My wife gave me a predicament she said I can build my 383 stroker for my elky.:nanawrench: On one condition I have to find some sort of fuel economic car so here is my plan assuming this will work. If I can find and rebuild a 1987 Buick grand national engine and put either a 4 or 5 speed behind it I figure could accomplish some good mpg hoping for about 30 on interstate and drop it into another elky. Is that going to work or should I just find a good fuel efficient car and forget trying to get another elky in my possesion?

Well there's some 6 banger 5th gens that you could buy. But the problem i see with the gnx motor idea is that finding a motor will be hard, then it will cost you a good amount of money, then you would have to deal with the pain of the engine swap.

Id just buy another car that is good or decent on gas and make that 383 right and cut no corners

I am finishing the installation of an '87 GNX T-6 into my '84 Elky. It took a lot longer than expected(about 1 1/2 years), much more money(don't ask!), and the mileage still is not where I thought it should be. It is 16-18mpg total. GM 200R4 tranny. Computer still needs tweaking, seems to be blowing a lot of raw fuel out the exhaust on startup. It does run like a scaried rabbit. Leaves Mustangs/Camaros/Challengers in the dust. Maybe that is why my mileage is not so good???

Sam

Let me see if I understand you correctly...providing you can find a GNX motor, do you really think it's capable of getting 30mph with a 20lb boost Garrett turbo and 85lb injectors, even with a 5 speed trans? You would really have to put some low ratio rearend gears in there and then wouldn't that defeat the purpose of that low end high torque turbo V6 motor in the first place? Want to buy my Cavalier?

Well I do not want to stop driving an elky I may have too and I do not intend to skimp on my 383. just trying to make a fuel efficient one but it seems like it is not worth my effort. Well I will just have to buy a newer chevy to get some good gas mileage. Thanks guys I will do something else was wishful thinking I suppose.

Go "LS" with the Elco instead of the 383. Get more power and great fuel economy. Lots of bucks, but solves your problem.

if u want to go the LS route i remember seeing a company that was making new blocks that look just like the regular small blocks (gen1) but have all the internals as the LS blocks and all the LS accessories and parts bolt right up to it. it was the LS power and efficiency but the look of a regular small block

The Buick turbo motors aren't as plentiful as other motors, but can be found. I gave $2500 for mine, complete with trans, ECM, harness, relays ect. with 77K miles. Not too bad considering. However, a standard trans behind a turbo motor doesn't work out very well. They build boost under load, so every shiftpoint takes them out of boost and you have to start spooling up again after every shift. Not a single car came from Buick with a standard, they all had 200R4's in them. The trick is finding a complete motor, with wiring, sensors, and the like. They are pretty quick though.

By way of example, I found this in about one minute on craigslist. Not the ideal example, but it just goes to show they're out there: http://houston.craigslist.org/pts/2052117039.html

So if I have this right if I go the Ls route I wont dupe my gas mileage nearly as much as I would with a 383?

If your going the v6 route look for an 84-85 gn hot air motor. The price is alot less than an intercooled motor and i have heard from sevral people claiming to get 30 mpg from them. As far as the 5 speed goes, I have never seen anyone put a 5 speed behind a 3.8. So i'm not sure whats involved. you would be better off with the 200r4 that came with them. BTW you will never find a "GNX" engine. There were only 547 built and no ones parting those out.

The 383 is an excellent engine and with fuel injection can be gotten into the 20+mpg range but no where near 30. The Ls engines are light years ahead in fuel management and so they can get closer plus the cool factor is off the chart----so is the cost factor by the time you get all the wiring and computer hooked up. Its a big chore for someone with electronic experience and a loooooong learning curve for the average person..................Dan

If your thinking the V6 231 here's an article thats real interesting.
http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0205gmhtp_buick_turbo_v6_engine_build_overview/index.html
Enjoy.

ls1 6 spd 3500 for complete dropouts on avg. i have done 2 BMWs they get 33mpg corvete with 410 gears gets 32mpg and runs 11.4 on motor. my el camino run 10.4 on the jug gets about 15+ never cared enough to check but also have 6.0 4l80 and 5.13 gears. finishing a lexus sc300 soon and will be swapping ls1 6spd into a nissan 240 next