v-8 swap (NO, NOT what you think)

[The Pro]

I've done some searching here, and a lot of guys ask about this, but most are talking about canning turbocharging and this sort of thing.

I'm wanting to put a small-block V-8 in my heap and STILL have it turbocharged.

Anyone done this?

Buick 350? Chevy 350? What issues did you have to overcome? Accessories? Harness? Motor mounts/frame pads?

I'm looking at twin turbos on a v-8 because I am sick and tired of the bull$hit that I have to go through to get a Buick V-6 up and running. What I mean is that the parts are either stock and not suitable for making power, or they are top of the line and cost an arm and a testicle. With nearly every other application on the planet, there is a middle ground for folks that want to make power, but don't need to bullet-proof themselves to 1500 hp. Parts for these v-8's are ubiquitous, as is the skillset to make them halfway decent.

So I'm looking for people that have done this, or have thought about is seriously enough to have good insight here.

I'm NOT going to get into a philosophical debate on why I should do a Stage 2, or any of that crap. I've done the math, and there *has* to be a better way to do this and not worry about the availability of some rare parts.

 

[Vendor Defendor]

there was a regular regal on ebay a while ago, that was made to look like a GNX, and it had a 305 Tuned port fuel injected motor with a stock TR turbo. i will see if i can find any pictures of it, i know i printed it. thing wasnt all that fast, i think it did low 12's

-Neil

 

[The Pro]

Small block v-8 with twin 63's or 66's I anticipate can push deep into the 9's (power wise).

I'm not worried about engineering the Turbo's and such, just looking for the big gotchas folks might have encountered during their conversions...

 

[86brick]

Pro, your best source for info on this swap would probably be Lou Czarnota (his user name is turbolou) of Lou's Auto http://turbolou.com/....... He had a twin turbo (he used a pair of BB 60-1 turbos) 350 SBC in a '85 GN and this car ran 9.0's @150+mph with around 14-15lbs of boost if my memory serves me correct..........

 

[The Pro]

Man, I forgot all about 'ol Lou. lol

He'd have a lot of this info I'm sure.

Thanks

 

[86brick]

Originally posted by The Pro
Man, I forgot all about 'ol Lou. lol

He'd have a lot of this info I'm sure.

Thanks

No problem........

This website might also interest you (another guy with a TT 350 SBC in a GN)........

http://www.grantfarmerracing.com/

Later.

 

[REDS HOT AIR]

lol...Im sure you'll get plenty of negative vibes on here about a v8 in a turbo regal

but I got a 350 chebby motor thats slowly getting built up for turbo appl. and will be in my ttype when done

I'm not giving up on turbo 6 completely I'm putting that in my elcamino for street trim use only

I've definatly tested the limits of stock parts and am well aware of what they can take but I Know I am at the limits of stock stuff and stage 2 money is not in my wallet

and for the price that T/A is bending people for for their block I can build a complete sb motor that will be able to do all I want out of it and still be in one piece

btw I'm looking to build a 8 sec combo

I could get my stock block v6 to run a 9 sec pass but like I said A 9 sec pass...I prefer to go make passes all day and be able to take it home in one piece

 

[86brick]

Originally posted by REDS HOT AIR

and for the price that T/A is bending people for for their block I can build a complete sb motor that will be able to do all I want out of it and still be in one piece

btw I'm looking to build a 8 sec combo

Please tell me how you are going to build a complete SBC motor (longblock) to run 8's (if your car is 3400lbs it will take about 1100-1200fwhp for an 8 second pass)....... Keep in mind a production 350 Gen1 style Chevy block is maxed out at about 1000hp with good forged internals (anymore than that and it's a time bomb waiting to go off)! So if you want to run 8's with a production gen1 style 350 SBC block I suggest you get your car down to about 3000lbs (3200lbs might get you there with 1000hp)..........

Now IF you want to build a complete SBC motor with a good aftermarket block (DART Little-M, Motown, Bowtie, or Rocket) you won't be that far off from building a Stage II motor!

 

[Intercooler]

I don't really see why people would get bent out of shape about swapping the V-6 for a V-8. The V-6 turbo got us interested and started in the learning process and if it isn't feasible to the owner then why not. I still like the body style and feel of the car just have to step to something that can take that pounding just like a TH-400 when you get there.
One of my heros is a local guy John Burris of Rapid Transit. He runs mechanical alcohol, no IC and T-100 on a Bowtie 350 block with Bowtie components and Eagle rotating assembly. Nothing fancy and uses a Motec and shorty headers turned upside down welded with adapters. The car goes 7.90@190+MPH.
If you do the T/A block with crank, rods, heads, pistons, cam, fuel management figure $12k and it will hold supposedly enough to run 9's all day. Easy swap!
If you do the same with a SBC using comparible pieces it may run $1k more. Involved swap!

The only difference is the SBC stuff WILL ALWAYS be around. Their could still come a time where makers of V-6 Buick stuff may not supply.

 

[Gbodynutt]

Hmmm... I'm thinking of doing something similar with my Gutlass, but at this time I just want to run 10's to fit into a local race class here. Basicly a sbc 350 and maybe a single turbo. May need to go with two, but not sure on how much I would need to do what I want yet.

Hey Pro, are you going to do a fuel injected motor or a "blow through" carb. motor?

 

[The Pro]

Fuelie baby.. Only way to fly...

WB02 setup, maybe a Motec unless FelPro ever gets their stuff updated...

I'm concerned about weight increase and accessories at this point... I think most other things can be managed...

 

[Gbodynutt]

Cool, i'm looking at trying the "blow through" route at this time then maybe upgrade to fuel injection in a couple years.

 

[KendallF]

Originally posted by The Pro
Fuelie baby.. Only way to fly...

WB02 setup, maybe a Motec unless FelPro ever gets their stuff updated...

I'm concerned about weight increase and accessories at this point... I think most other things can be managed...

Duttweiler has done a bunch of these. I have seen at least 3, including one at his shop a couple of months ago with a big inch small block, twins, and full accessories including A/C. They used the F-body serpentine accessories but I believe they had to modify them somewhat. That particular car looked compromised to me as it only had 2.5" or so downpipes.

Another he did is down in San Diego and had more sizeable downpipes with the A/C gone and a single pulley for the alternator.

The weight increase will be perhaps 100 lbs. Motec is THE way to go but I don't have $5k to drop. If you currently have FAST, you can have it modified for about $40.