Superchargintg my Reatta

[wayne_h]

I have an 1988 and my mechanic thinks he can supercharge it with a supercharger from a 1995 3800. The question is has anyone here done it? What the problems may be, and what all would I need other than the supercharger?

[Barney Eaton]

Several people have made the conversion, but most changed the engine.

I THINK the problem is the supercharger will not work with the "C" engine heads, you must change to the "L" heads for the ports etc to fit correctly. The supercharged engine is probably built differently...ie lower compression and tougher parts.

Do a search on supercharged and see what old links you get

[jonlabree]

I know you can do it to a 90.

[wayne_h]

Jon, do you have the stock engine, and did you have to do anything other than install the supercharger? Have you had any problems with it?

[jonlabree]

I have put new heads on it, but not because I had to. I just happened to find some rebuilt haeds for next to nothing. Everything lines up and it runs GREAT!!!

It's not just a bolt on, there are quite a few things that need to be changed to make it work.

[Guest Greg Ross]

This is an '88 with basically a complete '95 Series I engine with some extra goodies, balanced, Crane Cam, etc and a 5-Spd.

To do as your mechanic is suggesting you need all the accessory brackets for the Alternator, Power Steering Pump and resevoir, and belt tensioners etc off the front of the engine plus the harmonic balancer.

Better to go back to Plan "A" and pick up a complete/ running '95 Series I S/C Engine and you get the better exhaust mainifolds. Drop it in, wire it up and you're done.

[wayne_h]

Thanks for all the input. I do appreciate it

Wayneh

[Ronnie]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Better to go back to Plan "A" and pick up a complete/ running '95 Series I S/C Engine and you get the better exhaust mainifolds. Drop it in, wire it up and you're done. </div></div>

What would is the going price for the complete system?

[Guest crtnrds]

I have a '95 series I supercharger (with a new coupler), throttle body & manifold for sale for $75 plus shipping. PM me if you're interested.

[DAVES89]

Greg,

If that is all there is to it, why the blankety blank didn't Buick do it? Is it just the '95 only?

[Richard S]

I think the 95 SC works because it was the last year for the OBD I communications system. So if you want your display to work, it is far easier to stick with the 95. If Buick had had the supercharged motor in 90, and put it in the Reatta, the marque would probably have lasted a lot longer than it did. As it was, fancy electrics and hand-built with no real improvement in performance was a hard sell for that kind of money, especially adjusting for inflation.

[olbuickman]

Dave, as you know I worked for Buick Motor Division,I can tell you this,myself and a lot of of our field reps told our management that we were losing sales to other 2 seaters like the Mercedes because when our prospects drove the car they felt it was underpowered. Management came back and told us that the car was going to be short lived and that the Cadillac Allante was going to be the survivor. It was frustrating for us because we knew we had a good car. The Reatta and the Riviera were two of the lowest warranty cost per car of all the Buick models.

[jonlabree]

Well, Who ever said Buick management were smart?

[Ronnie]

A question for someone who has done the SC swap...

If I go to the salvage yard, what exactly do I tell them I need to do the complete engine changeover to the SC engine? I'm not talking about replacing parts on my engine. I'm talking about buying the complete engine and related parts to replace my engine with a SC engine. Would you please be as detailed as possible.

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

Here it goes:

engine w/supercharger

accessory mounting brackets

altinator

power steering pump and resivoir

complete throttle body assembly

Also 92-95 supercharged engines will work. the 94-5 had a few improvemnets over the 92-3. I will that the 93 park avenue has a throttle cable bracket that includes a slot for the tv cable (it sure made my life easier)

Here is a post I was working on and will go threw and update when I get home.

http://forums.aaca.org/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Main/109640/Number/477092#Post477092

The post from TrofeoSC was very good, and he must have a very nice shop and alot of experience. I did my whole swap in my garage, so basically any one with the will and a few tools could repeat it.

[Ronnie]

Thanks Daniel,

That is good solid information like I'm looking for. Are there any electrical parts that are not attached to the engine that I should also ask for off the donor car at the same time?

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

use the Reatta oil sensor. I would just get a new one but either way.

most of the sensors other than the oil are interchangeable but make sure you make a list of what ones you use. The person doing the tune will need the info. I went with all the Reatta sensors just to keep it as simple as possible.

Make sure you get the fuel rail and injectors off the donor engine.

I did mention as much as I could in that other post, but make sure you read the whole thing. There were a couple times I was reminded of missed points, although I think I put them back in the first post entry.

[DAVES89]

I average about 30000 miles a year on my Reatta, so by the time I put it away this fall I should have about 175000 on her. Then I will think about the supercharg upgrade.

The problem is the engine is a great design and it is hard to justify swapping out a good working motor.

[Guest TommyH]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DAVES89</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> The problem is the engine is a great design and it is hard to justify swapping out a good working motor. </div></div>

It is a great engine. The weak link is the transmission.

[Jim NotreDame IN]

on wikipedia if you look up the reatta, it states that the reatta's "c" code engine can be supercharged without any modification. obviously this is bull, somebody oughtta change what it says there, anybody registered to do that?

[Jim NotreDame IN]

what mileage do you get after the supercharger swap versus before?

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

I will tell you after the tune is complete, but as of right now it has been getting 22-23 total mpg. That is on one tank. I do know after I put a cat back on it went up significantly but that tank is not finished and I have not driven it for 50 days.

There are a couple things yoiu can do to save gas withthe supercharged engine, I will post on them over the next couple months after the tune is completed.

Keep in mind that the engines (supercharged and NA) have the same bore and stroke. The valves open and close a bit diffrently, but for the most part I would be willing to bet my gas milage only changes 1-3 MPG (if I am driving normally and keeping my lead foot out of it) when all is said and done. But that is still to be seen.

Like I said I have a few things to try once the tune is done

[Jim NotreDame IN]

you're right about the performance going up after the cat goes back on. i had an exhaust leak, bc my downpipe came loose from the cat, and after the local exhaust shop welded it back up for a whopping 10 bucks, the car was almost scary quiet (obviously) and the performance and mileage was considerably better. well, i guess mileage was only 2 mpg better, but the car seemed soo zippy compared to before that it was crazy. i don't know if i was babying it because it was so loud open header that day, but i'm pretty convinced that these engines do well with some back-pressure, and if i were replacing the entire exhaust system, i would put a cat back on it, especially with the 18 year newer technology going into them.