Reliable 10 Sec Turbo Buick Buildup

by Patrick Rubio (RUQWKNF)

First off you want to get the car running correctly in stock form.  Here are a couple write ups that will get you prepared:  

http://www.geocities.com/rad87gn/tech/NewOwnerTips.html
http://www.gnttype.org/maint/basics.html

Now that you have a plan, and the car is up to snuff and is ready for mods, you have a few decisions to make. I will break these decisions down into parts groups.

Turbo:
Lot's of turbos out there for you to decide on. Basically you have your TO4B series compressor housing turbos. These range from TE-34 all the way to TE-45a/TE64E. Next up you have your Big Boy series turbos. These have the Bigger compressor housings combined with the 2.5" outlet to the IC. These being your TE63-1 to your LT88-1 3 bolt turbos. Here are some links with pictures of these turbos.
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/pictureguides/turboguide/turbos.html
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/pictureguides/turboguide/turboguide.html
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/pictureguides/turboguide/T88.html
When selecting a turbo for your goal of reliable 10's, you need to decide on a few things.
- Will the car be daily driven?
- Will it be a weekend warrior with limmited street driving?
- Is Gas mileage really of concern.
> - Are you going for the stock look?, orr total shock value when you pop the hood?
Reasoning behind these questions are, some bigger turbos require higher stall converters, and can be tiresome for a daily driver. (IE: Higher stall= more RPMs for daily cruising) If limited street duty is the goal, then the converter issue isn't one, but, if it is, then you might consider going with a Lock up 9.5" converter.
There are some who have gone high 10's with a TA or Stock appearing style turbo. (TA-70) And this would be the biggest size I'd go, but, with the TA housing, combined with high boost, you will have to really be on top of the tune, due to the TA housing creating a lot of heat once the boost goes past a certain point. (Like 24psi) Hence the move to the larger compressor housing turbos. Whenever someone asks me which turbo they should go with, I ask those questions above. The Big Boy turbos are really huge compared to the TA series turbos. Here is a picture comparo,
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/pictureguides/turboguide/T701vsstock.html
As you can see, the stock compared to the 70 is a tremendous size difference, and you can imagine the shock value when the hood's popped for the locals.
My personal favorites are the TE-45(PTE's TE64) and the LT70-1. Both are fine turbos for 10's. Only diffs are, less converter stall required for the 45 vs the 70-1, and you will have to run more boost to achieve your goals with the 45/64 vs the 70-1. This is mainly due to the compressor wheel, and compressor housing differences. General rules of thumb, the bigger the compressor housing, the less heat it adds to the air charge for a given boost level. IOW, a TE45/64 @ 18psi will be hotter than a 70-1 or larger at 18psi. Also, the 18psi from the bigger turbo will flow more air(cfm) vs the smaller 45/64. A lot of vendors now days shy away from quoting cfm ratings for specific turbos, and I can understand why, the modern day's way of judging/comparing turbos is by HP potential for a given unit. Also, don't think that these 3 turbos are what you must run to achieve your goals, as there are a lot of other good choices out there to reach the 10's, and a lot of folks are doing it with smaller turbos. The turbo selection is very crucial to reaching your goals. It will also determine what size converter, injector, and fuel pump/pumps you will need.
Converter:
3 different types to choose from. Stock 12" high stall lock up version, Art Carr 9" non lock up, and Precision Industries 9.5" Vigilante in either lock up, or non lock up. Depending on your idea of street ability, the turbo & cam you choose, will determine the stall you need. Both the 9.5 and 9" are very good choices for 10's, and there have been a few that have done it with stock style 12" converters, but the main advantage of the 9/9.5"'s are the less weight on the crank shaft. Helping with spool up. The differences between the 9.5 and 9" are the 9" Art Carr's weigh less than the 9.5 lock up, due to the 9.5 having the clutch for lock up. Some prefer the lock up vs the non, I prefer the 9" for it's stall/flash capability, and the less weight on the crankshaft.
Intercooler:
A good Front mount is almost an absolute here, although, the new CAS V-4 and CAS V-4R stock locations looks to provide adequate cooling abilities for 10's. The popular FM IC's are your PTE FM, CAS V1 & V2, Eastern Performance's FM, and the Duttweiler FM. With the ATR and Kenne Bell bringing up the rear. The CAS V1 is the biggest FM available for our cars, and is best suited for low 10 second and faster Stage II (4.1) combos. http://www.gnttype.org/vendors/index.html
Fuel system:
If stock style pumps are your decision, then some say a single 340m Walbro will get the job done, but, I prefer going by this rule of thumb from one of the legends.
"You can never over fuel a Turbo Buick." (LC) Dual 340 double pumpers setup in a staged fashion have become the new standard for a lot of guys. They will supply enough gph for 10's. A good Billet top or all Billet adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and a good Autometer Fuel Pressure gauge are a must. Injectors: The MSD 50's on paper could possibly supply enough fuel for high 10's, and there are those out there that are doing it with the 50's. Some like the 83#ers with a Maximum Effort thumb wheel chip as well. Here is a link for fuel injectors @ what hp level.
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/misc/lubrant.html
My personal vote goes to the 55lb Siemens/Bendix injectors. These require the stock ECM to be modified with different Injector drivers. With the proper chip, it can remain just as street able as smaller injectors, with only a small decrease in gas mileage. The other spectrum is, dedicated -10 feed line, into external pump, into modified OEM fuel rail, -10 out of rail into External regulator, & -8 return line back to top of tank. When selecting an external fuel pump, the best on the market is the Weldon series of fuel pumps. The best one for our applications is the one that flows 100-110gph @ 70psi. Some may cry overkill, but, this style of fuel system when setup correctly, is very street able, and gives a lot of room to grow into for the future.
Heads & cam:
Lots of choices for both. Ported stock iron heads have been proven to run into the 10's. And are a very viable option when money is an option. The Aluminum heads are kind of pricey, but, can out flow ported stock heads when modified. Lot's of cars running 10's with aluminum heads. the current choices are the M&A Stage IIIa aluminum heads, and the GN-1 aluminum heads. The M&A's come complete with everything needed minus head gaskets/intake gasket. The GN-1's require rocker arms, valve covers, head bolts, push rods, and gaskets. Both are proven pieces. Both are compatible with Stage 1 & 2 blocks. (Extra bolt holes) Throw in a 62-70mm T-body and matching Hemco upper plenum and your set.
Camshaft:
Roller or hydraulic? The new breed of Rollers are nice, and can be reliable, where as the hydraulics are proven pieces. The MM/PTE rollers are nice, but, not necessarily needed for 10's. Some of the good hydraulic cams are the 210/205, 208/208, 218/218, 224/224. The 210/205 will give tremendous bottom end power, where as the bigger ones have more mid-top end charge. Stock GM lifters work well. As well as some aftermarket ones. So it's really your call there. Also, it's important to match your valve springs to the cam you choose. The rollers are more combo specific, and you're best to call the vendors who provide them for best results.
Engine mods:
The stock block can support around 550-575hp on it's own, but, the webbing in the bottom end, combined with 2 bolt main caps, can lead to failures if severe detonation is present. "Detonation kills the bottom end."
In the past, all that was available was ARP studs and billet main caps. With ever growing technologies, we now have a block girdle that allows us to push the stock block past the 575hp barrier.
http://www.loveridgemachine.com/Buick_Products/Girdle/girdle.html
With a girdle, studs, and main caps, the new limit is around 700-725hp. Reconditioned stock rods will take you to the 700hp range as well. The biggest problem is detonation, as even with all of these parts in place, it still won't keep a bottom end from failing if detonation is severe enough. The girdle and main caps are peace of mind when seriously turning up the boost. Which will be required for 10's. JE's TRW's and Wiesco's are good choices for aftermarket pistons, as well as stock pistons. The stock pistons were specifically designed for our forced induction application, and although quiet heavy compared to aftermarket forged pistons, they stand up quiet well to serious abuse. Lot's of guys have run 10's with stock pistons. I myself have gone 11.00's on stock pistons, so it is another possibility if money is a factor. But, stock pistons are very hard to come by, and when you do find them, they can cost more than aftermarket forged units. Speed Pro rings are the best, and Clevite & King bearings are good choices for these motors. Also, good ARP bolts on everything is a must. Stock head gaskets are all that is needed for 10's. As long as you can tune for zero detonation or as close to it as possible, they will work perfectly. Stock Valley pan intake gasket that's been ported to the heads and intake as well. A good double roller timing chain, will work just fine, as well as a stock replacement. Some just don't trust the stock timing chain setup, but, it has been proven to last for over 100k miles on just about all of the cars out there. Main reason for going with a true double roller is the adjustability with the aftermarket timing set. Roller rockers aren't necessary, but, will help in your goals. They are pricey.
Exhaust:
A good 3" down pipe like the Terry Houston pipe (uses the stock style waste gate, and the ATR pipe (uses external w/g) are excellent choices. A good 2.5" dual mandrel bent with good mufflers or 3" single shot exhaust will get the job done. Lot's of guys have run into the 9's with 3" DP and 3" single shot exhaust. Main decisions will be which type of waste gate you want to run. Stock style, or external like the ATR billet, Delta gate, & Race gate, or the HKS. Stock ported headers have gone 10's but, most of them out there are either cracked beyond repair, or not attainable. Poston sell a good set of replacement headers for our cars. http://members.aol.com/ideapage/poston/ Hooker Headers are old technology, not recommended for high 10's and slower, but, will work on 10 second cars with a moderate stall converter.
Suspension:
Dual rear coil spring airbags, pinion snubber, either SSM or Metco lower control arms are all that's really needed, but, if more adjustability is what you're after for fine tuning your suspension, then Metco and Hotchkis both sell Adjustable upper rear control arms that offer full adjustability of your pinion angle. A good set of adjustable 90/10 front drag shocks and usually removal of your front sway bar really help with weight transfer and putting the power to the ground. Also, if daily driving w/o the front sway bar, you can negate some of the sway effects by running 10-15psi in both rear air bags, and if that's not enough, ATR sells a bigger rear sway bar that really helps eliminate the sway.
Tuning devices:
The Scanmaster II, from Modern Musclecar http://www.modernmusclecar.com/ combined with either Direct Scan or TurboLink for after pass evaluation tuning.
http://www.turbo-link.com/tlink/scanchart.html
Combined with a good boost gauge from either VDO, or Autometer, Audible & visual knock detectors from Caspers http://www.casperselectronics.com/ and a EGT gauge are perfect. Although, you only really need to be able to monitor knock and boost, it helps to be able to see O2 Mv and knock during a run. the Scanmaster offers these 2 features in one easy to read package. It's the size of a small radar detector, and easily mounts anywhere, worth it's weight in gold. I like to place mine right next to my boost gauge so that while I make a pass, I can monitor boost, O2 Mv & knock while running. In fact, that's all that I monitor while making a pass, other than the track ahead.
Ok, to quickly wrap this up, what it comes down too is, being able to run 24-30psi boost, depending on which turbo you choose, and tune for zero or less than 3* of detonation on good race gas. "Tuning is the real secret with these cars." Getting the car to consistent mid 1.5 60ft times. Usually 99-105mph in the 1/8th, and 123-128mph in the 1/4 are what we are shooting for. Remember the better the 60ft time, the better the 1/4 ET. 1/4 mile mph is a direct reflection of horsepower with these cars. 

Hope this helps.
Patrick Rubio

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