new to the forum and need some suggestions.

[grand_national_lover]

hello. new to the form and the grand national world. i just bought a 86 grand national yesterday and have a few questions. i really have alot of work to do to the car cause it is a project. its got to be painted and new interior but thats no big deal cause thats what i do. first question is what do you guys recommend for performance upgrades? i really would like to have 450-500hp but yet daily driveable car. second question is what is a good place to get the bumper filler peices from? i need fronts and rears. And last but not least is there a way to change the chrome strip around the grille to make the car look like a 87? i like the look of it without the chrome better. thanks

 

[psycho6cyl]

Best place to get fillers is from a member here called spool fool. Do a searc with fillers and his name and it will come up. You can paint the grill all black if you wish or you can check the parts for sale section. I always loved the 86 grill but thats me. Others will ch8me in about hp levels. But for what youre looking for ahouldnt take much but you must get a aftermarket boost guage a new fuel pump if you dont have one already a fuel pump hot wire kit and I would def get new chip w injectors. 60lbs the very minimum. If you have e85 innyour area even better and plan fuel system around that..

 

[blackgn1]

Do the "Spring Cleaning"list first. There are so many ways to get to your desired horsepower level. How much money do you have? I like to call it "Cubic Dollars"

 

[turbo nasty]

Get the car running perfect in stock form first...then mod it ...this includes it not running hot.

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[dr_frankenstein]

Welcome To Turbo Buick! Congrats on joining the most exclusive and expensive club ever!

 

[grand_national_lover]

i dont really have a budget i just want the power. im going to pull the motor/trans cause right now its in need of a rebuild so i figure now would be a good time to do the mods.

 

[charlief1]

Is it that time of year again? First things first. Add some info to your profile like general location as well as info on the car. This will help other know if they're near and can help you out. Second thing is to start doing some searches and lots of reading. These cars aren't rocket science but if you follow the usual chevy, ford, or chrysler methods you will blow more than the engine at the very least. You might even join the DOTC club. We've got more than a few members that joined that club but it's not one yo really want to join. We also had a new member that spent only a few months on the board and has decided to sell his car because it was more than he expected.

 

[grand_national_lover]

I know what I'm getting into. But I have always loved grand nationals and when I found this one I had to buy it. Now I'm ready to fix it and drive it. Has anyone got any thoughts on using a gn1 stroker kit? I'd like to make really good street power and I was just thinking about using that and doing ported heads and intake with bigger injectors and throttle body.

 

[charlief1]

A stroker will cost you at least $10K for a decent shortblock. No, I'm not kidding. If you want to see what one will cost then contact Nick McHale at Arizona GN or Mike Lict (sp) at Full throttle. Both are vendors on the board and know what they're doing. GN1 was a vendor here at one time but was kicked off because of some of his practices.

 

[grand_national_lover]

I know a stroker set up from ta performance is around 2700

 

[grand_national_lover]

That's just bottom end parts. Crank rods pistons

 

[charlief1]

The machine work is what kills it. Girdled bottom or billet mains. Clearance bottom for stroke, ect. There's more to it than just the crank, rods, and pistons.

 

[grand_national_lover]

why is it that it takes so much to machine one?

 

[grand_national_lover]

so what kinda power gain would i see if i done ported heads and intake with 60lb injectors and a 70mm throttle body?

 

[getdowngranny]

Many guys on here have run well into the 10's with stock long blocks and supporting mods. That just goes to how how well the stock stuff works when modded and tuned well.


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[charlief1]

why is it that it takes so much to machine one?

Because these aren't chevy, ford, or dodges, most machine shops don't know about the special tricks required to machine one. There is more than 1 horror story about a new member that had a regular re-builder put an engine together and watch several thousands go down the drain. One just recent had a jasper engine installed and it self destructed as well as taking out the brand new $1K turbo out at the same time. There are very few places that can build a reliable Buick V8 much less a V6.

 

[grand_national_lover]

i was looking into getting ta performance build me a motor.

 

[grand_national_lover]

i deffinatlly dont want to get into building 2 engines thatd suck. but thats why i am here cause i didnt know how hard they were to build.

 

[charlief1]

i was looking into getting ta performance build me a motor.

Since you're in NC you might be able to learn how to do it yourself with one of the guys there. You're near several of the "gurus" and I'm sure if you're willing to learn one of them would be happy to teach you. Mr Clark's shop is not that far from you and he's got everything you'd ever need to fully rebuild the engine and most of the time he'll guide you as well as let you use everything for free.

 

[grand_national_lover]

Where's he at in nc? You got a number or name of his place?