1987 Buick Turbo - Power Trip
To reinstall the A/C compressor tighten the two bolts, one in the back that connects to the bracket and one that connects to the exhaust, and a nut in the front. | 
The belt tensioner and alternator, dressed up with RJC pulleys, are bolted back up. Thanks to the HRPartsNStuff poly motor mounts, the eyelet bolt for the strapdown will no longer be needed. | 
My original power steering pump had been groaning something awful, with the usual tricks to bleed out air being unsuccessful-it was toast. Lucky for me, Brian Weaver over at Gbodyparts.com had a fresh one, and donated it to this build. Brian has lots of hard-to-find G-body goodies on his site; if you're like me and need lots of parts that nobody makes or sells anymore, check it out. Note the RJC pulley on the pump, and the new Classic Tube fuel lines in the foreground. | 
Anyone who has piloted a high-mile TR through a hot summer knows that the factory radiator leaves a lot to be desired. Coolant temp must be kept down for optimum turbocharged horsepower-toward the end, my Buick ran above 200 on hot days. But you can't toss just anything in there: in addition to needing a rad that would keep the heat down, the factory radiator is unique with built-in transmission fluid and oil coolers. With that in mind, I contacted Be Cool for its drop-in replacement for TRs: PN 66062. This dual-core aluminum radiator, measuring 33 inches wide, 18 high, and 3 thick, fits well, has the inlet and outlet positions correct, and retains the trans and oil cooler function. A sweet cap (PN 70006) was ordered, too. | 
The Be Cool unit came with oil and transmission fluid cooler fittings,... | 
...which were installed with Teflon paste on the passenger side. Junior slides the radiator into place. | 
With the radiator seated, the trans cooler lines are threaded in and tightened next, and we do the same with the oil cooler lines coming off of the filter mount. | 
As you might imagine, choosing a turbo for this project took some time. There is a lot to consider when picking a hairdryer-my main concern was flowing enough air for mid-10s, while still being able to drive it on the street without a ton of lag. I ended up choosing Precision Turbo's 67GTQ: This is a hybrid GT that benefits from an improved compressor design, meaning increased torque and better spool over a standard T-series. This turbo has the T04S cover with the 4-inch inlet, and 2.5-inch outlet. Though a P-trim would have spooled a bit quicker on the street (especially with the current internal wastegate), I chose to go with a Q for maximum horsepower at the strip. | 
The 67's housing needs to be ported by the customer-if installed without porting the wastegate hole, it will boost creep. Using grease on the downpipe puck, Ron Joseph and I mount the housing and press the puck against it. This way I'm able to see how much material can be removed without going too big. It is ported to around 1 1/8-inch, then I re-check it; looks good. |
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