Buick GNX Turbo Engine Build (Part 1) 

THANK YOU! everyone on youtube calls em GNX's drives me nuts. You'd think even a car channel would get it right. They even call t-types GNX's

You don't need to do all this work to make only 700hp. There's people making 700hp with the stock block.

Cool

dragkid185 lol prove it....

Daniel Porter Considering I saw it in person at the dyno, I can't really prove it.

+TPV Productions If you had actually ever been around these modified cars ('86/'87 intercooled models), you'd know you can make enough power to run high 11's for $900 if you buy the right parts and do the work yourself. It is all bolt-ons and ECM tuning. Spend about $2,000 on proper bolt-ons to run low 11's, spend about $3,500 to run high 10s. All this while keeping A/C and at full weight with a stock, non-rebuilt block if you started with a good condition engine. I have done all of the above personally. It's really quite simple. You just need to know what to do and what not to do for reliability while not wasting money on mods that have little to no benefit. You don't NEED to make 700 horsepower to have a fast turbo Regal. These types of modifications are reliable enough to drive your car on road trips. They don't have to sit all week and do not require anymore maintenance than an average turbo Regal. Put good fuel in, change the ECM settings and race it with drag radials. That's all.

+Duey Jones That was one of the big disappointments. The owner moved to Texas (I'm in NC) and started working with a tuner there. He was at 700 hp at what he called a mild tune and working through some other issues before pushing it further. And then the car was stolen. Frustrating, but true.

When he was making all that power, was he able to use 93 octane fuel, or did he have to have racing fuel?

Is the pic in the thumbnail pic for the vid his car? Have any details on his suspension or wheels used?

After 7 years, I guess you never go the info.

+Duey Jones Block, heads, intake and block were all used to save $

Depending his goals he may not have needed to go to a TA performance block. The GN1-R heads, as long as they aren't the earlier cast, are sufficient. Not to say that TA Performance heads aren't good. I hear with porting they can out flow GN1 heads, I don't know about GN1-R though. No heads will out flow the Buick Motor Sports Stage 2 heads, for the turbo V6 application. The intakes on heads are huge. Seen a pair, not even fully ported.

Was the 4.1L block was necessary in order to use the GN1-R heads? I just rebuilt my 3.8L block and my engine builder said that GN1-Rs weren't an option because of valve clearance and the cylinder wall. My next project is to build a 3800 Series II block, a Series would work just as well, turbo powered car. The 3800 series blocks are much stronger in the bottom end with the cross bolted mains and are an overall better block. A guy is using a series II block with port and polished 3800 NA series III heads on his build. With a stock 3800 crank, forged rods and pistons. He'll be able to make 600rwhp with the same turbo I have, but only using 18psi. For me with my 3.8L block, I will need to turn the boost up to 28psi and I probably still won't hit 600whp. There are millions of the 3800 blocks out there, if people would just realize the untapped potential there could be a nice after market for the block out there.

Sometimes it's not about how cheap and how much horse power you're gonna make

Maybe be. But then you have ruined the car. A friend of mine did that to his GN and the value of the car went to shit.

@@allmarinemaintenance3714 agreed.

@@jeshicks9947 maybe so. I guy I knew (sadly he passed away) had a ls1 swapped GN and sold it for big money.

+Luis Morales - 1) What you speak of is called a JDM not JMD. - I have actually built them from the pan up. You? Probably not. 2) For a JDM to make equal power, you would have to spend AT LEAST FOUR TIMES AS MUCH MONEY to produce as much as an '86 or '87 3.8 SFI Intercooled Turbo Buick engine while keeping the A/C. I have built several of these too. 3) A fully optioned turbo Regal weighs right at 3,540 lbs. Most TRs weigh less. WE4 model is lightest. 4) If done right and you don't make over 600 horsepower, these engines are EXTREMELY reliable with regular maintenance and turbo rebuilds every 50k miles or so. I have a low 11 second car with A/C and the car has 148k miles on the short block which has nothing done except the oil pan gaskets replaced at 122k. I have driven the car in it's current form on road trips of 1,000 miles without any problems and with drag radials, easily run under 11.5 second 1/4 miles anywhere I've been. NEVER do I install nitrous injection. 5) With an otherwise stock TR, spend $900 in on the right parts and install them yourself to run 11.9s to 12.2s if that's all you were after. Try doing that with a JDM, a K20, a 4b11t or a 4g63t. You can''t. AND yes, you are running high 11s to low 12s with a 3,500 lb comfortable, RELIABLE car with air conditioning. G bodies hook up very well at the drag strip and only require one airbag under the right rear of the car to stabilize traction and keep the body close to level at launch.

Aяcнαηgεl Mιcнαεl Mr. Archangel, thank you for the compliment. I try to learn more each and every day since I will never know everything but I do try to gain as much knowledge about things I am very interested in. I know of guys that have done some wrong things with the TRs and it cost them dearly, just as it does with most kinds of engine builds. I simply followed tried and true methods for any builds/mods I have performed and thankfully they all worked out successfully. Air/Fuel ratio is key when hot rodding these things.

Aяcнαηgεl Mιcнαεl - I recently (this past week) found one for one of my old friends. I located several in various conditions and miles. Most are likely still available. Tell me what area you are in and what condition/price you are looking for. I spent about 5 hours checking them out and have several emails from the sellers. I'd be happy to forward the info to you.

Aяcнαηgεl Mιcнαεl Well, the '86 T-Type and the '87 Turbo T are more rare than the same years' GNs but regardless, the GNs in usable, solid condition command a premium. I know of an '87 Turbo T that is ready to go low 11s or maybe high 10s with little to no work needed. It has an aftermarket intercooler, larger turbo, etc, etc including Weld wheels and drag radials which is for sale for $19,900 but the owner (a dealer) would likely let it go for $17,500 or perhaps a bit less. It is a CLEAN, I mean CLEAN car with a mirror paint job of light gray. Here is the link. fastlanecars.com/vehicles/679/1987-buick-regal-t-type --- On the other hand, you'd spend close to that by the time you fixed up a TR that was in need plus the additional hot rod bolt ons. Within limits, TRs don't need direct 'engine' mods except for perhaps cylinder and intake porting and use of Cometic gaskets during reassembly. It you weren't attempting to have a modified car running this fast, you could find a stock or semi-stock car that would run high 13s to low14s for around $12k. Add $7k for a comparable, nice GN. It IS easier to find GNs though.

You are quite welcome. My low 11 second car I drive while using the A/C has full interior and while in street tune gets 20 mpg highway and around 15 in town running on 93 octane. I wouldn't hesitate to take it on a 1,000 mile trip and have done so a few times with no issues. The DRs were in the trunk, not on the car, as you may have already understood.

LudwigSC93...dick point egg block for a glazed donut case. That's what I heard.