Must have mod for pure stock 86 GN?

Kyleh24

Kyleh24

86 GN , 87 White T
Joined
Jan 15, 2014
$_57.jpg 20.jpg New owner here. I have looked at the sticky posts, bought the kirban books etc.....Here is my dilemma: This car I bought is bone stock 86 GN as best as I can tell, down to the oil filler cap. I bought this thing to drive, and will, however I don't want to hurt the value, because what I have read here, finding an unmodified 55K original car is rare and unique.
That being said. I want it to drive good driven tame, and still be the beast that she is, and maintain future value. In your opinion, what should absolutely be done, no matter what. Considerations I have read include possibly: upgrade stock chip to better stock chip, change fuel injectors? upgrade fuel pump and wiring?
If scan master and powerlogger are needed, which version do I get, and how will I get past the learning curve to know what the data is telling me?
Thanks for you patience in these types of questions. I feel that the decisions I make now are probably the most important ones I will make in owning this beast.

Secondly, and not to take the thread in too many directions, the only concerns I have from the driving so far is that the shifts (especially 1-2) are very firm with tame driving and also I feel a slight surging type feeling that seems only slightly better if I lightly apply brake pressure.

Third, I am in GA and am interested in who in the southeast would be best to take the car to have it checked out thoroughly above my limited knowledge.

Thanks, Kyle
 
Well youre on the right track with chip and injectors,but you will need an adjustable fuel press regulator. Not a big thing. Fuel pump.and hot wire kit a must. Id go.with a scanmaster 2.1. One thing I would add is a new 3.5" maf w translator. Your maf is working now but when it craps out it will be hard to find a stock style one that actually works. Take maf off put it on.side and you can put it on when its time to sell. Some people will.say wait till it takes a shit but you know as well I.know itll take a crap.at the wrong time. I.guess I just like to.drive w no worries is all
 
Chip, injectors, check valves, PCV, timing set, valve springs, fuel pump, hot wire kit, fuel filter, silicone intercooler hoses, solid MAF pipe, filter, translator, new style MAF, new vacuum lines, brake fluid change, trans fluid change, rear axle change, weld DS header, scantooling, etc.....



Skip ANY one of that list and your car is a POS that shouldn't be driven.
 
Is your oil pressure decent? Do you have an oil pressure gauge? Hopefully you will have 10-15 psi at hot idle. Both of the V6 Buicks I have will not hold 10 psi at hot idle.

Have you searched on this forum for information about the scan master?
 
Everybody hear so far seem to want you to spend a ton of money and get a whole bunch of stuff you don't need nor want. If you're truly serious about keeping it bone stock then forget about 90% of the junk suggestions made so far. If it were mine, I would put a good fuel pump in it, and maybe, just maybe new valve springs, although if it's running well you really don't need those. I don't agree that valve springs are always an absolute replacement item. My 87 now has over 135,000 on it and still runs perfectly!! So I can't recommend changing them unless you're going to race the car.
Adjustable fuel pressure regulator? Definately NOT needed. With todays modern chips fuel delivery is adjustable inside the chip, and the adjustable fpr will stick out like a sore thumb under your hood.
If your maf is good, let it alone.

IF IT AINT BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And don't replace it with something that looks non stock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You do in fact have a very rare Turbo Buick in that it is somewhat low mileage and UNMOLESTED! And even more rare that it's an unmolested 86!!!!! It even appears to still have it's original battery!! Keep it that way....PLEASE!!
 
Well.its not that stock/orginal. Car has vac brakes. Prob bc powermaster died too expensive etc. Same reason why I suggested a new maf. . If you plan to drive it then make it road worthy. The newer style 3"/3.5" mafs look closer to factory now. Everyone has their own.opinions. I.put 5000 miles on my gn in a couple of months. I cant help to.always think.about the long trips..
 
Rob Irle @ 770-712-3334.
Last I heard from Rob, he was back into turbo Buick's.
 
psycho6cyl said:
Well.its not that stock/orginal. Car has vac brakes. Prob bc powermaster died too expensive etc. Same reason why I suggested a new maf. . If you plan to drive it then make it road worthy. The newer style 3"/3.5" mafs look closer to factory now. Everyone has their own.opinions. I.put 5000 miles on my gn in a couple of months. I cant help to.always think.about the long trips..
Click to expand...

Thanks, I didn't notice the brake system.
 
Thanks to all for your advice.
To answer a few questions brought up. It is true that the brakes were converted. It also has a non stock GM radio in it. Realistically, that is all that I can obviously see that is not stock. I just had the headliner redone, and it is now perfect with original color too. I also bought the floor mats and have a hood mat coming. Otherwise I do not have ANY gauges other than the idiot lights, so I cannot answer the oil pressure question that Paul asked.

Chuck, I am just north of you in the Athens/Madison Co area. Thanks for Rob's number.

And since there is a consensus at least on fuel pump and maf, what brand or model fuel pump, maf and chip. I would like to start with a stock chip for 93 octane, just don't know who the best brands are. I have read on the forum that this chip will help normal driving as well as the kick.

Do I just need to start with the scanmaster, with or without the powerlogger? And can the scanmaster allow me to change what is on the chip? (or what needs to be changed) or are the changes on the scanmaster stored on the scanmaster? (Is the scanmaster something that will always need to be plugged in)

Again Thanks to all for the patience with the questions. I don't know where I would be without these forums.

Kyle
 
Research a lot. If you're not going to try to drastically increase power, just get a scanmaster. Save the power logger for when you're ready to more heavily mod. The scanmaster is wired in tastefully. It not only helps change chip settings, but can serve as temp gauge, tach, and display malfunction codes. It is a most necessary piece of equipment.

Research a lot. TurboTweak makes some of the best chips - www.turbotweak.com. If you're upgrading injectors, you can get them there too. They're not the only chips out there, they're just the only ones I've used and had great luck. The combination of turbotweak chip and scanmaster will allow you to change fueling and spark timing parameters.

Research a lot. Walbro has probably redeemed themselves as far as making fuel pumps go. I use two of them with good luck so far. I also hear good things about deatschwerks pumps. I've also heard Red Armstrong XP pumps are worthy.

Research a lot. Download the app for this board to your phone so you can research a lot. The only way to learn about these cars is to research a lot. If you have an issue, research here first because someone has had the exact same issue. If you can't find anything in your research, post here and be prepared for a few people to nag you about asking a question that's been asked a thousand times. Be curious and read the threads here. You will learn a lot.

Did I mention to research a lot??
Welcome and enjoy the car. You will become addicted.
 
Go to the Turbo Tweak web site and order one of his stock 93 octane chips...He can hook you up with the proper fuel pump you need as well...You can go with a scanmaster 2.1 no need for a power logger at this point!! Problem is you will slowly start modding the car a bit at a time and the next thing you know your car will be like the rest of ours!! Your scanmaster will help you with adjustments made through the chip they work together...You will hard wire the scanmaster in no need to plug and unplug...
 
Nice car good luck. Plenty of advice here!! Tim in north west al, RUSSELLVILLE , 1 mod starts it and it never ends. Go for a ride in an heavily modified car and then see what happens.. Boy are they fun. Any of u fellers want to come out to the race at Moulton,al 3/29 like to see ya or www.jakesdragstrip.com for rules and so on.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
spring cleaning and scanmaster.
Drive and enjoy. If you push it, things will break eventually. And when you break it then fix it.

If you want to keep it stock and low mile, drive it less. Otherwise, if you're going to drive the car and add the miles the value really won't matter much so, the mods probably won't matter much either.
I'm not a huge fan of the low-mile car for this reason. You buy it because it has low miles which to most folks = more value but then you don't want to drive and add miles as you diminish the value. (It's hard to have it both ways) I prefer a higher mile car that I can drive and enjoy guilt free. Just my .02:D
 
I bought my car 03/17/87 at 6 pm in Annapolis MD. I drove it 500 miles to get home. Home was 37 miles away. Love my car. I could not get out of it for the first year. After 4 fender benders and grocery carts and door dings I had enough. Each dent was a scar that hurt me each morning. I bought a pick-up and stopped driving her. I am still serious about keeping it stock and driving with class. My point is she is 27 and things brake. 10 years ago I mad a decision. Replace things to make me and the car safe. I damn near restored the hole car. It still appears stock and it has been hard resisting catalog temptations for 27 years. Go slow with your repairs. I used to race every week end. She runs mid 11's stock appearing. Good luck and don't listen when your wife says you love that car more than me. Mine said it's metal on 4 wheels. That same night we were coming home from dancing and the car stopped running at a stop light. I looked at Donna and told her it was all her fault.
 
Remember that its a 28 year old car. Rubber deteriorates. Replace all your hoses, belts, vacuum lines, fuel hoses in the rear, tires. Probably need to do suspension bushings front and rear also, Moog is fine. Check the window sweeps for rot. Weatherstripping holds up the best and may not need it. As mentioned, get a TurboTweak chip, good fuel pump, hot wire kit and a 237 regulator. Use the appropriate octane for the appropriate boost levels and you should be fine.
 
John Larkin said:
Remember that its a 28 year old car. Rubber deteriorates. Replace all your hoses, belts, vacuum lines, fuel hoses in the rear, tires. Probably need to do suspension bushings front and rear also, Moog is fine. Check the window sweeps for rot. Weatherstripping holds up the best and may not need it. As mentioned, get a TurboTweak chip, good fuel pump, hot wire kit and a 237 regulator. Use the appropriate octane for the appropriate boost levels and you should be fine.
Click to expand...
Still dating checks 2013, oh well, boy how time flys
 
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