SBB sheetmetal intake and more… by 87GN@Tahoe

4 minute(s) of a 55 minute read

3-2-2012

I am going to go with -12AN fittings to a remote thermostat housing. With the TB in front and the height constraints (had to fit under the stock hood) it makes the thermostat situation interesting. With the remote setup I can also pull coolant lines from the rear of the heads.. Or maybe even reverse cooling 

My aluminium radiator is plumbed with -16An fittings so the danger of driving on a slick of coolant in case of a blown headgasket is greatly reduced.

3-3-2012

The IAC placement is the issue. If I flipped the TB, there isn't room between the hood, as we made the runners as long as possible within our limitations to assist in off-boost torque production. If I eliminated the IAC, I would loose the nice EFI idle qualities. I am thinking of relocating it, but that is going to add complications with running a filtered air source to it. I may have just enough room to rotate the TB 90* and squeek the throttle cable on top/underneath the plenum and have room for a proper T-stat housing (remember, the TPS is on the other side of the TB, so fitment is still an issue there). 

I certainly do like the idea of tying in the rear coolant passages and have been getting more warmed up (or should it be cooled off?) about reverse cooling the more I research it, especially for a boosted application. Even with a good aluminum radiator and heavy duty OEM electric fan, I can use all the cooling tricks in the book so it will never be a nagging issue. This will be my summer daily driver, so maintaining a steady temperature whilst climbing the mountain grades around here at WOT would be nice

---------- Post added at 08:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 AM ----------

I was originally going to put together an EFI setup using a Ford A9L computer. I bought a new computer, painless harness, blow-through MAF, injectors, etc.. 

I bought a used F**d TFI distributor and took it apart. Other than rotating the opposite direction, it will be an easy adaptation. The shaft is a little larger and longer than the Buick shaft, so trimming will be easy. The body is longer and larger so turning down and a little welding will fix that. The only issue is the reluctor wheel's one narrow tooth and the opposite rotation (F**d's counter-clockwise vs Buick's clockwise), but that is more for syncing sequential injectors, which I believe the '93 A9L wasn't set up for anyway. I have talked to guys who have done just that for 4.6 F**d engines and they have had no issues. I can always make a new mirror-image wheel with my lathe, mill and dividing head. Then there might be the possibility of providing them for fellow Buick nuts... 

If it doesn't work out, I just picked up a Accel dual sync Buick distributor on ebay and I will go with an aftermarket EFI controller.

I would like to run a MAF though due to the extremes in weather and elevation that we experience up here in the mountains, only a few hours form the ocean and an hour from the desert...