turbo or supercharger?

[Owsiak]

hi.... I have a 1987 delta 88 royal broaghm and I've found a ground effects package for it and some rims... so now I"m looking ot boost the hp a bit

I've heard that a buick had either a turbo or a superchager made for the same 3.8 V6 SFI engine that my car runs...

does anyone know which is best to use and where I could find such a kit or if I 'd have to search the wreckers??

thanks for any help

[Crackerman]

I've hear of people replacing their 3.8L v-6 with the turbo 3.8Lv-6 from a grand national/ buick t-type which is good for "240" horsepower and about 280 lbs of torque, Whether or not the engine bolts right in i don't know but it ought to, you might try one of the many turbo buick sites out there, Sorry that i don't have them posted.....also buick made a few turbo riviera's the same years as yours, although i believe it was a 3.0 liter it still had more power than ur car. If you get this done, you will definitely have a quick ride, sorry i couldn't be of more help. and enjoy this project.

[Owsiak]

thanks for the reply dude..... that's exactly what I wanted to hear

do you know if any good shift kits are out there as well.... it's really grandpa geared in the transmition too...

[Crackerman]

as far as i know, nobody makes shift kits for these cars, although, there were several different final drives available(achieved by swapping the final drive chain and cog set). IS the tranny an overdrive? If so it probably is GM's t-440 (or something like that) hydramatic transaxle..There are probably plenty of companies out there that make shift kits for it....An other option is the 90 or 91 gran prix gtp or montecarlo z34. I don't know if the bellhousings are the same(they probably are) but these cars were only available with a 5-speed stick. as long as it is the 3.4 L DOHC v-6. I wish I knew more and I hope i was of some help. Some compainies that might and i say might make a shift kit are ...art carr, b&m, tci, and there are probably several other companies i've never heard of that are only available on the web.

[Murco]

The turbo Grand National engines (84-87) will not bolt to your chassis. The only factory supercharged engines that will work in your car are 97-02 Buick Regal, Pontiac Grand Prix, and Riviera 3.8's. They also use a transmission specifically set-up for that engine and it should give you a 0-60 around 6.5 seconds. There are no companies making "shift kits" for the FWD transmissions in GM (or any) cars because they are either computer-controlled via pressure servos, or just plain too weak. If you are contemplating a supercharged engine you will need ALL of the components (ECM, trans, wiring, CV shafts, fuel pump, etc.) from the donor car. The present engine in your car is the first-generation 3.8 and it has a very weak crank with offset journals to make it an "even-fire" engine. Later models (3800 series) used a balance shaft and a straight journal crank for strenghth.
Sounds like a very expensive proposition filled with headaches to me.
Just my opinion,
Russ

[Crackerman]

What you said about the 3.8 engines might not be entirely true. Some of the mid eighties cars did use GM's "corporate"(chevy) engine. while many others used buick's version of the 3.8 liter. If he has the corporate engin, he would easily be able to switch to a supercharged powerplant. But if he has the buick version, a turbo would be much easier to install than a whole engine/harness/computer swap from an obd2 vehicle. He might even(if it is buick based) be able to pick up parts from T/A performance, such as heads cam intake and quadrajet/fourbarrel intake manifold as well as headers.Although the tranny info. mostlikely is very correct, it never hurts to look(also another car to look for the 3.8 s/c engine would be the buick park avenue ultra, supercharged of course)

[Murco]

The Chevy 3.8 (229 ci) V6 was only used in Camaros, Monte Carlos, and a very few Citations from 1979-1983. It, along with the dismal 4.3 V8 (yes, V8 260ci) were stopgap emissions engines GM toyed with. The Buick 3.8 had been in production since 1975 when it appeared in the Skylark/Monza and proved to be a better platform for emissions/performance applications simply because of development time. The "corporate engine" program was in full effect as of 1984 when the Buick 3.8 became THE GM V6 for mid - full size automobiles (Chevy 2.8's for smaller cars and trucks, Chevy 4.3 V6's came out in 1986 - a 350 minus 2 cylinders). The Grand National blocks had RWD chassis mounts which FWD blocks do not have. The GN block is also a stronger foundation than the mid-eighties FWD 3.8's.
Yes, the Park Avenue S/C engine will work in there as well. Doe's one really want to invest this much in an '87 Olds??!!

[84MONTE]

hey i was wondering if anybody would know if i can install a turbo or supercharger on a 3.8L 229 in a 84 monte carlo without killing myself.
Thanks

84MONTE

[GM_man]

my dad has a 86

[Murco]

Originally Posted by 84MONTE

hey i was wondering if anybody would know if i can install a turbo or supercharger on a 3.8L 229 in a 84 monte carlo without killing myself.
Thanks

84MONTE

Chevy actually installed early Buick turbo V6's in Monte Carlos from 1980-81, but it wasn't very successful. In short, they were turds in the first order. They detonated constantly, had huge boost lag, and the oil in the turbine housing tended to "coke".
Turbo Monte Carlo
With that chassis you can bolt-in any small block (or even big block) you want for way less headaches (or suicide), and alot less money...