Episode 3 (1986-1987): Buick Turbo 3.8 liter V6

[Music] Buick with the 200 horsepower 1984 to 1985 turbo 3.8 liter SFI v6 had created a no-nonsense muscle car engine however in 1986 Buick with the addition of an intercooler turbo boost adjustments revised upper and lower intake manifolds and an improved free-flow dual exhaust system behind the exhaust catalyst gave the turbo 3.8 liter v6 which by now was only available in the Grand National antitype an enormous boost in power horsepower was now up to 235 ironically the Mustang GT went in the opposite direction in 1986 losing 10 horsepower with the introduction of a new port injection 5.0 liter EFI HOV 8 to most observers a thirty five horsepower boost seemed like a nice bump especially in the horsepower star of 1980s however anyone who test drove Grand Nationals or T types from both the 1985 and 1986 model years could see Buick was fudging the power numbers there was more horsepower there than met the eye or shall we say a lot more there to burn the rubber right off the tires after all the 1986 Corvette a car which was hailed as America's performance car at the time was a few hundred pounds lighter than the Grand National had a 5.7 liter TPI v8 that produced 230 horsepower which was only 5 horsepower less than the Grand National the Corvette also had superior aerodynamics yet it was substantially slower in all the automotive magazine tests back in the day the Grand National and t-type were not really touted by the automotive press in previous years both were overlooked since the auto magazines focused on the Chevrolet Corvette Chevrolet Camaro z/28 Camaro iroc-z Ford Mustang GT and Pontiac trans-am and then Car and Driver magazine dropped the bombshell back in 1986 when it tested a new Grand National and obtained a zero to 60 miles per hour time of just 4.9 seconds and a quarter-mile time a thirteen point nine seconds at 98 miles per hour no 1986 model year American performance car could touch the performance of the Grand National or Regal t-type and most of the very expensive European sports cars of this era also could not be the Grand Nationals performance figures just like every year the Buick turbo v6 was offered an automatic transmission was the mandatory companion however by 1986 GM's special performance th 200 for our 4-speed automatic transmission was computer controlled and calibrated in such a fashion that it could shift faster in full throttle acceleration than a manual transmission so most Grand National antitype buyers didn't care that manual gears were not available another little added bonus of the 1986 turbo SFI v6 was that once the boost kicked in it produced a whopping 330 pound-feet of torque at 2,800 rpm which gave the engine that kick in the pants feeling of a very powerful v8 the 1986 Corvette also produced 330 pound-feet of torque at 2400 rpm which was only 400 rpm below the Buick turbo v6 proving how buick engineers had done a fantastic job of making the little v6 perform like a much bigger high-performance b8 overnight the Grand National became the talk on the streets and in performance circles the t-type still remained forgotten due to it looking more like grandpa's reliable regal making it the perfect sleeper the only black eye the Grand National had was when the auto press discovered the Grand Nationals top speed was limited to a hundred and twenty four miles per hour by a computer chip however this was a moot point since most performance car drivers would never see over a hundred miles per hour on most of America's roads for 1987 Buick bumped up horsepower to 245 and torque to 355 pound-feet acceleration times were nearly similar to the 1986 is numbers so the Grand National and other 1987 turbo Regals were still by far the fastest American cars available during this time period however these figures were irrelevant anyone familiar with these cars knows the true output was a lot more than Buick advertised 300 horsepower is a more reliable estimate some magazine tests reported slower quarter-mile times in the 14 second range which was still faster than the competition however there were some Grand National Auto press test cars that broke into the 13 second range many owners were their stock 1987 Grand National and 1987 turbo Regals obtained consistent high 13 second quarter mile times it was just like 1970 all over again when Buicks ultimate muscle car era engine the legendary stage 1 455 cubic-inch v8 which was available in the GS and GS X was hitting low 13 second quarter mile range times some magazine tests back in the day also obtained slower low 14 second range times for the stage 1 455 1986 in 1987 Buick Grand National and Turbo Regal owners with some mild modifications such as increasing the turbo boost psi encountered even faster quarter-mile times in case a buyer was looking for even more performance than what the Buick Grand National or other turbo Regals had to offer Buick offered up a hopped-up version of the Grand National called the G and X ASC McLaren was tasked by Buick with performing the modifications the GNX was the ultimate performance car with beefy vr rated tires on larger diameter wheels and modifications to the turbo 3.8 liter v6 however it had a base price of twenty nine thousand nine hundred dollars which was almost double of the Grand Nationals base price of sixteen thousand one hundred and fifty four dollars only five hundred and forty-seven GN X's were produced versus the 20193 Grand Nationals produced for the 1987 model year but the real enticement for buying the GNX was the advertised 276 horsepower and 360 pound-feet of torque of the GN X's warmed-over turbo 3.8 liter v6 and just like the 1986 to 1987 Grand National and t-type both had very underrated horsepower figures same was true with the GNX the GNX was a screamer with a quarter-mile time a 13.5 seconds at a hundred and two miles per hour and a zero to 60 miles per hour time of just 4.7 seconds to this day the 1987 Buick GNX has the highest resale value of any of the 1980s muscle cars by 1987 the great performing turbo v6 was forcing people to change their opinions about Buick and 1987 was also the only year that Buick offered the turbo 3.8 liter v6 in all its regal models worth noting there wasn't a regal t-type offered in 1987 it was replaced by a t version which was a touring version where the turbo v6 was an optional engine during this time Buick also had a hot sports car prototype the Wildcat which was a favorite on the show car circuit further proof that Buick was starting to move towards changing itself into a performance oriented division even though Buick had beat the odds and by 1987 made its turbo v6 the MV the world Buick could not stop the freight train that would kill all of its hard work word had leaked out by 1987 that GM would soon replace its rear-wheel drive g-body platform which the Regal used with a new front wheel drive platform unfortunately the turbo v6 made just too much horsepower and torque and there was no way the Regals new front-wheel drive platform could handle the power so the fun that began with Buicks first turbo v6 in 1978 and soon grew to be the hottest 1980s American performance motor was now over for 1988 Buick would go back to its cocoon and forget about high performance since the turbo v6 was laid to rest when the 1987 model year ended Buick may have lost its turbo 3.8 liter SFI v6 but this engine reappeared again for one last hurrah in another GM brands performance car which forever solidified this engines place in muscle car history [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: OldCarMemories.com

Views: 85,466

Rating: 4.9260778 out of 5

Keywords: Buick, Turbo, 3.8 liter V6, SFI, Grand National, WE4, Limited, Regal, Regal T, 1986, 1987, 20th Anniversary Trans Am, Turbo Trans Am, 1978, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, T-Type, Garrett, AiResearch, intercooler, Turbo 3.8 liter SFI V6, Sequential Fuel Injection

Id: 4DQlFR3di98

Length: 10min 22sec (622 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 15 2017