Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^- at every Buick club race I attended over 25 years of GS ownership and drag racing, NO NA 455 guy ever worried about facing any of the turbos in eliminations. The lag/spool thing, no matter how fast they were, made them a lame cripple at the line. I am certain modern electronics would help, hard to say how much.

Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

Mark is correct on 1984 Buick N/SA.
I bought the car and raced it a few times.
Sold it to a Arizona buyer and have not seen it for a while.

If you lifted and got back on it near the finish......It would not
boost up until you were at the time slip booth.

To stage it you would have to keep spooling it right thru leaving water box
to get boost up. You would have to press the brake petal like King
Kong.......I knew when to stage it....My socks were WET ( I will not tell
you why )!

It was great for setting Records......Not much good in Eliminations!

Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

I stand corrected, I just remember that the Gallinas had both cars at Mission years ago, when his turbo V6 became the first S/Stocker to record a 7 second ET.
As for the Turbo Buicks being slow to spool up, in the early-mid 90s, we had a group of about 10 Grand Nationals that always raced and pitted together at Mission, they called their group "The Black Plague". They would start loading the engine against the brakes before the first stage light, and often spent a minute or so slowly creeping in to light the bottom bulb, at WOT. I could only imagine how hot their ATF got during that! I have not seen any of them since NHRA implemented the 7 second staging program.

Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

I had a buddy that raced a GN in Super Pro. When Autostart came around they used to kill him at the tree. Everybody learned to go in first and he couldn't get it on boost in time to leave.

Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

When those Turbo Regals were running, were 2 steps allowed in Stock ?

Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

considering the current crop of stand alone fuel systems (computers), getting one to build boost and cut a light would not be an issue. The hp factor is a bit high now, needs a few off. However considering turbo technology and NHRA's ability to tech a turbo beyond inlet housing size and general appearance, it may not matter.

Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

This was long before I started running a two step!

Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

Chad I think you nailed it right on the head there. Both with the newer stand alone fuel systems and with NHRA's ability to check and enforce the car. It would probably still be a pretty good combo.

Rick

Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

Marka Gallina's car was a non intercooled (we call them "hot air cars") 84-85 TType Regal (I think that the one I'm talking about was white), which was fuel injected. At one time, in a crunch, their crew chief bought the service replacement turbocharger off of my 84 TType to use in order to make a race when they hurt a turbocharger.

Re: 1987 Grand National Stocker?
 

I still have mine (84 TType, low VIN, low mileage, titled to the original owner), it's sitting in pieces in a barn.

Even nearly 20 years ago, we solved the staging/turbo boost problem. You have to have the correct converter, with the ability to "free stall", while creating load to build boost, and with good torque multiplication to launch the car.

An ATI 8" Treemaster MRT, that Jim Beattie built for me, Charlie Plott sold it to me, was the first one to work right. When we put it in the car, the customer was pissed off, because "it takes a year to build boost". Well, he had put it in the car the day before the race, and never tuned it.

The Monday after the race, he went home, and started tuning. When he trashed the "usual tune" of the day, which had no timing advance to speak of ("you can't put timing in it while you're trying to stage and build boost, it will detonate, and blow the pistons and head gaskets out", or so everyone said) and dumped raw fuel in it ("you gotta throw fuel at it, it needs fuel to make boost and power, it will lean out and melt any higher than 7:1 A/F-R") and started actually tuning it, he found that with decent advance, and an A/F-R of around 11-12:1, it would build boost so quick and easy that it was hard to hold in the lights. Without killer brakes, and a stout left leg, it was nearly impossible. He had to go back and get much better tires, put better brakes on the car, and get real deep in the suspension. After tuning, he was literally pre staging, then getting on the converter, and as he bumped into the stage beam, it would go from 2 psi to 16 psi, blow the rear tires off and roll the beam before the tree came on.