Hisssssstory In The Making?

Get used to the sound of big turbos spooling up because this is the EFI F-body's new battle cry. For the past 20 years, Turbo Buick owners have been keeping up with blown and juiced V-8s, despite being down two cylinders, and now that V-8 F-bodies have caught on there is no turning back. The turbo explosion in the F-body community allows low 8-second, and perhaps even high 7-second, trips down the 1320 with factory engine blocks and stock-style suspensions. Riding atop the crest of this new wave is Rick Intrau.

As of May 2005, the Horse Power Engineering shop manager has been flirting with the 8-second barrier, but it seems any day now his '96 Formula will have a 7-second pass to boast. The 91.5mm Precision turbo began showing its potential at only 15.2 psi of boost, helping Rick go 8.21 at the Year One/LS1Tech Race in Atlanta, only to surpass that run a few weeks later in Houston, running 8.08 with 24-psi boost. More adjustments and better track conditions, HPE believes, will be enough to break into the 7s; meanwhile, an extra 6 pounds of boost lay in reserve for later in the season. At a crazy 30 pounds of boost, the 398ci LT1 has laid down 1,240 rear-wheel horsepower and 1,020 lb-ft of torque. However, they have worked closely with prominent turbo tuner Kenjo Kelley to ensure that the massive torque does not overpower

the small 29.5x10.5-inch tire, the stock-style suspension, or the driver.While LT1s are not known to have the most efficient cylinder-head design, the turbo seems to be the great equalizer. Given the proper sizing and design, turbos have proven quite dominant in drag racing so, Rick looked to Pro Turbo Kits in San Antonio, Texas, to fabricate a system for his car. Once the turbo was selected a set of headers was constructed with 1.75-inch primaries and 2.5-inch collectors to feed the front-mounted turbo, and a 5-inch downpipe was chosen to expel the recycled fumes. An HKS 60mm wastegate was added to bleed off the extra boost. Meanwhile, the charged air that would be finding its way to the combustion chamber was first routed to a custom Spearco air to water intercooler via 4-inch tubing.

In order to make maximum use of the frosty charged air, a raised runner intake was matched to a set of Air Flow Research 215cc cylinder heads. This combination netted the Houston native plenty of wins back in his street-racing days with a carburetor and nitrous, and now that he could finally afford to go the turbo EFI route, he turned to Naiser Racing Components for the EFI swap. A Wilson intake elbow was mated to an Accufab 90mm throttle body, Dart intake manifold, fuel rails, and a set of SVO 160 lb/hr injectors. A F.A.S.T. sequential system was employed to take charge of the injectors. The AFR 23-degree raised runner heads were taken to race-savvy Lump Cylinder Heads across town. The hand-ported heads were fitted with a Ferrea 2.10 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves actuated by COMP Cams triple valvesprings, Jesel 1.75 ratio shaft rockers, and Manton pushrods.

The short-block was rebuilt by HPE's own state-of-the-art machine shop. The block was half-filled, bored .040-over, honed, and balanced, and the deck was resurfaced. HPE enlarged the oil galleries and installed Program Engineering four-bolt-splayed main caps, a blueprinted Moroso oil pump, and a Canton oil pan with a windage tray. The rotating assembly consists of a 3.875-inch Cola crank, Wiseco forged pistons and Eagle H-beam connecting rods. A trusty set of Cometic head gaskets, 76cc combustion chambers and dished pistons combine for an 8:1 compression ratio. The HPE-designed turbo cam is a key component to maintaining boost, and it specs out to .737-inch lift and a 256-degree duration at .050 on a 116 LSA.

Translating the turbo 398's 1,200 hp into record-breaking fury required the usual suspects--a Powerglide and a 9-inch rear. Trans King built the two-speed tranny with 1.80 straight cut gears and a manual valve body. A Reactor flexplate and Neal Chance 4,000-stall converter connect the Powerglide to the LT1. Meanwhile, a Northwest Drivetrain 3-inch driveshaft connects it to the rear. The 9-inch came from Moser Engineering stocked with 3.50 gears, 31-spline axles and a spool. Once the rear was affixed to the chassis, which had just received an SFI 25.5 spec roll cage from local shop Disturbing the Peace, JBZ Race Cars began putting together the suspension.

To cut weight, JBZ added a manual steering rack, a PA Racing K-member and lower control arms on the front end. Travel limiters were also installed along with Hal coilovers to help transfer weight to the rear tires. A Wolfe Racecraft antiroll bar holds the 9-inch rigid along with a JBZ torque arm, Panhard bar, and upper and lower control arms. Hal springs and shocks flex to absorb the weight softly easing onto the JBZ wheelie bars.

The rolling stock is kept light and stylish. Weld Racing Aluma-Star wheels measuring 15x3.5 and 15x10 wear the respective Mickey Thompson rubber. Strange lightweight drag brakes are also used at all four corners, which helps keep the iron-block Formula at a respectable 3,120 pounds. These sturdy brakes also help Rick slow down from almost 180 mph with the help of a Stroud parachute.With a little luck and a few skilled hands that "almost" will soon become "at or above" 180 mph. Just how important is going 7s to Rick Intrau? "Very important. I think about it every morning when I wake up. I always wanted a turbo car since I used to watch Gene Deputy, and now I also have a chance to prove that the LT1 is still a competitive motor even though a lot of people have given up on it." Rick will be proving his iron this year against the likes of Hardcore Motorsports and several turbo LS1 cars in the LS1Tech Outlaw class, Clash of the Titans True 10.5, and other 10.5-inch tire classes. Is the EFI GM 7-second club about to get crowded?

Weld Aluma-Star 15x3.5 and Strange drag brakes are part of the reason its so easy to pull the wheels up on the 8-second LT1.	Yes sir, no ladder bar here! She's just like she came from the factory, well, almost...JBZ Race Cars integrated the wheelie bars with the Wolfe Racecraft antiroll bar and Moser 9-inch. JBZ also fabricated the rest of the rear suspension to firm things up, and added HAL springs and shocks to help the Formula spring out of the hole. The massive Weldon fuel pump and lines for the intercooler reservoir can also been seen tucked away in the underbody.