has anyone ever took a stock 87 GN and twin turboed it i know the FBI ones came with twins under the hood. if anyone has, how did you do it ant how much did it cost?
No GN/TR came with twin turbos... urban legend.
Dean
To add to what Dean said, the FBI cars were nothing mechanically different. We have a couple guys on the list with FBI cars, and they have described things like "wig wag" modules for the headlights, shotgun holders, and wiring for a radio in the trunk, but those things were most likely added after the car was bought.
what is a GNX ? I think this is Grand National Experimental . I thought these cars were twin turboed. Please corect me if I am wrong.Also does anybody know Kenne Bells website?
I spoke to Kenne Bell the other day and they do not have a website for the Turbo Buicks, but they are working on it. I was ordering 4 parts and they only had 2 of them for sale as they are discontinuing some of the parts they used to carry. It seems the sale of parts for the Buicks has fallen off as the cars get older. I guess people with the turbo cars have already purchased everything they need and sales drop off. I would think they would be working on additional modifications for the cars, but this isn't the case. I ordered one of their catalogs and it is the same one from a couple of years ago. It also sounded like they are putting most of their efforts into the supercharged Mustang kits. Mr. Buick?
One last thing on the twin turbo cars. Applied Technologies & Research (ATR) in So. Carolina does sell a twin turbo kit. http://www.atrperformance.com/ They don't have all of their parts on the internet site but they have a catalog that has the twin turbos stuff in it. they were originally from Roseville California.
They have been running a twin car for about 10 years. I have a bunch of their parts and they are high quality and work well. Their cat back stainless system is a thing of beauty and really wakes up a stock turbo car. They make a lot of their parts themselves and spend a lot of bucks on equipment and tooling. Best of all, they have California ARD approval on a bunch of their parts.
GNX was a special edition "last run" of the turbo Buicks. They made 547 of them (NONE of them were twin turbo'd from the factory).
Major differences were:
- 16" wheels/tires
- Ceramic impeller turbo
- Increased fin count in the intercooler
- Panhard bar/torque arm rear suspension
- Resonator only exhaust (to clear the suspension)
- GNX badging and number plate on the dash
- Turbo shield has "GNX" cut into it
- ... and I'm sure I'm missing a couple details
For more details go here:
http://www.gnttype.org/general/product.html
and specifically:
http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~rowilson/frtpge.html
Regarding things posted above...
"I spoke to Kenne Bell the other day and they do not have a website for the Turbo Buicks, but they are working on it."
Please search harder before ordering from Kenne-Bell. Their technology and approach to Buicks is not considered up to date, and you may die before you recieve your order. They will likely never have a website, as they have been saying that since...well...when was the web was invented? Kenne Bell is not likely working on anything new for Buicks. There are _many_ other sources you should take a look at.
"It seems the sale of parts for the Buicks has fallen off as the cars get older. I guess people with the turbo cars have already purchased everything they need and sales drop off."
That sounds like what the guy who quit the US patent office said over a century ago: "everything that can be invented already has". A bunch of BS. The Buick guys are a creative bunch, and new stuf comes out constantly for the TRs. Granted, at a reduced rate. They aren't new cars and aren't being made anymore.
"They have been running a twin car for about 10 years."
While the company has had a picture of one in their catalog for over 10 years, I don't believe it is theirs not uses their setup.
"Best of all, they have California ARD approval"
That's ARB for Air Resources Board.
Scott
Scott, you're right about Kenne Bell service. I ordered one of their electric fuel pressure gauges with isolator and I had to call them back after a few weeks to remind them that I ordered the part. The guy that originally took the order sounded like he didn't know the first thing about the turbo cars. I should have followed my gut feeling. I would definitely go with someone else.
By the way, the comments about sales falling off, etc. was from the Kenne Bell guy.
Ooops, typo on the ARB. It's good to see some of this smog legal stuff.
I'm in the process of building one myself, twin turbo 4.1L in an 82 Regal Limited. The car came stock with the 4.1, I already have a rebuild kit with the good Hyper pistons, and I just picked up a complete 87 intake, ignition, computer, harness, pulley and turbo bracket system to form the basis of the induction system. The plan is to use the Ramcharger MAF translator plus with custom burned extender chip, 55lb injectors, 3.5" LS1 MAF. I'm custom building the intake and exhaust tracts out of a combination of mandrel bent exhaust tube and straight pipe. For turbos the plan is use a pair of T3's off of a Volvo or 2.3L I4 Ford motor, I'd perfer the Volvo's because they have water jackets so I can keep the turbo bearings cool. I'd use twin intercoolers off of turbo Ford Probes and screw with the radiator and A/C condenser mounts to put the intercoolers infront of them. How much boost can stock rods and crank take? I'm thinking 18psi on race and 12 on the street. This is my grand entrance into the TR scene and I've tried to do my homework here but its very possible that I missed something vital. Any help would be greatly appreciated.