Turbo Loyd
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Posts posted by Turbo Loyd
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[color:"blue"] I have found the small block Oldsmobile 307 and performance to be mutually exclusive. I'm not saying it cannot be done, but there are so many modifications to be done that the typical car crafter will eventually go elsewhere. Keep in mind there are no simple modifications to make it as quick as even a stock turbo Regal.
The first thing is change the TH 200C (C stands for lock up torque converter) for a TH 200 4R. You will need the overdrive gear, to go with the gear change from 2.19 to 1 to 3.43 to 1 in the differential. You could go with a turbo Regal differential (3.42to 1) or Olds 442 differential (3.72 to 1) which is a 8 1/2 inch unit if you are serious or stay with the 7 1/2 inch if you get a different carrier. It would be good to get a posi-traction unit while you are at it. This coupled with a change in torque converter from a 1700 stall to 2000 stall (stock D5 found in a turbo Regal or Olds 442), will help the off line grunt a lot. Between the converter, the lower gear ratio and overdrive transmission you will maintain the reliability, gas mileage and at least beat a Hundai Excel off the line.
I tried tweaking on the carb, a so called performance chip, adjusted the timing etc. and there is not much that can be done with that engine. Changing out the 7A heads (note large ?A? for late 80s 307 and little ?a? for early 70s 350) for 5A (307 heads before 1985) can improve the flow above 4200 rpm, but these are not high reving engines to begin with. You have a hydraulic roller cam in that engine so changing the cam is expensive. Even going with a larger air cleaner and a larger exhaust system did not add that much power in itself.
Now a small block Oldsmobile 403, is a drop in replacement for the 307. With an intake manifold change you can add all the computer sensors. You will need the earlier cast iron exhaust manifolds with an O2 sensor, that bolt right up to your exhaust system. Coupled with an open exhaust, a change in transmission and gear ratio, the car will be respectable, but not fast. Where I live it is necessary, as it also has to pass the IM240 test.
To go fast (and emission testing is not an issue) go to the Buick V8 board to the Regals with V8 section where they discuss putting a Buick 455 into Regals. This is great as the accessories (alternator, air-conditioner, power steering pump etc.)for a normally aspirated V6 will bolt to the front of the 455, and you can use the V6 wiring harness for the larger engine as well making it a clean installation.
Hope that does not discourage you that much, but that is what we ended up doing, for our daily driver. Great package when completed.
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[color:"blue"] We put 7a heads from a 1972 Olds 350 on an 403 we installed in our daily driver. Chose the 7a heads as the "a" means it has the hardened seats for unleaded fuel, and these flow some good numbers. From my notes this is what the engine builder did:
[color:"green"] Heads 1972 Olds 350 7A; valve pockets cleaned, valve guides replaced, intakes enlarged (1.875 to 1.995) for 403 intake valves, ports for air injection added and head bolt holes drilled to 9/16? for ½? bolts. 7a combustion chamber is 63-cc vs. 84 cc for 4A heads
Intake valve diameter 1.995 inch ? Exhaust valve diameter 1.562 inch
[color:"blue"] As it turned out the 350 heads had bigger exhaust valves and the 403 heads had bigger intake valves which were used in the 350 heads.
Make sure you match any water ports to the block in the 350 heads that the 403 heads have. My engine tends to run warm on 90 plus degree days with the air on, which we attribute to not performing this detail. Figure I'm running 9.2 to 1 compression ratio, and use 89 octane fuel with no problems. Thought I had pinging when first installed, but it turned out to be a leaking air injection port. Very similiar sound. Need spark plugs called for by the 1972 350 engine, but since they appeared to be running hot, have settled on two steps colder.
Do not think a big block intake will fit, but used an Edelbrock Performer for small block Oldsmobile ported to fit the 72 heads. They have extra meat in event one would use the manifold with large block heads installed on a small block engine, so port matching is really helpful. I did this primarily to save the very heavy weight of the cast iron intake, and add the extra places to put sensors for later model fuel management systems.
Since we were looking for low end torque a Melling cam MTO-1 with 0.050 duration of 204 Int and 214 Exhaust or SAE 280/289 was installed. Great for pulling away for stop lights with authority. Not a particulary fuel efficient car, but will pass the IM240 test in a 86 Regal as it is on the computer
Hope this helps
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From The Eastwood Company
[color:"blue"]Carb Renew Bronze 5 Ounce Aerosol Item No. - 10179 Z
Improved Carb Renew! rebuilding your carburetor takes a fair amount of time and effort. Why not make your rebuilt carburetor look as good as it functions? Restore the OEM look found on just about any carburetor with Carb Renew. Carb Renew is a translucent acrylic enamel which is resistant to fuel and most fuel additives. (Please read and follow label instructions carefully.) While your carburetor is apart and all jets are removed, simply spray Carb Renew on the exterior of the thoroughly cleaned bowl cover and main body. Carb Renew is supplied in a 5 oz. net wt. aerosol can. Regular Price: $9.99
Hope this helps
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[color:"blue"] The GS Nationals are from May 13 thru 17, 2003, was wondering how may folks from this board are going.
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[color:"blue"] Differential housings are the same, it is the carrier that is different to account for the different diameter of the pinion gear.
George Nenadovich has a web page titled How to Find and Remove 8.5" GM Posi Carriers located at http://pw2.netcom.com/%7Egnenad/posi.html
Here he tells you where you may find a 8 1/2 inch series 3 posi carrier, and how to remove it. As he says the best choices are the 1972-81 Trans Ams/Z28s and full size station wagons such as the Caprice, Cutlass, Electra and Catalina.
S10 pickups may be a good place to look for gears as well. If you take off the cover the GM part number is stamped on the ring gear. Immediately after the part number, the ratio will be stamped like the following 41:15, 40:13, 42:13 which translates to 2.73, 3.08, 3.23 respectively.
Hope this helps. Steve Russo here in Chicagoland can fix you up with a new Eaton carrier unit, install kit and ring and pinion set at reasonable prices. E-mail him at STEVEGS1@aol.com with your needs.
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Charlie Evans was kind enough to give us a chart of attributes of many cam shafts, and it is posted at:
http://www.chicagolandbuick.org/pdf/tables.PDF
I would give Charlie or Mike Phillips at Automotive Machine & Performance a call at 888-624-3848. Details like the compression ratio, the differential you are using, the stall speed of the torque converter, the weight of the car, what you are expecting, etc. make a difference in the selection. These guys are great resources in the Buick community to help us get it right the first time.
Joe is right, I would not run a square bore carb for primarily street use.
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George Nenadovich with the Skylark Drive Buick Club has gathered a lot of information on differentials. Try this web site:
http://pw2.netcom.com/%7Egnenad/axles.html
To answer some of your questions:
Axles for A-bodies are grouped into years as follows:
1965-67
1968-72
1973-77
1978-87
Axles in the above groups only interchange directly in the years grouped.
Buick, Olds and Pontiac did not have 12 bolt differentials. They were all 10 bolt (that is the number of bolds holding the ring gear to the carrier)Of course there are documented variations of Chevy parts showing up in Buicks, but they are the exception.
Buick differentials up thru 1970 had 8.25 inch diameter ring gears. The 1971 and 72 carriers had the corporate 8.5 inch ring gear. Both the Skylark and GS carried the same diffential with either the 350 or 455.
By the 80s the A which was refered to as the G body had the 7 1/2 differential except Chevy which had their own size, Olds 442 and Turbo Regals (84 & up) which had an 8 1/2 inch differential. The specific size of the differntial in an El Camino, I am not familiar with, but being a truck could be the 8 1/2.
The most common gears found in Skylark/GS cars are 2.56 and 2.73 ratios. Typically, 2.56 is found in 350-2bbl cars with and without ac. The 2.73 ratios are found in cars with 4 bbl set-ups and most Skylark Custom cars which usually are 4 bbl cars.
Fortunately with a 71 housing it is very easy to interchange a corporate 8.5 inch posi carrier and change gearing to any ratio you want. The parts are very easy to get, and relatively inexpensive.
Hope this helps
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Here is a handy source of information for a lot of different engines
http://www.nhra.com/tech_specs/engine/
Not sure if I agree with the compression ratio for your year 455, but the horsepower figures should be accurate.
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[color:"blue"] Before being tempted to use read the directions on the octane booster bottle. It takes a lot (several bottles) to raise the octane even one point. If you had enough to make a difference it leaves a funky residue on the combustion chamber, spark plugs, valves ect . . .
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[color:"blue"] Do not know what a transmission valve is. If the fluid leaking is red it is transmission fluid. I would leave transmission work to an expert. The problem is finding the honest repair shop for this work.
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[color:"blue"] Have you tried a web search and/or Corker Tire ]http://www.coker.com/
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You simply have to give us more clues than that.
Oil pressure light on ?
Run the car out of oil ?
How many miles on the car ?
Recent tune up ?
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[color:"blue"] Your SC3800 is capable of making a lot of power with an overdrive pulley on the supercharger, software modifications, and opening up the intake (K&N is a good start) and exhaust systems.
See the thread in http://www.buickgsca.com/cgi-bin4/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=super;action=display;num=1035820028
Also check out http://intense-racing.com/
Hopefully this site will soon be back up http://www.thrasher-ep.com/
Great potential
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[color:"blue"] Do not know if a standard 400 block would be able to be bored to accept the 430 piston. The difference in size from a 400 piston to a 430 piston is significant. Earler blocks seldom could be bored over 0.040 due to slight core misalignment while being cast. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> Occasionaly Blocks 72 or later may be bored to 0.060 over.
Maker Size Bore. . Stroke
-Buick 400 4.0400 3.90
-Buick 430 4.1875 3.90
-Buick 455 4.3120 3.90
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[color:"blue"] Have not done it personally, but from a discussion from the V8Buick board there is a thread about headers for a 455 engine in a 67 A body. The consensus is that the smaller collector headers will fit fine and the larger ones will require some dimpling.
Think the 350 headers should fit fine.
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[color:"blue"]You should be able to interchange quite easily.
Motor mount pads are available, from Vendors like Postons or from earlier "B" bodies (full sized cars) with a Buick 455 engine. Pads from the earlier cars make the engine sit a little higher. They bolt to the frame so can be exchanged easily. The only tricky part is deciding where to drill the new holes for the different pads.
Find a mid 80's Regal or LaSabre with a Buick V6 and pull the accesseries as they will fit on the Buick 455 engine. This way it will have the modern alternator and air-conditioner compressor. I know in a Regal (G Body)application the alternator bracket needs to be trimmed for hood clearance, but in a B Body application this may not be an issue.
Finally for the wiring harness pull that engine harness off the V6 engine complete to the C100 plug on the engine side of the fuse box and under the brake booster. There will be two halfs to the plug, with the other side being the chassis wiring that you will not need. You will need a small socket and extension to take the screw that holds the plug in place. Since the Buick distributor is in front and starter is on the other side you will need to change the harness out. Some of the wires may need to be extended as the 455 is larger than the V6. On such extensions use the same gage of wire and soldier the new section in and cover with heat shrink tubing to make reliable joints.
Hope that helps and good luck
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[color:"blue"]There are plenty of references on how to a rebuild and engine. Just take your time and select a good machine shop to do the work on the block and crank. They should have the torque plates for your engine to do the work right, plus know the Buick clearance and not apply their Chevy experience. With new piston make sure you get the rotating assembly balanced.
One caution getting pistons for a 400 CI Buick in not an inexpensive proposition, and may take quite awhile. I've heard members in Chicagoland who have paid neary $800 for a set of 0.20 or 0.30 over sized pistons since they have to be be custom made. That is why a lot of guys go over to the 455.
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[color:"blue"] So it sounds like you have spark, but no gasoline getting past your primary jets. Your car runs after getting gasoline by pumping the fuel pump, but will not maintain an idle.
Have you tried unplugging the computer control to the primary jets. This should open them wide open. It sounds like your car does not run long enough to set a lean code.
If you do not have any simple tools like a timing light to check the spark to the plugs, or a dwell meter to check the pulses to the primary jet solenoid of the electric carburator, you might want to follow earlier advise and get the car serviced. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
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Tell us a little more like what year and if fuel injected or carburetor. Does it seem like it is rich or lean with the bog. What was the last thing done to the car before this happened. -
[color:"blue"] There are a couple of manufacturers that make a differential housing that will fit a GM G body and utilize Ford 9 inch axles, carriers and gears. These are custom made parts that many serious Turbo Regal racers use for extreme high HP applications. The housings are made to accept disk brakes or G Body drum brake backing plates with the axles drilled for Buick wheel patterns.
Hope that helps
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[color:"blue"] You will need a lot of parts to make the conversion. Would go to a junk yard and strip a V6 equipped G Body (Cutlass or Regal) of the engine wiring harness and computer wiring harness, computer, carburator, all the brackets and accessaries that may be different from the 307 (such as power steering pump, alternator, smog pump, etc) starter motor, fuel pump, motor mounts and motor mount frame pads. Be sure to get all the lines and hoses that make the installation complete. It might be a good idea to get the complete engine, pan to carb including air cleaner, accessaries to flexplate just to be sure you have it all.
The rebuilt engine will not have all this stuff that you will need to install this engine. The engine wiring harness unpluggs from the back of the fuse block under the brake booster. Luckily the motor will bolt directly to the transmission and the engine flexplate will bolt to the torque convertor
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[color:"blue"] There are instructions on the GN T-Type list covering this. The jest is to turn the engine by hand until the sensor is not in one of the three open areas. This may take movement of the sensor to make sure the outer slot is where the interrupter ring passes. You can easily break the sensor if it collides with the leading edge of the interrupter ring.
A match book cover thickness will give you adequate clearance on either side.
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<img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" /> [color:"blue"] Sonny Seal a member of the Penn-Ohio Chapter of the GSCA has been making adapter plates for his very fast 350 powered 69 GS called Tweedy.
Think he is is the 10s with this all steel car now. Uses a tunnel ram intake originally from another GM make.
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[color:"blue"] <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" /> Shari and I are torn between taking her GS 455 and my 86 GN. Since it will not be a judged event might as well take the heavily modified GN since there will be racing on Friday.
Will be great ripping a few low 12 runs there.
GS Nationals in Bowling Green, KY
in Buick - Performance and Modified
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[color:"blue"]Gosh only two out of all the folks who visit this board ?
Nice of you to include a picture of Joe T. & Jim W. with Dennis M. on the engine block post Roberta.
You are right it is always great seeing our Buick buddies down there.