- Joined
- May 26, 2001
All week last week I was intensely watching the weather forecasts hoping the weather would be nice this weekend. They predicted rain for Friday and around here locally, whenever they would hint at snow or ice, they would dump huge amounts of salt on the roads. I figured, if it rained really good all day Friday, maybe, just maybe the roads would be decent enough that I could take Sarah out for some cruising/boost tuning. Welp, it rained all day Friday. Step 1 was a go. I had made the decision to travel to Indy to compete in the annual IPMS Roscoe Turner Winter Model builders contest. I didn't think I'd win anything but thought it would be a nice drive for me and Sarah if the weather was nice. Well, I awoke at 5am to find fog and wet streets, but I was on a mission. I gave one last thorough check over under the hood, no leaks, fluid levels were good, models were boxed and secured, we had the CD changer loaded and plenty of 80's hair band cassette tapes as well.
Once on the hwy, the roads were dry and clear of any salt remnants. Halfway into my journey, a family pulled up along side of my and paced me for about 2-3 minutes, finally they pulled up even and the older gentleman in the passengers seat of the Trailblazer waved at me to get my attention, then gave me a resounding double pump thumbs up with a big smile. I thought to myself, welp, that's the first one, I wonder how many more are in store? I made it to Lafayette, and strolled over to Mikes Car Wash and got all the crud washed off. Boy did she look better. I made it down to Indy just in time to setup and catch some good deals on some detail kits I'd been dying for. After meeting up with a few friends, I headed out for some lunch, and to find another car wash to really give her a better hand wash. While sitting in the parking lot at the contest, turning the timing down on my TT chip, a father and his 8 year old daughter walked over and started asking me about my car. Going on and on about how nice it was, asking what it was and so on. The real kicker was when his daughter spoke up and said, "I like the color cause it's got sparkly stuff in it." Awwwww. :redface:
After they walked away, not 30 seconds later, I hear the oh so familiar sound of a 5.0 with a blower getting closer. I look up to see a 92-93 GT, Blue on Silver with a cowl hood, monster tach and shift light on Pony rims entering the parking lot. I pretended not to notice but when he slowly got closer I caught the driver and his girlfriend staring at the Buick. I couldn't help but give a cheshur cat grin as he passed. Ok, so the timing is turned down now, and my educated guess at boost level was somewhere in the 18-19 range. Off we go for some Chik-fil-A in Plainfield.
On the drive over to Plainfield, while cruising along I-465, a white Explorer pulled up along side with 4 guys in it. As they pulled even, the passenger rolled down his window, put his hand up to his ear in Hulk Hogan fashion listening to the turbo sound. I did what any self respecting Turbo Buick owner would do... I smiled and nailed it. This was the first time I had gotten on the car seriously since I've owned her. She kicked down into second, the boost came on very suddenly and the tires broke loose. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! Boost read 19, 19.5ish. No knock, O2's .783 on the recall. Sweet!!! Man what a rush, yeah, she's definitely got 11 second capability with traction. The guys in the Explorer finally caught up with me and the Passenger had a big grin and gave me a thumbs up.
Once in Plainfield, headed over to the Chik, a PT cruiser pulls up beside me at a redlight. The lady in the passengers seat rolls down her window and asks, Excuse me sir, can I ask you some questions about your car? Sure. What year is it? 87. What it got in it? 3.8L V6 Turbo. Did you put those wheels on there? Nope, they are factory. At this point the husband/driver leans over and asks, you don't want to sell it do you? Nah this ones a keeper. But you can go onto TurboBuick.com and learn all about these cars. Then for the next two red lights, it was more of the same. It was like a real time, virtual Forum thread. LOL. More questions, more answers. Then the lady mentioned that she used to own a 85 Monte Carlo SS, but they've never seen a Turbo T and really liked the looks. They both complimented the car, I thanked them and turned into the Chik-Fil-A lot. I'm sure the traffic behind us was starting to wonder if there'd been a wreck or something, cause we backed them up for 3 lights. Doh... That was a first for me.
So, I hurry up and eat, head to the car wash, and give the car a really good bath. The sun had finally come out and it was the most beautiful day I have seen in awhile. 56* sun and not a cloud in the sky. Man did she look good. These were the first times I have ever seen the car so clean in the daylight as I looked at the car in Steve's garage, and drove her home at night. Not to mention when I went to visit Dave on that first weekend, it was overcast and raining.
I make it back in to the contest around 4:30 just in time to see that all the people had left and they were breaking down the tables. To my surprise, my models were very carefully moved along with two trophy plaques, both for 3rd place. SWEET! As I didn't think I would do anything next to the museum quality models I was up against. The trip home was un-eventful. I stopped for gas in Zionsville and had a guy and his wife come over and say nice car. What year? Man you don't see those cars anymore. You want to sell it? I could tell, this was going to be a recurring theme with Sarah and myself. I made it home in time to do a little cruisin, nobody was out that wanted to play but I thought, save it for Sunday, they'll all be out. My plans for Sunday were to get the oil changed and go take some pics. Then, try to run as much of the 93 out of the tank as possible and go fill up on 100 unleaded.
Got up around 11:30ish, yeah I know, sinner, should have been to church. The sun was out, birds were singing, and the weather was perfect. Got the camera, changed the oil and off we went. Here's some pics from my favorite snapping locale.
After the photo session, I start the cruise. And during this cruise we collected 3 more thumbs up, 1 very long point and stare session from 4 younger guys in a Honda, necks craining, the look of amazement, the whole shooting match. One wanna be racer in a Toyota Corolla trying to egg me on, and finally, the real fun. With the weather being so nice, I knew all the gear heads like myself would be out in full force and I was not disappointed. First up was an SRT-4. We punched from a 40 mph roll, but it was no contest. I put about 4 on him and let out. He pulled up, gave a nod and sped off. Next up, I got behind two late model Z28s, one a blue metallic SS and the other a white Z28. The Blue SS turned off and didn't want to play, but the guy in the Z28 motioned that he wanted to play, but traffic was bad. I punched it when I thought he would. Boost went to 19, all was well with no knock and the O2s, but he didn't go. When he caught up, he just shook his head no and gave me a thumbs up. So on it went, fishing for more fun. I went and filled up with 100 unleaded and continued my cruise. Got another thumbs up and gave a simultaneous thumbs up to a sweet looking Silver '70 Chevelle SS with big and little draglites. Then, I got behind a Red '90s model Mustang GT convertible with skinnies and biggies. Looked like he was rolling on ET Streets and sounded like a healthy 347. Finally I thought, something worthy. But, alas, he took a side street into a neighborhood. I decided to go home grab a bite to eat, and install my RJC boost control valve. Installed the valve, added some fuel to the TT chip and set out to do somemore testing. It was starting to get dusk by this time and I had decided that I'll just test the boost a few times and watch the numbers on a long stretch of US41 outside of town. So... I make it out to the sticks, slow down to around 40 and ease into the boost. WaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH, tink tink.. LIFT!!! Hmmm, that was interesting, boost came on way faster, and it pinged twice before I lifted. Boost showed 24psi. DOH!!!!, Knock retard was 2.8, well, not that bad I thought, but enough to scare me enough to lift when I heard it and saw 24 on the gauge. I know, I know, alot of you are saying, When's he gonna quit playing and get an alky kit? Trust me, I'm tempted. So, at this point, I'm like, thats enough, we need to get home and turn the boost down to sane levels for the gas mix we have and turn the timing back to where it was earlier. When I installed the boost controller, I thought I would turn the timing up slightly, due to the added 100 unleaded. I set it at 21.7 for 1&2, and 21.1 for 3rd & 4th, which was too much for basically 95 octane gas and 24psi. Duh, I knew that. So, we cruise on home. Let her cool off, move all the cars around to put her back in her comfy spot. The Evo had a mad look on it's face when we pulled up. I know she's mad at me. I turned the timing back to 21* 1&2 and 19* 3&4, turned the wastegate rod out 6 full turns, and the RJC controller two turns past engage point. After she cooled down of course.
All in all, it was an incredible weekend. I don't know how I got away with all the antics that I did. Laying rubber from a red light for 200 feet, and the cops where everywhere today. Guess I got lucky. All in all, I put about 600 miles on her during this weekend of cruising and traveling fun and not a hitch, well except for me and my tuning skillz. Doh!! But all is well. She forgave me.
Well, sorry if this bored anyone and sorry for so long. I just had to get out and shake off this severe case of cabin fever I've been having lately. I tried to get in touch with my boy Don, but found out later that he's been sick. Ahh well, there'll be more times later.
I had forgotten how much fun these cars can be at this power level, with all the seat of the pants tuning, the admiration and recognition and the all around fun. It's starting out to be one heck of a good 2007 for Sarah and me.
Guess I gotta order me one of Razors alky kits and some sticky tires for my spare set of T wheels.
That's all for now.
Patrick
Once on the hwy, the roads were dry and clear of any salt remnants. Halfway into my journey, a family pulled up along side of my and paced me for about 2-3 minutes, finally they pulled up even and the older gentleman in the passengers seat of the Trailblazer waved at me to get my attention, then gave me a resounding double pump thumbs up with a big smile. I thought to myself, welp, that's the first one, I wonder how many more are in store? I made it to Lafayette, and strolled over to Mikes Car Wash and got all the crud washed off. Boy did she look better. I made it down to Indy just in time to setup and catch some good deals on some detail kits I'd been dying for. After meeting up with a few friends, I headed out for some lunch, and to find another car wash to really give her a better hand wash. While sitting in the parking lot at the contest, turning the timing down on my TT chip, a father and his 8 year old daughter walked over and started asking me about my car. Going on and on about how nice it was, asking what it was and so on. The real kicker was when his daughter spoke up and said, "I like the color cause it's got sparkly stuff in it." Awwwww. :redface:
After they walked away, not 30 seconds later, I hear the oh so familiar sound of a 5.0 with a blower getting closer. I look up to see a 92-93 GT, Blue on Silver with a cowl hood, monster tach and shift light on Pony rims entering the parking lot. I pretended not to notice but when he slowly got closer I caught the driver and his girlfriend staring at the Buick. I couldn't help but give a cheshur cat grin as he passed. Ok, so the timing is turned down now, and my educated guess at boost level was somewhere in the 18-19 range. Off we go for some Chik-fil-A in Plainfield.
On the drive over to Plainfield, while cruising along I-465, a white Explorer pulled up along side with 4 guys in it. As they pulled even, the passenger rolled down his window, put his hand up to his ear in Hulk Hogan fashion listening to the turbo sound. I did what any self respecting Turbo Buick owner would do... I smiled and nailed it. This was the first time I had gotten on the car seriously since I've owned her. She kicked down into second, the boost came on very suddenly and the tires broke loose. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! Boost read 19, 19.5ish. No knock, O2's .783 on the recall. Sweet!!! Man what a rush, yeah, she's definitely got 11 second capability with traction. The guys in the Explorer finally caught up with me and the Passenger had a big grin and gave me a thumbs up.
Once in Plainfield, headed over to the Chik, a PT cruiser pulls up beside me at a redlight. The lady in the passengers seat rolls down her window and asks, Excuse me sir, can I ask you some questions about your car? Sure. What year is it? 87. What it got in it? 3.8L V6 Turbo. Did you put those wheels on there? Nope, they are factory. At this point the husband/driver leans over and asks, you don't want to sell it do you? Nah this ones a keeper. But you can go onto TurboBuick.com and learn all about these cars. Then for the next two red lights, it was more of the same. It was like a real time, virtual Forum thread. LOL. More questions, more answers. Then the lady mentioned that she used to own a 85 Monte Carlo SS, but they've never seen a Turbo T and really liked the looks. They both complimented the car, I thanked them and turned into the Chik-Fil-A lot. I'm sure the traffic behind us was starting to wonder if there'd been a wreck or something, cause we backed them up for 3 lights. Doh... That was a first for me.
So, I hurry up and eat, head to the car wash, and give the car a really good bath. The sun had finally come out and it was the most beautiful day I have seen in awhile. 56* sun and not a cloud in the sky. Man did she look good. These were the first times I have ever seen the car so clean in the daylight as I looked at the car in Steve's garage, and drove her home at night. Not to mention when I went to visit Dave on that first weekend, it was overcast and raining.
I make it back in to the contest around 4:30 just in time to see that all the people had left and they were breaking down the tables. To my surprise, my models were very carefully moved along with two trophy plaques, both for 3rd place. SWEET! As I didn't think I would do anything next to the museum quality models I was up against. The trip home was un-eventful. I stopped for gas in Zionsville and had a guy and his wife come over and say nice car. What year? Man you don't see those cars anymore. You want to sell it? I could tell, this was going to be a recurring theme with Sarah and myself. I made it home in time to do a little cruisin, nobody was out that wanted to play but I thought, save it for Sunday, they'll all be out. My plans for Sunday were to get the oil changed and go take some pics. Then, try to run as much of the 93 out of the tank as possible and go fill up on 100 unleaded.
Got up around 11:30ish, yeah I know, sinner, should have been to church. The sun was out, birds were singing, and the weather was perfect. Got the camera, changed the oil and off we went. Here's some pics from my favorite snapping locale.
After the photo session, I start the cruise. And during this cruise we collected 3 more thumbs up, 1 very long point and stare session from 4 younger guys in a Honda, necks craining, the look of amazement, the whole shooting match. One wanna be racer in a Toyota Corolla trying to egg me on, and finally, the real fun. With the weather being so nice, I knew all the gear heads like myself would be out in full force and I was not disappointed. First up was an SRT-4. We punched from a 40 mph roll, but it was no contest. I put about 4 on him and let out. He pulled up, gave a nod and sped off. Next up, I got behind two late model Z28s, one a blue metallic SS and the other a white Z28. The Blue SS turned off and didn't want to play, but the guy in the Z28 motioned that he wanted to play, but traffic was bad. I punched it when I thought he would. Boost went to 19, all was well with no knock and the O2s, but he didn't go. When he caught up, he just shook his head no and gave me a thumbs up. So on it went, fishing for more fun. I went and filled up with 100 unleaded and continued my cruise. Got another thumbs up and gave a simultaneous thumbs up to a sweet looking Silver '70 Chevelle SS with big and little draglites. Then, I got behind a Red '90s model Mustang GT convertible with skinnies and biggies. Looked like he was rolling on ET Streets and sounded like a healthy 347. Finally I thought, something worthy. But, alas, he took a side street into a neighborhood. I decided to go home grab a bite to eat, and install my RJC boost control valve. Installed the valve, added some fuel to the TT chip and set out to do somemore testing. It was starting to get dusk by this time and I had decided that I'll just test the boost a few times and watch the numbers on a long stretch of US41 outside of town. So... I make it out to the sticks, slow down to around 40 and ease into the boost. WaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH, tink tink.. LIFT!!! Hmmm, that was interesting, boost came on way faster, and it pinged twice before I lifted. Boost showed 24psi. DOH!!!!, Knock retard was 2.8, well, not that bad I thought, but enough to scare me enough to lift when I heard it and saw 24 on the gauge. I know, I know, alot of you are saying, When's he gonna quit playing and get an alky kit? Trust me, I'm tempted. So, at this point, I'm like, thats enough, we need to get home and turn the boost down to sane levels for the gas mix we have and turn the timing back to where it was earlier. When I installed the boost controller, I thought I would turn the timing up slightly, due to the added 100 unleaded. I set it at 21.7 for 1&2, and 21.1 for 3rd & 4th, which was too much for basically 95 octane gas and 24psi. Duh, I knew that. So, we cruise on home. Let her cool off, move all the cars around to put her back in her comfy spot. The Evo had a mad look on it's face when we pulled up. I know she's mad at me. I turned the timing back to 21* 1&2 and 19* 3&4, turned the wastegate rod out 6 full turns, and the RJC controller two turns past engage point. After she cooled down of course.
All in all, it was an incredible weekend. I don't know how I got away with all the antics that I did. Laying rubber from a red light for 200 feet, and the cops where everywhere today. Guess I got lucky. All in all, I put about 600 miles on her during this weekend of cruising and traveling fun and not a hitch, well except for me and my tuning skillz. Doh!! But all is well. She forgave me.
Well, sorry if this bored anyone and sorry for so long. I just had to get out and shake off this severe case of cabin fever I've been having lately. I tried to get in touch with my boy Don, but found out later that he's been sick. Ahh well, there'll be more times later.
I had forgotten how much fun these cars can be at this power level, with all the seat of the pants tuning, the admiration and recognition and the all around fun. It's starting out to be one heck of a good 2007 for Sarah and me.
Guess I gotta order me one of Razors alky kits and some sticky tires for my spare set of T wheels.
That's all for now.
Patrick
