Need help choosing turbo,... for Buick 455

[Buickforlife]

guys thanks for all the replies. This is going to be a weekend driver. Any wehere i go is at least a 20 mile drive so it has to be reliable. I was thinking around 600 HP. Im only looking to get into the low 12s or high 11's I want to do a little better the just passing a $hitvick

Buget... lets say around 3k. not including the timming cover i want to chage that regardless to TA updated one. The most expensive thing for me will be the parts. I want start buying things now and over the winter put it togeather.

who ever said to spay... the car is set up for it from the previous owner. I just need the carb kit. I thought that would do more damage then a turbo. if i sprayed it I think i would have an ichy triger finger...

Some one mentioned (Magnafuel 500 is a great pump) i have 2 fuel pumps in the car from the previous owener the seem do work. Can they be rebuilt. they have not been used since 1989

With out changing the heads b/c they are big bucks. do you think i can turbo it as is? and when i want do better heads I do that? Im not 100% sure on the carb. it might be bigger. Can you tell what it is by looking at it?

Is there a turbo that i can put on now and will leave room for growth. I have a shop by me that can do all my welding needs and more (JP crawlers).
Are any of you guys in the NY area?

Either one can do more damage than leaving it NA, if you don't tune it right.

 

[TaxBBBuick]

What is easer to tune?

 

[Buickforlife]

What is easer to tune?

I don't think that either one is easier to tune for. You will need to get a wideband 02 sensor, and keep a close eye on your AFR. If it leans out and detonates, (and if it is way too rich you can cause other major issues) the best case scenario is you will be replacing some head gaskets, but it can be much worse.

The reason I suggest you go with the nitrous system is that it will be much easier to install than a turbo system, because you don't have to mess with building some headers or getting them built (I am sure that the bill on getting some built would be pretty pricy) and you will have the extra power on demand with the nitrous.

But the turbo's are cool, and I am building my car now for a big single turbocharger. I might still run a small shot on the car to help keep the inlet temps down, but I might just put the nitrous kit on my GSX

By the way if you are wanting to run about 600 hp, you should purchase a girdle, and have it installed by the machine shop that is what is recommended by TA Performance. Although I was running much more than 600hp with my setup it did fine without the girdle. But I was always worried about it coming apart.

 

[TaxBBBuick]

Im not woried about building the headers. all i will have to do is pay for the material. my guy likes doing 1 off stuff and i work with him so the price of headers is not the problem.

doing nitros is a lot easer, all i need is a plate. I have 2 tanks already and the lines are ran. I think i would be to triger happy. that and i dont know of anyplace to get Nitros around me the nearest track is about a 2 hr drive.

I think a turbo is my best bet b/c after that then i can do heads and spray it if im not happy. besides I have a GN I i already dont have the v6 i should have atleast a turbo

What turbo do you think i should purchase? and the things that go along with it

 

[slimtastic]

if it was my deal id go spray a 150-175 shot in it... doesnt sound like your budget is gonna let you get far on a turbo setup.

for 3 grand you can get a decent seat of headers/full exhaust and a plate kit which is gonna gain alot more power than just 175


and in the meantime women love nitrous...to them it means that your rated R

 

[TaxBBBuick]

I have headers already. I tried doing the math.. now this is a very quick over view of what i saw. prices can be a lot more or less but take a gander. I am not technical nor a machanic so dont hold me to every thing. i might be missing a lot of items that are needed

turbo
wideband 02 sensor 250
intercooler 600
turbo 1500
headers 300
$2650 give or take

Srpay and heads
plate kit 375
heads hydrolic rollers 3000 +
cam 350
$3725 give or take

I might need more items if i turbo or spray. Im not that technical thats why im asking for advice

I also have a spare block that i can use for mock ups so the car can still run when i put togeather the parts.

 

[charlief1]

You forgot the controls. Add another Grand to the turbo list easily. Even if you get the parts off evilbay used it will still run another $500.

 

[jay3000]

Go to v8buick dot com and look at high tech for old iron..

 

[slimtastic]

I have headers already. I tried doing the math.. now this is a very quick over view of what i saw. prices can be a lot more or less but take a gander. I am not technical nor a machanic so dont hold me to every thing. i might be missing a lot of items that are needed

turbo
wideband 02 sensor 250
intercooler 600
turbo 1500
headers 300
$2650 give or take

Srpay and heads
plate kit 375
heads hydrolic rollers 3000 +
cam 350
$3725 give or take

I might need more items if i turbo or spray. Im not that technical thats why im asking for advice

I also have a spare block that i can use for mock ups so the car can still run when i put togeather the parts.

it looks like your missing alot....ALOT in the turbo side of things.

-your gonna need a carb capable of being boosted(at a bare minimum, forget efi) so lets say 700 just for that
-used set of N/a headers can be cheap like 300$ but a set of turbo headers isnt. what about wastgate provisions? what about downpipe action? doing it cheap, id put a realistic 1800$ on exhaust....not including mufflers and tailpipe action
-oil plumbing for turbo... small items like a bov... alky control for any big boost....nickel and dime stuff.... throw in another easy 600-800

turbos arnt cheap, just the best

 

[Buickforlife]

You really wouldn't need new heads for the nitrous set up. You can get a custom ground cam for the nitrous. I would suggest you get the nitrous express gemini twin plate, and a GenX2 for added safety.

And you did leave out quite a bit of odds and ends for the turbo set up.

 

[jay3000]

And you did leave out quite a bit of odds and ends for the turbo set up.

Yep...

 

[TaxBBBuick]

Guys thanks for the help...like i said I am not technical.
it seems that all of you are leading towards spraying. Besides the Cam and nitrous plate. What items do I also need, and is there a 1 stop shopping for these items?

Wide band O2?
will have have to switch to a electricfuel pump? or just have use the electric when I am spraying?
Girdle?
I have 2 tanks already. how long are the tanks good for and is the nos inside still good?

 

[ss4825]

Tagging along as I'm planning an EFI TT 455 myself.

 

[Buickforlife]

Guys thanks for the help...like i said I am not technical.
it seems that all of you are leading towards spraying. Besides the Cam and nitrous plate. What items do I also need, and is there a 1 stop shopping for these items?

Wide band O2?
will have have to switch to a electricfuel pump? or just have use the electric when I am spraying?
Girdle?
I have 2 tanks already. how long are the tanks good for and is the nos inside still good?

You do not have to switch to an electric fuel pump to feed your carb, but I do recommend you run a dedicated fuel system for the nitrous. Mount a small fuel cell, get a electric fuel pump and regulator, and put only racing fuel in your fuel cell. You might be ok without the girdle. If you only want to spray 100-200. Assuming you have forged pistons. The stock cast pistons will not work with more than a 100 shot.

I would go to nitrousexpress.com and see if you can purchase the gemini twin plate along with the solenoids. You might also want to look into getting the Nitrous express GenX2 accessory package. It has everything you need to make the nitrous system safe. It's got a 7psi fuel cutoff switch (the nitrous will not work unless the fuel pressure is at least 7psi) it has a purge valve. etc. You will also want to look at getting a WOT switch for the nitrous. You want to have the WOT switch so that the nitrous doesn't activate at too low an RPM. That can cause major issues.

You can email me at tyler@texasextremeracing.com if you have any questions on the set up.

 

[TaxBBBuick]

tyler,
I have stock pistions. have not changed them yet. I was only thinking about a 50 to 75 shot. spraying puts a lot of stress on the motor I think my best rout is geting the chopiest cam i can get with the option to spray.

my problem now is that im pritty sure that my compression is 10 to 1 and that i have a 750holly, but im not sure. when i first started playing with the car i couldend even change brakes, so my friend at the time who got me into this spoke to the machine shop and got me the carb. Im going to call Holly when some time this week to see what the nembers mean but how do i find out what the compression is without taking things apart.

since i am going to change the watepump housing and TA is the only company that sells It, should i have them help me pick the cam also, or are they overpriced?

 

[Buickforlife]

tyler,
I have stock pistions. have not changed them yet. I was only thinking about a 50 to 75 shot. spraying puts a lot of stress on the motor I think my best rout is geting the chopiest cam i can get with the option to spray.

my problem now is that im pritty sure that my compression is 10 to 1 and that i have a 750holly, but im not sure. when i first started playing with the car i couldend even change brakes, so my friend at the time who got me into this spoke to the machine shop and got me the carb. Im going to call Holly when some time this week to see what the nembers mean but how do i find out what the compression is without taking things apart.

since i am going to change the watepump housing and TA is the only company that sells It, should i have them help me pick the cam also, or are they overpriced?

Compression Ratio Calculator - Wallace Racing

Here is a calculator for finding the compression ratio.

For a nitrous cam you want more exhaust duration than intake. I would suggest getting in touch with TA performance, and see what they recommend for your combo.

You should be safe with a small shot with the stock pistons.

By the way I have an aluminum thermostat housing in pretty good shape that I will sell ya.

 

[TaxBBBuick]

Tyler,

thanks for the info again.

I have already purchased a thermistate housing. if you have the new waterpump housing that sounds a little more interesting to me.

Speaking of selling things i have some GN stuff that was in the car that i cant use. Pullies, Intake lines with NOS set up. tran dip stick.... let me see if i can dig up some picurers

 

[GNVYUS 1]

I was in the process of doing this for my 400 and your goal for 600hp is a waste for a 455 and a turbo. That can be had with around 5psi on a large turbo so don't bother going turbo for 600hp.

Going to a E85 and bigger ported heads would do it, even domed pistons to take advantage of the E85 would help even more.

 

[TaxBBBuick]

Thanks for the reply. Most lilkely I am just doing a Cam. sooner then i wanted to .

I dorove my car home for the garage yesterday. first time since 06. Firsti dorve it around the block a few times. Saw that i needed to advance the timing a little so i did that. I got the car on the highway only went about 8 miles and i started geting knocking and loosing oil preasure. I think the oil weight i was using is to light 10w40. Had to stop wait an hour for the car do cool down. it was fine and i dorve for a few more miles and had to stop agian.

Is this because my timing cover and oil pick up is stock. my last 455 blew b/c i lost preasure so after messing with the oil gears. So this time i left it stock from my new 74 block

what weight oil should i run???

 

[porsches4lunch]

If you do decide to go turbo, BW S480 (80mm) with a T6 1.32 A/R housing. Look around you could probably get one for around $ 800.00 or so. They are super reliable and make amazing power. My friend put one on his 420 CI SBC motor and at 8 PSI it lights up the tires at will. His previous motor was a stock block cast piston motor, and he blew it up at 10 PSI with same turbo. Magnafuel is a great pump, if you want a blow thru carb, Carb solutions unlimited dot com, kevin, he is your guy.