turbokinetic
Member
I shared this thread on A-Body.net for those interested in the car its self. I want to also share it here for the sake of the old school turbo system!
This is Rock & Roll, my 1984 Olds Ciera convertible. There were only 100 made, I believe. She's been sitting in the barn since I got her home, with a knocking engine, rusted out gas tank, and lots of other serious problems.
The car was free, as a side benefit for buying the custom wheels on it. Was headed to the junkyard if I didn't save it. I made a road trip from central Alabama to south Florida and dollied it home. The tow vehicle has a turbocharged 3.8 engine, by the way.
Then I got her up and running (with burned crank and mostly gone rod bearing) so she was yard-drivable. That allows me to keep her mobile and not be stuck in one place in the barn. I had to install an underhood fuel cell....
Rock & Roll has a Buick V6 3.0 engine. I have had experiences with this particular engine in the past and it is not my favorite. It has all the problems that can happen to an LG3 (ie. plastic timing gear) and all the problems that can happen to a carburetor motor (hard to start, horrible mileage etc) and all the slowness that happens to a small displacement flat-tappet cam engine.
So, the first order of business was to start collecting parts.
I started with the easy stuff first.
With the click of a mouse - a new fuel tank, sender, and pump arrived at my door.
Since I live in the South, we have no issues with severe underbody rusting. A friend and I went to the junkyard and stripped the underbody tubelines from a hapless 86 Ciera that was at Pull-A-Part in Birmingham, AL. The brake lines went to Diesel Danielle; and the fuel lines go to Rock & Roll.
The original tank had been sitting for years with stale ethanol gas in it and it has holes rusted in the bottom of it. The original engine had a carburetor with in-tank fuel pump. That one had an internal regulator and would deliver about 2 to 3 PSI pressure to the carburetor.
The pump in the tank now provides FLOW and depends on the fuel regulator at the engine to determine the PRESSURE. It will support more than 50 PSI if the regulator requires it. The engine going into this car will have a TBI running at 10 PSI or so.
Next for the engine. I made an epic 3000 mile road trip and visited several people along the way. Along the way I also collected a "partial" LG3 3.8 engine that is missing the heads and intake. This gives me a rock-solid bottom end foundation on which to build a Buick V6 engine. The engine on the left side of the trailer (no heads).
For the air and fuel delivery, I have gone Old School. The setup below is the Draw-Through Turbo system from a scrapped-out 1978 Buick Riviera. I don't have any detailed still pictures of it but I show it mocked up in the video below.
In order to overcome some of the problems GM had with these engines when they were new; I have ditched the carburetor in favor of a throttle-body injector system (TBI). This does exactly the same function as the carburetor, but it is much simpler and easier to tune for the modified engine.
Now for the engine its self.
The basic LG3 bottom end will be used with the top end from the Buick Turbo V6. In order to adapt it, there will have to be an oil return created in the block, as well as some other improvements that should always be made.
To start with the oil return, I studied both the blocks to see where the factory did it. One of the main differences between the LG3 and the old Turbo Buick engine is the bellhousing bolt pattern.
The old Buick Turbo engine has the General Motors "B-O-P" bellhousing.
The LG3 has the front-wheel-drive "corporate" bellhousing. There is a flat topped section that is in the way of the oil return. It will take some creative modifications to install one.
First, I drilled a pilot hole at the angle needed.
Next, I used the gnarliest tungsten carbide cutter tool to enlarge the hole (at the correct angle) through the bellhousing flange and the rear wall of the block.
After that, it was Tap Time. Ever tried to tap a hole at a 45° angle? Believe me it ain't easy. But it also ain't impossible!
The result?
And the pipe installed.... Note this one is too long and will be replaced with a shorter one.
Next will be the oiling system porting and dual feed main bearing oil hole installation.
There is additional detail about the above shown in this video and the ones to follow, hope you enjoy it.
[video=youtube;8ED7LBJLr4s]
There is a part 2 video posted already, it is linked at the end of part 1.
I realize most of you here have a very good mechanical knowledge. I hope you understand why I say some overly simplified things. I'm sharing this with some people elsewhere who care about the car more than the engine and aren't as technical. I just want everyone to stay interested.
Sincerely,
David
This is Rock & Roll, my 1984 Olds Ciera convertible. There were only 100 made, I believe. She's been sitting in the barn since I got her home, with a knocking engine, rusted out gas tank, and lots of other serious problems.
The car was free, as a side benefit for buying the custom wheels on it. Was headed to the junkyard if I didn't save it. I made a road trip from central Alabama to south Florida and dollied it home. The tow vehicle has a turbocharged 3.8 engine, by the way.
Then I got her up and running (with burned crank and mostly gone rod bearing) so she was yard-drivable. That allows me to keep her mobile and not be stuck in one place in the barn. I had to install an underhood fuel cell....
Rock & Roll has a Buick V6 3.0 engine. I have had experiences with this particular engine in the past and it is not my favorite. It has all the problems that can happen to an LG3 (ie. plastic timing gear) and all the problems that can happen to a carburetor motor (hard to start, horrible mileage etc) and all the slowness that happens to a small displacement flat-tappet cam engine.
So, the first order of business was to start collecting parts.
I started with the easy stuff first.
With the click of a mouse - a new fuel tank, sender, and pump arrived at my door.
Since I live in the South, we have no issues with severe underbody rusting. A friend and I went to the junkyard and stripped the underbody tubelines from a hapless 86 Ciera that was at Pull-A-Part in Birmingham, AL. The brake lines went to Diesel Danielle; and the fuel lines go to Rock & Roll.
The original tank had been sitting for years with stale ethanol gas in it and it has holes rusted in the bottom of it. The original engine had a carburetor with in-tank fuel pump. That one had an internal regulator and would deliver about 2 to 3 PSI pressure to the carburetor.
The pump in the tank now provides FLOW and depends on the fuel regulator at the engine to determine the PRESSURE. It will support more than 50 PSI if the regulator requires it. The engine going into this car will have a TBI running at 10 PSI or so.
Next for the engine. I made an epic 3000 mile road trip and visited several people along the way. Along the way I also collected a "partial" LG3 3.8 engine that is missing the heads and intake. This gives me a rock-solid bottom end foundation on which to build a Buick V6 engine. The engine on the left side of the trailer (no heads).
For the air and fuel delivery, I have gone Old School. The setup below is the Draw-Through Turbo system from a scrapped-out 1978 Buick Riviera. I don't have any detailed still pictures of it but I show it mocked up in the video below.
In order to overcome some of the problems GM had with these engines when they were new; I have ditched the carburetor in favor of a throttle-body injector system (TBI). This does exactly the same function as the carburetor, but it is much simpler and easier to tune for the modified engine.
Now for the engine its self.
The basic LG3 bottom end will be used with the top end from the Buick Turbo V6. In order to adapt it, there will have to be an oil return created in the block, as well as some other improvements that should always be made.
To start with the oil return, I studied both the blocks to see where the factory did it. One of the main differences between the LG3 and the old Turbo Buick engine is the bellhousing bolt pattern.
The old Buick Turbo engine has the General Motors "B-O-P" bellhousing.
The LG3 has the front-wheel-drive "corporate" bellhousing. There is a flat topped section that is in the way of the oil return. It will take some creative modifications to install one.
First, I drilled a pilot hole at the angle needed.
Next, I used the gnarliest tungsten carbide cutter tool to enlarge the hole (at the correct angle) through the bellhousing flange and the rear wall of the block.
After that, it was Tap Time. Ever tried to tap a hole at a 45° angle? Believe me it ain't easy. But it also ain't impossible!
The result?
And the pipe installed.... Note this one is too long and will be replaced with a shorter one.
Next will be the oiling system porting and dual feed main bearing oil hole installation.
There is additional detail about the above shown in this video and the ones to follow, hope you enjoy it.
[video=youtube;8ED7LBJLr4s]
There is a part 2 video posted already, it is linked at the end of part 1.
I realize most of you here have a very good mechanical knowledge. I hope you understand why I say some overly simplified things. I'm sharing this with some people elsewhere who care about the car more than the engine and aren't as technical. I just want everyone to stay interested.
Sincerely,
David
