1972 Buick Turbo LS Pro Touring - Garage Made

[lwilliams]

Next steps are to connect the exhaust through the trans crossmember, run all the brake lines, get a drive shaft built and set the rear end angle opposite to the trans, run the trans harness through a bulk head that i ordered, connect the gps to the nex gen dash, make sure the trans cooler fan works then get all the fluids set properly.

once that is done it is ready for the first drive.

assuming the first drive goes well i will set up a date to get it tuned.

ill post some pics of the cpp hydrastop installed with teh lines.

[Vimes]

Don't know if it's just me but all your links you just added that I tried come up as invalid. I dropped a note to the admins.

[lwilliams]

Don't know if it's just me but all your links you just added that I tried come up as invalid. I dropped a note to the admins.

thanks for the heads up, yeah i'm not sure what's happening there. ill fire amessage their way too. cheers

[lwilliams]

So the car is on the road!!!

Got a few things to work out but overall it drives pretty nice. CPP hydroboost works really well. brake feel i would say is between a normal car and say a race car. the feel is slightly stiff but nothing i would ever complain about. they feel nice. Going to wait for the admins to confirm the issue i am having in loading up pictures that aren't working. then ill upload all the pics of the car more or less complete and a video of it driving. the 3000-3200 stall torque converter is great and functions really well, seems great for daily driving and will definetly light off when i get into it.

Just running the Holley base tune at the moment and utilizing the learn feature. definitely not getting into it at all. maybe given it at most like 35% throttle and just watching the AFR's, temps etc.

A few things to work out:

1. Original trans cooler was tucked up in between two body braces and i just don't think it got any airlfow that it needed. I ordered a trans cooler fan kit off amazon from american volt. the fan sucked balls. it was a literal puller/pusher. the center of it would push air and the outside would pull air. i tested with a piece of shop towel. so it made sense why my trans temps just kept slowly keeping up up up as the cooler was just circulating the same temperature air constantly. So i got a different fan from Sir Amazon. flows more and works better. also lowered the cooler so it has more free flowing air. i also switched the location of the trans temp and thermostat. thermostat sees the fluid coming from the trans and the temp gauge sees the fluid leaving the cooler. when the fane is one (only had it on for a little bit) it got like 20 degrees cooler leaving the fan than what the transtemp was so it seems to be working now. It does hang a little lower than i think id like at the moment. it is also level to the ground. i am going to adjust the bracket so that it is on a bit of an angle to catch some air. for reference i have it mounted under the car right under the drivers seat more or less. *** also going to build a little heat shield out of the 20 gauge metal sheet i got to separate the crossover pipe that sits under the converter, that will also help the trans temp stuff.

2. Pretty sure that that power steering pump is leaking pretty good at the moment. picking up a new unit today or tomorrow and i will swap it out.

3. Alternator doesn't seem to be doing a good job keeping up to engine rpm. if i start accelerating under some load and the rpms start getting up to 3000 or so voltage drops all the way down to about 12.5-12.6. so got another unit that i will pick up tomorrow as well and swap in and hopefully that corrects the issue.

4. drive shaft i got was slightly short for what i wanted. car is at the driveline shop today to correct that and also add a 1350 series pinion yoke on the rear end as it just has the 3R which is somewhat questionable if it will consistently handle 500-550 wheel.


This pig gets tunes on Tuesday the 20th! wastegate spring is set to 7psi so we will start there and see where everything ends up. i have a turbosmart boost tee to add a few more pounds if required, but im a little limited, i still have the stock fuel pressure regulator which will only compensate to about 10psi at the most.

either way just driving this thing around i can tell it wants to get f**kin moving. its feels pretty effortless to get it moving, should be fun when its all tuned and ready to really hit the pavement! Some dude in a cowboy hat and handle bar moustache screamed "**** yeah brother!" with a rock out hand gesture at me when i was driving it, the car gets some attention haha.

i'll post some pics/vids once i know they will work.

[lwilliams]

Got the car tuned yesterday! Made 460whp/430tq at 10psi.

Ended up stopping there just because i am still running the stock fuel pressure regulator, stock fuel rails etc. thought it would have made more but i think a limiting factor may be my exhaust manifolds and the log i built likely doesn't flow the best. Didn't have much time to drive it after the dyno and was in rush hour traffic the whole way home. either way this thing moves well. got into only once on the way home due to traffic. Car drives really nice and also handles the tires breaking loose really well too.

Going to just drive it like this for the summer and get used to it. will do fuel mods in the winter and then go back to bump things up to 12-13psi and aim for around 500whp.

I will get some pics of the car all assembled on here soon. just really busy at the moment. I also have some dyno pull videos i can set a link to.

Biggest change that i made was notching the front bumper out and tucking the trans cooler at the front of the car. it lays flat and then i set up some ducting to it. Had the fan on the cooler on the dyno the whole time and the temps never went above 150 degreed, it was a cooler day at about 15 degrees Celsius outside but either way the cooler is doing its job.

The converter seems to be a really good match as the boost ramps in and they pair really nicely together.

SUCH A Freaking bummer it is pouring rain today, likely all day but everything clears up tomorrow and ill be able to go for a good rip!

[lwilliams]

ok so finally have some time to update this and working out all the kinks on the car thus far. I was having a big fuel issue where gas was getting into the oil, like lots. to the point that i had to change the oil like 8 times until i finally figured it all out.

First ill see if the pictures in the thread that didn't work will come through this time. this is the flexplate that i used. It is from Performance world, 3 stage torque sequence with some blue loctite. used a screw driver through the flexplate to hold it in place while I tightened everything down.


torqued the converter to the flexplate at 54# with red loctite

here are some shots of the trans cross member as i don't think that they came through last time, also the exhaust lining up through the square chuck of tubing through the cross member.

[lwilliams]

to mount the trans cross member i just drilled and taped holes into the frame pretty sure that they are 1/2 bolts 2 on each side.

the trans cooler was a point of pain for a while. I tried to mount it under the car. didn't work. mounted it with a good angle to catch airflow under the car, didn't work. mounted it super low under the body of the car with an angle to catch some air, that didn't work either and when it was super low i crunched the fan coming off a lift at the drive shaft shop.

so i re-routed the whole thing and notched out the front bumper to fit. at the moment it works really well. scabbed in some brake duct hose just for the moment. but i will switch to hood pins on the car (reluctantly) and then remove the hood latch assembly that the brake ducts are connected to and then bend/build and actual duct of the front bumper opening to the cooler. I also build a shroud for the cooler fan when i feel like that. But probably in the winter.

trans cooler fan mounted under the car - no bueno


bumper cutout to fit the fan and then the ducting running to it





i can monitor the trans temp on the Holley 3.5", this gauge measures the temp of the fluid leaving the fan. lets me know that the fan is actually working. usually about a 30-35degree difference between the trans and cooler temp when it is on.

[lwilliams]

so back to being under the car. here are some pictures of the cross over exhaust pipe being routed. From these pictures i have put it in heat wrap and also built a little heat shield between it and the cross over pipe. the temps are very different when i use a temp gun on the TC and the cross over pipe so it is working well.

this is the finished product on passenger side running up to the log manifold.


the is the drivers side coming down and under the TC



before doing this passenger side up to the log manifold this ear had to be cut off.


fits good now!


to route the trans harness back to the holley i got a billet piece from amazon, i can look up the part again if someone wants it. me being a dummy literally drilled a hole directly where my foot sits on the gas pedal the first time, so i moved it back to like half way between the seat and the gas pedal being a 1/2 dummy. ill move it again to just in front or even a little under the seat. i am going to try and build a console between the seat that runs all the way up to the dash this winter and then i will tuck the wires in teh console if that plan plays out.

[carter_eng_fab]

Awesome build!

I feel the pain on the fueling issues. I had a used injector stick open and filled the crankcase so much the oil pressure when towards 0! Not fun at all.

[lwilliams]

Awesome build!

I feel the pain on the fueling issues. I had a used injector stick open and filled the crankcase so much the oil pressure when towards 0! Not fun at all.

Thanks! Its been a fun ride this year. just about got all the shakedown issues with the car figured out. Your fueling issues sounds worse than mine, its too bad there isn't a way to set like an alarm or something within ECU's if that happens.

Also seen injector issues the other way, friend had an injector flowing 30% less than the other 7 and it grenaded his engine. Pure destruction. oddly it lived for quite a while like that before it exploded a few pistons.


finished up swapping out an ICtTbillet PS + Alt bracket to use a bigger pully on the PS pump. will post it all below.

[lwilliams]

got the ICT billet Bracket for the PS pump and Alternator. this moves the alternator outward (which im indifferent about other than it no longer lines up with my engine cover) toward the side of the car but more importantly moves the power steering pump inward about an inch. Been having problems with PS fluid shooting out of the reservoir when i'm at the auto cross track. main culprit is the PS pulley i put on (much smaller than stock) was the only one that i could find that would clear the steering box while using the stock bracket.

Pic of the bracket package and stock pully


Pic of the pulley that was on the pump (smaller) and the stock size one... you could say there a little different. Basically i think the thing was getting spun to high hell when i was flooring it then it is immediately under load when i'm either braking or steering or both, than back on the gas. So it was just getting no rest time and spinning way faster that it was intended too. Fluid was getting brown too compared to the new fluid that is clear.



i didn't take any tear down pictures. But this is the bracket installed. Honestly not a hard job. and its a good looking piece. i think it is a little tight in my car around the steering box, frame brace, sway bar etc. so after fully installing the bracket i did have to loosen off all the bolts to be able to slide the PS pump into place bolt it on snug then snug and tighten down the brackets, add the idler pulley and finally reinstall the alternator.









then got the stock size pulley pressed on and put into place. I didn't have the right size belt, so off to the parts store for the correct length

[lwilliams]

now that everything was bolted in and buttoned up tight i had to figure out a new place to mount and plumb my catch can. it used to bolt to the side of the stock bracket assembly.



i figured that the best way to do it is just to bend the catch can mounting tabs and then drill two small holes in the ICT brackets and bolt it to there.





unfortunately i couldn't fit my drill in between the rad fan and the bracket. Ill get or borrow a 90 degree drill and it will do the job. you can see int eh pick below where i tried to drill it but just couldn't make it work. for the moment the long standing king of holding **** in place will do fine. Zip tied the can to the bracket. i will modify the hoses a bit, but first i just want to go for a drive with the new bracket pulley etc. then once i know everything works and is good where it is lined up ill drill the hole and plumb the catch can lines nicely like they were before.





all put back together... sort of for the moment.



was just about done bleeding the oil fluid out and then i ran out of new fluid. basically just have to fill and cycle the new fluid in the reservoir until it is at the right level and it is ready for a drive. that is a tomorrow job. oh i also had to route a longer cable from the alternator back to the battery incase anyone was wondering. Also going to cut/modify the engine cover on the alternator side to see if i can get it to fit and look half decent.

[lwilliams]

just about forgot. i found this pics of the car at a car show from about a month ago.

[lwilliams]

Some more progress below. Now we got hood vents!



these are the vents i used.

https://trackspecmotorsports.com/col...r-22-x-11-inch

honestly wasn't all that difficult to install. just a lot of measure 7 times cut once. Still not sure on if i like the look of them compared to a not cut up hood. I think that i will like them a lot better once i paint match them to what ever color i paint the car. i also made a DIY wicker on the front of them to increase air flow. it is just a angled piece of 3/4 aluminum that was painted black by my kids.

here is a video i made of me installing them. https://youtu.be/l3uYefkxUyQ

One other addition to the car that i have made is putting in coil spring isolators from energy suspension, both the ones on the rear end and on the frame. it has made a noticeable difference in overall ride quality and also quieter while driving as well. on another note i also put some wd-40 on the rod end joints of the lower rear control arms. they were sooooo squeaky. now the car with the isolators and lubed joints is really quiet, waayyyy better!

Somewhat hard to see the isolators but a few pics below. also used spring compressors - things are terrifying.







quick look at the trimming on the engine cover to fit everything with the ICT bracket. Also a pic of my catch can. Had to use this tool i found called a rubber mallet to adjust its shape so i doesn't hit the hood vent when it closes.





A few maintenance things i have run into. my front brakes were dragging hardcore, like really hardcore. I could barely turn the passenger side rotor by hand. the drivers side wasn't as bad but was still some serious effort to run it. I checked the fluid here and it was black!!!! but in a weird way. it wasn't black like it was boiled and cooked. it was black like the fluid was still good but it was full of sediment. Either way i had a buddy help me bleed the front brakes again and get some nice new clear fluid in it.

We have another autocross race this sunday. going to put the car through its paces and then check the fluid again and see how it looks. not sure of the fluid issue is also related to the brakes dragging but looking forward to seeing how the car brakes and drives without the sticky brakes, potentially even more MPG now wouldn't be out of the question for how hard they are stuck on.

My trans cooler blew up at one point on an autocross day, i narrowed it down tot a bole on the front bumper came loose and i think it torqued the cooler the wrong way and cracked it. WHAT A MESS that was! the cooler is attached to both the bumper and rad support. the bumper started flexing a lot a think with the loose bolt and then put a bunch of stress on the cooler.

here is some videos of the car at autocross a couple times.

Autocross Race Day RDSCC Event 8 - https://youtu.be/QG_4lhoWj4A
Autocross day trans cooler explodes - https://youtu.be/8-e1dW-S8z0

I have been trying to get in the habit of doing some normalized tech inspection on the car before each race day. hence how i found the terrible brake fluid and the stuck/dragging front brakes. I have also found that the shop that did my alignment only set the front camber to 0.25 degrees! SAYYY WHHHAATTT. i just didn't pay attention to the sheet when they had done it. From this i am noticing on my tires that the inside 3" is not wearing the same on the front tires as the outside. I know it won't be exactly the same perse but i have an appointment to go back and have them add some camber potentially 2degrees total. then i should see an improvement in cornering hopefully.

My steering was getting some decent play in it so i also tightened that up.

video of how to tighten the jeep grand cherokee steering box swap on these A-bodies below. it should work for pretty much an saginaw steering box.

https://youtube.com/shorts/rThZ1QFBWB0?feature=share

I can also change the boot up screen on my dash video below. Alex at Nexgen EFI works hard at making these things really user friendly and fun!



https://youtu.be/RtpjX-I92MI