Messages

1

For Sale/Trade/Want To Buy / 87 Grand National SOLD!

« on: August 10 2018, 07:28:57 PM »

I'm selling my 87' GN T-Top. Its in nice condition with lots of upgrades. I have been owning it for a little over 2 years and bought it at a Mecum auction (my first GN). The odometer has about 17500 miles on it and Mecum sold it to me as that being original miles. I'm not sure that is 100% accurate.


I have had a blast and heart burn with this car as I went through a steep learning curve on this fun but quirky car. I recently built a new shop and will be selling the GN to help pay for it.


As for the car, it has a very nice interior and everything works. The steering wheel has a few scuffs on it but other than I'd give it a 9 of 10. It has a power seat on the drivers side, a/c works great, power antenna works, cruise control, Concert Sound radio works (sounds a little scratchy), all interior lights work as do all the dash lights. I believe the seat covers and carpet are original but it does have aftermarket floor mats.


Under the hood it's extremely clean and the under hood light works. It still has the original PowerMaster brake setup which I believe will need an accumulator ball in the future. Occasionally during brake application, the red brake light in the dash comes on for just a second and then goes out.


What I do know is the engine is not the original block (serial number doesn't match) but the transmission is original to the car. I believe the rear end is original to the car also. It has the chip/rock guard on the lower doors, quarters and fenders. I'm not a paint guy but it looks like clear has been sprayed over the possibly original paint.


As for the modifications, someone spent a lot of money on it.


The rear end has a T\A girdle, HR partsNstuff sway bar and what appear to be Spohn's fully adjustable upper control arms and their boxed lower control arms all with poly bushings. It has a Metco driveshaft loop, and an HR partsNstuff rear tranny mount.


It has what I believe are the stock headers and crossover pipe (they have been reinforced and welded up in the places they normally crack). A stainless steel 4" downpipe with internal waste gate, which goes into a 3" exhaust with test pipe, then into a pair of stainless Magnaflow mufflers and out twin 3" tail pipes.


As far as the fuel system, I don't know what pump it has in the tank. I do know it keeps up with demand at a pound for pound increase with boost up to 25 psi. I also has a fuel pump hot wire kit with a billet adjustable fuel pressure regulator feeding a set of 60 lb Precision injectors. It has an Accufab 72mm(?) polished throttle body and a Precision plenum with an intake spacer and an RJC Power Plate. It has a stock ported intake.


I haven't had the heads or the oil pan off but I have had the intake and front cover off of it. I did the earlbrown mods to the front cover while I had it off.  I'm not sure what crankshaft and pistons but it does have H-beam rods. The block is girdled and it has the multi-layer steel head gaskets and ARP head studs. It looks like it has new stainless steel valves and bronze valve guides and new valve stem seals. It has a new Comp Cams 212\212 flat tappet cam with new lifters, valve springs and timing chain set. I replaced the cam to a worn lobe on the #3 cylinder. It had a set of higher pressure beehive valve springs but I put a set of Comp 980's when installing the new cam. The beehives come with the car.


It has a Precision 6776 BB turbo and a Precision SLIC. The intake pipe is a 4" with a 3" up pipe (I polished both). It has a blade style MAF with the MAF Translator. It's also equipped with a Razor single nozzle ALKY system and it comes with a spare ALKY pump.  It has a pair of electric fans with the upgraded relays. It also has a Scanmaster 2.1, a boost\vacuum gauge and a temp gauge on the A-pillar.


The trunk is clean with the original space-saver spare, jack and T-Top bags. I believe the front and rear bumper fillers are original and all are in great shape.


I also have the original door broadcast sheet, owners manual, etc..


Asking $25,000. If anyone is interested, just PM me and I can send photos to your email account. I'm located in Louisiana.


TWild

2

General Buick Tech / Re: A/c ?

« on: July 01 2018, 10:50:06 AM »

Try unplugging the connector near the bottom front of the compressor. It's the one that supplies power to it and it has two wires. If you undo the tape that's wrapped around it, you should see a small diode that connects to each terminal of the connector. Make sure that the small wire that comes off each side of the diode aren't touching. If they are, straighten it out and then re-tape it. Plug it in and give it a try. I had the same issue and doing this fixed mine.


Good luck,


TW

3

General Buick Tech / Re: Crankcase Pressure

« on: June 10 2018, 08:16:28 PM »

Scoobum,


If I remember correctly, blm = 132, warmed up at idle in park.

4

General Buick Tech / Re: Crankcase Pressure

« on: June 10 2018, 10:35:23 AM »

Thanks Tim,


I'll check it out.


TW

5

General Buick Tech / Re: Test time! Cam Sensor unplugged

« on: June 10 2018, 10:33:41 AM »

Hey Steve,


Just for the record...60 lb injectors, 38 psi on the FPR. Runs worse with the cam sensor unplugged. Not running SD.


TW

6

General Buick Tech / Re: Crankcase Pressure

« on: June 08 2018, 09:40:14 AM »

When it comes to an intake leak, I have a couple of more questions. I noticed that some guys get rid of the pcv valve altogether and some install a breather in the intake (where the pcv valve would normally go). Why wouldn't that create a vacuum leak? What effect would an intake leak have on O2 millivolt readings, blm's etc...?

7

General Buick Tech / Re: Crankcase Pressure

« on: June 08 2018, 07:53:41 AM »

Thanks guys.

8

General Buick Tech / Re: Crankcase Pressure

« on: June 07 2018, 08:19:46 PM »

Thanks Scoobum and another fun video! What was the loud pop while you were doing your burnout?

9

General Buick Tech / Re: Crankcase Pressure

« on: June 07 2018, 08:07:00 PM »

Thanks for the replies, now it's time to start checking it out! What I have found out is that owning one of these cars can be very enjoyable and very frustrating at the same time. I guess sticking with some basics and educating yourself is a good start. There are many people that are willing to help the new guys.


TW

10

General Buick Tech / Re: Crankcase Pressure

« on: June 07 2018, 01:38:44 PM »

Steve,


When you say intake leakage into the valley, you mean like an intake gasket leak? The reason I'm asking is I recently had the intake off.


Yesterday I took the oil fill tube off the driver's side valve cover with it running, so I could look inside to make sure oil was pumping up through the pushrods and onto the rockers. I happen to rev the engine up while leaning over it and I noticed air coming out the hole in the valve cover (I hadn't noticed this in the past). The higher I rev the engine, the more air flows out the valve cover. It isn't a pulsating flow of air, it's a rather a steady stream of air. It feels like the air coming from a  blow dryer.


I'll check the PCV Valve when I get home.

11

General Buick Tech / Crankcase Pressure

« on: June 07 2018, 10:24:27 AM »

Quick question,


Other than compression getting past the rings, what else can cause high crankcase pressure?


Thanks, TW

12

General Buick Tech / Re: Front Cover

« on: May 26 2018, 02:40:32 PM »

Alright,


I had a chance to check the crankshaft run out. It looks like it's supposed to be checked at the thrust bearing but since mine isn't apart, I just measured it at the face of the balancer. I ended up with .006" which as far as I can tell is within specs (.003" to .011"). I didn't measure the run out on the reluctor wheel cause it was a pain in the arse to set it up. I did go back and set the crank sensor on each of the reluctor fins and none are hitting.


Not sure why the fins on the reluctor wheel are so close to the front cover? Any body that could take a look at theirs and let me know how close yours is?


Thanks,


TW

13

General Buick Tech / Re: Front Cover

« on: May 21 2018, 09:37:40 AM »

I think I have a GM front cover, because it has a GM part number cast into it. I also just shimmed the cam sensor because it had a ton of vertical play. As far as the torque on the crank bolt Mr. Steve, I tightened it to 235 lb. ft. (I think the spec was 219 but I wanted to make sure it was tight)


I'm gonna go back and check the adjustment on the crank sensor. I only set it on one blade of the reluctor and then rotated the crank and looked for contact. This time I'll check all three blades with my adjustment tool (Strip of an old ID card).


BTW Earl, I got the magnetic drain plug you sent me and I still haven't located the plug that it spit out the driver's side oil galley. 


Thanks,


TW

14

General Buick Tech / Re: Front Cover

« on: May 20 2018, 08:19:04 PM »

Thanks Guys,


I'll have to borrow a dial indicator to check the crank end play. I'll report back what I find.


I've been out of work for the last six weeks due to some surgery, so I had plenty of time to work on it. Going back to the grind tomorrow, so it will be Friday before I can check it.


Great bearing video by the way Scoobum, I can only imagine what mine look like  [size=78%] [/size]


TW

15

General Buick Tech / Front Cover

« on: May 20 2018, 07:02:25 PM »

I just completed my first front cover pull down on my 87'.  I installed a new front cam bearing, cam, lifters, timing chain and gears, cracked balancer and a few other odds and ends.


One of the things I noticed was that the front cover had three threaded holes near the front edge where it contacts the oil pan (or in my case, the girdle). The seal kit I ordered was the Felpro TCS 45930 and it has a piece of cork gasket that only has two holes in it. I tossed the cork gasket and used Permatex Ultra Black Sealer in it's place. Everything went fairly well during reassembly and after a 40 minute cam break in and a 20 mile ride, I don't see any leaks. I did notice a slight clicking/ticking sound when it's running. This noise was present prior to the tear down and I had contributed it to noise from the timing chain and gears, because no tensioner was installed and the chain had a bunch of slack in it.


Because the noise was driving me crazy, I got under the car and looked and listened for the source of the noise. I noticed the slightest shinny spot on the edge of the reluctor wheel on the back of the balancer closest to the front cover. Then I noticed a slight mark on the boss in the center of the cover where it looked like it the reluctor wheel had hit it at some point in time. I contributed this to the previous builder leaving the oil slinger off, which allowed the balancer to sit a little further back.
 
Also from looking at photos, it looks like the front covers that have three threaded holes along the front protrude further to the front than the covers that on those with the two holes in the front.


Now to my questions;


1. What's the difference between a front covers that have three holes vs. two holes at the bottom front edge (Other than one hole)?


2. How much clearance is "Normal" between the reluctor wheel and the front cover? (I prob have .030 -.035 clearance).


3. Any suggestions on where clicking might be coming from is appreciated.


I did re-adjust the crank sensor and tried to move the crank forward and backward to check for end play, it seemed tight.


TW