Project Progress: 88 StX 4x4 w/ Buick 3.8Turbo powerplant swap

[don4331]

Every 4x4 prior to 1990 had a D28.

That will teach me to rely on memory; I deal mostly with '98+ Rangers is my excuse. Back in '88, I was driving an S-10.

Other than T-5 and SRODs transmissions failing while drag racing the Mustang and a rod in a B&S engine, the only other failure was an outer shaft in my F-100 Dana 44. And I really should have just driven around that snow drift - the front end started hopping but I was so close to through that I crossed finger and hoped.

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

Curious on why you want to move axle back. It's a truck, it not supposed to ride like a Caddy. 6" back starts to have issues with getting beyond the spring arch. (You can swap the spacers and the axle stop block and move the bump stop though and sort of make it work).

Two possibilities for extending the wheelbase from 125" to 131" here:

1- He's considering a Longbed swap for the STX w/ a 'roll-bar' light bar like the options available on the HighRider back then, to go with his push bar. 7' Box would move the axle centerline back 6" (exactly the difference of the 1500 springs if I leave the front perches where they are. Also, it would allow him to use extended shackles on the rear for more off-road articulation if he chooses to wheel it. Long wheelbase kinda excludes rockcrawling it anyway. It would wind up w/ a wheelbase similar to the driver he'll be using while he builds the Ranger (94 Dakota Sport Club cab is 130.9")

2- He can't decide how much the stretch on the future Willys cab would be, without having one here yet and figuring where the firewall and engine compartment would locate the cab on the Ranger frame. Add to it he doesn't want it to have a new Gladiator sized ('pointless') bed (as he says) or for it to look awkwardly bobbed to fit the wheelbase- it could give him more flexibility for a 5' thru 7'+ ft Willys box behind the extended cab.

(There are Multiple stages to this build, basically. He's been planning and scheming on this for about 4 years so far...This is what happens when you raise a kid who's almost finished an Eagle Scout project, mom grew up going to dirt modified races, you drive as much as we do, I've had GM G-Bodies since 1988, his uncle and grandfather build an early Bronco out of 3 parts cars, Grandpa's Mustangs & Camaros, Aunt's Ghia Convertible, car shows, etc. Raised him right, just not "easy".)

 

[don4331]

As one of those who's done the SCLB, I understand the Chev springs for that. About to build another.

 

[bobbywalter]

The jeep gladiator is the most user friendly bed out there in a rig that can actually wheel. The maverick and coming copy cats will sell because of that. The previous rangers in the early days were nice. But all of the current mid size and full size are crap for user ease unless you are a sasquatch..

Modern trucks simply suck in terms of bed access. Especially the current ranger with a mild lift and 35,s. The jeep may look stupid, but all of the rest are useless comparatively.... especially when covered in mud or salt and road grime.... A lopo jeep on 40s is still easier to deal with then a modern stock ranger ..



Wheelbase over 115 is less then ideal for optimum wheeling, but 130 in wheelbase is not bad with 40 in tires. My truck is 128 and will likely be 131or a bit more in its next iteration.

Of course going to a 7 ft bed in stock form...with a Dana 28 ...meh. 6 foot bed is plenty.

Low lift....full width axles...cut fenders...on the other hand...and your ready to go.



I assume it is a front dizzy true Buick 3.8. is it a 14 or 20 bolt pan?

Putting a 700r4 and 241 t case from a fullsize truck will be the easiest choice.

Piloting a nv 3500 may take some fanaggling. Those with a 241 would be pretty good for a manual.

The 231 Buick is a great engine, and will be a kewl swap.

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

The boys got inside the truck yesterday and started work, cleaning up the interior. They're happily surprised about the condition, only a nickel-sized rust hole and a shotgun pellet hole in the roof to weld up so far, everything else seems solid and workable. We'll need a few interior trim pieces for the passenger door A pillar, as well as 2 door-panels, but looks decent so far. As soon as I put my new 235/65r17 Hankook AT2s on the Highlander's stock wheels, the 235/70R16's Ecopaths will go on the truck as well. We have 5 of the Explorer style 3 spoke chrome wheels, so Anyone in Eastern PA/Western Jersey need 15" Ranger steelies? 1 is an 88 era, 3 are second/third gen wheel style....

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

Started improving the looks- 235/70r16 AT’s on it- thinking it will need fresher springs for a proper ‘lift’ from this ride height.

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

BUILD UPDATE:​

We haven't forgotten you all who expressed interest, but we've just been busy w/ HS Senior year/ College Application Issues and 3 varsity activities so far.

So, he's progressing on the prep and disassembly:
Body and cab unbolted & temporarily blocked on 4x4"s on the body mounts to clean the frame.
(He now says a 4" lift is "not right" for where he wants this to go....Thinking he'll level up the front and maybe do a 1-1.5" body lift to keep things 'tight' to the frame..)

Interior is completely out, cab cleaned & wiring is going;
Engine compartment cleaned & stripped;
Has collected the missing interior trim he needs.
Will need to remove and reseal the windsheild.​

Now he's looking for Black/Dk Gray or Charcoal buckets and seat tracks to start the interior plans.
(Anyone have some close to eastern PA?)
(thanks superj for letting me know Edge seats are really what he"s looking for!)

Found a nice local mom & pop source for truck parts & Got a clean used tailgate and a LF Fender, solid.
I Couldn't talk him into a set of beautiful light gray leather Mountaineer power buckets & console.
Going back soon for mirrors, the headliner he needs, and maybe an aluminum set of 3:" body lift spacers
to cut down for a 1-1.5" body lift.

We have the 3.8 Buick home out of storage, the COMPLETE tilt column & wiring harness from the 85 Olds donor car, and all the 3.8 Carbed Turbo parts are at home too.

3 carb options for now-
Likely 1: Quadrajet that came on it for simplicity
2:less likely, an almost complete Square-bore Holley (currently minus the choke butterfly & shaft, one metering block)
3: a Spread-bore Holley I'm sure is too big (my dad had it saved for a 390 Ford!)
​

(We have Some extra GM Olds Cutlass interior/body parts & a TH200C to sell as well.) We also have 2 spare GM driveshafts for the donor I'll save since his were missing, maybe? could be made to work but would need work at a driveline shop once he picks the trans.

Right now he's looking at a GM NV3500 & Tcase from an S-10 4.3 or a Silverado/1500 4x4s as the trans and tcase option w/the BOP to Chevy adaptor or maybe find a BOP Lakewood Scattersheild option. (S10 shifter might be further back, not sure till we get more info.)

Bed's off, rear frame cleaned, scraped and rust-converted.
Cleaning & prepping the front end now.
Looking to probably put LED turn signals in the front bumper and replace the Valence turn signals with LED fog/driving lights.
He's keeping the push bar but loves that it doesn't include the grille guards.
He wants charcoal carpet, to wrap the woodgrain w/ vinyl & wrap the dashpad, interior trim to match.
Headliner to match the seats once he gets them. Keeping the interior dark colors he says.
Working on ideas for the exterior scheme as well.

That's the plan so far.​

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

Got Christmas goodies from Family: Multiple supplies/materials for interior; Roll-on bedliner kit for cab floor sealing
Christmas money spent on some goodies so far:
New: Vinyl Dye, Engine Enamel, 3M adhesive spray, Sheet 'leather' panels to re-wrap interior parts/dash pad, trim, etc.,
Used: Ran to parts source & scored Eddie Bauer B2 Bucket seats & tracks, Sunvisors, Interior Door Handel pulls/Armrests, Exterior swing flat fold mirrors, and an intact SC Headliner board.

More collecting to come!

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

...
More collecting to come!

Epoxied the cracked dash-pad and painted the metal dashboard.

 

[bobbywalter]

and......

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

Before we start exterior bodywork on the cab, we've gotta be sure we can title and register this thing in PA or if we need to find a donor cab & title....
Could start on the box soon, & getting plans in place to start on the Buick 3.8.
Colors scheme planned: Deep Charcoal w/ Deep Forest Green; Grey & Black interior

Did work on the dash pad (2B Black synthetic Leather wrapped), the front dash panel (2B Grey synthetic Leather wrapped) and the metal dash itself:
See pics:
I'll Update Pics- They failed the format they're in from my iPhone to my Google Drive- I'll figure it out shortly- Sorry
Here we go!-

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

I assume it is a front dizzy true Buick 3.8. is it a 14 or 20 bolt pan?

Putting a 700r4 and 241 t case from a fullsize truck will be the easiest choice.

Piloting a nv 3500 may take some fanaggling. Those with a 241 would be pretty good for a manual.

The 231 Buick is a great engine, and will be a kewl swap.

Turns out looks like the '80 MC Turbo had a salvaged '79 (818? series) engine and complete setup swapped into it when I got it back in '90.
Going to use the bare (disassembled) '79 Block and factory 85 Cutlass 3.8 Motor mounts
& the TH200C trans to locate and set up the engine's position in the frame soon as well, once he finishes cleaning/scraping and rust converting the surface. Then we can place the cab back down on the frame with minor 1"/1.5" lift blocking for the body to plan out the motor placement.

The 85 Cutlass had a running RWD Buick NA 2bbl 3.8L 140 series block (20 bolt pan, centered oil p/u position) with the best factory heads (8445's).

We cracked open the intake last weekend and started cleaning her up & mocking up the parts. Cam looks good, rockers look good, valve springs 'look' good. So we Test installed the '79 Buick turbo intake manifold after cleaning & painting it and the factory iron exhaust manifolds a high-temp Gloss Black. I am having issues finding a turbo to plenum and turbo to intake manifold gasket set for this setup. Looking to pull the crank bolt, crack the pan from the oil pump/front timing cover, etc. Then clean, prep & paint the block Buick Engine Blue, hopefully over the Holiday weekend. I still need to find my box containing the Turbo-specific Valve covers for the '79 that is hiding in the garage somewhere.
(He may be getting a 3.8 'evenfire' unused flywheel for the cost of shipping + a thank you donation)
also we - located a GM1500 series NV3500 & Transfer case too.

Currently we've gotta pull the windshield, rust convert the channel and re-adhere the windshield into the cab.
My son is working on interior panels, upholstery for the dash, etc. & some of the small-stuff for now.
I'm researching the IOWA (to PA) title situation also.
I straightened the left front tweak on the (about 90% better) the factory front bumper he will use temporarily.
We also swapped out the tailgate and LF Fender for more solid / less wrinkled options too.

That's the update so far. I'll get pictures soon as well.

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

Here's the update from my TurboBuick.com (@81LimitedT)
Post today:

Turns out looks like the '80 MC Turbo had a salvaged '79 (818? series) engine and complete setup swapped into it when I got it back in '90.

Correction- Dug the turbo block out of storage and it is NOT an 818 block, but a 787 block-
Which according to

Buickgod.com Network - Preserving Buick History for Car Enthusiasts : Top : Buick Resource : VIN & Engine Info : Engine Specs / Torque All 100 years : V6 Engine Spec's All Years

would have made it a '78 or '79 motor, but not listed as a specifically turbo engine.
I wonder what truly led me to where we are today....

I am so thankfor for the support and encouragement of many forums. This TRS crew has been su[er friendly and helpful to me over the years with my Rangers. An amazing member on TB sent me an unused Centerforce Flywheel for this engine via FedEx as a donation to the cause, he received it in a parts group that was gathering dust & since he felt he had no use for it. No wear, just used in the mock-up phase. the Turbo Buick community just always seems to pay it forward, and We are so appreciative!


I'm going to keep the 787 bare block and the Edelbrock Performer for a possible future 4BBL NA build.

Mike
'81 Limited 3.8 w/ 161K (1988-2012)-Someone else- SOLD
was my 1st G-Body (2O,1MCT,1GP,1GN)

 

[sgtsandman]

For what it’s worth, you can turbo and engine that wasn’t designed for it, you just have to make sure the psi is kept lower to prevent long term issues.

That was a big problem in the ‘80’s. They were throwing turbos on everything and the vehicles would be no where to be seen 4 years later.


Part of it was a coking of the oil in the turbos due to a poor circulation setup and part of it was blowing head gaskets and the like from too much boost.

 

[HadASplash/XLTSC]

For what it’s worth, you can turbo and engine that wasn’t designed for it, you just have to make sure the psi is kept lower to prevent long term issues.

That was a big problem in the ‘80’s. They were throwing turbos on everything and the vehicles would be no where to be seen 4 years later.


Part of it was a coking of the oil in the turbos due to a poor circulation setup and part of it was blowing head gaskets and the like from too much boost.

Just keeping it stock for a Daily Driver w/ a little Oomph.