What can you tell me about a 79 3.8 v6 turbo regal

[Gbodyrock]

I would like to know background info and horse power about a 79 turbo regal i may be able to get one mint cond for 4,000

 

[Hot Air]

You might want to post this on the "Before Black" section...you will get more info from that group.
Conrad

 

[bison]

I would like to know background info and horse power about a 79 turbo regal i may be able to get one mint cond for 4,000

If it has under 10k miles on it and is nearly perfect everywhere then i would say thats a good deal. I think its 165hp from the factory.

 

[Gbodyrock]

is that a good horsepower to start with before i add on to it?

 

[84BuickGNYorkPA]

I bought a 79 new back in the day, white/tan interior, tinted out windows, Keystone Classic wheels ..... Hot Rod magazine did a article on the car, and added a bunch of performance upgrades. So I did the exact same upgrades and it really woke the car up. #1 was a factory dual exhast system that split behind the cat. #2 was a Mack truck air filter #3 was water injection #4 was to make the wastegate rod adjustable by sawing it in half and cutting 1/2 off the length and threading both halves and getting a coupler nut #5 was taking the Rochester 4 barrel off and rejetting the primarys to a bigger size and working the butterfly so it would open all the up. #5 was a inside adjustable boost bleed off valve. #6 was a shift kit. I think that was it, I had lots of fun in that car, used to race my buddy's stock 350 firebird and beat him everytime..... he could not believe all the power from my 6 banger back then.

Chuck

 

[Gbodyrock]

wow thx that makes me want to buy it a lot more should i look into it for 4000 im a 15 and i need a first car because my original 81 regal got totalled because of my dad

 

[bison]

Actually i have thought about it and i think the hp is 175 stock. The car will need the above mods and the following will help more than anything:

-3.42 ring and pinion. You can get a cheap 7 5/8 one from a Monte SS for under $400.

-Looser torque converter

-200-4R OD trans with a 2.76 1st gear. They are all 2.76 1st, just stating the advantage over the TH350 2.52:1 first.

The above mods and the ones in post #5 will take off 2-3 seconds from your quarter time and pick you up about 10 mph if you turn the boost up to 15-16psi and have zero detonation. Look for a high 13 sec. pass with traction after the above.

 

[84BuickGNYorkPA]

My 79 would chirp the tires going into 2nd gear, of course technology has come a long way since then. I liked the gearing that the factory had, decent gas mileage. Go over to the section listed above "before black" and start reading all the threads on this car......
Good Luck with your adventure, be careful with all that power.

Chuck

 

[bison]

My 79 would chirp the tires going into 2nd gear, of course technology has come a long way since then. I liked the gearing that the factory had, decent gas mileage. Go over to the section listed above "before black" and start reading all the threads on this car......
Good Luck with your adventure, be careful with all that power.

Chuck

Imo the gearing in the pre OD years sucked. Usually 2.52 1st in the trans coupled to a ring and pinion of 3.08. The 3.42 ring and pinion and 2.76 1st in the 200-4R really wake up the car. In OD your final ratio is overdriven 33%. Your cruising at a much lower rpm than with the factory TH350 and 3.08 and gaining a ton of performance at the same time. Performance increases and fuel mileage increases substantially. If the car was driven a lot the savings in fuel could be almost as much as the cost of the rear and trans in a year. The 7 5/8 3.42 rear is cheap used at swap meets and a good used stock BRF 200 4R is not too expensive either. Both could had for under $1K. Only a few small mods to a TH350 crossmember would have to be made to get the 200-4R to bolt in. The driveshaft may need shortening also.

 

[84BuickGNYorkPA]

The rear of the 79 was a 2:72 or a 2:76 I forget which but it was a 2:??, but being that he is 15 years old money is probably tight. I would just buy it and have fun, but to each his own.

Chuck

 

[FlaBoy]

wow thx that makes me want to buy it a lot more should i look into it for 4000 im a 15 and i need a first car because my original 81 regal got totalled because of my dad

Just a thought: for $ 4000 you could probably get a pretty decent 84-85 hot-air if theres any for sale in your area. They'll be a lot faster from the get-go with the SFI compared to the carbed hot-airs. for that money you should be able to pick up one in pretty good shape, they're still cheap compared to the 86/87s, since they're considered less desirable to most. Plus down the road, if you wanted to make it faster, you'd be able to a push a SFI hotair farther than a carbed one (I would imagine... I admit to having ZERO experience with the carbed turbos).

Not trying to dissuade you from buying the car you're looking at by any means, if you like it, and it'll make you happy, then by all means get it. I just wanted to offer an alternative suggestion to think about.