Has anyone ever seen a 3.8 liter turbo motor transplanted into a vintage Buick of any sort? I have seen the LC2 in ElCaminos, 280 Z's , Mustangs, but never in a Riv or Wildcat, etc. They would appear to be an easy swap into any of the early chassis styles, as they are still GM motors designed for similar chassis styles as the Nailhead or big block family. No doubt it would help with weight distribution in these larger cars. Power output would certainly be no problem either, as the motors can be tuned from mild to wild with just a little more boost and fuel. Thanks, Rudy E.
I believe I saw a blue '65 Skylark with a cowl induction hood at the GS Nats in '02 that had an LC2 engine in it!:TU: Always a great drivetrain swap...tough to argue with Power AND Mileage!!:bglasses:
There was a 65 Skylark at Las Vegas running a 3.8 motor with turbo. Strong running car. I think he was actually hunting for Doug Hecker !!!:laugh: :laugh:
How about the one that was at Kearney this year? I didn't get a good look at what kind of turbo he was running, but it was turbo non the less!
I saw it done in a magazine to a 69-70 Nova. I was thinking instead of hunting for a Grand National engine and drivetrain, get an 86 or 87 231, upgrade as needed and go to fuel injection with an aftermarket ECU. SDS (Simple Digital Systems) comes to mind. Supposedly you can tune it yourself without a laptop computer. A 200R4 does fit the A-bodies. Or, you could go to a th400 with a lower first gear. If you don't want to mess with a 200R4 or 700 and still want overdrive, then buy a Gear Vendors overdrive unit. In some ways this is cheaper, while in others it's more expensive. Just dreaming. What do you guys think about a turbo 231 done this way?
I can tell you that the 231 Turbo motor is nothing exotic, and it could be easily be duplicated with smart use of used GN or aftermarket efi stuff. The difference between the regular 231 and the blown motor in the GN rests in the piston choice and little else. It was long believed that the turbo block was something special, but I can tell you that they share the same 109 casting block and 8445 heads with the na motor. I have two na motors that came out of an 86 GP and an 87 Regal , and even the cranks are the preferred rolled fillet design seen in the GN motor. So, a solid long block is easy to build with all of the aftermarket engine parts out there now. The greatest challenge would be electronics, and that would be the case with any efi swap into an older chassis, even if it retained the original motor. I know of a 65 Chevy II down here that has a stock GN mill linked to a TH350 that is simply using the GN ecm with the unneeded sensors disconnected. The car is nothing fancy, and is a true low buck deal. It runs high elevens to low twelves, and you can barely hear it run. I am personally thinking of a 1st gen Riv with a turbo 231. I can use my GN as a guide. I figure that the Riv would fall under the 4000 lb mark with the little 3.8 under the hood in place of the 401/425. I can easily see this car in the mid 12's with little more than a stock motor with a good set of heads, a little convertor, and about 20 lbs of boost on race gas. I would never gut a primo Riv for such a project, but am on the lookout for a solid body and interior on a rolling chassis that might have and incorrect or missing engine. It never hurts to dream, as all projects have to start in someone's imagination. Thanks, Rudy E.
That's a sweet car, I'm tellin' ya! Even if it is still running 4 wheel drum! :bglasses: :grin: :beer :blast: :error: :error: :jd: :shock: :spank: :TU:
That is one sweet ride! The motor looks like it belongs in there. These kind of cars really make this kind of a creation seem like a very practical choice. I think that I may have seen this car or one similar to it in GM High Tech Performance or something like that last year. I'd bet that the little 231 Turbo would be several hundred pounds lighter than a Nailhead or big block, with the weight reduction being in all the right places from a performance perspective. Power output is no problem, as even a mild motor should produce super et's. Thanks, Rudy E.
i think this is the car that was in car craft if i remember right, it was all stock gn and runs high 11's
Suwheat! The best of all worlds actually.... Clean classic lines, great fuel economy, and 11 second time slips! :TU:
