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As for your questions, I'm not sure why the turbo 3.8 didn't come in anything other than the Regal, the 89 Trans Am or the Riviera.
But I believe one of the reasons it was canceled was because it was dominating the Corvette, and you know how GM wants the Corvette to have the best of everything.
And yes at the time gas was stabilizing and America wanted a V8. Same reason why the turbo 2.3 powered Mustang SVO died in 1986. America wanted a 5.0 litre V8 that only made 225 hp as opposed to a 4 cylinder that made 25 hp less but consumed far less gasoline.
The turbo 3.8 was born out of the quest for a powerful engine that didn't consume so much gasoline. Thus the turbo 3.8 debuted for the 1978 model run.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve-o
Ive driven 2 turbo Trans Am's, they never felt as fast as a GN or Cyclone. Anyone else notice this? Were they detuned or something?
You failed to mention what year Turbo Trans AM you drove.
If it was a 1980 or a 1981 it comes as no surprise. The Turbo 301 V8 was considered a slug.
They used a 1980 Turbo T/A in the filming of Smokey And The Bandit part II and had to require the use of nitrous oxide to get the car to reasonable speed levels for the movie.
If it was a 1989 Turbo T/A, well that's a good question, because the '89 TTA was pushing just a little more power in stock form than any of the GN's came with stock. And I believe they weighed about the same.
Its surprising anyone would want a Corvette, they are everywhere and seem to be a dime a dozen. Why spend that much on a car that really doesn't impress anyone except the die hard Chevy fans. I mean come on, change the style once in awhile. I've never seen a car on the side of the road more than a Buick Regal, I don't care what kinda Regal, they are all junk. EW
There are a lot of people who buy Corvettes for their substance and not their style or with the intent to "impress" anyone. Especially the C5 and up, The 'Vette is a hard performance-per-dollar ratio to beat. That's a major part of why there are so many of them out there.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz
No, I actually own one, it's the little brother to the GN (Turbo T) and just wanted to see if anyone else has one or has had one.
I like mine and wouldn't mind having another. As I recall those cars were the american dominance in the 80's....not even the Corvettes could touch them.
Of course neither could the 5.0 Mustang or the Z28 Camaro.
Wasn't that car sort of a copy of the Monte Carlo SS?
I've never seen a car on the side of the road more than a Buick Regal, I don't care what kinda Regal, they are all junk. EW
Junk?? You couldn't be any further from the truth. I call bull**** on your statement.
Buick Regals up thru 1987 were a very well built car. My car has over 200,000 miles and it's still running strong with no issues. Plus on top of that these cars exchange hands for quite a bit of cash for such a junk car.
Of course I know you're partial to older Chrysler products, which were prone to rust and transmission problems, but I wouldn't be so ignorant as to label them all junk.
Last edited by Deez Nuttz; 02-02-2008 at 11:02 PM..
Wasn't that car sort of a copy of the Monte Carlo SS?
LOL are you kidding me? Absolutely not.
The turbo Regal came out 5 years before the G body Monte Carlo SS, and offered the same hp, if not more from a V6 as the Monte SS was offering from a 305.
Also the turbo Regal came with a stout 8.5 rear end whereas all Monte's came with the weaker 7.5 rear. They both used the same overdrive trans.
So to answer your question, no the turbo Regal was not a copy of the Monte SS.
But I believe one of the reasons it was canceled was because it was dominating the Corvette, and you know how GM wants the Corvette to have the best of everything.
It was a cheaper car to buy.I heard too many criminals type was buying the car ,because it was so cheap to purchase.I heard the bottom end wouldn't hold up,causing alot of breakdowns.They suppose to correct the problem with the gnx model.
The bottom ends hold up well, as there are people pushing in excess of 20 lbs of boost on a stock block. In fact, people have gone 10's in the 1/4 and there's even 1 testament of an 8 second 1/4 mile GN running off of a stock production 109 block.
The biggest problem is when people turn up the boost and don't take the precautionary methods to prevent knock and thus end up blowing head gaskets or worse.
Regals are riddled with faults. Transmission and sensor problems were natural occurrences with them. Head gaskets were a must when you really needed to depend on the car. Regals are junk. EW
The turbo 3.8 was born out of the quest for a powerful engine that didn't consume so much gasoline. Thus the turbo 3.8 debuted for the 1978 model run.
I purchased a '79 in Oct '78 and it was powerful for exactly 2000 miles. It seemes that after an oil change, when the engine was started to drive the car off the rack, the turbo was dry and burned up. Detroit notified the dealers to disconnect the wiring, run the engine for a minute to circulate the oil, and then connect the turbo. I don't know how many dealers followed this procedure.
My indicator light would flash red as the car gurgled down the road at 35mph.
When I tried to have the problem corrected they wanted to charge me $500 to drop the gas tank and clean it because "I was using bad gas". That was the last GM product that I owned.
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