Guys, I gotta agree with JL. We're talking about a sports car here. Things like cornering and braking are part of the point of having a sports car. I just scratch my head in complete amazement when some Corvette owners' sole focus is on straightline stuff. You can do that with any clapped out Chevelle or Malibu. What's the point of independent suspension, four wheel discs, and a low center of gravity if you're just going in a straight line?

 

I can appreciate a "different" conversion but you already have 2 more cyls, why go to a smaller motor? Going backwards IMO.

 

So are you saying more cylinders is better? Or maybe BIGGER is better? Do a search on Buddy Ingersoll and read his story. He ran a 331ci Buick V6 in IHRA Pro Stock against mountain motors of 750ci and was banned for outrunning them.

 

Yeah, bigger is better considering both are boosted.

 

and here ya go....http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...grand+national

 

Holy S**T! That is insane. That is a worthwhile swap if you are draggin. Did you see the torque twist on takeoff!

 

5.5L???? I've never heard of someone taking a Buick V6 that big. He must have had a lot of $$$$$$$$$$ to make that happen!

 

I think he meant say 231 cube which would be a 3.8 liter. Initially I bought my Vette to put a GN power train in it but I don't have the heart to pull out a good LT1 yet, if it keeps giving problems I will do it soon or later. I know GN power trains like the palm of my hands. I restore and sell Turbo Buicks as a hobby and I have few power trains lying around to say the least.

The current setup in my GN still has the stock bottom end, rods, pistons, crank and caps. Yet it takes 3800lbs brick into mid tens without any issues. Imagine what the same setup can do in a lighter and more aerodynamic car like the vette. It also gives me 24 miles to gal on the highway. It's all about the combo, tune and 0 detonation.

You can always buy and adaptor for the 700r4 to bolt up to the Buick V6. Just make sure that it's built because the little Buick V6 will make a ton of torque and tear it up in no time. We spend about $2000 on a built 200r4 to put behind a 10 sec Buick v6.

Just my $.02

Prasad

 

I had an 89 Trans Am with the tuned port 350, required 700R4, and 3.42 gears. I installed a cat back, K & N, and "prom chip". I thought it was pretty fast until one day I pulled up next to this red GTA at a light. Light turned green, we took off and then I heard a whistle and he took off with his 4 or 5 year old WAVING at me out the back window.

 

Thanks Wicked, yes I ment 231ci. The Buddy Ingersoll story is amaizing. He used a Indy block which is something not many people can obtain. But still, to put a tiny engine up against huge V8 shows what turbocharging is capable of doing. I have two of those 750 turbo bikes and have done my own turbo modifications and have built a few of what we call "stage 5" turbos. Basically making a Garrett T3 50 trim compressor wheel fit inside the 750's stock Hitachi HT-10B. That's a lot of air for a little engine and they can make over 30psi of boost. I did a boost compression figure once. 7.3-1 W/30psi corrected compression was something like 27-1. So there's your equilizer. You just have to keep the cylinder head on. I've made five or so passes with 30psi of boost and let a friend make several passes. I asked him what my bike felt like compaired to his full-on race Hyabusa. He said the 750 pulled harder, faster. Then his slick & wheelie bar, big bore, cams, and many obviouse mods. His bike was not streetable, mine is 100% street-bike. However, mine does have ZX11 suspension front & back with a 180 Shinko rear tire. What's important to point out here is, anyone on a 1000cc or bigger bike wouldn't have any doubts his bike could outrun my 750. With 7.3-1 compression at idle, there is no sign of danger. It's very quiet. The turbo is there to look at, but it's so small who would suspect it could do anything impressive? The exhaust spider pipes are about the size of a quarter, definately restrictive as can be. It does have a lockup clutch but uses a spacer and retains the stock engine cover. From what I've seen. Only a few turbocharged vehicles are really designed to perform as a turbocharged engine should. The original is the McLaren designed Buick Grand National 231ci V6. The Porsche Twin Turbo. Kawasaki's 750 turbo and the McLaren designed Pontiac Grand Prix. There may be others built from 1990-up that I'm not familier with. These are just the few that I do know about and they are all capable of much more then people think.

 

Its almost equivalent to antomatic transaxled DSMs running down their bigger V8 competition. I know of a guy locally who has one and I have to admit it is faster my Vette. Bad thing about it is that he has blown it up 2 times already. I have built this $3000 383 and spend about $500 on my 700R4 but it hasn't failed yet. I heard he spent over 40 gs on that little $2000 car, but hey, I guess whatever floats your boat.

 

All 1500 Turbo TA's were white.

 

I stand corrected. The guy I was next to may have painted his or done a transplant. I believe it even had the turbo emblems on it. Could have been a supercharged TPI because the main thing I remember was that whistle and that kid waving at me.

 

Yeah, I know of at least 1 red GTA that has a the Buick Turbo V6 in it. A real nice conversion.

I've got one (a Turbo Trans Am) and love it. The look on people's face when it blows them away is great - and then when they ask what's it got, and I tell them, "oh, it's just a six-cylinder" - that priceless!

Chris
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1988 Chevrolet Corvette 35th Anniversary #1941/2050
1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am #760 (1920 miles)
1986 Pontiac Fiero GT
1983 Delorean DMC-12
1986 Toyota Supra MKII
1985 Kawasaki Eliminator ZL900

 

You forgot the syclone and typhoon Turbocharged 4.3L V6 AWD

 

Well you say you're a cruiser & not a racer so I'd say go with the existing good-looking, great-sounding, long-lasting torque monster V8 you already have.


David

 

just remember though, turbo V-6's can become high maintainace and hight dollar if it breaks, I know, I had one...key word, HAD

 

Are you sure? My buddy has a turbo trans am that is black and gold (smokey and the bandit colors). He's only the second owner and it's supposed to be totally factory. Where are you getting your info?

 

Get your story strait. You turbo fan boys have hyped this up for over 20yrs into something that it NEVER, EVER was.

Ingersoll wasn't banned for out running anyone. INFACT HE NEVER WON A RACE. The closest he came, was getting his doors blown off in a semi final round by Bob Glidden at Bristol in 1986. He was allowed to run an entire season by the IHRA, even thou the other competitiors in Pro Stock wondered why he was allowed to run a Turbo Charged motor against normally aspriated motors and get a 200lb weight break. Buick pulled out after that season because of money and the IHRA decided after talking with other teams (who fully intended to start pumping massive amounts of $$$ into turbo charged small displacment engines)
these things would make the class get out of control. Ted Jones knew that the class would quickly run amuck when the factorys started dolling in the $$$ to develop turbos and didn't want the hassel.

Seems to me, he was smarted than people give him credit for... look what happend to INDY and Formula 1. Developmental $$$ got out of control only a few people could afford compete and now... they all run normally apsriated, only took the 15yrs to see their folly.

BTW IHRA Pro Stock motors in 1986 were only about 580-604 inches. On top of that the best cyl heads availiable were the A460 Ford head (or the Allan Root Boss head) which are flow wise about... close to as good as a set of Yates small block C3's. Chevys of that era were still running the W Port Bowtie castings. They might as well have been running stock rectangular port crap.

As for your little Motorcycle pic there, I see a stock Busa (it even has the stock mufflers on it) running a highly modified (I don't even see a muffler... but I do see a braced swingarm) Kawi 750 turbo. Stock V/S modified, I'll take a modified go cart on that race any day of the week.

If you have the $$$ you can make anything fast. Turbos are used to make crappy engines into good performing ones. The 3800 Buick is a prime example. Who in their right mind thought something as oil dependant as a turbo charger was a good idea on an engine that has a cast crank, cast rods, cast pistons and the oil pump hung off the timing cover where it de primes every time you turn it off... they should have their fricken heads examined. Buick had been working on the 3800 with a turbo since the mid to late 70's when the gas crunch came. They were tasked by GM to come up with a gas efficient but decent performing engine using an exsisting GM engine platform. All you GN fan boys act like you can take a stock GN turn up the boost and run 9's all day long. It's a bunch of BS. The rods will come out of one in a second at that power level. Just because one guy did it (and has destroyed about 100 stock short blocks in the process) dosen't mean GN's are 9 second cars with a little tuning (well they are because I see them running mid 9's at my local 1/8th mile drag strip every weekend).

Now to de-bunk some more of your mis-information, Mclaren had nothing to do with the desgin of the Buick Turbo Indy engines. Jim Ruggles was asked by GM and did all the development work on the Indy Buicks. Not to take away from his accomplishments, because IMO he is one of the greatest engine builders that has ever lived, but the only reason they were even competitive, is because the rules at the time allowed the Buicks a weight break and more boost for using a "Stock Block".

As for modifying a Corvette. Once you start spending $$$ why limit your self to a crapy engine desgin from the get go. The SBC is the best stock based engine ever modified for racing. Why spend all that $$$ to go slower. Crap I know I guy with ported heads and a hot cam in an LT1 Corvette (VERT) running mid 11's. I know that cost way less than a 3800 Buick swap.
Will

 

No doubt about it. Pontiac made exactly 1555, all white, and all were identical to the car used in the Indianapois 500 (it was the pace car for the race in 1989).
** note: rumor is 5 of those cars were pilot car (pre-production) and may not have been white (colors unknown). Where these 5 cars are now, who knows. But in all essence, and to the general buying public, you could only get a 1989 Turbo Trans Am in white.

Google '1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am' and you'll find a bunch of sites/stories on it.

Sounds like your buddy has a 1980/1981 Turbo Trans Am. Those were made in serveral different colors (including black/gold) - but those were 2nd generation F-bodies (Smokey & the Bandit style) and used a turbocharged V8. Not nearly as fast as the '89 Turbo Trans Am using the Buick Grand National turbo V6.

Chris
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1988 Chevrolet Corvette 35th Anniversary #1941/2050
1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am #760 (1920 miles)
1986 Pontiac Fiero GT
1983 Delorean DMC-12
1986 Toyota Supra MKII
1985 Kawasaki Eliminator ZL900