searching the shell to put a 3.8 t into it

[Falco]

Howdy,

I've been reading the board for quite a long time now and slowly I felt in love with GN's and T-regals. I'm living in Hungary, Central Europe and did some extensive searching, but there is not a single 3.8 T in the country. Since import is not possible because of enviromental regulations, I wanna buy a shell with good papers and bring in a whole drive-train to put into it. It might sound strange but that's the only way for me to enjoy the power of the black side.

So, now I'm looking for a shell. I've seen/heard a couple of wild stuff like 280Z, RX7, Opel Manta etc with the 3.8 T, but I wanna keep the conversion as simple as possible, so pls advise what kinda GM cars should I look for?

I guess most of the 78-88 G/A bodies should be relatively simple:

Buick Regal
Chevy Monte Carlo
Chevy El Camino
Pontiac Grand Prix
Pontiac Grand Am
Olds Cutlass

Is this right? Did I miss anything? I guess the later model the better and also some advantages with the EFI cars. I could locate a 79 Regal, it even has a turbo engine in it, but it's not for sale and in pretty bad shape.

Any other platform? Chevy/GMC small trucks? F-bodys, to do a TTA replica?

Anyway an Elko or a Monte should be cool, that two are my favorites, but I appreciate any other idea.

Sorry for the lenghty post and bad English...

TIA,
Falco

 

[Weazel]

Hello, good to have you aboard!

As for a possible car to get a 3.8 turbo, I would consider a Camaro or Firebird that had a 3.8 V-6 in it. That should keep the conversion rather simple, and it will be rear-wheel drive and a little lighter than a turbo Regal.
One thing I though of was putting a 3.8 turbo engine in an '88 Buick Reatta. The Reattas are good looking cars (in my opinion) and have a 3.8 V6 non-turbo. They're light, comfortable, and handle fairly well. The only problem is they're wrong-wheel drive (front instead of rear). The torque from a Buick Turbo would probably fry the front tires.
Good luck and let us know what you come up with!

 

[Falco]

Thanks. As far as I know only 2nd gen F-bodies had the 231 ci V6. Third gens requires some mods to sport it. The TTA was special. No other F-body could host the 3.8 without serious modification.

BTW, it would be nice to get something similar to the GN's. 81-up Montes... Or an Elko.

Later,

 

[Matt Weiser]

Don't forget the Chevy Malibu, perhaps the most plentiful of all the G-body cars and available in 2dr. coupe, 4dr. sedan and 4 dr. wagon. Not the swoopiest shape, but a nice clean design and parts can be found everywhere for them (well, I don't know about Hungary, but...).

For more info about 3.8 turbo swaps in general, check out the "Hybrids" forum at www.turbobuicks.com (same as this site but with an "s"). Lots of knowledge there about every kind of TR hybrid you could imagine.

 

[Falco]

Thanks. Yep, Malibus. Good point. Will check the other forum too.

Later,

 

[TheDoughboy]

How about a 71-73 Chevy Vega? My next turbo Buick will be In a Vega, maybe tubbed

Might help if I get a job first.

Ron