1987 GN Twin Turbo Coyote swap - Project Ford-ified (4DIFYD)

myfast70

Member
Joined
May 4, 2007
Yup, I said it, a Ford Coyote in a GN!! Now before everyone wants to throw a fit, just know that this car wasn't a super low mile, ultra clean GN, it was purchased as a roller race car. It has a 10pt cage in it that will need to be cut out, no AC, manual steering and 4 wheel disc brakes, the car is reasonably straight and an original, clean & rust free AZ car.

Now for the fun details! It will be a 2018 Sema car, it will have a twin Turbo Coyote engine in it that will be capable of 16-1700 fwhp, 6R80 auto trans, 4 wheel power Baer brakes, power steering, power windows, the all important air conditioning and whatever other creature comforts I can cram into it. The GN rear end will be getting replaced with a Moser M9 fabricated housing, likely a 3.09 gear as I want to also do the 1/2 mile roll racing that seems to be gaining popularity out here in AZ lately. The car is already mini tubbed and frame notched, HR parts n stuff control arms & ARB in the rear, tubular control arms in the front. Once the cars fab work is completed then it will be taken back apart to be repainted and I will then have the engine sleeved with a new rotating assembly to handle all of the boost that I'm going to throw at it.

So a little bit about me, I am a long time member here and have previously owned a 10sec v6 GN. I have done a lot of work with Nick Micale and have been by his side on a lot of builds. I am very familiar with the GN platform and also make numerous parts for the Turbo Buicks, some of you even have my parts in and on your cars as I make shifter handles, EGR block off plates, fuel pump block off, some other odds & ends and more recently the Super Pump fuel system that Nick sells and has on his website. I am the designer and inventor of that fuel system and it is partially what spurred this GN project as I want to showcase how capable my in tank fuel system can be without the need for a full on fuel cell and external pump. Besides Buick's I also work on and build all types of cars for people that want to go fast and am also involved in build a 2000+ LSx swapped '64 Ford Fairlane. More recently I've found myself working on a ton of 2011+ Mustangs and have built a bunch of 8, 9 & 10 sec cars for people. I still own a 93 Foxbody (hatch) with a twin turbo SBF that runs bottom 9's. I also bought another 93 Foxbody (notch) a few years ago to build into a 10sec daily driven v6 (from a 2014 Mustang) but that project snowballed into a twin turbo 1600+hp Coyote swap which then turned into a GN Coyote swap. As if that wasn't enough to keep me busy I also work with a buddy of mine wiring Trophy Trucks and numerous other vehicles that compete in the Baja 500 & 1000 along with a ton of other series. Did I mention that we do a lot of RZR's and some really bad ass high ends boats too?? I can do custom CNC parts for people along with production stuff should the need ever arise.

Feel free to ask any questions that you have for me. As for the why, well because I'm paying the bill for this thing at the end of the day and want something that hasn't been done before, I like one off projects and things that are different from what the masses do. LS engines have been swapped into everything, including GN's, it's been done a bunch already. If you want to join in on the project and have your name prominently displayed on the build board for my car at Sema please feel free to reach out to me as sponsors are always a plus when taking on a build such as this. I already have Moser on board as a sponsor along with KRC power steering components and am in the process of finalizing a deal with another company as we speak.

Here's a couple pics of the car, the fuel pumps I build along with a few fab projects I've done.

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Photos dont work in taptalk darn

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OK well if you are going to piss of everyone you might as well do it right.

This should be fun to watch. Interesting project. I do like those intakes/filters on the turbos those are pretty slick.
 
OK well if you are going to piss of everyone you might as well do it right.

This should be fun to watch. Interesting project. I do like those intakes/filters on the turbos those are pretty slick.

Yes, when I do something I try and do it right and I've already caught some flack from a few people off site about the swap so I figure I'm doing it right, lol.

The air filter adapters were custom made for that project so the filters could sit inside of the where the inner headlights once were. That has been a very fun project and we still have a lot left to do on it once the body work gets finished. All of the rear suspension we just completed and we installed a triangulated 4 link in it to match the massive mini tub that we did (we can comfortably fit a 15" wide tire inside of the mini tubs and still have 1/2" to spare on both sides.
 
As for the why, well because I'm paying the bill for this thing at the end of the day and want something that hasn't been done before.

Cool project, although a 2,000 hp quad turbo Brigg & Stratton in a GN hasn't been done before either. Lol and for good reason.

As a guy of the same mentality I figure I'm allowed to polk a little fun.
As a teen I dropped a 400 sbc in a '75 Ford 3/4 ton high boy. It ran in the 15's through the 1/4 @ 81 mph. It out ran some of the camaros and kept up with some of the mustangs in the mid '80's.
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Now I just make up badges and put them on my wife's Explorer GT w/ 3.5L COYOTE hee hee hee.
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Great work and keep us posted.

Edited to correct autocorrect.
 
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Now I just make up badges and put them on my wife's Explorer GT w/ 3.5L COYOTE hee hee hee.
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Great work and keep us posted.

Care to share a bit more about the badges you make? Do you do make & produce them or just have someone else do them for you? I'm going to need badges for the GN once it nears completion and would love to have a Buick / Ford mix on the car.

Thanks!

joe, whats the update

I've been busy working on my house for the past few weeks with GN stuff in between when time allows. I redid my entire garage, paint, electric & air lines, hung banners that needed to be hung for several years now and then retiled my front room & family room to match the rest of the house. Oh wait, you wanted a car update. Here you go!

I got my final engine & frame plate designs finished up and water jetted. Bolted them to the frame and engine, set the engine where I wanted it and got the passenger side tacked into place. I should have the driver side done next week then onto the trans crossmember. Once all of the final mounting is done and in place I have to notch a couple things for clearance and will hopefully start building the headers once the twins are delivered ;)

Oh yeah, I also removed the windshield today to make it easier to fab up the new roll cage to replace the garbage one that was in the car when I got it.

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Very nice progress.
I have a friend that owns a sign shop in Estes Park CO. I had him manipulate a generic GT font I found on EBay to more resemble the Mustang GT font that's a little more edgy.
I cut some 1/8" aluminum plates, bent them to match the contour, painted them black to compliment the graphite theme and assembled them.
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I had thoughts of a Saleen theme or maybe Stillen or Steeda, but decided on the Explorer GT. Something that is not made, so why not make a emblem/ badge for the 3.5L COYOTE motor, something else that's not made.

Not as intricate as the completely machined emblems that coach on the board here provides (you would have to check if he does personalized designs), just something unique that looks kind of factory.

I know my friend has mentioned machining custom emblems/ badges, but I'm not sure he is quite set up for that yet.
I will check with him and let you know.
 
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Thanks! I still have lots of work in front of me to get this thing completed. Headers & hotside parts will be a big step then I'll move on to the coldside. Just a quick mockup showed that I could use all of the 15-17 factory cooling system components, radiator, fan, condensor, trans cooler and if there's enough room like I'm thinking there will be I should be able to place a large air to water intercooler between the engine and cooling fan module which will simplify the up pipe to TB.

The badges look great up close! Being that I CNC parts I can make the badges, just need to get the proper font, which I've yet to decide on.
 
I think most on here take the road less traveled, that's why we own a Turbo Regal.
In the late '90's i glassed in the front of my '90 Regal custom and gave it a bmw-ick (bm-double-uick) flare w/ blue and white emblems that say Buick around the top and painted to match Lesabre T-type emblems on the front of the doors.
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Keep engineering the emblems in the back of your mind, I'm sure you'll come up with something killer like the rest of your build and previous projects.

I edited my posts with smaller photos so they are less distracting to your build thread.

Stop typing and get some sleep. Lol
 
I just threw up when I seen "FORD" but I'll give it a pass because it looks like a really clean build. (y)
 
I just threw up when I seen "FORD" but I'll give it a pass because it looks like a really clean build. (y)

Perfect! Accomplishing my goal one person at a time. It will be a very clean build, will not be half assed and will be a 2018 Sema car ;)

Thanks for the approval
 
Joe, you magnificent bastard! :)

I still need to get with you on a new up pipe.
 
Just let me know when you're ready! I have a Sema C10 truck showing up this week for a full custom stainless steel exhaust then should have an open spot. I've also got two more private track day events planned, Saturday November 18th and Sunday December 10th. Let me know if you plan on making it and we'll be sure to do your up pipe by then!
 
Perfect! Accomplishing my goal one person at a time. It will be a very clean build, will not be half assed and will be a 2018 Sema car ;)

Thanks for the approval
Nicely done, just talked with Nick about the SP2 double pump. Very cool looking pump. He said he had one in the works should be able to ship in a week or so. Can't wait. He will ship to Richard Clark for my build. I don't know of anyone in the east that has one of these pumps. I'm sure that will change now that Richard is involved. Happy trails with your GN project !!!
 
Nicely done, just talked with Nick about the SP2 double pump. Very cool looking pump. He said he had one in the works should be able to ship in a week or so. Can't wait. He will ship to Richard Clark for my build. I don't know of anyone in the east that has one of these pumps. I'm sure that will change now that Richard is involved. Happy trails with your GN project !!!


Thanks! Nick placed that order and your pump is getting built this week. There are several pumps that I know of that have gone to the east coast.

Please feel free to reach out to me directly thru pm with any install questions!
 
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