'89 Pontiac Grand Am Turbo
- Thread starter terik.m
- Start date
The hp rating on them was about 165 which isnt bad for its time considering its a 4 banger. It took Honda another 8 years to catch up in HP with the B16 in the Del Sol rated at 165hp. With a little more boost, some alky and tuning I bet you could squeeze another 50 hp out of it. I wonder why GM didnt develop more turbo cars given the success of the TR. One could only imagine what could of been with all the smaller cars.
The hp rating on them was about 165 which isnt bad for its time considering its a 4 banger. It took Honda another 8 years to catch up in HP with the B16 in the Del Sol rated at 165hp. With a little more boost, some alky and tuning I bet you could squeeze another 50 hp out of it. I wonder why GM didnt develop more turbo cars given the success of the TR. One could only imagine what could of been with all the smaller cars in GM lineup. Also given the turbo setup...it would of been really feasible for GM to offer a turbo A-body car. It would of been really cool to see the Century T Type or Lesabre T Type with a turbo option.
Turbo F-bird
Member
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2006
A friend of mine had a girlfriend with a turbo Grand Am. They were pretty rare then and seldom seen today. My Sunbird ran 15.9 stock brand new, went 14.1 really easily and 13.6 with a turbo upgrade.
TexasT
Texas, Where are you from
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2002
I believe emissions became a problem with the turbo. The cat had a hard time getting up to temp quickly enough so the eaton supercharger was employed on the v6. Also the quad four was a player at that time. Just simpler without the turbo.
- Joined
- May 26, 2001
Original owner of a '90 Sunbird GT Turbo here.
The 122 CI 2.0L, inline 4 cylinder, non intercooled turbo motor, was produced from '87 - '90. Known as the LT3.
GM 122 engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It was produced in Brazil. It had a hp rating of 165 hp and 175 lb ft tq. It used a Garrett T25 turbo with a .64 A/R T25 internally gated turbine housing. It also featured a water cooled center section for longevity concerns of the period. Boost would vary from 7psi up to 9.5psi depending on ambient conditions. It was an optional motor in the '87 - '89 models and the only option for the '90 Sunbird GT Turbo. In '90, you could also order a sleeper. It was a Sunbird SE with the turbo motor. I'm sure those were quicker as they did not have the ground effects package or the rear spoiler that the GT had. I would guess about 50#s lighter. This motor was also the standard mill in the '87 - '89 Buick Skyhawk T-Type and was an option for the '87 - '89 Pontiac Grand Prix SE. (Other motor being the 2.3L Quad 4 in the SE)
It was rumored, that Lotus had a hand in the development process of this engine when GM gave the 1.8L Turbo an overhaul in '87. Seeing as around that time frame GM purchased Lotus and the Lotus Espirit Turbo at the time, was a 2.2L intercooled turbo 4 cylinder that made serious hp and was also painted red.
Two weeks after getting my Sunbird I took it to the track on it's maiden voyage. I left the track that day with a 15.20 @ 92 mph time slip. There was a magazine article that came out two years prior, where they track tested a '88 Sunbird GT Turbo and did some mod tricks. This consisted of removing the air box assembly and icing down the intake for an hour at the track. I believe they were able to crack into the 15 flat range. Over the next 3 years, I proceeded to upgrade mine, the same way you would a Turbo Buick. Adjustable wastegate actuator for more boost (12psi was the limit before the ECM would shut off the injectors), custom ram air / cold air setup for the turbo and a test pipe. My best ever pass on regular radials (drag radials didn't exist back then) was a 14.26 @ 99 mph. With a horrible 1.90 60ft. I was just about to sink more money into the car in the form of a customer air to liquid intercooler, when a buddy of mine found me a 1 owner '86 T-Type for a steal back in '94. So, hot rodding the Sunbird took the back seat while I hot rodded my first T-Type.
These motors were notorious for developing leaking head gaskets due to several conditions. A loose and or malfunctioning coolant temp sensor would cause the fan not to turn on, which would lead to over heating and then a blown head gasket. (Patrick raises his hand) It's what ultimately happened to mine. The other reason was detonation due to low octane fuel and people just running them into the ground. There are currently two very low mileage GT Turbo convertibles for sale on Auto Trader, that are decently priced for what they are. It's very hard to find a mint low mileage Skyhawk T-Type or Grand Prix SE Turbo, as most people drove them to death.
I still have mine tucked away in my garage, waiting on the motor swap and or converting it to LS motor and RWD. Torch Red, low options and 5 speed.
Sorry to ramble on, but I have a passion for these cars as well. I had alot of fun with mine. My best memory was street race I had against Mr. Fiscus back in '94. He drove a friend of our's bone stock Turqois '93 Mustang Cobra. I got the jump on his and held 1 car length on him the whole race. WOOHOO. Good race.
Thanks for the flash back.
Patrick
The 122 CI 2.0L, inline 4 cylinder, non intercooled turbo motor, was produced from '87 - '90. Known as the LT3.
GM 122 engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It was produced in Brazil. It had a hp rating of 165 hp and 175 lb ft tq. It used a Garrett T25 turbo with a .64 A/R T25 internally gated turbine housing. It also featured a water cooled center section for longevity concerns of the period. Boost would vary from 7psi up to 9.5psi depending on ambient conditions. It was an optional motor in the '87 - '89 models and the only option for the '90 Sunbird GT Turbo. In '90, you could also order a sleeper. It was a Sunbird SE with the turbo motor. I'm sure those were quicker as they did not have the ground effects package or the rear spoiler that the GT had. I would guess about 50#s lighter. This motor was also the standard mill in the '87 - '89 Buick Skyhawk T-Type and was an option for the '87 - '89 Pontiac Grand Prix SE. (Other motor being the 2.3L Quad 4 in the SE)
It was rumored, that Lotus had a hand in the development process of this engine when GM gave the 1.8L Turbo an overhaul in '87. Seeing as around that time frame GM purchased Lotus and the Lotus Espirit Turbo at the time, was a 2.2L intercooled turbo 4 cylinder that made serious hp and was also painted red.
Two weeks after getting my Sunbird I took it to the track on it's maiden voyage. I left the track that day with a 15.20 @ 92 mph time slip. There was a magazine article that came out two years prior, where they track tested a '88 Sunbird GT Turbo and did some mod tricks. This consisted of removing the air box assembly and icing down the intake for an hour at the track. I believe they were able to crack into the 15 flat range. Over the next 3 years, I proceeded to upgrade mine, the same way you would a Turbo Buick. Adjustable wastegate actuator for more boost (12psi was the limit before the ECM would shut off the injectors), custom ram air / cold air setup for the turbo and a test pipe. My best ever pass on regular radials (drag radials didn't exist back then) was a 14.26 @ 99 mph. With a horrible 1.90 60ft. I was just about to sink more money into the car in the form of a customer air to liquid intercooler, when a buddy of mine found me a 1 owner '86 T-Type for a steal back in '94. So, hot rodding the Sunbird took the back seat while I hot rodded my first T-Type.
These motors were notorious for developing leaking head gaskets due to several conditions. A loose and or malfunctioning coolant temp sensor would cause the fan not to turn on, which would lead to over heating and then a blown head gasket. (Patrick raises his hand) It's what ultimately happened to mine. The other reason was detonation due to low octane fuel and people just running them into the ground. There are currently two very low mileage GT Turbo convertibles for sale on Auto Trader, that are decently priced for what they are. It's very hard to find a mint low mileage Skyhawk T-Type or Grand Prix SE Turbo, as most people drove them to death.
I still have mine tucked away in my garage, waiting on the motor swap and or converting it to LS motor and RWD. Torch Red, low options and 5 speed.
Sorry to ramble on, but I have a passion for these cars as well. I had alot of fun with mine. My best memory was street race I had against Mr. Fiscus back in '94. He drove a friend of our's bone stock Turqois '93 Mustang Cobra. I got the jump on his and held 1 car length on him the whole race. WOOHOO. Good race.
Thanks for the flash back.
Patrick
Turbo F-bird
Member
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2006
It's not the same engine as in the Turbo Grand Prix, they use the 3.1. It's the same engine as in a Turbo Grand Am which was a 2 year only option.
Good info on this car!!!! Seems like it would be a fun car to fool around with a bit. Im sure with today's technology you can make them scream. A set of bigger injectors, bigger turbo, IC, water/meth injection. The only problem that I an see from what Ive read, is the ECM cutting power to the injectors @ 12#. But chip/ECM guys are geniuses nowadays so Im sure someone could write something up for it. How does the computer know what psi the engine is at?....ie MAP sensor, boost sensor....there has to be a way around that issue.
That reminds me of a friend back in high school who had a Dodge Omni GLHS turbo. That car really surprised a lot of early 80's Camaros and Mustangs. It was a pretty cool car for a punk kid. I think the glhs was around 175hp. 14.7@94 right out of the box. 
OEM B16s that came in the Del Sol and Si cpe were 160hp USdm and 1.6l N/A, revved higher, got better mpg, lasts longer, and my Si bone stock also ran a 15.9. Bolt ons to 14.9 and 50 shot to 13.9. I am not bashing GM but I just dont see where this was ahead of Honda.
Now the GLHS, yeah, that was a piece of engineering!!
- Joined
- May 26, 2001
The setup was a Speed Density based ECM with a 2 bar MAP Sensor. When GMC created the Syclone, not only did they take the dash cluster for the '90 Sunbird GT Turbo and simply alter the Redline marks, but they also borrowed the factory ECM and programming. Very wise on GM's part. There were some tuning gurus out there who were burning custom chips for Sy / Ty's and I'm sure they could alter the program on these LT3 power cars. But, finding someone who is willing to give it a shot, much less take the time to do it is going to be tough.
However, there other upgrades available ignition wise, thanks to MSD. They have a harness that can adapt any of the MSD 6 series boxes to the factory ignition, as well as a replacement upgrade coil. Now all you have to do is adapt an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, throw in a GN Walbro 255 LPH fuel pump, up size the injectors and have someone burn a custom chip. Fab up a custom front mount intercooler, do something with the exhaust and you're off. Sometimes I really wish mine was up and running again as it was a blast. But alas, it's resting quietly in my garage now.
Patrick
