When converting a regular Regal....

[ALVAROG1983]

What Was It

 

[ALVAROG1983]

What Was It

IT RUNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!:biggrin:

WHAT WAS GOING ON THAT IT DIDN'T START

 

[kingots2004]

IT'S ALIVE lol good job on the swap that looked like 2 years worth of work

 

[RATROASTER]

I had the cam sensor positioned completely backwards 180 degrees off. Something pretty simple. I've got good oil pressure and the cam broke in very nice. Time to start tuning.

 

[diomedes]

Awesome thread

you betcha.....I've got a 109 from my 455 project also

glad to hear you got her cranked and running, have been following this thread in sneak mode. Not to hijack but just curious, the other day I found a 1983 regal limited non turbo 3.8 in the junk yard, is this the 109 people look for?

Keep up the good work!

 

[RATROASTER]

......turns out my turbo is wasted from the wreck. We put it on a freinds car. Visually there doesn't appear to be anything wrong. Acts like there is a fuel delivery problem. Anyone going to Bowling Green and looking to unload a turbo? Stock is OK.

Oh yeah the 1983.......it could be a 109 you'll have to check the markings on the side of the block. I can't remember which side, but if you search on here you'll find out where the p/n is located. It ends in "109." That's why they call it a 109 block. Some of those older Regals have 4.1's, which is another good motor to have. Some people like the 4.1 over the 109 block. Its good to have either one.

 

[JC Turbo]

Dave congrats on getting it up and running. It usually turns out to be something that was overlooked. You should just up grade the turbo to a TA49.

 

[RATROASTER]

You should just up grade the turbo to a TA49.

That is very good advice to give a friend! Talk about a big sigh of relief, if feels so good to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

John do you know of anyone around here that does exhaust work. I need a piece of 3" pipe.

I also need to investigate why my heater fan isn't working and I have one cornering light that is not receiving a signal.

 

[RATROASTER]

:d

 

[RATROASTER]

I found an old wiring diagram from a Hanes book for a non-AC setup. I had to swap just one wire (HOT comes from a Brown wire) to get power to my heater fan. I narrowed down my cornering light issue to a bad light socket. Everything seems to be coming together nicely. We leave for BG tomorrow morning. We will be racing my brother's 71 Skylark.

 

[charlief1]

Congrats Rat. And the 83 isn't a 109 block. 109's are late 84 to 88 rwd blocks.

 

[RATROASTER]

I picked up a stock turbo with three broken exhaust studs and a busted downpipe bolt stuck in it for $40 at BG. We got out two exhasut studs and the downpipe bolt, but we had to drill out the last exhaust stud. I'm stuck with about an 1/8" of it left. The sucker keeps eating up my drill bits...........

 

[RATROASTER]

No luck, I put the turbo on from BG and I still have problems. The car repeatedly backfires in gear. No back fires while in park, but it is almost continuous in gear. I double checked my cam sensor and time and it checks out. I also changed the coils pack and module to no avail. Any other ideas? I've changed:

Cam sensor: Casper's cap
MAF
ECM
Ignition coil & module
crank sensor

The car has a stock turbo and ported heads.

 

[83ttypecooled]

Hi,
This is pretty good, response wise. I don't remember the last time a post got 174 responses.Anyway, my primary suggestion was to procure a donor car, because you will constantly be swapping parts. DONT cut anything. You will need the ENTIRE wiring harness, stem to stern. The job is a general ball buster, but not too bad if you take it a piece at a time. Mine turned out pretty good, but I made the mistake of getting rid of the donor car pretty early on, due to space constraints.I wish I had some of the parts I threw away. Good luck with your swap.

 

[RATROASTER]

Whew, I crossed up some spark plug wires after I changed the coil pack. Hanging exhaust tomorrow.

 

[RATROASTER]

I picked up a 3" Terry Houston downpipe used and have the 2.5" Hooker exhaust. Any idea where I can find a 3" test/dump pipe to hook up the THDP to the Hooker setup? Any ideas? What are my options?

 

[terrible-T]

Whew, .

Feel better now?

 

[RATROASTER]

Exhaust hung and car inspected. We're on the road!

 

[RATROASTER]

small improvements

I've put about 500 miles on the car. I've had a couple of gremlins to fix. I threw a belt one day after work as I forgot to put loctite on my water pulley bolts. I also bought a bad coil from AutoZone that stranded me twice! Plus the alternator shop in Youngstown did a crappy job on my rebuild sounds like the bearings are already going out. I'm going to go to a Buick guy here in Pittsburgh that in the alternator biz for the second rebuild. I found a leaky tranny line, and I was leaking oil at my pressure gage plug hole in the block. Those are fixed, but I still maybe leaking oil from somewhere else, but thankfully not the rear main!:biggrin:


I added a switch on my dash and straight wired my electric fan to be in more control of my car's cooling. Advance Auto Parts also had K&N air Filters 25% off some added customized cooled air intake. I'll extend my air temp sensor to my front bumper later this week. I also need to figure out why my cruise control will not engage.

 

[RATROASTER]

I have some other goodies in the mail, like an actuator that will boost under 30 lbs. Plus I got a couple of estimates for paint. I see why so many guys paint their own cars!