Fresh off of its rearend and framerail upgrade at Cotton's, this 1987 Turbo T is not 100 percent track-ready yet, but is finally mechanically sound enough to make a few hits. With winter closing in and Raceway Park getting ready to shut down, that's exactly what I will do.
I made one last stop over to Ron's Custom Auto, where Junior assisted me in connecting the Hartline Performance Flash Selector Switch Module for my XFI box. We did a quick oil change, and then I headed out to get a new set of Mickey Thompson wheels and tires mounted. With the slicks and skinnies loaded into the G-body and a tank full of VP C16, I cruised the 50 miles from NYC to Raceway Park.
November 6, 2006 dawned sunny and cool, with temps in the mid-50s and only a slight breeze blowing down Englishtown's famous strip. It was a good day to be racing a turbo Buick. I popped the hood, threw some ice bags on the intake and up-pipe, and began unloading the T. Assisting me on this day was contributor Brian Reese, who brought his git-r-done GM truck, a sweet lightweight jack, and air tools. While Reese swapped the ghetto street rims for the new M/Ts, I connected a laptop to the XFI box and got them up and running. The Flash Selector Switch Module allows you to flip between tunes, and one flick of the switch and a turn of the ignition key changed the XFI tune from Street to Race. This is a great time-saver, and combining it with a full tank of race gas left me with lots of time to double- and triple-check the engine bay, XFI settings, lug nuts, tire pressures, and all other necessary measures. After a two-year wait, I wasn't about to let anything go wrong.
Today's track session was all about the shakedown. I had no idea what to expect from the Hartline LC2 and the built driveline, although 559 ponies at the wheels and lots of new upgrades certainly pointed to something good. The front QA1s were set full loose, the rears were put on 8, the ET Front tires were inflated to 35 psi, and the ET Drags got 16 psi.
The Hartline-built turbo V-6...
The Hartline-built turbo V-6 put down 559 rear-wheel horsepower and 550 ft-lbs of torque at 24 pounds of boost on the dyno. The stock block/crank/rods are reinforced with an RJC girdle and JE forged pistons, and this LC2 benefits from Champion ported-iron heads and ported intake, a COMP 210/210 roller cam, PTE's 67GTQ turbo, stock-location intercooler, bigger doghouse and TB, T&D shaft-mount rockers, and 75-pound injectors from Racetronix.
To maximize my ET, I contacted...
To maximize my ET, I contacted Mickey Thompson (www.mickeythompsontires.com) for a set of its ET Front and ET Drag tires. The Fronts measure 27.5/4.5-15 (PN 3009), and the ET Drags are 28.0/10.5-15S (PN 3055S).