90 Supra with Buick 455 - 1200

Trans_Maro wrote: We love Chevy powered Z-cars...

Not me! Sacrilege!

In reply to Cotton :

I built this car myself.  I just saw this,  years later now..lol.  I built it in 2006.  I had bought a 90 supra Targa top in great shape with a locked up engine for $600. Beautiful car.   I had a Buick 455 and tranny in my garage left from a 1970 Buick Skylark project I never finished and sold on eBay.  Many days after passing them both in the garage, 26th no funds to get a new 6cyl, I just thought one day,  I wonder how much space is under the hood,  for that 455.  It was perfect,  plenty of room with only a mod to the radiator support for a better radiator. It took me 4 weeks to fab and swap things over.  Original gear made it a massive rocket on take off with all that Buick torque, a poston cam, mild port with 2-1/2 exhausts as the only 'upgrades'   You could stomp the gas at almost any speed up to 55 and spin the tires,  turn it sideways if not careful.  It cost me 1700 for the engine and tranny in an eBay deal, $600 for the car, I fabbed my own eng/tran mounting, driveshaft, and exhaust. Whole car cost me around $3000 to build..lol. still got photos of it right after getting it done,  before making it look better under the hood 

In reply to Trans_Maro :

Close! I had bought the car with a locked up factory engine for only 600 bucks and had the 455 and tranny in my garage already... just took a while of walking past the two before the curiosity got the best of me and in the 455 went..lol

In reply to aussiesmg :

In reply to Knurled :

No way, from personal experience,  it was a neck snapping tire burning rocket from the get go.  I built it and I left the original rear gears, thus the quick to 60mph..lol

In reply to Cotton :

In reply to Trans_Maro :

It was an original 4 barrel

In reply to Trans_Maro :

It ran around 4000 rpms at cruise speed and 0 to 80 was a hold-on-to-your-butt rocket ride.  I built this, and had a few Hondas, a turbo Neon, another 6cyl stock Supra and others,  ride up next to me at a light and want to race, probably thinking the tone was a 6 cyl with an open exhaust. After a quicj sprint to 70mph, and you'd be looking at them thru the rearview..lol... then I'd just let off since 90 was about as fast as it would wind up..lol.   Not the fastest car around,  but was fun to drive off the line. 

In reply to moparman76_69 :

Actually no, I'm from Florida, built it in Nashville, and sold it in Brentwood TN though.  And it was just what I had in my garage at the time,  thought it would be fun and didn't have any luck finding a replacement engine for the original locked up supra engine like I thought I could. So with limited funds and a crazy idea,  the two became one....mostly

In reply to Trans_Maro :

Oh, and by the way, great job on your math, you were dead on.  I had it on Briley Parkway west in Nashville one day and hit the gas until it was practically floating valves..lol.. and it was right about 90mph.  So you know your stuff pretty dang good!

In reply to chandlerGTi :

It must have been swapped after I built it, the original is a 4 barrel qjet factory engine with a poston cam and mild port with factory manifolds and 2-1/2" exhausts to dual flowmasters.  Not much to it,  but the torque from the line was a neck breaker

In reply to Jeanclaudevanderfield :

Cool car.  I always love a BOPC swap.

In reply to TransMaro :

It was an original 4 barrel, you are right,   at least when I built it, it had a qjet. Factory engine with poston cam, factory manifolds, pocket port job. 

In reply to chandlerGTi :

In reply to chandlerGTi :

You're guessing right when you say it's what I had laying around and I did later put a SBC 355 in one.  But this car was in pretty clean shape and I got it for only 600 bucks, had the 455 engine and tranny already in my garage.  So after many days of walking past it and finding no new engine to replace the Supra locked up one (thus the deal), I decided to use what little funds I had and put the 2 together.  Total cost engine, car, and fab was $3000-ish

Wow, old thread, but it is nice to get some backstory!

I still stand by my opinion re: acceleration.  Engines with big heavy rotating assemblies do not zing, they need to be loaded down with tall gears to minimize the amount of power lost just in getting itself up to speed.

OTOH I also play with engines just under 300hp but with a complete rotating assembly that weighs about 50lb including the flywheel.  Tap the throttle and it is at redline 

In reply to Jeanclaudevanderfield :

Did you sell it way back when? 

Looks like a fun car!

Thanks for coming and updating! I'd have loved to take it for a spin around the block.

In reply to Jeanclaudevanderfield :

Thank you for sharing! Sounds like a fun build and a wild ride!

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) : Yes, I sold it in 2007, to a guy who lived in Brentwood, TN.  Sold it for $2200 I think..lol

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

True,  it takes a lot to "zing" if you've got a heavy rotating assembly, intertia laws.  However you don't need to zing with an engine that makes 510ft lbs of torque, most of it in lower rpms.  That means you get good acceleration off the line while you are gaining rpms.  I've owned some quick revving engine cars as well,  but the seat of the pants brute torque of the big block buick always impressed me off the line.  Buick designed the engine to have off the line torque to move the heavy cars they made,  and some years they even had a "switch pitch" torque convertor to help with that as well.   Torque plus gearing won't need to rev fast.  Think about the power of the turbo diesel engines, massive torque lower rpms, yet they move a huge F350 dually quickly.  I do like the sound of a well tuned balanced lightweight engine that tachs fast though.  So much fun too.   

While we're on the subject of 455 Buick, this is a fun watch: