3800 Series 1 info

1984grandnat

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2001
How many people would be interested in forming a group of Series 1 enthusiasts? If there is enough interest out there, then maybe it would be worthwhile to organize what little information that we have on our cars, so that we may better help each other in the future with technical issues and performance upgrades.

I currently own an 84 Grand National and a 94 Bonneville SSEi, so I know very well what it is like to NOT have much help available, hehe. ;)
 
Thats a great idea! Im all for it. I own a 1992 Buick Park Avenue with the 3800 series 1 N/A. Its hard to find parts for those engines or even people with alot of knowlege about them. Everyone is into the series 2 motor.
 
I put a 92 SSEi engine in my 86 Ciera GT so I have a fair amount of experience with the engine and ECM.
 
I am merely looking for some feedback at this point. I can remember many occasions that I have looked for information on my Series I engine, and there are little bits and pieces here and there, with no real organization to it. For example, if you want aftermarket pulleys for our superchargers, where can you get them? There are pulleys everywhere for the Series II engines, but I have yet to see a vendor offering parts for the Series I. Everywhere you look, it's GTP this and GTP that (no offense intended, Series II guys). I am not sure how many of our cars are on the road today, but I'll bet there are more Series I engines on the road than hotair turbo cars (for which there is an entire section of turbobuick.com dedicated to). I also understand that this is a TURBO buick website, and that it is nice to at least have SOME recognition for us supercharged guys, but it seems that there is enough of a difference between the Series I and Series II engines, that they almost need to be separated somehow.

Sorry about the ranting and raving, and I apologize if I have somehow offended anyone, sometimes I get a little carried away.:D I am just trying to test the water and see if I am the only one who feels this way. If so, well then, so be it. I will continue to develop my own methods of squeezing power out of my little Series I engine, an continue to try to "make" things work which were designed for Series II motors.

I just think it might be nice to have the Series I information organized into a nice, easily accessible place, whether it be here, or a small personal web page (with links to turbobuick.com, of course!:cool: ).

I don't know, let me know what you Series I guys think....
 
Well there's a good reason there's not much enthusiast out there. Until the series II, they were only available in the larger cars favored by older people.(Park Ave, Olds 98, ect.) When they came out in a lighter more youth oriented Pontiac the market boomed.

Anyway, I think it's great getting a few people together. Might want to check out clubgp.com, there are a few people with series Is floating aroung there.
 
I just sent a E-Mail to the head of this web site. I asked him if he could create a section dedicated to the series 1 3800. I havent heard back from him yet. Ill let you know when I do. I would suggest that others do the same so we can get this thing rolling!
 
T-Keith brings up a very good point, which I really didn't think of. I guess my Bonneville is really a grandma car, huh? :D I just purchased this car about a month ago, and it is completely stock. I plan to take it to Noble, OK for the Buick vs Ford shootout in October (since it IS buick powered), and we will see just what it does in near-stock trim. At this point, from just driving it, I should see low 15s to high 14s with proper fuel and a good tune-up. Maybe I'm a bit optimistic, but I am just judging it compared to my GN. If I could make this big car run in the 13s, that would be a good goal to shoot for at this point. I would be very interested to see what performance can be had from these cars. Based on the Series II outcomes, the potential is there, we just need to know better how to achieve it.

Good idea on the Email to the webmaster...I think I will do the same.

I also have a personal web page in the works for this car, and will keep you guys posted when it gets closer to being done.
 
Originally posted by 1984grandnat
T-Keith brings up a very good point, which I really didn't think of. I guess my Bonneville is really a grandma car, huh?

Don't forget, I drive a Lesabre. ;)
 
If there is in fact enough interest, I am interested in supporting this effort and becoming a supporting vendor of this website. If those interested would email me with some known info about the series one and what interests lie in performance or other parts, I will take it into serious consideration. Presently, I mostly deal with supercharged Thunderbirds, but I dont see any reason not to support the cause;)
 
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