24 Hours Of LeMons/Final Gear Racing fall 2009

[Punisher Bass]

And here it is, the first full body shots of the new car.





It's a 1993 Buick Regal Custom with 103k miles on the clock. Quiky picked it up for mere peanuts while on family business up in Michigan. This particular Buick is riding on the first generation of GM's W body, and in typical GM fashion the same car also wore Pontiac, Chevy, and Oldsmobile badges. The early versions of the W body were poorly designed and executed, but I'll expand on that in a little bit. The Custom was the bottom basement version, so there isn't much flair to be had.





While GM did make "high performance" versions of the car with the Pontiac GTP and Chevy Lumina Z34, Buick was not so lucky as the top trim GS Gran Sport was little more than a trim package. But while the GTP and Z34 had "upgraded" suspension, this Buick has one thing they didn't...



That right there is one of Buick's unstoppable 3.8 V6's. This is a Series I 3800 version, the father of my Supercharged Series II 3800. A few years earlier Buick had their 3.8 cranking out around 300hp and 360 lb·ft of torque thanks to a turbocharger in the GNX. But this one made a much more geriatric 170hp and 220 lb·ft of torque. We'll see what we can do about correcting that.

Backing it up is one of GM's 4T60-E transmissions. It's a standard 4 speed auto, there hasn't been a manual placed in a Buick in I don't know how long. There was a heavy duty version of this transmission used when paired with the supercharged 3800, but this combination was never placed in a W body, just H and C bodies.

One smart thing GM did was give all W body cars 4 wheel discs brakes standard. I was worried it would have drums in the rear which would become useless just a few laps into the race. Since brakes are part of the safety gear category, they are not subject to the $500 budget cap. At some point we'll replace all the pads and rotors with good aftermarket parts.

Now about that suspension I was talking about. The W body was not exactly known for it's rigidity, handling, or ride quality. Add to that its old age and that it's a Buick you get the feeling of sitting on a marshmallow. It has a kind of odd version of a strut suspension up front, but in the rear you just need to see for yourself.



What you're looking at is a transverse fiberglass mono leaf spring. It's much like the setup on the Corvette, only it's totally different, and it sucks for handling. So you could say we have suspension like a Corvette or a 1920 Model T. GM used the leaf spring along with struts in the back for all the first gen W body cars, but the second gen replaced it with coil springs. This simply will not do, the suspension must be replaced. The problem is that it's nigh impossible to find ANY parts for these cars let alone high performance ones. But after much searching and swearing, I've been able to locate the very parts we need. However those details will have to wait for a future update.

[Twerp128]

I'm not going anymore. . .

. . .joking That engine is great, the suspension not so much, and after 100,000 miles I'm sure it's kicked the bucket, I bet Stig's fat cousin could drive the shit out of it though.

[_HighVoltage_]

Punisher Bass, I suspect you already know about all this, but I thought I'll point it out anyways.

I've done a lot of research on the W-Body cars in the past and the 4T60-E is probably one of the weakest components in the car...after the suspension.
The GTP and the Z34 DOHC engines were detuned to 200-215hp, because anything above that and the 4T60-E kept blowing up. GM found about it. A few guys on the w-body forums also found out about it the hard way.

So be careful what you do to the engine. Anything above 200hp may cause it to break the tranny.

[Punisher Bass]

Originally Posted by _HighVoltage_

Punisher Bass, I suspect you already know about all this, but I thought I'll point it out anyways.

I've done a lot of research on the W-Body cars in the past and the 4T60-E is probably one of the weakest components in the car...after the suspension.
The GTP and the Z34 DOHC engines were detuned to 200-215hp, because anything above that and the 4T60-E kept blowing up. GM found about it. A few guys on the w-body forums also found out about it the hard way.

So be careful what you do to the engine. Anything above 200hp may cause it to break the tranny.

It already has crossed my mind, but thanks for bringing it up.

[Quiky]

It doesn't have enough power to chirp the oldass tires at the moment.. even a full throttle-from-the-gravel start.

[_HighVoltage_]

Hmmm...that's really bad then. My Volvo has about the same power (168hp) and can't do smoking starts, but it spins the wheels on gravel or when it's wet.
This means the Buick must be really low on power.

[Posmo]

Originally Posted by _HighVoltage_

Hmmm...that's really bad then. My Volvo has about the same power (168hp) and can't do smoking starts, but it spins the wheels on gravel or when it's wet.
This means the Buick must be really low on power.

Your Volvo can do smoking starts with a bit of help from the handbrake. I've seen it done, it's not to be advised though

Anyway, I'm wondering if that buick is the best choice for a lemons race, the engine is surely bulletproof, but the suspension seems to be a bit.. agricultural.. and it can't be that light, even after you've strippet it of everything. How much do you have left in the budget, if you don't mind me asking?

[_HighVoltage_]

Originally Posted by Posmo

Your Volvo can do smoking starts with a bit of help from the handbrake. I've seen it done, it's not to be advised though

Yeah, except that mine doesn't quite work

[Twerp128]

I think durability is more the name of the game than outright speed, though the transmission would worry me more than anything. And if you squint is looks like a NASCAR.

[Punisher Bass]

It saddens me to report that the Buick, which we had lovingly nicknamed Mrs. Magoo, is going to the scrap yard and will not be run. It was taken to a shop to have the engine checked and the news was not good. It was cracked in three different locations and running on 3 1/2 cylinders. The wounds are fatal and an engine swap is not in the cards, so we're back to square one.

That's all there really is to know for now.

RIP Mrs. Magoo
1993-2009

[piercey]

Oh cock. Best of luck to you guys finding another ride

[Donington]

Best of luck with the replacement.

[_HighVoltage_]

Wow 3.5 out of 6 cylinders is quite impressive

[Twerp128]

Heh, what'd we all say about the 3800.

[Serj]

you guys cursed it :p

pun keeps looking at buicks (that crazy old man)

and I keep looking at stuff that's more likely to catch fire while shouting something in...uhh, the last one was french i think...

we'll just have to get something cooler

[Dogbert]

Originally Posted by Serj

and I keep looking at stuff that's more likely to catch fire while shouting something in...uhh, the last one was french i think...

Isn't that pretty par for the course?

[nouseferaname90]

I found a volvo 240 DL wagon for $400 on craigslist if that suits anyone's fancy

some various volvos

manual: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/1236247889.html

I strongly like this: Volvo 780 http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/1234959818.html

[Punisher Bass]

We're looking for cars close to where we live, not cross country, sorry. We've seen some cars that could fit the bill, but haven't decided on anything yet.

[syncview]

Maybe you should look for an old Toyota?

[Twerp128]

^YES! A Toyota!



Strip it, slam it, add some monster brakes, tires and your set. Your welcome.