From: hotrod@dixie.com (The Hotrod List)
Subject: Re: Spelling and GNs
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 20:54:38 GMT
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.
To: hotrod@dixie.com
Reply-To: hotrod@dixie.com
Posted-Date: Monday, Jan 11 15:54:35
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        Reply to:   RE>Spelling and GNs
[ Ken,
            Is it "toulene" or "toluene?" Just want to ask for the right 
          stuff. :-)]

Ummm ... my dyslexia is showing again!  I believe "toluene" is correct.
          
[ BTW, I used to own an '86 grand national with an ATR Stage 9 
          kit installed (new heads and valves, exhaust, the works).]

Ever take it to the track?  I did some home head porting myself in my garage
(an educational experience, to be sure!) just last summer.  Only got two trips
to the track to tune it out and it was running consistent 12.20's with a best
of 12.17.  I really think the thing has 11's in it if I can get more fuel at
the top end.  Before the porting and new cam, the engine had never had the
valve covers off and the car ran consistent 12.50s with a best of 12.33.   BTW,
my car is a pig at 3640 pounds with me in it (195 lbs) and ready to race.

  [Never really noticed any turbo lag. I also ran at 20 PSI.  Had to run 
          275/50's on the rear end to hook up on the street, and bilstein 
          shocks and solid bushings to squat and not hop.]

I run 275/50s for the street (and it still blows them away in most any gear
below  35 mph).  I use urethane bushings and a pinion snubber, coupled with air
bags and have never had a hop problem.  I run 10"x26"x15" Mickey Thompson
slicks at the track ... best sixty foot time is 1.60 and it is consistently
around 1.63 ... pretty good for a little 6 cylinder!
          
           [ Still, she  chirped the tires in second gear ....]

Even with the slicks, I still see evidence of some wheelspin on the shift
(according to the OTC data).  The shift from 1-2 hits right in the "sweet spot"
for my car (around 5100 rpm).
            
    [with 3.48 gears was great. ....]

Stock gears are 3.42 in the GM 8.5" rearend.  Pretty bullet proof.  Once in
awhile you will see a carrier bearing failure, but only on the real high HP
GNs.

 [The only problem I ever had was a 
          blown head gasket due to overboost caused by a loose boost 
          sensor.  Fortunately, the turbocharger survived, but no thanks to 
          me. It must have approached 30 PSI.]

Pretty common, which is why I always tie wrap all the hose connections ...
never had a head gasket failure in 6 years.  One of the biggest culprits is a
lean mixture, coupled with a little detonation.  A friend of mine had a fuse
blow on his aux. fuel pump during the burnout (we think).  About 80 feet down
the track he blew both head gaskets ... upon tear down we saw it blew EVERY
cylinder!  No other damage though.  Put it back together with Fel Pro gaskets
and never had another problem.
          
          [  Was the tranny a TH200? I can't imagine how it held up to such 
          torque.  It seemed more like a TH400 with an overdrive.]

Tranny is the TH200-4R.  I still use the original stock tranny, but the lockout
clutch in the converter is slipping in 3rd gear under WOT.  The race chips lock
the converter up @ ~75mph ... something I'm sure was never designed for! 
Amazing that it has lasted for 38,000 miles and 375+ documented 1/4 mile
passes.  Anyway, my winter project is to replace the converter and have the
tranny freshened up.  I hope that will bring my mph back up about 1-2 mph and
drop 0.1-0.15 from the E.T.  I'm hoping for solid 11.90s with the new tranny
and the other tuning changes I've made this winter.
 
[            Question: Why didn't Buick design the Reatta around the 3.8 
          Turbo engine?  I'm convinced it would have been a hit.  Can you 
          imagine all that power in such a light car?  A 1993 RX7 on 
          steriods!]

They actually had an engineering mule that they let the press drive that was
exactly that.  They even had a rear wheel drive Reatta with the GN power train!
 However, some over enthusiastic journalist stuffed it into the guardrail at
the test track .... bye, bye prototype!  At least the engineers had fun!

Another oddity the Buick engineers had running around was an '87 Buick Electra
Estate WAGON with the GNX powertrain in it.  They used it as a chase car and
equipment hauler .... what a SLEEPER!  Probably peeled the woodgrain right off
it on a hard launch! :^)
          
         [ Regards,
          Eric]

-- Ken Mosher
-- Buick Grand National:  A *BOOST* of Buick Performance!


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Posted by: "KEN MOSHER" <emory!imd.sterling.com!KEN_MOSHER>
Newsgroups: alt.hotrod,wiz.hotrod