Saucy Non-Intercooled Turbo Regal Recipe
David Cooley
Disclaimer
"This information represents what worked for the author(s) with their combinations. It may not work for you. Be aware that anytime you increase the performance of your car you run the risk of damage. Be smart about modifications: take them one at a time and keep a close eye on vital tuning indicators such as knock counts, O2 volts and RPM. This Recipe assumes you are using adequate octane RACING fuel for best performance. -editor"
Introduction
This recipe is intended to provide you with a surprisingly quick car without sacrificing drivability, economy, or comfort. Also remember, Combination is everything. Go overboard with a cam or really big turbo and the car will fall on it's face and be not only a waste of time and money, but an embarrassment to you when that 5.0 pulls away like you are in park!
The Recipe
Start with one mild non-intercooled Turbo Regal of the 1984-1985 vintage. With or without posi, although posi will make it easier to "cook!"
  1. Add a good boost gauge. Factory one (if it had one) is junk and if it came equipped with the digital dash, it had 2 useless idiot lights!
  2. Get all sources of heat out of the engine.. Plug the throttle body coolant lines, add the K&N valve cover breather, use a good quality 160 thermostat, and if you are so inclined, an electric fan to replace the factory clutch unit.
  3. Some form of boost control: for 84-85's, the aftermarket chips I have seen still use factory boost calibrations. With proper fuel and octane, these non-intercooled cars like about 20 psi. Remember, detonation kills head gaskets, not boost.
  4. Let it Breath! A good K&N cone air filter and at least 2 1/4" dual exhaust after the cat. Forget flowmaster mufflers, they are best for non turbo'd motors as they use pulse energy from the exhaust (which the turbo motors don't have a lot of) to scavenge the cylinders. The thrush CVX and walker Ultra Flow are quiet, sound good and flow about as good as a straight pipe.
  5. A good chip. I used Conley's Performance Plus mini-mag. This chip likes octane and boost! also fixes hard cold starting and rough running when cold.
  6. Autolite plugs #23 gapped at .035 and fed with a good spiral core wire set make a world of difference. Also check that coil pack. If you have more than 13.5K ohms between towers (front to back) then it is bad and needs to be replaced.
  7. A Bosch 237 3 bar regulator or preferably an adjustable reg. To set the adjustable regulator, make a run starting at about 43 psi at idle with the vac. line off. then increase pressure 2psi and make another run. do this until the car slows down, and back it off 2psi.
  8. A Bosch puller pump or fuel enhancer to supply extra fuel volume at hi HP hi RPM runs.
  9. Check the TPS adjustment. At idle it should be about .42-.45 volts. At WOT, it should be at least 4.6 volts. On some TPS's it requires removing it and filing off the 2 half moon shaped "guides" that make it rotate in a circle only. With these out of the way, as you adjust it, you can pull up on the sensor, lowering the idle voltage and increasing the WOT voltage. (this was good for almost .5 sec on my car.. WOT was 4.2 v and the A/C wouldn't kick off when you nailed it.)
  10. To get all this power to the ground, a right rear air bag and a pinion snubber are needed as are a good set of tires. The M&H G60-15's worked real good for me. Alot of these cars are not posi. I assumed that it was standard when I ordered mine, and found out too late it was an option.
  11. Headers , I have heard, Make about a .5 sec improvement. I ran the stock manifolds complete with cracks. I know of several 84-85's that are running mid to high 12's with similar mods.
  12. A good 2800 stall converter. With the sticky tires, this will put the motor into the power band off the line and cut another 2 tenths off your time.
  13. A good tranny cooler (external) is a must. This will help the tranny live even with a stock motor.
ET History
Bone stock on pump gas (91 octane in California) this car went 16.20 @88MPH (At L.A. County raceway.. Corrected it is 15.92)
  • With a 160 deg. thermostat and 2.5" dual exhaust with California Turbo mufflers ($9.95 each) and pump gas, it went 15.29 @91MPH (houston raceway park) This on BFG Euro T/A's 255 60-15's
  • Lawrence Conley then "tweaked" my TPS (step 9) and I ran 14.79 @95MPH (with plenty of wheel spin!)
  • I then added: #'s 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 11. Boost was 20PSI It went 13.42 @100.5MPH
  • The rest of #2 was added, Thrush CVX mufflers added and converter gutted. #7, #8, and #10 stirred in... No 1/4 mile runs.. 1/8th mile: 8.13 @81MPH and pulling hard on the top end. this with 100 octane unleaded AV GAS.
  • The best 60 ft time was on the 13.42 run. It ran a 1.72 and got about an inch of air under the left front wheel. It left with 12 psi boost!!
  • This is a fully loaded car. Leather, power seats, digital dash... all options except t-tops. With half tank of fuel and no one in it, it weighed 3560 lbs. I weigh 265. With the last 1/8th mile runs, the car had 104,000 miles on it and was still going strong.
  • The latest trick is to use AC CR42TS plugs. Center electrode and ground electrode are twice the size of the plug without the C in the number. Keeps the plugs from heating the electrodes and causing pre-ignition and gives more surface area for the spark.
  • UPDATE 5-12-94: David Henson in one of the Carolina's was in the GSxtra last issue with his 85 t-type. With Headers, and this recipe, he went 12.77 @ 104mph! not bad for no intercooler!


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