N/A 3.8 turbo conversion ??

montess408

New Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
i have a 84 lesabre with a N/A 2bbl 3.8 and i was thinking of geting a edelbrock 4bbl intake and a blowtrue carb and puting on a small turbo .
will the stock internals hold up ? i think that the N/A 3.8 where rated @ 100 or 110 Hp . so i am looking at geting about a extra 100 out of it .how much boost will i have to push to do that ?


thanks guys
 
If your only looking for 100hp more than stock, do what you say and stick on a edelbrock intake manifold, but use a q-jet or edelbrock carb and do a 100hp shot of nitrous, It will give you the same performance for less money and headaches and the stock NA stuff should hold to around 400hp.

If you really want to do a blowthru turbo and have your heart set on it. You can do that too, the stockNA will hold up to an additional 100hp from a turbo, use a stock GN turbo on 12-15psi with an intercooler, or 10psi and alky with that turbo. Use a holley set up for blowthru"expensive but timing saving", or build your own, you can buy a Demon and spend a lot of time tuning and tweaking, I'd use a stock '86-'87 turbo camshaft.
 
If you get the factory 4.1 intake and mod it you'll be suprised how much power you'll pick up. Take the heads off and port the snot out of them and then get the Edelbrock cam for it. That will just about double the poser to where you want.
 
ok so i am good on the block side then . i am just looking to get alittle bit more power out of it (as i cant leave anythign stock LOL) i dont need this car to be a rocket so i was hopeing i could get in the low 200 for hp . and thought that a turbo would be the easyest way .i would love to get a 4.1 but thay are rare pretty much impossible to find .
would headers duals , intake ,carb and cam give me a good boost in power ?
lets not forget that i am trying to move a 4000 lbs lesabre !!


thanks
 
you will hate that edelbrock for blow thru.

they suck. period.

I can show you how to convert it for the use, but you need to be a tuning genius to make it work right. I diednt have the patience.

there are a couple of good stock carb turbo systems forsale if interested.

A.j.
 
i would only use a edelbrock intake . i would probley go with a ho;;ey carb for a blowtru app.
i never saw a stock app. turbo carb set-up . are they blowru ? are they intercooled ?


thanks
 
ah then that would be a set up that i would be interested in .
they can be intercooled tho right ? do you have pics of the set-up by anychance ??

thanks
 
ah then that would be a set up that i would be interested in .
they can be intercooled tho right ? do you have pics of the set-up by anychance ??

thanks

they cannot be intercooled. as they are a wet charge intake system.

as for setup, pics.... look up any factory 79-83 turbo system.

A.j.
 
yeah i just looked it up . they dont look very eficient do they ?
but can that turbo be used in a different config . ? because that would be a cheap way to get a turbo and 4bbl carb .
 
yeah i just looked it up . they dont look very eficient do they ?
but can that turbo be used in a different config . ? because that would be a cheap way to get a turbo and 4bbl carb .

they look that way dont they?

to most people they are..... but there are a few select members who are trying to change that.

the turbo can indeed be used differently, as long as you keep the carb level.

A.j.
 
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/be.../281474-modification-4-1-4-barrel-intake.html

To make it simpler for you, this is the factory 4.1L 4 barrel intake (it fits the 3.8) and it's a bolt on. You'll gain about 30 HP just from doing it. If you take the heads off and port them then put an Edelbrock cam in it you'll have a car that'll get 20 MPG and have about 225 HP. Easiest way and then you can use the stock electronics on it. Headers will help but I'd leave it as a 2 into 1 system which helps on low end torque.
 
alky injection is the nearest thing to can get to intercooling on a drawthru save for n20.
 
what are the drawtru turbo rated at ? i have a n2o kit waiting for a sbc project but i could take off it .does a drawtru hit the 200 mark ?
 
what are the drawtru turbo rated at ? i have a n2o kit waiting for a sbc project but i could take off it .does a drawtru hit the 200 mark ?

using entirely factory parts....... i mean everything factory....

with alky, I would say a solid 275 is no problem.

with some mods, a better carb, dizzy, some porting a few turbo mods,

I say a solid 300 is possible. and thats just simple stuff that takes alot of time instead of money.

A.j.
 
oh then thats the way i will go !!! and that is a 83-85 grand national style set-up right ?
and can you tell me a little bit more about this alky injection ?? (i am new to this turbo thing ) is that somthing that is alwayz on or is it like n2o ?

thanks
 
A stock '83 drawthru was rated @ 180hp and all the hot air cars with EFI were rated @ 200hp

Alky is on when the boost is on.
 
Alky or water injection or alcohol and water mix injection are all forms of liquid intercooling. The latent heat of evaporation of the alcohol and or water will absorb the heat and cool the incoming air and cylinder charge.
 
this is going to be a D.D so i am trying to find out the beswt way to make so power witout braking the bank.
does this alky injection run out quick like n2o ?is it something that is used when you crank up the boost ?
if i use draw tru set-up with a boost control and alky injection can i have the injection on only at higher levels of boost ? i am not really sure how this works .
 
this is going to be a D.D so i am trying to find out the beswt way to make so power witout braking the bank.
does this alky injection run out quick like n2o ?is it something that is used when you crank up the boost ?
if i use draw tru set-up with a boost control and alky injection can i have the injection on only at higher levels of boost ? i am not really sure how this works .

Please go to BEFORE BLACK Website and do some reading up on the design. Lots of good info there for you to read. This will help you and give you a better understanding of the way it works. Alky will require a second tank to hold it and you can turn the boost down so you don't need as much. As far as breaking the bank, ask Aj or Adam how many engines they've blown up.:eek: I blew one myself and that was in the mid 80's and it still cost me $400 to get it going again. If you're set on doing a turbo please remeber that the three of us have a bit of time working on cars in many different configurations so to us it's a little easier. If you want an honest 200 HP engine that won't break the bank go NA.
 
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