hot air reliable??

[84gnLA]

My dream car has always been a Grand National and i finally bought me one. Its an 84 T-top project, but soon to be a body-off restoration. The car is still exactly how i bought it, just sitting under the cover and wont start. I'm currently just buying and saving for parts...i want to build a strong street car/show car...somewhere between a daily driver and weekend street racer, yet good looking enough to enter local car shows
Most shops near me who specialize in GNs wont touch a Hot-Air and most have recommended i do an engine swap or conversion to intercooled. "Its more reliable, creates more HP, more after market parts"..ext.
But what i have picked up on here is that hot-airs are capable of producing almost as much power as a IC engine...but is the money spend to make it fast and reliable worth not swapping??
My question for some of you HOT- gurus that could help me....is a Hot-air truly reliable as a fast street car??

 

[charlief1]

Most shops near me who specialize in GNs wont touch a Hot-Air and most have recommended i do an engine swap or conversion to intercooled. "Its more reliable, creates more HP, more after market parts"..ext.
But what i have picked up on here is that hot-airs are capable of producing almost as much power as a IC engine...but is the money spend to make it fast and reliable worth not swapping??
My question for some of you HOT- gurus that could help me....is a Hot-air truly reliable as a fast street car??

Welcome to the world of HA cars. Mine's one of the carb thrbo cars and if you think you can't find someone to work on yours you should see how hard it is to find someone that will even pop the hood on mine. A HA car can be made as fast as most of the IC cars but it takes more work and understanding. The other factor is the cash to do it. There are several HA cars in the 10's so far and if you do your research about your car and understand how it works then you should do ok. If you want to buy a "package" to make the car faster then do yourself a favor and convert it over to IC. The HA cars don't get the attention or better parts as far as intakes, headers, and turbos that the IC cars do.

First thing first though is for you to go through the HA sticky at the top of this section of the forum to help you out.

 

[Casey Jensen]

Welcome to the hot air world. It all depends on how quick you want to go and how much money you are willing to spend. My was bone stock when I bought it. On mine I put a cold air intake to get rid of restrictive factory filter, hooker 2 1/2 inch exhaust with no cat conv., Holley high flow fuel pump that has been hotwired, 87 ECM with turbotweak chip and 60lb injectors. I haven't went all the way with e85 yet, but run half regular unleaded and half e85 currently. Oh, a scan master is also a must have. Never had it to a track to see what it will do, but can tell a definite seat of your pants improvement and surprised many coming off a red light. I bow to the new corvettes and try to stay away from the new V8 mustangs, camaros and chargers. Pretty much everything else is fair game. Hope this helps. Good luck and have fun with your car. Pretty much money is the limit with these cars.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Welcome to the hot air world. It all depends on how quick you want to go and how much money you are willing to spend. My was bone stock when I bought it. On mine I put a cold air intake to get rid of restrictive factory filter, hooker 2 1/2 inch exhaust with no cat conv., Holley high flow fuel pump that has been hotwired, 87 ECM with turbotweak chip and 60lb injectors. I haven't went all the way with e85 yet, but run half regular unleaded and half e85 currently. Oh, a scan master is also a must have. Never had it to a track to see what it will do, but can tell a definite seat of your pants improvement and surprised many coming off a red light. I bow to the new corvettes and try to stay away from the new V8 mustangs, camaros and chargers. Pretty much everything else is fair game. Hope this helps. Good luck and have fun with your car. Pretty much money is the limit with these cars.

This post is right on. My car has run a 12.6 quarter with an inexperienced driver-me. The quickest ever run by posted people with my turbo is 12.1. I have chosen the route that my car is plenty fast for the street and the money drain is over. My future would be bigger turbo, injectors, and E85. Not happening. Spent my money on a new AC system. Brad

 

[Jerryl]

Let me share my experiences . . . . . .

For many years, the 84 was a DD/ Street racer
It ran fine and really did not have any major issues.
We drove the car from TX to MI and did not have any issues.
The car is now retired from its DD assignment.

During its DD time, it had a mismatched combo, stock un-ported heads, alky injection /pump.
However, on an 18 PSI street tune, it was potent enough to surprise many people.
A 400 HP car can be beat by a 250 HP car because there is MUCH more to being competitive than just HP ratings.
A HA can be “fast”, which is a relative word . . . . . . but I think an 11 second street car is fast.

The main ingredients to making a HA fast are (in my order );
Knowledge
Patience
Confidence
Funds

IC cars are easier to find parts for . . . . but denotation has no friends!

 

[Casey Jensen]

Thanks Brad for your comment on the set-up on my car. Sounds like we are on the same page. To 84gnla, you need to talk to jdpolzin on this site. He is the one I got my recipe and some parts from. He is trustworthy and knows turbo Buicks. These cars are pretty reliable for a 28 yr old car that can humiliate many of the "sports" cars of today.

 

[84gnLA]

Thank you..i truly appreciate all of your inputs.
Sounds like i need to put some overtime in homework and keep learning more and of course keep saving some $$.
I would much rather keep it hot-air (original) than converting it, either choice its not gonna be cheap
At this point i'm just a bit concern of its street potential...i'm not much of a drag racer but i hope 11s is quick enough for these streets..
I know once i take it out, every1 is gonna want a piece..since it is a "grand national"

 

[Casey Jensen]

My opinion is keep your 84 original. They only made 2000 of them. If you want to be in the 11's, I would say to get an 86 or 87 that is intercooled. There are many more go fast parts available for these. You could probably get there in your 84, but would be cheaper and easier in the long run with an 86 or 87.

 

[turbonut85]

Hot airs are expensive, but still worth it. They are just as reliable as the IC cars, or any other kind of car, if properly maintained. The nice thing about turbo Buicks...all types of them....is the fact that most mods are truly bolt on additions, and could be reversed back to stock at any time.

My suggestions to you:
1) get the car running in its current form
2) fix only what needs fixing...for now
3) LEARN the car in its current form BEFORE trying to make it an 11sec car
4) ASK questions and FOLLOW the advise of the guys/gals that have been there, done that
5) REMEMBER that this is YOUR car, and if YOU want to keep it hot air, then KEEP it that way, and don't be pressured by the majority that will tell you over and over to convert it, because they think its "easier"


As far as mods go...

I believe the best mod to date for a hot air car is 100% E85....if it is readily available near you.

And like Casey posted above, Jdpolzin is a great source of advise for TR's....now that I have finally convinced him that hot airs aren't junk...LOL. Good luck. ---Keith

 

[Jerryl]

Hot airs are expensive, but still worth it. They are just as reliable as the IC cars, or any other kind of car, if properly maintained. The nice thing about turbo Buicks...all types of them....is the fact that most mods are truly bolt on additions, and could be reversed back to stock at any time.

My suggestions to you:
1) get the car running in its current form
2) fix only what needs fixing...for now
3) LEARN the car in its current form BEFORE trying to make it an 11sec car
4) ASK questions and FOLLOW the advise of the guys/gals that have been there, done that
5) REMEMBER that this is YOUR car, and if YOU want to keep it hot air, then KEEP it that way, and don't be pressured by the majority that will tell you over and over to convert it, because they think its "easier"

As far as mods go...
I believe the best mod to date for a hot air car is 100% E85....if it is readily available near you.
---Keith

Keith,
Well stated.