3.8L screamers

[Frederic Breitwieser]

>WOW! That's not bad at all! I've heard of a 3.1L turbo straight 6 (with a
>bit of nitrous) getting 670HP, but a 3.8 (is this the V6 Buick - the one
>that's found in Oz in the Holden Commodore?) getting 820HP (I assume with no

The test was to determine how much power the block could take, how much
boost  could run, and how much octane I needed.  The engine was from a
front-wheel drive 3.8L Buick LeSabre, not a Buick GN.  I was suprised at
the figures myself, and the engine ran about 20 minutes on the Dyno before
parts became projectiles.

In order to hold the block together, one needs a stage II block, a block
girdle, and a variety of other clamping goodies.

The ice water intercooling idea was to really see how much boost we could
run.  We kept the water at 40 degrees, using a fish tank, a bilge pump, and
an aluminum oil cooler welded into the airstream (manifold). The final
version of this will be a 4.1L RWD block, with the aluminum custom manifold
(I have it partially built already), using refrigerant to cool the water
running through the intercooler.  This cools the air, compresses the intake
charge, and hopefully for short bursts of power, the air compressor won't
have to run constantly, just after the shot power bursts.  Since it takes a
while to for the water to heat up (it has to circulate), the cold water can
hold the coolness during hard bursts of power, then be cooled down when the
load is light and the A/C compressor can run again.

IN theory :)

Talk to me in about a year, and I'll let you know if I wasted 200lbs of
crap or not :)


Frederic Breitwieser
Bridgeport, CT 06606

Homebrew Automotive Website:
http://www.xephic.dynip.com/

1993 Supercharged Lincoln Continental
1989 HMMWV
2000 Buick-Powered Mid-Engined Sports Car

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