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-   -   87 t-type turbo regal (https://classracer.com/classforum/showthread.php?t=18333)

chassis1 06-10-2009 12:18 AM

87 t-type turbo regal
 
Is there a reason no one runs this combination anymore???

Is it correct that it would fit as high as D/SA???

Thanks......

bill dedman 06-10-2009 12:43 AM

Re: 87 t-type turbo regal
 
Dunno about running one in Stock or S/S, but I hang out with some guys who have those cars and race them in brackets and they all tell me that they are really inconsistent, to the point of making them hard to dial, and the reliability factor is not too good, if they're really putting out.

Someone on this board was building one, anyway, a few months ago, but I haven't seen a post from him. lately.

Maybe he'll see this and tell us how his progress is coming along.

I love those cars.....

Bill

Alan Roehrich 06-10-2009 05:39 AM

Re: 87 t-type turbo regal
 
The last reasonable competitive one I know of was campaigned by the Gallinas, same family that owned the wicked Super Stock GNX. They ran the stocker as both an early non intercooled car (the car was really an 84 model non intercooled car) and a later intercooled car. I think Duttweiler built their engines, John Craig at Limit engineering their turbochargers, and their crew chief on the stocker was Nick Micale.

The Buick V6 is not real strong, it has block problems, and serious oiling system problems, it is also hard to keep head gaskets on them when you push them hard, especially since you cannot run head studs in Stock.

I have an 84, I've looked at running it in Stock, and decided against it, as I don't think it would be very fast, I know it would be expensive, and I don't think it would be reliable or consistent.

Chuck Norton 06-10-2009 08:43 AM

Re: 87 t-type turbo regal
 
I have been fairly well acquainted with the John and Marka Gallina for a number of years. Their turbo-charged stockers were always very fast on the index for whatever class they ran. They could paper several rooms at their house with record certificates. Alan is correct, they used up head gaskets often but then, they were usually pulling a head for a record teardown at every race so it was a regular drill. Marka usually drove the stocker but she had to contend with leaving the starting line when the turbo was spooled to the proper level and that made cutting a light problematic. When they had the car hopped up, it was a bear to drive consistently.

Bill Edgeworth 06-10-2009 09:30 AM

Re: 87 t-type turbo regal
 
After watching John Gallina make a 7 second pass at Mission a few years back in that car that sold at Barret Jackson I would have to say those things look like a real bear to drive. Not exactly auto start friendly. Getting the car spooled up and staged properly looked like a real challenge even for John who had tons of experience with those cars.

GTO/GN 06-10-2009 03:43 PM

Re: 87 t-type turbo regal
 
I have had my 87 Grand National since 2000 and I will say you can make a ton of power with it. But it comes at a price... Breakage!!! I have been drag racing since 1970 and keep telling the guys in the Grand National Club I belong to, one of these cars will never last long enough to last in Stock Eliminator. I raced mine and watch the other guys in the club race theirs and they break to often. A car has to be able to make round after round to run in Stock or even in brackets. Mine flew it went a 9.64 at 140.11 but it was always broke.. I got tired of fixing it so I put a Buick 455 in it and I'm enjoying racing the car now.

chassis1 06-10-2009 04:09 PM

Re: 87 t-type turbo regal
 
thanks for all the feed back so quickly. I have a customer who had thought to get his feet wet with his car but I will pass this website on to him and let him make a decision on his own......

thanks everyone for the input....

chassis1

GTO/GN 06-11-2009 06:10 AM

Re: 87 t-type turbo regal
 
Mine was a stock "109" ( casting number) block. The Buick GSCA (Grand Sport Club of America), has its own events and its own classes for all Buicks not only Turbo Regals. The class I was running the car in is TSM ( Turbo Street Modified) and the rules for this class states you must use the stock 109 block. I never had any problems with the bottom end. I did all the trick stuff to reinforce the bottom end , all the oiling tricks, gridle, steel main caps, after market crank, rods and pistons. My biggest problems was in the head gasket world. The stock block has only 8 head bolts and throwing 24 pounds of boost at it head gaskets just don't hang in there. Of all the gasket I tried the Cometic's held up the best.. The Stage blocks have 12 head bolts. Big help there...But for Stock Eliminator a stock 109 block would have to be used.. For a ton of info on these cars there is three real good websites to check out.
1) Turbobuick.com = mostly race oriented
2) Turbobuicks.com= street and mild race oriented
3) T6P.com= mostly race oriented

art leong 06-11-2009 09:13 AM

Re: 87 t-type turbo regal
 
As someone who has ran turbo cars for a while. Most of the inconsistency is builder installed. My cars were as consistent as N/A cars were. But once in a long while they would throw a faster run at you. I believe due to traction issues past the 60' mark.
The car almost always did its job it was the nut behind the wheel that was broken.


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