Would you bother?

[Baron Von Buick]

I've only said it a thousand times but here we go...
I have a 1984 Buick regal N/A. The engine only has 26,000 original miles runs great looks like poop (needs paint).Now i'm not sure if i should hook it up or just do an engine and tranny swap.There is not one thing wrong with the engine but the problem is its a granny mobile.Just want to know what everybody thought?
Should i hook up the 231 N/A?
Should I just make the engine look pretty (CHROME!)? Or
Should i do a complete swap of eng. and tranny?

Thanks (again) all
BaRoN

 

[cooper]

What do you mean by granny mobile?

I have an 81 n/a Regal Limited with good ole wire basket hub caps...But it also has a 4.1 intake and Q-Jet. I've also run braided tranny cooler lines and put in a tranny cooler. By June it will have a shift kit. After that, who knows? I'm just starting. I just have to wait for the $$ to be available before each upgrade.

As far as looks, keep it looking like a granny car while you smoke the freaks in their "sport compacts"

 

[Baron Von Buick]

What i mean by granny mobile is that my car isn't near ready to race any type of car (hehe).But what i was wondering was, are all those mods worth it? Like what you did to your regal, did it really make that much of a difference? i'm not putting down your car but i just want to know for myself before i put all this money in my car that i don't have. Also i was wondering if i do hook my car up what should i start with? The intake and carb, the ignition, exaust etc... Thank you for any and all help! oh yeah one more thing what benefit does a tranny cooler have?

P.S. Again i'm not putting your car down just asking if it was worth it. (Like i can even put down a car)

 

[RCI2990]

well i can't speak for everybody,but my 84 got the 231 with a .030 overbore with a mild cam,a holley dominator intake with a 4160 390 cfm holley carb.the rear is a open 3.08 and the tranny is a 350t with the b&m shift kit,and everybody that i took for a ride thought i had a 350 under the hood with the torque that my combo produced.i think the only thing i'm missing is the msd box,and i'll have that in by spring. one other thing i wanted to add is when make a considerable amount of power with the 231 you got to make sure your oil pressure is good.one of the things i found that helped the oil pressure is when rebuilding the engine it would be wise to champfer the oil galleries on the crank,it made a difference for me.good luck.

 

[Baron Von Buick]

The thing is i dont want to rebuild the engine and have them bore the heads and stuff like that because i really dont have the money. Thats why i was asking if its worth it to just buy bolt on stuff because then i could buy it little by little $100 here $250 there then it wouldnt be so bad. Unless someone knows a good mechanic that isn't that expensive in the Queens NY area i would rather not do a rebuild.Again thanks guys and or gals for all your help.

 

[Freddie's Buick]

Look kid,

You gotta decide what you wanna do. Ask yourself....

How fast can I go on the BQE? Will I be able to blow away all those forign jobs on the Tri-Boro? Can I race on the Cross Bronx Expressway? Will I rip up the asphalt off of the West Riverside Drive?

I don't think so,... (been there, done That).

Now if you're thinking of week-end racing over the George Washington bridge on the Jersey side......I don't think so either. Why? Because a couple hundred bucks here and there won't get you to compete with any car.

The quickest way to go fast is to transplant a 350-455 Buick motor in that Grannymobile. But alas, that will run you some big bucks also.

Try this:

Do what Mark did, (RC19990). Start out with the 4.1 intake and carb, then get the better rear gears. (Bone-yard stuff). Next an electric fuel pump and electric cooling fan. This stuff is easy HP and not too $$$$. Better yet, it's all bolt on.

Get the MSD box and forget expensive wires, plugs, chips and all that electronic crap. The MSD box is not cheap, but it's bolt on and it will average out to about the same amount of cash as getting all those electronic nik-naks.

Get the bigger oil filter and the KB oil booster plate. That will bring up your oil pressure. Get synthetic race oil from the Summit catalog. (It's expensive but it last longer and it will increase HP slightly). So take it slow and in moderation. You'll get results.

Hopefully this helps!

 

[Baron Von Buick]

Sounds like people are getting tired of me haha
Thank you that did help but what it sounds like is basically by doing all that will just give me a little more horse power no big deal. in a long sorta way your saying its pointless, because if you cant race against anything whats the point?(my way of thinking) So in conclusion i think ill do the 455 swap! Thanks again man!


P.S. Any sites that deal with the 455 swap you know of?

 

[Freddie's Buick]

No we're not like that in this forum.

I think you're missing the point. It does'nt matter what kind of car one has. Speed cost money. Some cars come built up with high horsepower from the factory. As in the case of the N/A Regal, it did'nt. It was geared mostly for economy.

The mods I mentioned were low-budget 'bolt on' type.

The more ambitious, the more expensive. Either way you'll have fun with that car. It's a good car to play with. The confusion is in all the options you have. That's were half the fun is. Finding out for oneself.

 

[b4black]

You asking good questions, and I'm sure nobody is tired of them.


The mods that everyone are recommending are proven ways to get some more out of motor for little $$. They will get you a quicker car and can be done some here/some there like you want

But your starting with a 19 sec car. If you want FAST, your going to have to make a step-change, and that will cost $$$$. If fast could be done cheap, we would all be running 12's. The 455 is probably the best bang for the buck. That's the brute force way. A blow-thru turbo would be fast and could be cost effective if done right. That's the finesse way.

Check www.gnttype.org 's tech pages. In the misc section, there is a write up on the 455 Regal.

 

[mygrain]

Originally posted by Baron Von Buick
Sounds like people are getting tired of me haha
Thank you that did help but what it sounds like is basically by doing all that will just give me a little more horse power no big deal. in a long sorta way your saying its pointless, because if you cant race against anything whats the point?(my way of thinking) So in conclusion i think ill do the 455 swap! Thanks again man!


P.S. Any sites that deal with the 455 swap you know of?

v8 regal page

Ive got a few of these 3.8 regals and, no offense, they are pitifully slow, but my 87 is almsot back together and will be my new daily beater.