1986 Buick Grand National - West Side Pride

[JoeThaMan]

1986 Buick Grand National - West Side Pride
Dick Kereny watched like a proud father as Cal Hartline put the pedal to the floorboard in his 1986 Grand National to become the first Turbo Buick to go 8s with the stock 109 block. As you can imagine, this was no easy feat and it didn't happen by accident. Dick pulled the former daily driver out of retirement six years ago with the intent of having the fastest stock-block Turbo Buick in the country. Oddly enough, after years of work and thousands of dollars, things turned around in less than a week.
"I got a call from Cal Hartline, and he said, 'We need to be the first stock-block to break 9 seconds, and i have just the turbo to do it.' He flies out to Arizona three days later, we change everything around to fit in this big turbo (including using an electric water pump, rJc 5-inch downpipe, hartline's four-bolt turbo headers, and switching the pulleys around), he makes the 8-second pass, and then gets on a plane and goes home. it's funny-he almost hit the wall four times, but never lifted," Dick explains. since running 8.955 at 156 mph, Dick has returned his Gn to its tsm (turbo street modified) class trim for competition purposes, which entailed reinstalling the interior and other pieces removed for weight savings on the 8-second pass. A Precision turbo 70mm hairdryer, terry houston 3.5- inch downpipe, and Arizona Gn headers have all found their rightful places back in his Gn's engine bay, as he has now set his sights on the tsm record. Despite winning the tsm Point series last year, and also boasting a healthy lead this year, his best of 9.40 remains a sore topic (even though he holds the record for mph at 145 and is only .05 away from tying the e.t. record).
Dick's success is in no doubt owed to the fantastic team he put together to build his Gn, which includes cal, who makes good use of the fAst Xfi engine management and Ams1000 boost controller. his tuning abilities are a huge part of making the stock-block survive. meanwhile, mike Zimmerman of Zimmerman racing engines is responsible for building the high-dollar motor. the Phoenix shop bored, honed, blueprinted, and balanced the engine, equipped with billet main caps, an rJc girdle, clevite bearings, and a moldex billet 3.625-inch stroke crank. cP forged pistons with total seal rings and crower titanium rods are thrust in the 3.820-inch bore for roughly 250 ci of displacement. this high-compression motor relies on champion aluminum heads ported, polished, and extensively machined by Zimmerman. A proprietary-grind comP cams solid roller spins up to 7,250 rpm while enacting isky valvesprings, t&D 1.75 ratio aluminum rocker arms, smith brothers pushrods, and ferrea 1.90 titanium intake and 1.60 exhaust valves.
A ported stock upper and lower intake manifold and Accufab 70mm throttle body from Precision turbo accept 28 to 30 psi of charged air, cooled by a custom rJc front-mount air-to-air intercooler. Delphi 96-lb injectors and an Aeromotive electric fuel pump supply the 1,000-plus hp motor with an ample supply of VP racing fuel. the high-octane cocktail is ignited using an msD 7Al box, distributor, coil, and wires, as well as Autolite plugs. the exhausted mixture is dispensed post-haste via a 3-inch dual exhaust setup with flowmaster mufflers and a tiAl wastegate.
Boost is created at the starting line with the help of a freddy brown variable stall turbo 400 that was formerly used in an nhrA super stock race car. After being freshened up by fb Per-formance, it was paired with a highefficiency Protorque 2,500-stall converter to allow both a quick spool off the line and a high mph coming down the back half of the track, thanks to the variable stall. off the transbrake, a custom 4-inch carbon fiber driveshaft enacts a moser 9-inch rear with a 3.93 gear, 35-spline axles, and a lightweight spool. As per tsm specs, the front control arms and k-member are left untouched, while QA1 adjustable shocks, removal of the sway bar, and skinnies aid weight transfer to the mickey thompson 28x10.5 slicks. the rear suspension boasts custom double-adjustable tubular control arms, koni double-adjustable shocks, and a Wolfe race craft antiroll bar. After quite a bit of experimenting, the stock springs proved the most effective in launching the GN.
At the opposite end of the track, Dick is happy to have a set of Aerospace components brakes and a simpson parachute to slow the old buford from more than 140 mph. An nhrA legal 10-point rollcage from competition chassis and crow fivepoint harnesses also keep him feeling as secure as possible behind the wheel of an 8-second car. to maintain weight, the rest of the interior is kept stock, except for a set of lightweight kirkey racing seats with custom covers, a cheetah shifter, and a handful of Auto meter gauges. the same can be said for the exterior, which boasts only a fiberglass hood. but after becoming the fastest stock-block turbo buick in the nation, how much boasting do you really need to do?
Data File 1986 Grand NationalOWNER:Richard KerenyBLOCK:stock 109, 250 cidCOMPRESSION RATIO:9.2:1HEADS:Champion Racing aluminum, ported and polished by Zimmerman Racing Engines, 1.90 intake, 1.60 exhaust valvesCAM:COMP Cams solid roller, proprietary specsPUSHRODS:Smith Bros.ROCKER ARMS:T&D 1.75 ratioPISTONS:CP Pistons forgedRINGS:Total SealCRANKSHAFT:Moldex billetRODS:Crower titaniumTHROTTLE BODY:Accufab 70 mmFUEL INJECTORS:Delphi 96 lb/hrFUEL PUMP:AeromotiveIGNITION:MSD 7AL box, high output coil, distributor, wiresENGINE MANAGEMENT:FAST XFI, tuned by Cal HartlineTURBO:Precision 70 mm (TSM), custom turbo (record)BOOST:30 psiINTERCOOLER:RJC custom air-to-airWASTEGATE:TiALEXHAUST SYSTEM:Arizona GN headers, Terry Houston 3.5-inch downpipe, 3-inch dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflersTRANSMISSION:TH400, built by Freddy BrownTORQUE CONVERTER:ProTorque 2,500-stallDRIVESHAFT:Carbon fiber 4-inchFRONT SUSPENSION:Stock control arms, springs, QA1 shocks, removed sway barREAR SUSPENSION:Custom upper and lower control arms, Wolfe Race Craft antiroll bar, Koni shocks, stock springsREAREND:Moser 9-inch, 3.93 gear, Moser 35-spline axles, spoolBRAKES:Aerospace Components front and rearWHEELS:Weld 15x3.5, 15x10FRONT TIRES:Hoosier 26x4.5REAR TIRES: MT ET Drag 28x10.5 RACE WEIGHT:3,550 lbsBEST ET/MPH:8.95/156BEST 60-FT TIME:1.41CURRENT MILEAGE:67,000

Photo Gallery: 1986 Buick Grand National - West Side Pride - GM High Tech Performance Magazine



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