where do i start?

["Turbo-T"]

what was the vac. brakes conversion you were talking about?

From the factory 86-87 GN's and turbo Regals didn't come with vacuum brake systems, they came with what is called a "powermaster". It utilizes the master cylinder's own brake fluid and uses it to create hydraulic pressure for the master cylinder, similar to a hydroboost brake system. However the powermaster system was a bad design and is notorious for failing without warning....no lights or anything....you go to step on the pedal and it's hard as a rock/requires all your leg might to stop the car.

The car you posted pics of has been converted to a vacuum brake set up.....MUCH safer than the powermaster.

 

[GNXwannabe]

Local Guys

What's up? Left you a message on your other post asking for a ride. I am in Charleston and have a friend in Scott Depot and we would be more than willing to help you out in your search. I currently have (2) GN's and he has a WE4. There is a Decent GN for sale in Chapmanville that we went to check out. I will PM you my number and you can give me a call. John

 

[Junior Samples]

What's up? Left you a message on your other post asking for a ride. I am in Charleston and have a friend in Scott Depot and we would be more than willing to help you out in your search. I currently have (2) GN's and he has a WE4. There is a Decent GN for sale in Chapmanville that we went to check out. I will PM you my number and you can give me a call. John

Yeah take that man for a good ride..and dont forget to install a dash cam to get good pic of his face when you kick it down hard

 

[DragCamaro]

im pretty anxious, these things seem to launch like hell, most seem to have pretty damn quick 60' times

 

[rmar]

If you take a ride with mcasteel2112 be careful...:biggrin:
He likes to takeoff and start cutting donuts in the middle of traffic. And if ya happen to get stoped by the law you will have to explain all the moon shine in the trunk.

 

["Turbo-T"]

Lol didn't know they still have moon shine stills/runners in FL, thought all that was in the mountains of NC/VA?

 

[DragCamaro]

im in west virginia, and yes they still do that here hahaha. bring it on, it wont be the first time

 

[Junior Samples]

If you take a ride with mcasteel2112 be careful...:biggrin:
He likes to takeoff and start cutting donuts in the middle of traffic. And if ya happen to get stoped by the law you will have to explain all the moon shine in the trunk.

Ronnie was reffering to a race i had with some guy 98 camaro with a 406...after i launched hard on him, my throttle stuck and shot me to about 30#s I got about 4 cars ahead of him and did 3 dounuts in front of him trying to get it under control, poor chap musta been mad that i beat him but really mad that i had to show off with dounuts..not knowing i was trying to keep from dying.

brutal white knuckle accelration

 

[ijames]

By far the best resource for these cars is Turbo Regal Web Site, the original Internet discussion group for tr's. Go there and read everthing in the technical resources area, twice . Start with the spring cleaning article, then look at the various performance recipes. More than most, with these cars it is all about the combination - matching fuel delivery, turbo size, and torque converter, plus the tuning to make it work up to potential. It's all about spooling the turbo and having the fuel to support the boost. Pick a performance target, then look at all the pieces needed for that target. Don't forget how "Jekyll and Hyde" these cars are - that was the biggest thing I had to get used to. The difference between pump gas, drag radial, low boost and timing street trim and race gas, slicks, high boost and timing can be 2 seconds in the et. A car that can run high 10's at the track may only be a mid-12 sec car on the street. Take that into account when you set your goal. If you want an 11 sec street car you really need to build a mid or low 10 sec capable car. Yes, alky injection can narrow this gap but not completely eliminate it. And, of course, get some tuning tools like the new PowerLogger or the venerable-but-still-works DirectScan. If you can travel some, there are two days of Buick stuff at Englishtown in New Jersey Sat and Sun of Labor Day weekend. Sat morning would be the best, in terms of seeing the most and meeting lots of people willing to talk your ears off. Then, a little later but closer to drive, Oct 3 and 4, Fri (test and tune) and Sat (racing) at Cecil Co dragstrip in Maryland is another great opportunity to come visit. Welcome to the dark side .

 

[ChavoLC2]

Camaro vs. GN

If your Camaro is in the mid 12's right now you might be disappointed in the GN. It'll cost you 2-3 grand to get the GN into the 12's safely . Hopefully compression check will be good. Get a ScanMaster/PowerLogger, Razor Alky kit, 60# injectors,TT chip, RJC power plate, more efficant SLIC,Translator and LS1 MAF, shift kit, MT' stickies, DSL,.... You have a nice lookin Z and you know it's reliable and can see why it's a tough decision for you. If the turbo is a TA49 it should be able to get you in the 12's for now with the right combo. We have a 87 GN and it's my DD it's been very reliable this is our second GN that's a DD. The only thing is car thiefs like to steal these cars our 1st GN was stolen out of our driveway. They were kind enough to leave the car cover. Fortunately where I work I'm able to park her in a fairly safe place. So if you do decide to come to the Darkside you really need to factor in costs for theft deterants because they will try to rip you off. These are very cool cars that lil Buick Turocharged LC2 can get after it once you get her to inhale and exhale deeper. Had oppurtunity to trade our 1st GN for a beautiful red T-top Z28 Torque Thrust 2's had your typical Camaro bolt-ons, a very nice ride. Man it was tempting but when it comes right down to it I'd rather have the flying brick just couldn't part with it, something about these lil' V6's that gets in your blood and before you know it your ADDICTED.. Good Luck in your decision.

 

[DragCamaro]

Ronnie was reffering to a race i had with some guy 98 camaro with a 406...after i launched hard on him, my throttle stuck and shot me to about 30#s I got about 4 cars ahead of him and did 3 dounuts in front of him trying to get it under control, poor chap musta been mad that i beat him but really mad that i had to show off with dounuts..not knowing i was trying to keep from dying.

brutal white knuckle accelration

haha sweet do it again with a video camera jk jk.

how do these cars respond to a good stall converter and built tranny? i had mad hook ups on auto tranny parts, i can build a solid 4l60 that i would trust to about 750hp for about $500.
my car now has a 3500 stall and i love it, i was thinking the same in the buick but mabe a little mellower like a 3200. how do these cars drive with a stall? all cars seem a little different, i had an lt1 trans am with a 2500, and it felt slippier than my 3500 stalled ls1. if i was to do it again id put a 4000 in my car.

hopefully ill have one by labour day, either way ill defanately try and make it up there

 

[DragCamaro]

is it worth running a carfax? or are these too old to be registered?

 

["Turbo-T"]

You can run a Carfax, but Carfax may not show every thing on the car. In fact all of the info Carfax has comes from when you get the car inspected or when the cops/insurance company tell them it's been wrecked/totalled. So yeah you could hit a tree and never tell a soul, it would never come up.

 

[ChavoLC2]

Carfax sure why not.

The 2004r can be built up to take a beating. There are some that switch to a turbo400, and even the old PG but then you sacrifice overdrive. Torque converters are usually Turbo matched as you know. The larger the turbo the more stall to spool it. Alot of guys have gotten by with lower stall because of the new ball bearing technology of the new Turbos. The BB turbos spool alot quicker then the old journal bearing turbos. To some it's like night and day..It's all in the combo.

 

[DragCamaro]

yea i know what you mean about carfax, ive ran a few cars that i know have been wrecked but come up clean.
will it hurt if i run a larger stall than i need in anticipation on getting a larger turbo later?

 

[ijames]

A looser stall now won't really hurt anything, but don't go too wild - these motors don't rpm anything like an ls1. Stock cam, heads, and valvesprings are done by about 5200 rpm. Put a mild cam and better heads on and the stock bottom end with cast crank and heavy pistons starts to loose reliability at maybe 6000 (I know, everyone will have their own opinion of that number but the "real" answer is somewhere between maybe 5800 and 6200 or so ). That's why you don't need more than a very mild cam for a stock shortblock - it doesn't get you anything. Forged crank and light forged pistons can push that to 6500 or so, but very very few people shift motors that are street driven much over 6500. That's all a very long winded way of saying not to go over about 3500 rpm in stall because any looser and the converter won't really be coupled by 5000 rpm and you will lose a lot of big end power. Lots of people are saying really good things about the PTC converters that Dusty Bradford sells - very good spoolup and great coupling on the big end.

 

[Dusty Bradford]

What he said. These cars are low rpm torque monsters. A 58-67mm turbo only needs a 2800-3200 stall. A 3400 will wake a stock LS1 up but will be way too loose in a Buick.