2seater

Finally swap my original engine back in with improved turbo setup, ported '88 heads from Dave, new a/c compressor, condenser and dryer and DRIVE IT.

I am a member of some other car brand forums and a couple of them do have a new members sticky topic at the top. Maybe not needed but it is a good place to get some of the misc. stuff out of the way even though much of that is included in the sign up information, if it's filled in. This would be more personal. My $0.02

Dave is tougher than I and even goes junkin' in this weather. Of course legend has it that Minnesotan's from Duluth just button the top button when below 0*F so just laugh at us softies

Now I recognize that bench which I have helped stain with brake fluid Are you really putting tools together at 13*below zero in an unheated garage??? A better man than me Gunga Din.

I know both kinds too, although I have seen one working mechanic that actually put stuff away while working on a project. Toolboxes like above will likely have custom made tools too. Like a specially bent wrench, or perhaps shortened, a ground down socket to slide by just right, etc.. I usually wind up with half the contents out of the box in piles around me while working, although I do occasionally have a fit of neatness. I think you are correct that for the most part, the only way to keep things perfect is to not use them. My original 50ish year old Craftsman two drawer looks much like above. I remember browsing through the Craftsman catalog section when they came in the mail, dreaming and making lists of all the stuff I thought I needed, and I guess I still do.

I envy seeing a toolbox with matching, high quality tools. After five plus decades of collecting, and losing, tools, my toolbox is a hopeless mixture of brands and quality. My two boys helped me greatly with my tool diversity and the lawnmower may have found a few of them. Mostly Craftsman from the '60's, one partial remains of a set of Proto wrenches, which I miss. The same with screwdrivers and other misc. tools. While I appreciate good tools, and sometimes they are the only thing that will work, I carry an old set of Mastercraft 1/4"-3/8" socket set for junkyard sojourns. I just cannot bring myself to risk higher end tools at that venue. As for H.F., their hand tools are getting better and I have sets of wrenches and sockets for use at my cottage. I totally agree the electric tools, especially the cordless stuff is a crapshoot, as well as abrasives, drill bits etc... Their air tools are so cheap, for occasional use, they can do the job. I remember a ratchet test done by one of the car magazines a few years ago where they tested new and old tools, from several brands, even used Craftsman stuff from rummage sales, The H.F. ratchets actually rated in the upper third of the group, so who knows.

You are probably right about some of the compatibility. As a matter of fact, they used fwd heads from the '85 or '86? on the '89 Turbo Trans Am for more clearance on the suspension towers. I never gave it any thought but it might open up possibilities. Something I never really explored as I fool around with the first 3800 because it is what I have. I guess I have not found any evidence the older 3.8 was superior and the '87 n/a fwd engine was rated at 150hp, 200tq, so starting with less. The GN intake manifold may or may not be the same as the fwd configuration but could probably be turned around backwards like ours. As far as I can see, all the rest would be custom but may allow the big parts to be used. Interesting idea.

Dave, have you heard there is such a thing as too much honesty? Mine does look similar to what is offered. I have seen other FSM's that came in a three ring binder, which is large and clunky, but doesn't come apart. I copied the relevant pages of the onboard diagnostics and laminated them back to back for quick reference, on the fly, so to speak. A good offer nonetheless.

I don't blame you for curtailing the research at this time. It is a large project, and what is posted now covers a lot of ground already. Post #3 might need a correction in the ALDL instructions. There are likely no 1899 Reatta's.

This is somewhat related to the pm I sent last week. I guess I was asking if there is some way to pre-sort subjects, or a search key? What questions come up regularly, especially by new owners? Headlights for sure Tailight lens cleaning/polishing Added performance Tire/wheel fitment Bushings and body attachment hardware Brakes, brakes, brakes Electrical, a big and very general subject Ignition and sensors

Just for giggles, here is a power curve of three different iterations of the 3800; 1988 pre series I, 1991series I and 1996 series II. Below 2500rpm, the old LN3 is the most powerful of all of them. I know that at least in the Reatta, the '91 final drive ratio was changed to 3.33 vs 2.97, probably to better match the increased rpm for the peaks. Actually the difference is less, more like a 3.25 ratio in comparison due to the larger stock tire/wheel combo. Funny thing about the power curves is '88 thru '90 all match, but the camshaft for the '88 is demonstrably more aggressive, so that should be impossible. Hmmm.

Interesting video, but I lack essentially all of that equipment, yikes. I am not sure about cutting all angles in one go. I would prefer each individually to tailor each one. I too blend the ridges above and below the seat although I have seen arguments that sometimes those edges in the intake stream help breakup the fuel droplets. I don't know and have little way to quantify. By the way, Buicks tend to wide seats, especially the boosted ones. Not great for flow, but long lasting.

Have you met David? I have not and he still posts a lot of stuff on Speedtalk. I did take a look at the Neway stuff, but that will have to wait for some time before I get to your level.

This is a link to the write-up I did over on ROJ about the porting and testing. I thought it had more photos but no joy. While looking at my notes I found I didn't mention that I did test with no valve at all as well. The valve was installed upside down and held so the end of the stem was flush with the valve guide surface in the port. Stock it peaked at 197 cfm and after massaging as described, it flowed 204 cfm. Surprisingly, I got within 10 cfm with the valve installed, so I called that good. I wish I had the equipment ChrisW mentioned as there are probably some improvements to be made just with the valve job itself. http://reattaowner.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=243

For true on that. At least the Series II is only two decades old, not three Most of what I do is for relatively easy improvement with what we have, costs very little except time and I am the empirical type that just likes to try and see where it goes.

The chambers are only 38cc as the valve angle is quite flat. Deck the block .020", install '95 series I pistons, and with a stock headgasket = 9.54:1. You can also install Ford 3.8 pistons which have a much smaller dish, same pin diameter and offset. Compression ratios 10:1 and up, run E85. When flow testing I modified some junk valves and undercut stems or different back cuts do have some merit below about .250" lift. Manley has a nice s/s pro-flow valve. Just be careful to not use Chevy thinking on a Buick engine. They are not the same at all.

I would guess the Series II head might bolt on however the order of the valves is different, which also moves the ports. The Series II also has a shorter deck height, by almost an inch, so the Series II intake manifold won't work either, maybe with some custom spacers? There is no doubt the SII heads are nice as well as the whole engine. What's not to like, lower and narrower. stronger bottom end (cross-bolted caps) and 26# lighter. The chambers are the same basic shape, but the area between the valves opposite the spark plug is filled in level with the deck so they are heart shaped. Swap the whole engine. Daniel has a SII in and running, or Ryan at GM Tuners can help with that. I recently did flow tests on a set of GN heads as well as LN3, and in stock form, the more modern 3800 head wins out, especially the exhaust. Due to an accident with my phone, (crushed) and my laptop (coffee), I don't have a pic of the two heads handy. The GN head has an old style shaft rocker system too.

I found a pic of one of my heads in process. There is little room between the valves so any greater than normal intake valve upsizing might be accomplished with a smaller exhaust valve. The black outline is the cylinder bore and the chamber actually extends slightly beyond the cylinder by the intake valve. Those file marks are my interpretation of Singh grooves I just noticed the spark plugs are my interpretation of an improvement: the side electrode is ground back and sort of pointed to expose more spark on simple Autolite copper core plugs.

Yes, just the one from the red/white light in the lower door up to the key lock ring.

I just tried a feeler gauge between the valves and .060" fits loosely, but .080" will not go, so what I mentioned before is pretty accurate. I don't believe the small 3.8" bore would be any issue at these sizes.

I am pretty sure 1.78", maybe 1.80", is about all that will fit without moving the guides and re-machining the seats. Stock is 1.71". GN valves are the same size and chamber are very similar, as well as overall valve length. I picked up over 30cfm with basic port cleanup, reshaping the guides and some work in the bowls with new stock size valves. Peak is about 192-195 cfm at .450" lift @ 28"wc. Just for reference, the Buick uses a 10* valve angle and are pretty efficient.

The odds of a kit being developed for a 30ish year old car are probably slim. The closest thing there is to a plug and play is the SC3800. The ECM changes are already known and has been done many times. Dave is 100% right that Daniel has done the most modern swap, and hopefully he will chime in. If you could figure out how to lighten the car down to around 3000#, it would be equivalent to adding 25hp

Barney is correct, the 5.3LS, brothers under the skin, but the 4.8-6.0 are dimensionally similar, so... I guess my only suggestion is, if going to a lot of work, try something really original. A boosted, modern aluminum V6, or even a 4-cyl, would seem like a good fit and lighten up that heavy front end at the same time.

I suspect the baby LS (4.8?) might fit as was done in the later full size fwd GM cars, but something equated with Chevrolet in a Buick just curdles my blood. JMHO

There goes the neighborhood It sounds good to me, congratulations.