My wait is over!!!!!

O

old_coot

New Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2006
You don't know how long I have waited for this forum---and man-o-man do I have a ton of questions for you guys----long story short, my 86 Regal T-type has been my everyday driver since I bought it new and I still love it. However it has a lot of miles on the clock and since I have now retired and it is tired the time has come to make it new again.
I have already started a ground up redo of the body and interior and have gathered many of the parts necessary for the "NEW" motor--to date I have a huge FMIC, two 4.1 blocks and a stroker kit with a forged steel crank, H-beam rods and Diamond dished racing pistons in a 4.00 in bore size. It should make 273 ci.in and I believe the compression with stockish heads is going to be about 9.5 to one I have not yet gotten the main girdle but intend to--- my main questions are cam?????? head gaskets????? fuel injector size????? and turbo?????? all advice is greatly appreciated.......................Dan
 
I want to go some mid to low 10's and keep it as streetable as that will allow but the car is no longer needed as a daily driver so I can sacrifice some streetability I am going to add some alcohol injection to help in the streetable part...........Dan
 
I'm not sure how the 4.1 will affect things, is this a stage block or stock 4.1? Sounds like you have some good internals. My car is a 3.8 but the mototron 60lb injectors & 67mm turbo work pretty good on my setup & are very streetable. I think it takes just the right combination & a lot of tuning to run low tens with this turbo & it would be easier with a larger turbo but you will probably lose some streetability as far as lag goes. It depends on what convertor you run. The 66mm (these are not a gt style wheel) should work well also & allows more boost to be run.
 
A 218 to 224 cam would be super streetable in a motor that big.
I would go bigger depending on your head flow but I have problems!
Keep in mind with the extra compression and cubes you will be able to
spool a larger turbo with ease.
How much power do you want my friend????
 
4.1 Girdle

Dan- if you have a stock, non-Stage 4.1 block, where will you purchase a block girdle? I have not seen any advertised by any Buick vendors nor any references made about 4.1 girdles on this site. If you know of a source, please provide any info please. Thanks
 
girdle

it is indeed a production 4.1 block and TA performance makes their ta 1103 that will work...my only cocern there is the fact that I am running a stroker crank so may have to clearance for the H-beam Carillos...I am hoping to make about 450 HP and keep the boost in the 21lb range---I will be going the roller cam and lifter route so my concern is false knock sensor since the valve train might be noisy.............Dan
 
I highly doubt you will have a problem getting 450hp,maybe at low boost ,with high boost near 580
 
Luckily my car is a rather light one as far as that goes---I have no T-tops nor power windows or locks I do have all other options and plan on keeping them. I am going to build the engine as strong as I can so that if I have to step on it sometimes I should be able to get away with it. I am sure the track will make me put a cage in it so that will add some weight.... There are a couple corvettes I really really want to show the tail lights so we will keep at it until I get the times down where I want them---they are running high tens and low elevens so I don't have to go too deep but its good to have some in reserve---just in case...I am thinking I will need a roller cam and lifter set in the .510 range at 216-218 duration as well as some ported and polishing done to the heads but I am just not schooled enough yet to know which turbo I need................Dan
 
Sounds like you are an original owner? If so, Hello from another original owner. I ran a PitBull and flowmasters for nearly 10-years before I discovered "a" forum.

Read Read and Read. Research Research and Research. And ask all the questions. There is a contingent of very patient guys on this site that have probably answered the same question 1,000 times.

You already sound like you are on the right track...but start with upgrading your fuel system first....I am sure you already know to get a new pump, hot wire, and adjustable regulator.

So again, Welcome !
 
Sure do and have gone one step further and bought a new (baffled) gas tank with intention of enlarging the fuel lines too---I have no intention of running this thing lean also already have an exhaust gas temperature sensor and wide band O2 sensor also have my eye on a set of stainless headers. I plan on modifying them so the turbo blows down toward the intercooler inlet and the exhaust points toward the firewall so as to reduce the number of turns in the exhaust system.that will also point the turbo inlet right at the radiator support instead of having to come all the way across behind the hot radiator...( maybe I will take out the passenger bright head light). I am trying to be very deliberate and think this through so I only have to do it once so the advise you guys are offering is very much appreciated and I sure hope I don't come across as a know it all--trust me I'm not--but I have been hot rodding for a long time and do know mechanics pretty well for just doing it as a hobby
And yes I have owned this car since it was new---I have 187,000 miles on it and still love driving it----while I'm doing the engine I am also doing the interior and paint---its never had any body damage but I have had it painted once before.................Dan
 
You will need to determine your exact performance range and whether you will run high octane and alky or 93 and alky and how much $ you want to spend. Your probably going to want to keep at least a mixture of high octane in there if you are going to run over 20 psi all the time with that comp ratio. You can do a lot of different things with the cam to play with the power curve. You will run a little more aggressive cam with the extra cubes and compression. You will need a minimum of a double pumper fuel pump setup with injectors of your choice. Personally i would opt for a FAST XFI and some 83 or 96lb hour injectors. If you are buying aftermarket headers i would go for the 4-bolt style. Then you could run the bigger exhaust housings. A 76GTQ would be good for mid 9's. A 70GTQ would be more suited to your goals. With the 70 i wouldnt go with more than 218 degrees duration. With the 76, 222-224 would be good. You could retard any cam to pick up a little high rpm power if need be. 3600-3800 stall at zero psi. Unless you get a bb turbo then you could go 400 rpm less on the stall.You will need increased plenum volume and a larger t-body. Of course you will need to back it up with some really good parts behind the engine and a lot of suspension work.
 
Production 4.1 block

I have experience with the production 4.1 block. I've been running them for the last 10 years. What you have so far sounds great. Do yourself a favor though, and fill the block as for as you can with Hard Blok. Then drill the steam holes between the cylinders. Much stronger block and no overheating problems.:biggrin: Ask me how I learned this.:( Good luck with your project!
 
man this is almost to the tee what I am wanting to do,I want to use a 4.1 block production, stroker kit,roller cam,champion intake,gn1 heads,70mm tb,need some help on turbo and fuel system.I have a walboro340 is that good or not? Iknow i will need larger injectors.and i have a 3200 stall. what have I forgotten. any help is welcome,this is my first big build. I wanna still run this on the street am I crazy or is this a doable combo
 
old_coot said:
.......my main questions are cam?????? head gaskets????? fuel injector size????? and turbo?????? all advice is greatly appreciated.......................Dan
Click to expand...

Cam - A hyd. roller in the neighborhood of 218 to 224 would be a good choice. A 218 would give it a very nice, smooth idle and provide gobs of lower end torque.

Head Gaskets - I would check on the cometics that Jason carries.

Injectors - IMO, this will depend in part on whether or not you use the stock ECM or a DFI. The DFI would lend itself to help ease the tuning issues that large injectors such as the 72's can cause but I have seen people run the stock ECM with a Max-Effort to tune 72's very well.

Turbo - I believe that a BB-67 (Jack Cotton) would be a good turbo on a motor of this size. With that many cubic inches the above turbo would spool oh so easily without a large convertor.

Using the short block you have already provided if it were mine I would add the following -

PT67 BB Turbo
72-lb injectors
Max-Effort ME-R
Champion Aluminum Heads
Comp. 218 Hyd. Roller Camshaft
3.5-in downpipe
Stock Location Intercooler
Vigilante 3000 L/U convertor
Good set of headers such as Houston's or the like.

Please keep in mind that this combo is geared more toward daily driveability with the occasional romp in mind. I believe that with one of Julio's alcohol kits that this combo would run high 9's shifting at 56-5800 rpm with the proper tuning. But then it is only my opinion as I have no facts to support it at this time.

Jim C.
 
thanks

Thanks for the advise guys I'm sorry I haven't been back until now ----- we lost an in-law family member and I've been visiting my brother to help him and his wife over it...anyway I do appreciate the input and have now ordered the large tube stainless headers----its a shame I have to modify them but they don't come with the four bolt base for the turbo and I want to go that route I think...... block girdle is next on the agenda as money comes available---I made it through christmas and had a buck or two left over so its back to the buick.......Dan
 
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