Paul I would guess that the power from that setup is around the 550-575 at the wheel. The engine originally ran real well but as we kept getting faster in the 1/8 the max RPM kept coming down. The last time out the engine would nose over at 5100 rpm (about 4-500 feet out) I just kept my foot in it and ran a 5.16 1/8 . The valve springs were junk when we tore down the heads. (125-165 open pressure)ou: We will see what happens with the new springs. I want to get it back to 6800-7000 through the lights. If we boost it I will change the gears in the rear and aim for around 65-6600 in the lights. I'll let you know as we get closer.
Just want to say thanks to John today.. came bye the house I fired up the nailhead for him. He is just a great guy filled with tons of info.. if you get the chance to shoot the **** with him it is a good time. Thanks and my garage is always open for visitors. wish john staied because we got most of the car buffed and looking real sharp. Paul Turbo Nailhead
No peeking until he's done:laugh:. The car is done as it should be "what he has in his head" Trial and error, but that is what this is about. Paul wish I had more time I would have given you a hand. Good luck with the show this weekend. Thanks for carrying the Buick torch. You've done a nice job on the car. You should be proud. Post up the picture of the weekend and have a good time.
It is a Garret turbo with a .81 exhaust housing and a 67mm compressor wheel with a p trim wheel. Headers are 1 5/8 primaries, with 2.5 " crossover to a t4 turbo flange. Took a while to get the turbo setup the way I wanted it. This was the second setup I built with a rear mount turbo setup first. I ended up building two sets of turbo headers to get it right. The exhaust is a 3" single exhaust to keep that "sleeper look". Driving it this weekend I found it builds full boost very quickly and pulls really hard. Only opened it up once but broke loose at 40mph so I got out of it. I don't want to beat it up YET and still breaking in the car as a whole. This is a complete rebuild where I am still breaking in the motor/trans and rearend. hoping to be racking up some miles on it and working out the bugs. ran real stong with no starting issues when hot. Did have a new Tstat stick and cause a interesting day. Have one on order and will have it in and up and running tomorrow. Did not take any pictures at the show but def was a hit when I pulled in. Got their late due to still putting the interior in and together so the turbo spooling cause some heads to turn.. no one new what the car was.. I got "why did you put a buick motor in a chevelle" ---------- Post added at 08:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 PM ---------- What I have in my head is def out of the norm. We spent many sleep staved nights to get it done in time. For the people who don't know the history behind the car is that I received it from my uncle as a young 15 year old and worked on it for many years but never being my top priority. High school, college, marriage and funds all where higher priority. My uncle unfortunitly Passed away recently and I swore to get it done in his name. The local car clubs and his son put a cruise night together in his honor. I only had two months to finish it and at the time it wasn't painted. We got it done and its first miles was on the way to the cruise. We spent many 15 hour days in the garage and without my good friend nick I would not have been able to get it done in time. The hood is not finished yet but it will be done before lake George. Looking forward to Gillette stadium car show in two weeks too. let me know if anyone will be their. will be posting pictures asap
Paul you are hanging with the wrong crowd -"why did you put a buick motor in a chevelle" -Reallyou::spank:. Your a teacher educate them:3gears: Glad it went well:TU:
..... but broke loose at 40mph so I got out of it. ......Got their late due to still putting the interior in and together so the turbo spooling cause some heads to turn.. no one new what the car was.. I got "why did you put a buick motor in a chevelle" :laugh: ---------- Post added at 08:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 PM ---------- Great effort and congratulations on the build Paul, thanks for sharing.
put a new 195 t-stat and 16lbs rad cap in it today and still creeping up to 220f. ran it up to 195and staied their fir a little bit , took it for a ride around the block.. and than one more, started to creep from 195 and up while driving. Pulled all the plugs out to read them, one looked oil fouled and the other three on that bank looked a little glossy on the ground strap and the line was low indicated too much timing. other bank didn't have the gloss to indicate overheated but the line was low on the strap, they all did have blk sout around the base to indicate rich at idle. really hoping I didn't push a head gasket when it overheated to 240 the other day due to a stuck shut t stat. Tomorrow going to throw new plugs double check the timing(retarded should cause overheating but maybe with boost to much advance cause to much heat), pressure test the coolant system and due a co test above the radiator. will keep you guys updated and if you have any advice please throw it my way. I run a huge 4core aluminum radiator, electric fan that pulls 2500 or 2700cfm. 34* locked timing, no advance Thanks Paul turbo
Paul try 28 degrees of timing and see what the car runs like. Like people all cars and combo's are different. You just need to see what it likes. Keep us updated. Just for comparison I run 55 degrees of timing in the blown dragster:grin:
Tomorrow I will throw 28 at it and let you know.. That would be nice if that is all it is. I have to double check my msd 6btm also to make sure it is pulling timming out when it should.
Didn't over heat today .. pulled timing out to 28 and messed with the electric fan today. made some more room inside the compartment and went from a pusher to a puller and it seemed to make a difference. stayed 195f for the longest yet, I also brought the idle mixture from 12:9 to 13:9 to see if I can get rid of the soot on the base of the plug. John , pulled another quart out of the sump. going to run it on the low side of the lines on the stick. Have a little smoke from the turbo under acceleration and think it is due to had the oil a little on the high side and with the turbo oil drain may have resistance due to high oil level.
Paul, you might be better off going with a 180* or even 160* thermostat. It'll at least give you a little extra "breathing room". I'd be slightly suspicious of a 4 core aluminum radiator. Generally they have 2 cores, with 1 or 1.25in tubes. With a 4 core setup, the tubes are likely the same size as a copper/brass radiator, which totally defeats the purpose of an aluminum radiator, since an aluminum radiator in the same configuration doesn't conduct heat as good as copper. A puller setup will work better than a pusher setup, so that was a good swap. How much timing are you pulling with the MSD?
Just went into the garage and it is a two core.. some reason had four in my head. I can pull from 1-3 degrees per pound of boost. think I am at 1.5 degrees per a pound. I like the idea of a 180 t stat. I am not a big fan of 160* but that is just me. what is your motor running at for a temp? it stayed under 200 cruiseing around and getting on it but wasn't out long. Put it on the lift and doing a nut and bolt through it. Found a few stuff that needed a attention.
I'll be honest, my knowledge of forced induction is somewhat limited. But, I do know that Nailheads tend to like 30-34* of timing. And in my experience, pulling 1 degree per pound of boost is usually within the realm, so pulling 1.5 degrees is just a little more conservative. So it sounds like your timing is pretty close. I usually run 190*, sometimes 205* if it's really hot and humid out. It's never gotten hotter than that though. That's with a 2 core Jegs aluminum radiator with 1in tubes (unfortunately with a smaller core than the stock unit), and a 16in unshrouded electric fan (rated at 2200cfm, but it pulls about 20 amps, so I think its underrated). I think the 180* t-stat would be a good choice. It'll be fully open by the time the 195* t-stat is just opening. ---------- Post added at 10:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 PM ---------- Looks killer by the way! :TU:
I am with Andy on the thermostat.... the nailhead was designed to use 160 d. in the summer and 180d. in winter....and any kind of forced induction will raise the heat level.... and do it quicker.... you might try using a 180 that has some small holes drilled around the flange to soften the effect of the lower closing point and allow more flow at wide open.....just an idea...
Doc, I have never drilled around a t-stat until I saw you talking about it the other day. Makes complete sense so before I installed the 190*t-stat I drilled 1/8 hole on each side. I am going to take the car out today after I go to the registry and finish up on nut and bolted the car to make sure nothing has came loose. I was always under the presumption that running a motor anything pre 180* can cause premature ring wear. I just ordered a 180* t stat and will be installing that when it arrives. I am looking forward to get it on the highway and see how it feels but been taking short drives just to make sure it isn't going to heat up
actually I am thinking maybe several holes spaced evenly around the flange,,,, the thermo will still reach the designated temp, but will be slower about doing it.... and it will maintain that min. temp once reached... but the thermal shock to the rad will be a lot less.. and when the thermo is wide open it will actually flow a little more coolant.... :laugh:
