what gives???????

[turbonut85]

Why the Hell does everyone post in the hot air section and ask how to convert to IC??? Why the hell don't they post in the general tech, or engine tech section?? Sorry for the rant....just gets old browsing by 3-4 threads every time I'm in this section that ask "how do I convert to IC?" or "what parts are needed for IC conversion?" gets old IMHO....

 

[novaderrik]

they are asking how it's done to these particular cars, so they post in the area that is dedicated to these particular cars.. you always have the option of not clicking on threads that don't interest you..

 

[turbonut85]

I think you missed my point....it's not that I click on them....it's that there's always 3 or 4 that we get to scroll by....besides, that's like going to a dedicated IC section (if there was such a section) and asking how to convert to hot air....makes no sense. Why not ask the people who have already done the conversion? It's just funny to me to see all the people who fall into the "pit" so to speak, of reading how hot airs are slow, worthless, piles of junk that shouldn't even be on the road....so they take the easy way out and rip them apart before they even try. Why not do the research BEFORE YOU BUY? That way they can read how slow hot airs are, and how much they suck...and then they could just go buy an IC car to begin with...thus saving them from having to ask how to convert them....and the rest of us from having to read about it. Anyway, I was just ranting....

 

[turbonut85]

....or, even better yet.....THEY COULD USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION.

 

[hot air 84GN]

....or, even better yet.....THEY COULD USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION.

X2!!

 

[dr_frankenstein]

ah try and relax bro, ya it gets kinda old... but there was once a time and a place we all did the same thing. ive looked at some of my first post and thought "what a shit brick" i was....

the fact that people are still picking these cars up is a good sign.... molested or not the Buick continues to gain fans.

if they desire to intercool - let em... not like any of us are paying for it... plus theres always a good chance the get in over there head and we end up with a car that we all get parts from... theres lots of positives as well as the negatives.

have a beer.... and let-er be.

 

[RIFF RAFF]

HOT AIR CONVERSION SECTION NEEDED . ON ISLE 6 .

 

[turbobooster]

HOT AIR CONVERSION SECTION NEEDED . ON ISLE 6 .

Not a bad idea

 

[cwmccray]

Keith, I understand your rant. Unfortunately, we have new buyers that do not research purchases prior to buying 84-85 cars. I knew exactly what I was getting before I bought my car. It took me a while to realize how rare 84-85 cars are. Parts wise very few people have ever had a 84-85 car run 12 sec with out ANY INTERCOOLED parts!!!! We all use 86-87 ECM/CHIPS. Ken Duttweiler, the GOD of Turbo Power, ran 12's in 1985 in a GN. HOT ROD and Ken ran K/Stock with modified GN. He managed to get up tp 400 hp/459 tq with 30+ lbs of boost. This was with the stock electronics..... Remember, this was 1985. The car faught its way down the track until the th last 300ft and took of like a Saturn V rocket.... He got the car into the 12.50 range before the NHRA move the car into the M/Stock. So what does this mean? Well, I took it as I can research and duplicate this in my own 85 T Type.

I can be honest and say I thought of converting my car to intercooled. I got more parts than I care to talk about. But one must remember, 84-85 Parts vendors are FEW.. I am missing one component I may not use, alky. I have tried NOS with great success. But I also knew, I could blow my motor if it was not right. I got my 85 in the 12.90 on NOS and STOPPED. I did have on of the Kenne Bell 84-85 NOS Chips, Booster Pump, ATR 2 1/2 down pipe. I started at 50hp (which was worth 80hp on HA). I stopped at 90hp (worth about 150 hp). Intercooled cars started out at 75hp up 175hp. Terry Penner got his HA into the mid 11's on NOS. Intercooled cars are MORE forgiving.

I guess we do need to expand the HOT AIR section to include NON HOT AIR 84-85 cars. I would throw my on TANTRUM on any HA converted to V8. Intercooling does not bother me at all. But as with many of us, we have enough parts to convert to INTERCOOLED. I have learned a valuable lesson with HA. If you can tune a HA, you can tune ANYTHING... HA are not forgiving. I am going to be flamed, but Intercooled is easier and forgiving

 

[6 to go]

I added (note: added) an IC to my 2 HA cars a lng time ago and I am perfectly happy and don't see that
I harmed anybody or anything. My cars can be converted back to HA with a few hours work an I still have all
the HA parts. They run better & cooler, temp wise and draw more crowds than the pure HA cars. I bought
a HA car brand new in 85 and it ws always well tuned, but it NEVER ran like the IC cars and certainly didn't get
as good gas mileage. I don't see what's not to like and adding the IC cost less than an alky kit, but I have
put an alky kit on my 84 w/ the IC.

 

[custompaintguy]

I added (note: added) an IC to my 2 HA cars a lng time ago and I am perfectly happy and don't see that
I harmed anybody or anything. My cars can be converted back to HA with a few hours work an I still have all
the HA parts. They run better & cooler, temp wise and draw more crowds than the pure HA cars. I bought
a HA car brand new in 85 and it ws always well tuned, but it NEVER ran like the IC cars and certainly didn't get
as good gas mileage. I don't see what's not to like and adding the IC cost less than an alky kit, but I have
put an alky kit on my 84 w/ the IC.View attachment 185859

Does anybody sell a IC setup for the 1985 like yours??? Id like to setup like yours(not the 86-87 setup).

 

[6 to go]

No, there were a few made, but none on the market now.
Maybe if enough people asked, GBodyParts might make some.
It really isn't all the hard, though. All it takes is to cut the plenum
and make up the kind of tricky pipe to go from the tubo outlet
is just about it. A lot of HA owners have already done the other stuff
that is needed. Electric fan, bigger radiator, etc.

 

[boostmaster]

Why the Hell does everyone post in the hot air section and ask how to convert to IC??? Why the hell don't they post in the general tech, or engine tech section?? Sorry for the rant....just gets old browsing by 3-4 threads every time I'm in this section that ask "how do I convert to IC?" or "what parts are needed for IC conversion?" gets old IMHO....

I feel your pain but you're beating a dead horse. Probably one of the very reasons many vets have left the forum or don't post very much. Not much inovation going on here anymore just how to convert to intercooled.

Check out these threads........

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/are-the-has-fading-into-oblivion.343810/
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/another-hot-air-bitching-thread.318966/

 

[esinger]

It's still pretty sad to see new posts on ditching the hot air setup for intercooled. All some of us can do is represent what can be accomplished with these cars and change the way they view hot airs.

Hopefully in the next few days I'll be changing some opinions. Instead of saying "It's just a Hot Air" they'll be saying "And it's a Hot Air!"

 

[charlief1]

One of the drawbacks is the "legend" of these cars from the 80's, just like the "legend" of the muscle car era. Our memories of when we were young or the kids that have listened to the "old guys" talk about that time is exactly that, legend. When you get into one it's a whole different ball game. Parts aren't out there for the 78-85 cars other than just basic parts. There's really not HP parts like headers or intakes for us so it's not a bolt on proposition like it is with the IC cars. It also has a huge learning curve and honestly, most guys aren't willing to take the time to learn about the system or aren't capable of understanding how it works or how it can work if done right.

When I started getting into the idea of building a Regal I started out looking for NA parts but decided that I wanted more power and looked at turbo charging the NA car that I bought. Yes, I wanted an IC car set up but every time I started to bid on one that was reasonable the price went through the roof. I did get lucky and won a HA set up minus the headers at a decent price and as I was gathering all the parts I needed I found the 83 T on evilbay for $500 and got it. Figured it would be easy to convert it, but the more I looked at the design I realized that no one had really done anything with them in 25 years and there really wasn't a lot of tech out there on them. Just like esinger, turbo6x2, osolo, and few others I got intrigued and hooked. I know cars and NA set ups since I've been modding them since I was a kid but only read about a turbo powered carb set up so this was a challenge to figure out how I could make one work.

Most aren't willing to take the time to do this since converting an SFI HA car over to IC is fairly easy if you can get all the parts together and install them. More performance bang for the buck but loss of a limited amount of "rare" cars isn't always the key here. How many GNX's have been butchered and there were only 547 of them. I remember 2 GNX that were ruined. One was turned into a full caged drag car and that was right off the show room floor. The other one was a few years ago. The guy couldn't sell the car after several years of trying so he parted the car out to get his money. I check on the market value of my car from time to time just to see what happens and in the last 5 years my 83 has gone from a high of 8K to 12K according to NADA and Haggerty has it listed at 19K now. If it was all about value then I'd bet a bunch of these cars would be sitting in a garage gathering dust rather than driving them.

So the fact that someone is at least doing something with them rather than storing them is a good thing and makes each type worth more in the end. Does it make me sad that someone is destroying a piece of history? Yes, but the fact that they're at least trying to keep another one alive gives me hope to some degree.

 

[dr_frankenstein]

Get em Charlie!

RAWR!

 

[novaderrik]

NADA shows a 10% deduction if you have a 6 cylinder engine in your 84 T Type...

 

[boostmaster]

NADA shows a 10% deduction if you have a 6 cylinder engine in your 84 T Type...

Don't put in 6 cylinder as an option because there are no engine options on the 84-85 T Types.

 

[novaderrik]

Don't put in 6 cylinder as an option because there are no engine options on the 84-85 T Types.

i know that- but NADA should know that by now, too... they had that same stupid checkbox when i first got my car in '04 and it's still there 9 years later... they also have a checkbox for factory air conditioning...

 

[84boostedbuick]

My 84 t type is stock, the turbo buicks are amazing cars.

I am very happy just cruising my car around on a sunny day... Why do they have to go fast?