and water temp. then you can start modding, i would recommend these mods in this order:
1. 340 fuel pump with hot wire kit
2. adjustable billet fuel regulator
3. fuel psi gauge for the rail, just hook it up when adj fuel psi then take it off, they tend to go bad from eng. vibration.
4. adjustable wastegate
the following mods can be done whenever no certian order
5. get rid of airbox and get k&n cone filter and hook directly on maf
6. drivers valve cover breather instaed of oil fill tube
7. bypass coolant lines a t/b
8. hooker cat back with aerochambers (NO FLOWMASTERS)
9. a 3 inch dp with wastegate puck in elbow of d/p ( only need this if you ever plan on running 11s or quicker if not going that fast gwet a 2.5 inch atr dp.
10.one air bag for right rear coil spring
11. trans cooler
12. bigger turbo
13 bigger injectors
14. 3 inch maf with translator
15. alky or intercooler or both
and then whatever else comes to mind.

 

[buickpower]

You can use the fan from the 87, or you can get i believe the ramchargers dual fans. Mine is from...hell i don't even know ( some GM vehicle, had to fab my own brackets), but I used the Caspers electronics kit that comes with a relay and a fuse and wired it right up. Here is the kit to wire up your choice of fan: here . Note, as it says in the caption, you have to upgrade to the 87 ecm before you can upgrade to the electric fan. Also, as the previous post mentioned, get the 340 pump from racetronix, since the stock pumps are crap. some say that gm did that on purpose to prevent people from upping the boost and popping motors under warranty...but who knows.

 

[usetaboost]

thanks for the replies. this car i found doesn't run it sounds like the fuel pump. guy said he was driving it, ran like crap, died, started up and died and hasn't run since. i don't know. says it smells kinda gassy. i asked him if there was a lot of pressure at the valve he says a little comes out- obviously not enough. well anyways should have it by beginning of next month hopefully. would like to get a feel of it after i get it running so i can start on the car over the winter. if i do get the 340 pump put in, can i raise the boost on a stock turbo? if so how much? will adj regulator and k&n cone affect boost levels? what's a good base pressure to start with. can i trust a knock guage to adjust boost? when i upgrade to the 87 ecm can i just use the prom for an 87 tr or do i have to use my old one. nobody around here does chip programming as far as i know. can i get an aftermarket chip like a thrasher or whatever you guys recommened with the fan already programmed into it. i know its lots of questions and i don't have the car yet but i like to get all the knowledge i can about these cars so i know where to spend money first. thanks guys

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

If you are going to put on an adjustable waste gate actuator make sure you install an after market boost and knock gauge. Brad

 

[buickpower]

Installing a 340 pump won't necessarily allow you to run more boost, it will just provide enough volume to run stock or above stock boost levels safely (without leaning out), provided you have the octane to compliment the higher boost. An adjustable regulator is definitely a necessary tool for tuning in the amount of fuel you run for a given amount of boost. It will not automatically allow you to run higher amounts of boost, it is a tool used to lean out the mixture if too rich to obtain max power for a given boost level, or richen the mixture if it is too lean. A cone filter won't really make a large difference in boost levels, it just somewhat reduces the energy the turbo has to expend to draw in fresh air.

The base fuel pressure will depend on your combo and chip. It would be advisable to have a nice, modern chip burnt for your 87 ecm for ~75 bucks by eric marshall at turbotweak.com, he is excellent. Don't use the old chip. While an 87 or 84 chip would probably make the car run, the intercooled cars have different fuel tables built in because the mass of air ingested on an intercooled car is greater for the same amount of boost (all things being equal). I'd just have eric burn me a new one and be done with it, if you tell him your exact combo, he will tailor it to your needs, i.e. turbo size, injector size, head work, octane of fuel you intend to use, whether you have an electric fan, etc. Based on all of the above, the chip burner will recommend a base fuel pressure to start with.

As far as trusting solely a knock gauge as a means of adjusting boost, I don't think I would. You only know the end result of your changes in fuel pressure/boost, and not how close you are to your target Air/Fuel ratio. If you have a scanmaster on the other hand, not only does it give you trouble codes, it gives you all the critical engine parameters, including O2 sensor millivolts, which you use for tuning fuel pressure for a given boost level. If the millivolts are way out of whack, you can adjust accordingly, and conversely, if they are close to target you then know to make very small adjustments. Plus the scan master tells you knock, although not necessarily in real time, which is why a knock gauge would be a good compliment to the scanmaster. With all of that said, I suppose it is possible to tune with just the knock gauge if you adjust in very fine increments, although that is kind of shooting in the dark.

Since you mentioned raising the stock boost level a couple of times, I will address that too. The only thing that really will allow you to run significantly higher boost levels is to run higher octane gas. Doing exhaust mods that lessen backpressure like headers or downpipe will often raise the amount of boost the turbo makes, but you may have to back it down or richen it up to prevent from knocking. By the way, exhaust mods are excellent mods to do to these hotair cars once you get the critical stuff done like the 340, regulator, boost gauge, scanmaster, chip.

Keep reading all that you can like you are doing now, and feel free to ask all the questions you want.

Mike

 

[usetaboost]

thanks mike. i appreciate all of your guys input. i'm pretty much new to the turbo buicks. the 79 sport coupe i had blew a head gasket and flattend the cam lobes before i could get into modding it but boy that car was fun to drive. 3 lbs of boost, let off the brakes, and away i go. i'll keep you guys updated, i should have the car in about 2 weeks. its not advertised but i still am praying he don't sell it. it's actually cheap enough to where i can afford it. i'll keep checking replies, later

 

[Mike70gtx]

A homemade cold air with a K&N and an electric fan were two of the first things I did. Do a search on the fan, I took someone elses advice and got a fan off of a Fiero at a salvage yard and it was an easy add on. I bought a thermostat from Auto Zone to kick it on and off. Without the shroud it looks like you can stand in the engine compartment to work on engine. I think I have a few times.