Lost every race! Need build info, help me im slow!

[Adam Connell]

Man slow waaaay down or this car will turn into a bigger money pit than it already is...

Learn to tune the car: Get a scanmaster, a power logger, and a wideband O2 sensor before you do ANYTHING else.

go to gnttype.org and read everything. Do the spring cleaning.


Also what fuel pump do you have? What mods are done to the car?

Whatever you do, slow down, start reading because there is a STEEP learning curve with these cars but once you learn them, they are awesome...

Seriously dont waste your time or money with building a new engine... what you got will do at least mid 11s... suspension, tuning, and a well matched combo are how these cars go fast.

dont know where Ponca City is, but are you looking to sell one of those 3.8 short blocks? Im in Denton Tx

 

[yullose]

My current GN came with a CPT66dbb turbo when I bought it... and let me tell you, THAT was one snappy spooling little b!tch.

 

[87TurboType]

tobuyitright

First off what have you done to your car or is it stock and what kind of bolt ons do you have, what kind of tire were you using, what was your sixty foot, alot of good info to know so we can try to help. You can get alot just from bolt ons and bigger injectors, little bigger turbo.

 

[Just a Six??]

Her ya go. Melissa's "secret" 9.94 @ 138.17 combo - TurboBuicks.com

 

[Garycar]

Installed Julio's alky system (Alky Control) on a friends 87 T Type (Dick Johnston). Completely stock motor, valve covers have never been off (64,000 miles) TE 34 turbo (remember those), 3"down pipe, 40# injectors, ATR 2 1/2" exhaust, full weight car with sway bars on front and rear, no weight reduction what so ever, original T Type wheels all around, 275-60 -15 M/T drag Radials. 22#'s boost running through the closed exhaust. Ist pass had 9#'s boost at line and activated lock-up at start of 2nd gear. Car pulled out moderately hard and shifted perfectly with Russ Merritt's 2004R quality performance rebuild tranny. No detonation during the run until about 50-100 feet from the finish line when the detector (Caspers) went red and I lifted (gain knob on 7). Ran 11.39 at almost 119. 2nd pass I held 11#'s boost at the line, turned up the gain just a little. Launched better than the first (1.59 60') and again the knock detector went red at about the say point as the ist run so forced to lift. Ran 11.30 at almost 117. At that point the girl at the end of the track stopped me on the return road and announced "your done for the night" Good numbers for a stock and very quiet TR. Love these cars. Julio's Alky system in my opinion is the single best modification you can make on these cars. This is my 4th install (nonprofit) and all I can say is incredible! The quality of his system is in my opinion exceptional!!! If running a stock motor stick with a lock-up converter and lock it throughout the run. Gary Caramanis

 

[2toneNV]

tobuyitright, hey man good luck with whatever you choose to do. On the other hand I like the picture of all the spare parts you have piled on the driveway! Would you be open to selling one of the 3.8 109 blocks?

 

[t-typex1]

...I do not want to lose at the track that badly anymore! So please help the slow, be faster.

It can be done with bolt ons easily. Bottom line, its all in the tune. I have a 100% stock long block, changed the injectors, fuel pump, chip, TE60, stock intercooler with a dutt neck and ran high 11's. I upgraded the turbo to a PT6776S, added alkycontrols kit, and a 10" 3400 stall, and an old Eastern front mount, and Im mid/low 11's now

For less than $1000, your car can be more than 2 seconds faster than it is now and not touch the motor internals.

Please tell me how. I have a freind that is running a 1978 malibu 454, 11.60s I need to get some respect back, in fun I ran my mouth alittle and wouldnt you know. So Ill take what there is to know if it will be shared. Thanks

You need to start reading a lot more on these forums.

Let me start by saying you need to slow down, ...Do searches for tuning, 10 second recipe, bolt ons etc.

It takes a lot of reading in here to "just run 10's" (or 11's for that matter)
To be dependable, I would build a reg. 109 block with either billet mains, or a girdle, pistons of your choice, stock crank, stock rods, ported/polished heads, and a roller cam of your choice.
From there its bolt ons. Read as much about tunes/combos to get the info for where you want to be.
IMO, 10's on a bone stock block is a gamble. Not saying it cant be done, as it has many times. It mostly means, it could last 1... or 100 passes.
Just make sure above all else that whoever builds your motor KNOWS Buicks. Ive seen many make that mistake

 

[tobuyitright]

Not really.

tobuyitright, hey man good luck with whatever you choose to do. On the other hand I like the picture of all the spare parts you have piled on the driveway! Would you be open to selling one of the 3.8 109 blocks?

I would like to hold on to everything. If I was to sell a motor it would be the one in the car, has about 38000 miles on it bought from GM if I was told correctly. But that is only if I do something with the 4.1.

Here are the known mods With pictures: NOS( Dont use it on there when I bought the car, I think the original owner has put 1.7 kenne bell rockers, Stock Turbo, Stock long block, Line lock, 2800 or 2600 stall, oil saver, stack intercooler, BGC elbow ( Heard these are junk ), has a halltec fuel management system ( I really have no ideal if this is junk, has a knob you can turn to increase injector pulse??, would like to look at a fast xfi), External inline fuel pump, converter lock up switch, mild ported upper and lower intake, has a adjustable boost control in the console box, a delta gate and I was running M&H G60-15.

 

[yullose]

Here's another inspirational thread for you to read.

Two more unopened 109 blocks went in the 10's today... - TurboBuicks.com

 

[tobuyitright]

This is what Im thinking, tell me if this is a mistake: Turbo (Undecided but BB ), Front mount intercooler, new downpipe, injectors, 340 pump.

 

[tobuyitright]

Lot of work.

tobuyitright, hey man good luck with whatever you choose to do. On the other hand I like the picture of all the spare parts you have piled on the driveway! Would you be open to selling one of the 3.8 109 blocks?

It took me most of the day, with nieghbors asking if I was selling out. Thanks I thought it would be a cool picture.

 

[t-typex1]

This is what Im thinking, tell me if this is a mistake: Turbo (Undecided but BB ), Front mount intercooler, new downpipe, injectors, 340 pump.

add a chip and alky, and Id say good for 12's/11's all day

 

[Junior Samples]

It took me most of the day, with nieghbors asking if I was selling out. Thanks I thought it would be a cool picture.

you are correct...those BGC elbows are junk...i'll give ya 5 bucks for yours..PM me your paypal account and I'll toss in an extra 10 for shipping

 

[charlief1]

Man slow waaaay down or this car will turn into a bigger money pit than it already is...

Learn to tune the car: Get a scanmaster, a power logger, and a wideband O2 sensor before you do ANYTHING else.

go to gnttype.org and read everything. Do the spring cleaning.


Also what fuel pump do you have? What mods are done to the car?

Whatever you do, slow down, start reading because there is a STEEP learning curve with these cars but once you learn them, they are awesome...

Seriously dont waste your time or money with building a new engine... what you got will do at least mid 11s... suspension, tuning, and a well matched combo are how these cars go fast.

dont know where Ponca City is, but are you looking to sell one of those 3.8 short blocks? Im in Denton Tx

Adam is 100% correct. TAKE YOUR TIME! Everything that has been posted here is great but if you don't know the car and it's operating systems and how they work you will kill the engine at the very least. Get with one of the guys in your area for help if you need it and go from there. Throwing parts at may make it faster but if you don't know what you're doing you'll blow it up faster.

BTW, Adam, I though you were in Houston? When'd you move to Denton? Sugarland is outside of Houston after all.

 

[russgoodman]

Don't get discouraged and go crazy throwing parts at it yet. The first time I ran my car it ran a 14.89 at 97 mph at 18 psi. Part of it was I didn't know how to drive the thing. Give us some more info - what kind of tires are you running and at what psi? Post up your mph 1/8 and 1/4, post your 60 ft time. Did you leave off idle or were you able to launch in boost and if so, how much?

Another thing to consider is that its been hot here. In cooler weather that thing would have been in the 13s for sure.

You will need to work your way up to the new turbo. Start with the scanmaster, a newer wide band would be good but not a necessity, fuel pump/hotwire kit, 60# injectors, matching turbo tweak chip, razors alky kit, and rjc power plate. You will need some good tires like slicks or MT drag radials if you don't already have some.

From there get it tuned in good, learn how to launch it at about 3-4 psi, and if you still are not happy with the ets then I'd look at the turbo, FMIC, DP, converter.

 

[mtocrs1]

Hey... What was wrong with BGG downpipe elbow?

 

[mtocrs1]

Hey... What was wrong with BGG downpipe elbow?

 

[tobuyitright]

Are you being funny?

you are correct...those BGC elbows are junk...i'll give ya 5 bucks for yours..PM me your paypal account and I'll toss in an extra 10 for shipping

Are you being funny?

 

[Adam Connell]

This is what Im thinking, tell me if this is a mistake: Turbo (Undecided but BB ), Front mount intercooler, new downpipe, injectors, 340 pump.

Yup, I see mistakes! If you're looking for a shopping list here ya go:

1.Scanmaster (DO NOT do ANYTHING else to the car until you have one).
2.Good fuel Pump (Walbro, or Denso Supra unit) WITH a hotwire kit.
3. GOOD/visible boost guage(the stocker can be as much as 5lbs off!)
3.Turbo Tweak Chip(or any reputable modern tunable chip)
4. 60lb injectors(and I think the 80s are plug and play now, get at least 60s)
5. RJC power plate
6. A boost controller of some sort(I use the RJC unit, some people dont like them).

If you have the money, I would do all of these mods at one time.

SERIOUSLY DO NOT BUY ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING ON THE LIST ABOVE!!!!!!

My honest opinion is that these cars are 100% easier to tune with a wideband O2 sensor... So it would also be a great addition.

The mods above WILL get you into the 12s on drag radials and pump gas IF you spend the time tuning your car. This is the ONLY first step... there is no skipping what I've listed above.

Either listen, or dont bother posting here any more because we cant help you unless you have everything I mentioned above... You WILL DESTROY your car unless you have the above mentioned items. I am not trying to be a jerk here, I just want you to understand how important those parts are.

Past after that:
1. Hooker or pypes exhaust with a high flow or gutted cat
2. A 3in down pipe, or port your exhaust elbow(this is subject to debate)
3. upgraded turbo(unless your stocker is healthy)
4. better converter(this can make up to a .5 second difference on your ET).
** You will NEED a secondary transcooler if you install the converter, you may also want to consider a mild trans build at the same time**
5. An Alcohol Injection kit(Julio/Razors is currently the best with awesome tech support)
6. Intercooler upgrade(if you do ALKY I would not bother with a front mount, stock location will be more than enough).

At this point you will be where you want to be, but without the first steps, proper tuning, and lots of research you will never get there.

I feel like I need to add a disclaimer that I am trying to keep you from wasting your time and money, I learned the hard way as many others on this forum have, and you will too if you dont listen to us. Im not trying to come off as a jerk, I just want you to do things the right way and not the hard way. If I was a Jerk I would not have taken 15min out of my day to list exactly what you need, and Im sure others will chime in to help you out.

 

[Adam Connell]

Adam is 100% correct. TAKE YOUR TIME! Everything that has been posted here is great but if you don't know the car and it's operating systems and how they work you will kill the engine at the very least. Get with one of the guys in your area for help if you need it and go from there. Throwing parts at may make it faster but if you don't know what you're doing you'll blow it up faster.

BTW, Adam, I though you were in Houston? When'd you move to Denton? Sugarland is outside of Houston after all.

Haha I completely forgot to change it. My parents still live down there. I've been in Denton for 3 years now. MUCH better air up here... Now I just need to finish this darn car so I can enjoy the good air.