[STOMPN 6]

I'm just curious here.

Why would T/A Performance and Champion Racing Heads choose to redesign a v6 engine over a v8.

Since they are completely redesigning the v6 to make it stronger and better.
Wouldn't it be better to have 2 more cylinders and more cubic inches to make more power than limiting the engine to just 6 cylinders. :dunno:

 

[fuelie6]

Although it would be best to ask Tom or Mike, I will say that they see a need, and are filling it.

 

[TurboDave]

I'm just curious here.

Why would T/A Performance and Champion Racing Heads choose to redesign a v6 engine over a v8.

Since they are completely redesigning the v6 to make it stronger and better.
Wouldn't it be better to have 2 more cylinders and more cubic inches to make more power than limiting the engine to just 6 cylinders. :dunno:

Probably because Turbo Regals/GN's, etc. that need their engines replaced, or upgraded to a serious race piece wouldn't be a Turbo Regal/GN with an 8 under the hood.

 

[STOMPN 6]

I could be wrong but i'd bet that if those companies made a v8 instead of the v6, a lot of people would buy them.

T/A did the block,heads,intakes,cranks,rods,pistons,headers, etc. once you do this it isn't a stock engine / GN / turbo regal anymore. :dunno:

It just seems to me that if you can redesign something why not do it in a v8 design and have a stronger engine with more potential and a larger number of possible buyers.

The small block chevy engines that some are putting in the Regals and turbocharging them aren't exactly slow.

 

[b4black]

Might as well go to V10 while you're at it. :eek!:


I bet it would be hard getting all the Buick V6 stuff poeple already have like the exhaust, maniolds, crank, oil pan, etc to fit with those extra cylinders.

 

[STOMPN 6]

I'm almost certain that they could make an oil pan for a v8 GN engine if they decided too.

Like i said before i'd be willing to bet a lot of people would buy a v8 GN engine and convert their car and sell the v6 stuff to others who want them.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the v6 in the GN. That is what the engineers at Buick decided to use back in the 80's. But if you could / can redesign the engine why not do it with a v8.

 

[gbsean]

Probably because everyone and their brother makes V8 racing blocks

 

[turbofish38]

If I had to guess I would say the block is the last piece for making a true race motor. Heads and manifolds have been around for almost 25 years now. Steel cranks came on board last year(not counting the Buick part). All that was left was a good block casting. IMO the market is bigger for the V-6 as compared to a V-8.

If you think about, what they are creating is a hybrid of sorts. Thats been done a dozen of times with the V-8. The last good example I can think of is GM's DRCE engine program. It was called an Oldsmobile but every one knows it was a BBC with the Olds name cast into it. Same with the hemi's. Same basic block design with custom cylinder heads on it. Buick actually got into the act back in the 80's with NASCAR. The engine was SBC with Dart/Buick heads. They even mounted the distributor on the front cover like a traditional Buick engine. I would imagine if TA or Champion were to do a V-8 they would take this route too. You know there's a lot of BS in the rulebooks out there. In a lot of racing classes you cant just show up with the latest parts just because they are listed in the Summitt catalog. There is more marketing going around than actual engineering it seems. It just makes more sense to improve on the existing design. Besides, if you want a V-8 just go out and turbo a SBC and stuff it under the hood. You wont win any popularity contests here but you will be money ahead in the long run.

 

[JohnLarkin]

I disagree with the notion that a Turbo Regal/GN with a different engine-style is no longer a Turbo Regal. If you purchase a "roller" TR, is it not a TR? Swapping drivetrains is common in musclecars. Hemi 'Cudas/Chargers are found as shells and are worth Hemi-body money even if the drivetrain is gone, simply because that was the original equipment. It would still be a Hemi 'Cuda with a 440 under the hood, just not a Hemi "powered" 'Cuda. The car is the original VIN on the body.

 

[Gnat352]

I am waiting for TA to make a pair of Aluminum buick 350 heads :yup:, the 231 V6, and the 350 are pretty much the same. My pulley setup, timing cover, alternator, waterpump, and timing chain are all from the 231 motor :yup:

Sooooo, the buick 231 is the 350 with 2 less cylinders :yup:, the deck height is a little diffrent, but the bore is identicle :yup:

 

[CallMeMud]

They did a V-6 because their is a need that wasn't being filled by the aftermarket (Dart, etc...). Plenty of choices already out there for V-8 blocks and cheap!
Eventually I will do another car but it won't be a V-6 :yup: I want a V-8 with a big single or twin turbos and should be able to do it fairly cost effective compared to other ways of making power. Also won't try to do it in a brick and heavy car :cheers:

 

[larobj63]

I am waiting for TA to make a pair of Aluminum buick 350 heads :yup:, the 231 V6, and the 350 are pretty much the same. My pulley setup, timing cover, alternator, waterpump, and timing chain are all from the 231 motor :yup:

Sooooo, the buick 231 is the 350 with 2 less cylinders :yup:, the deck height is a little diffrent, but the bore is identicle :yup:

Isn't the 3.8 more like a 305 less two cylinders, wheras the 4.3 is more like a 350 less two cylinders. (305 * .75 = 228.xx ; 350 * .75 = 262.5)

Bore and stroke differ, but displacement wise...... :wink:

 

[Steve Wood]

Why would anyone recast a V8 block for which the market is already saturated with products from other vendors including GM?

BTW, I disagree with those that claim a GN is a GN no matter what engine is in it. It may have once been a GN, but, pull the original drivetrain out and stuff a V8 in it, it becomes a Regal, and nothing more as far as I am concerned.

 

[JohnLarkin]

Sorry Steve but this thread is limited to one disagreement only. Your disagreement with my disagreement has exceeded the disagreement bandwidth (Article 69, subsection BR549).

 

[Grumpy]

ummmmmm..if you goin to use the term "roller" you must ask me for permission first :yup: :sw:

 

[Gnat352]

larobj63- My mistake, the oddfire V6 is more or less identicle to the 350, the even fire (231) is similar but has it's diffrences :yup:

 

[ajt86]

the GNs and the t types were muscle cars for a reason. in the 80s if they would have put the 307 under the hood and badged it a grand national, they would have sold just like the V8 Ts did like ferret boy has everyone likes them because they were different, the changed the no replacement for displacement rule. they took a 231 buick and beat the 350 vette with it.

if its a gn with a v8, its just a regal. and look through your latest summit catalog. there are hundreds of V8 blocks and parts to choose from. we are stuck in a market where if you want a race block you step up to a stage II. ive seen stage II blocks that have welds all over and 6 sleeves selling for 1800$ for a bare block. they are like any other company, they saw a need and they are supplying the public with a product thats in demand. and its not just the GNs, the Ts, the TTAs- you have a whole world for turbo buick hybrids that want these parts too

 

[Gnat352]

You saying my 307 Stinks :rant: , It's ferret charged, so i can blow the doors off your little six

Also, the project i am doing is awesome. parts for the buick 350 are harder then the :6:. Still no aluminum heads :rant:

 

[dyrt]

first a small opinion:
i'm gonna have to disagree with "if it has a v-8 it is just a regal." the GN was both an appearance package and a powertrain package. The grand national never came with a stage II block, alcohol injection, twin turbos, a rollcage, th-400, or a FORD 9" rear, but people add these things and still call them GNs. if the logic were drawn out then any car you jam the interior, drivetrain, and anything else you can scalp from a gn into has become a gn. they are all inherently Regals, and an aftermarket block has no more reason to be in the engine bay than any other corporate gm block.

second, just like stated above, a buick v-8 designed for this app would require all its own intake, heads, manifolds, piping, etc based on not only the different number of cylinders, but also how it would fit into the engine bay. plus, pricing wouldn't be worth it and with the stage II blocks and stuff, the power is already available. these parts are engineered to do more work than any stock v-8 is.

 

[ajt86]

first a small opinion:
i'm gonna have to disagree with "if it has a v-8 it is just a regal." the GN was both an appearance package and a powertrain package. The grand national never came with a stage II block, alcohol injection, twin turbos, a rollcage, th-400, or a FORD 9" rear, but people add these things and still call them GNs. if the logic were drawn out then any car you jam the interior, drivetrain, and anything else you can scalp from a gn into has become a gn. they are all inherently Regals, and an aftermarket block has no more reason to be in the engine bay than any other corporate gm block.

second, just like stated above, a buick v-8 designed for this app would require all its own intake, heads, manifolds, piping, etc based on not only the different number of cylinders, but also how it would fit into the engine bay. plus, pricing wouldn't be worth it and with the stage II blocks and stuff, the power is already available. these parts are engineered to do more work than any stock v-8 is.

your entitled to your opnion and everyone else is but in my opinion the turbo 6 is the logo for the car- once it gets an 8 in it it wouldnt be the same. 4 speed, 9", they are ideal for raceing. the stage II block is still a V6. i just always see a GN was cool because of what it did with a V6, the v6 is part of the grand national logo, so thats what should be under the hood :yup: