TGP car running smoothly

[SwampTGP]

I tried to post this yesterday but it never posted, so I'll try again. 

I posted here a few months ago all frustrated about my car.   I had a 1990 Turbo Grand Prix motor with a T-3 re-built along with the transmission put in my car a few years back.  I got the car back un-tuned and it wouldn't even make it around the block without stalling.    Well, I stored it for the past 3 years or so because I couldn't find anyone who could make heads or tails out of it.  I figured I wouldn't be able to sell it either, so I stored it.    All is better now!  I found a place a few months back that had just recently opened and they have been working on it for a few months.   With their help and much help from Flybynite here on this forum who burned me a great chip for the car, it is finally running beautifully!    Yesterday, I drove it for the first time and man that thing screams!  The motor is quiet compared to the original 2.8, the idle is smooth compared to the rough idle the car used to have, and I roasted the tires by accident  :icon_redface:    That thing hauls!  Literally - it's a wagon  :laugh:   An '87 Pontiac 6000.   I hope the pictures turn up with this post.     Ok, tried twice to post one single picture and got a msg. saying it was too large.   Bummer!

[GPChief]

Is your car White? and was the work completed in Colorado?

[flybynite]

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa257/LT4Hawk/0132.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa257/LT4Hawk/319535_2405900111070_1358169430_32757154_1871261_n.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa257/LT4Hawk/0122.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa257/LT4Hawk/296250_2405900311075_1358169430_32757155_6944005_n.jpg

[NTRCOOL]

That is a crazy awesome set up bud.

[GPChief]

Thats the car I thought it was, has my old engine in it.

[TurboGTU]

Now that a sleeper grocery getter  :new_all_coholic:

[SwampTGP]

Sorry, I don't get on the computer too often since I'm stuck to one at work all day.  :icon_mad:    Yes, that is my car.   It's getting a few final touches now, like a polyurethane dog bone cause it kept tearing them up, and the crank sensor was leaking.  I did get to drive it today and dang that thing is scary!    The last thing they are working on is getting the speedometer to work.   Tried 3 clusters so far and nothing, but there is a good signal from the VSS through the ECM to the cluster so, yeah, bad clusters I guess.  But three in a row?!   I ordered one off of e-bay today, lets hope it works.   But they've driven it hard and often to work out the bugs, changed the oil once already and I can tell it will be a reliable vehicle compared to how it was running (or not running) before.    Before, it couldn't ever find where to idle, it would be all over the place - the engine racing and dying and racing again until it would just eventually stall and leave me stranded.  The motor was full of vacuum leaks and some hoses were disconnected and stuff.    Now it idles smoothly and has no trouble coming down off of boost like it used to.    It's set to 10lbs of boost right now and seems safe but they don't want to go further since they don't know who rebuilt the motor or what kind of parts were used.    Needs new struts and tires desperately, which it will get as soon as I get it back, and then off to the paint shop.    The paint is looking pretty rough now but the interior is still holding up nicely.  A few spots since it's gone through like 8 mechanics in the last few years.  For tires, I'm thinking some BFGs with raised white letters (maybe slightly bigger ones on the back on some nice basic 5 spoke black chrome wheels I saw.   Paint will be mostly as it is but I'm throwing around the idea of charcoal gray from the crease on the top edge of the front fenders and up.  The hood, roof, and part of the rear hatch.   Something subtle but different.    And I can't wait to get the '87 GTA vents on the hood.
Aside from that, man what a beast this has turned out to be.   I'll ask them to put it on the dyno when they finish it to see what it does.    The last time with no tuning and 3 year old gas it did close to 200 to the wheels.   196 or 98 I'll have to look, so it should be way better now that it has the proper tuning and fresh gas etc..      thanks for all the posts, I'll try to post more often.   

[SwampTGP]

So here's an update for anyone interested.    The car is still running very nicely.    She is still at the shop getting the speedometer issues worked on.   So here's what they found but it is definitely a head scratcher.     Signal has been established from the VSS to the ECM but once it gets to the ECM something happens that it doesn't get to the speedometer.   So we thought that the speedometer was bad, so tried 2 other clusters and still no workie.  Ok, so I thought, an ECM problem right?  So I go and get a new ECM.  Still no signal to the cluster!  So -- the red/white wire was connected to the yellow/white wire at the ECM harness to bypass the ECM and THE SPEEDOMETER WORKS!!
What the heck!?!  We cant figure out why once it gets to the ECM, it won't work!   The harness is good, the pins are good, my brain hurts now...    Any suggestions?
But I have to say that going on a ride on this thing for the first time with the speedometer working - that old bus got up to 60 in NO TIME!!!  It was awesome!  :)

[GPChief]

Aren't you running your stock tranny? 

[SwampTGP]

It does have the original tranny but it was rebuilt to match the Turbo Grand Prix, maybe even a little stronger.  It has 3.73:1 gears if I remember correctly and a B&M 2800 converter.  Also has a shift kit.   

[SwampTGP]

So, my car is finally finished  :icon_biggrin:    Old Eunice pulled 207.92whp/238.61torque @ 10lbs of boost.   Guessing that's around 250 to 260 horsepower range?    They tried to turn the boost up to 12 or 14lbs but she started to ping a tiny bit so they backed off.   If I can get the chip redone to make it a bit richer; they said they can turn it up then.    But finally!  It's been a long and frustrating ride to get this car where it is.   I almost gave up so many times.    Now she needs hail repair thanks to our recent hail storm (go figure!  survived 25 years worth of hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical storms and blazing heat in Florida just to be nailed by a 5 minute hail storm in Colorado)  Anyways, hail repair, new paint, tires and struts.        Here are two videos of her on the dyno.   My favorite is the one from the rear of the car because I was surprised to hear a bit of a growl from the exhaust with the cheapie turbo muffler on there.   I would like to get an exhaust system that actually sounds nice, but this was surprising nontheless.    Would love your feedback.    Enjoy!        Flybynite --- The speedometer still didn't work, so they bypassed the ECM so that it will work.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R5M6kBnSBw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIihWPhJGEk

[Prospeeder]

Thats great! I need to get my tgp to a dyno tune shop. I just cannot get a tune that doesnt idle like shit.

[SwampTGP]

Prospeeder....   Mine idles really, really smoothly.   Flybynite did my chip, give him a call...  I'm really happy with how the tune he did came out, and the guys working on the car couldn't believe how well the car responded.

[SwampTGP]

So after driving this thing for a while now, I am just so surprised by how well this car runs.   I hasn't given me any problems and just seems to be getting better and better as the motor breaks in.    I love pulling up to a light and watching cars behind me moving to the other lanes because they don't want to be behind a slow old wagon.  But then I walk away from them with very little effort.   Next light after they eventually catch up, they just look at me and shake their head or give me a thumbs up.  One kid in a Honda rolled his window down and said "That's just sick dude!"    That put a grin on my face and made it all worth it.     This month the car has gotten new struts up front and new air shocks in the rear.  The self leveling still works on this car.   I didn't like how having a turbo made the car so quiet, so I had the muffler cut off and installed a straight pipe with a nice new tip on it - dual angled round tips.   It sounds really nice actually.   One guy said it resembles the sound of a WRX.  I don't know about that but, it definitely has a growl now. 

[GPChief]

Sounds cool, can't wait to go for a ride in it.  I should be in your area early next year.   We should take yours and my 1990 ste to the track in Puelo and see what they do.

Thomas