LeSabre Grand National - LG3 3.8SFI engine - speed density and turbo conversion...

[TurboBob]

Am I the only one that can't see the pictures?

I can see all of them.

I can hardly wait for the results/vids.

If I only had time for projects like this...........

Bob

 

[turbokinetic]

OK here is a (poor) video of the car! I am disappointed because I didn't have time to do more tuning, nor did I have time to take it out without traffic and make a proper acceleration video.

Eventually the car will be back for different gears in the trans and at that time will get better tune and better video!

Sincerely,
David

 

[tta983]

Awesome, Sure looks good!

 

[charlief1]

Video link has been blocked it seems.

 

[turbokinetic]

Don't know why video would be blocked? It appears OK from here.

 

[charlief1]

Working fine now but it said it was blocked by request for some reason.

 

[turbokinetic]

Working fine now but it said it was blocked by request for some reason.

Crazy. Must have been a You Tube glitch. Glad it's working!

 

[hesermon]

OK, for those of you that have not figured it out already, David is one gifted individual! (may be understatement of the year). I took the car to Cruzin the Coast this past week. It was a hit everywhere we went. The difference between the way it ran when David started and the way it is now is nothing short of incredible.
For those that are interested, the LGN was produced by Buick for one year only (1986), it is a LeSabre custom coupe. Total production was 112 or 117 depending on who you believe. They were delivered to Buick dealerships without the front air dam (it was shipped separate to be installed at the dealership). They were all exactly alike, 60/40 split bench with light grey cloth (the leather bucket seats in the picture in another post were never offered for this car, they appear to be from an 84 Regal GN), performance suspension, and WE2 appearance package which included blacked out wheel well trim, lay down badge on hood, rear window close outs and body color bumper extensions. Also note the Grand National badge, the "6" is all red instead of the two color on the Regal GN.

If anyone has considered adding a turbo to their FWD A-body or LeSabre T-type, David is your guy. He has a very rare mix of knowledge, experience and "do it right the first time mentality", to build you one kick ass car.
Here are a few pictures of the final product.
BTW, it is an absolute blast to drive!

 

[tta983]

The final results look real good. Growing up in TN. I like it even more. David did a suburb job!

 

[LSTTYPE]

This car is amazing! Awesome job and great craftmanship. Ive owned 2 lesabre t-types and this makes me really miss them.

 

[hesermon]

This car is amazing! Awesome job and great craftmanship. Ive owned 2 lesabre t-types and this makes me really miss them.

Thanks! It does turn a lot of heads! Runs and drives like a dream, lots of fun.
Hugh

 

[turbobob924]

Very cool


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[turbokinetic]

Very cool...

Thank you!

The LGN is back for a proper transmission build. As you remember, I didn't remove the trans due to time constraints before. This time it's coming out and getting a HD series torque converter, 35-35 chain, and a 3.33 HD series final drive. This will really let the engine's potential be realized!

I'll be posting pictures on this thread before long.

Thanks for all the positive comments earlier! I am sorry I couldn't reply. Work had me overseas and I was unable to get to the forums!

Sincerely,
David

 

[Richard Weber]

Great work David. What do you charge for the conversion?

Thanks
Richard Weber

 

[liquidh8]

Looks awesome. When I had my 87 Lesabre T I had contemplated doing this, since it already had the 2 tone black/grey gut, all blacked out trim. I got so far as an ECM swap, and exhaust before selling it. This thing looks great and i bet it is a blast to drive.

I wish i could see all the pics though, maybe work is blocking it?

 

[turbokinetic]

Looks awesome. When I had my 87 Lesabre T I had contemplated doing this, since it already had the 2 tone black/grey gut, all blacked out trim. I got so far as an ECM swap, and exhaust before selling it. This thing looks great and i bet it is a blast to drive.

I wish i could see all the pics though, maybe work is blocking it?

Hi guys. Sorry I've been very busy with my 'real' job lately. Been in So. Korea for a couple months. The pictures are hosted on a local computer at my home in Alabama and it has limitations. Click refresh and the pictures may show up.

Great work David. What do you charge for the conversion?

Thanks
Richard Weber

Well, my real job is working on big diesel generator engines. Cars are only a hobby I work on when I feel like it. I can't really quote a price on a job like this. There were many problems that came apparent during the tuning phase. The A/C went out and the steering rack failed to name a few. The actual conversion was not that expensive. It would entirely depend on the condition of the car, and the level of modificaiton wanted.

I've got one turbo conversion at my home now, that's been waiting a long time because this overseas job has taken much longer than expected. I've got to finish it and then have family obligations.

Sincerely,
David

 

[Richard Weber]

Hi guys. Sorry I've been very busy with my 'real' job lately. Been in So. Korea for a couple months. The pictures are hosted on a local computer at my home in Alabama and it has limitations. Click refresh and the pictures may show up.



Well, my real job is working on big diesel generator engines. Cars are only a hobby I work on when I feel like it. I can't really quote a price on a job like this. There were many problems that came apparent during the tuning phase. The A/C went out and the steering rack failed to name a few. The actual conversion was not that expensive. It would entirely depend on the condition of the car, and the level of modificaiton wanted.

I've got one turbo conversion at my home now, that's been waiting a long time because this overseas job has taken much longer than expected. I've got to finish it and then have family obligations.

Sincerely,
David

Thanks for your quick response. What I am mostly interested in is the tuning info (maybe a copy of the code59 your running )I am building a LG3 SFI Turbo for use in a older RWD application.So i will be running a 700r4 trans. was hoping to use the harness out of the 1987 Olds 98 converted possibly to the 7730 ecm speed density. I do not have the stuff needed /or the know how to tune my self. Plz let me know if this is something u maybe would be willing to do.

 

[Pronto]

Out of curiosity, are there any performance numbers for this car?

 

[liquidh8]

This is an cool build. I will be keeping my eye out for the parts to do this in the future.

 

[turbokinetic]

Thanks y'all. I would love to see performance numbers for it! There is a dyno in Birmingham, AL where I dyno'd one of my other turbo FWD cars. Maybe it can go there some day.