Turbo/Forced Induction

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mormanman

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So its been a while but i'm back. I sold my Barracuda but still a mopar man.
I do have questions on another love though. I just don't know where to go.
So I have an 89 Buick leSabre with 3.8 liter auto trans. Its Grandma's old car. Its torquie though and the speedo says 85 but it does better than 85. :D
So I've had thoughts on building it and turning it into a sleepier.
Plan, Scrap yard get motor and trans from another with compatible motor, 3.8, and trans.
Build it to handle 40 to 60 lbs of boost. So, forged internals, iron heads, and cross mains but i don't know if i'll need cross mains.
And rebuild the trans, like a racing trans but i don't know what that entails.

Anyways, i'm seeking advice as to what i should look for in a transmission and if it would be possible to take the ECM designed and mapped for a Grand National and use it in place of mine. Or if I should get mine who car tuned professionally to preform properly.

I have just about no idea of what i'm doing except the building of the motor, and machining to make my money lol.
I just think it would be a lot of fun to pull up to a stop light and roast the new bmw that came off the lot.

Thank you all!
 
The 3.8 was already supercharged in certain Impalas, Bonnevilles, Rivieras, and other upper level trim Gm cars of that era. Just pull the engine, harnesses ecm and trans from an already supercharged car.
 
Only some Diesel engines run boost near those levels. A rule of thumb is that 16 lbs of boost will double the same engine in natural aspirated form.
 
As far as a ECU can look at AEM they have a fully programable one probably for a grand national. As far as boost you'll be looking for like 20-30 psi maybe
 
Boost is an investment. Read and tally up cost to see if you have the budget. Not saying your cheap but boost can get expensive quick.

Thats part of the reason why I decided to ask. I really don't know much, if anything, about FI. Everything i've worked on has been NA and would like to try a different animal if I can afford it.

16lbs sounds great but i'm going to push the envelope and go for 40 lol jk.
Thank you all!
 
i'm going to push the envelope and go for 40 lol jk.
Thank you all!

It's not that simple. What you want (40 pounds) will blow your crankshaft right out of the motor and onto the ground. Guaranteed!

Stick with 10-16 pounds; that may last for awhile...:cheers:
 
Only some Diesel engines run boost near those levels. A rule of thumb is that 16 lbs of boost will double the same engine in natural aspirated form.

A lot of factors contribute to this. Cam specs, compression, compressor efficiency, charge temps, fuel quality

I would agree with you somewhat on that statement though.
 
Read the posts from this man, his wallet took a good hit, even when doing things right.

"Doing things right" can entail a lot of expense, when it comes to building a reliable, street-friendly, powerful, turbo motor.

Mixture is one critical element of any turbo build, and to "do it right," starts off with the acquisition of a GOOD, wideband, data-logging, air-fuel ratio meter, and they aren't cheap. I believe I paid about $300+ for mine (F.A.S.T. in Memphis, Tennesee.)

You simply cannot do the turbo thing very well, without one.

Forged reciprocating components, while not always absolutely necessary, help ensure engine life and if you can afford them at all, are the way to go on an engine-build.

Electronic fuel injection has made great strides in the "self-learning" area in the last several years, and can save you a lot of tuning grief with carburettor jetting, if you can afford the sometimes "heady" prices they charge for those.

Not all automatic transmissions have the torque-holding capability to handle a well-boosted engine without extensive (and, sometimes, expensive) modification. Another potentially-costly facet of turboing...

I think that a lot of engines get boosted beyond the ability of pump gas to avoid deonation, so, buying $10.00/gallon race gas is sometimes the only alternative to switching to alcohol, another expensive proposition, usually.

E-85 is a good choice if you don't mind doing the necessary steps to ensure it has the octane you require. It's incredibly inconsistent, as to its alcohol/gasoline percentage-makeup. You need to do whatever's necessary, to determine its octane.

But, if you have the time patience, and money, it's hard to beat a turbocharged project car!
 
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