Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

Awesome! Im glad to hear it is working out so well for you. I still remember the first time I drove my 87 GN I thought well its a turbo V6 so it should feel like a warmed over V8 no big deal. WRONG!! After that I was putty in the sellers hands. Ive since sold it and have had much faster and nicer (the gn was kinda ratty) cars but that car will always have a place in my heart. In fact I loved that car sooo much my 3 year project car thats almost finished is an 86 Regal.

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

its funny about what a GN feels like the 1st time you rode in one back in the day. my buddy had one and it was honestly only mid to low 14's but it sure felt a lot faster! im still high off yesterdays test drive!

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

great build...

what are your ultimate/max hp goals for this thing down the road?

A friend of mine just discovered these, and he wants to make 1200+
with an 88, some 18* heads, and alot of boost...

Great car.

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

id like to find the safe limit of the factory block. im assuming thats in the 750-800 flywheel range? short fill and aftermarket rotating assembly for sure. my turbo will support about 950-1000 and everything else will too! bowtie block is just out of range at this time......

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

750hp seems to be as far as anyone is pushing a stock block. splayed mains and a short fill ofcourse. a properly preped stock crank seems to be good to that point too. RPM and detonation is what kills the stock crank, not the hp

how high are you reving too? i try and keep it under 5500rpm. i have 2 bolt mains, a stock crank and stock rods, shotpeaned and ARP bolts

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

my tach is on the fritz right now but i think its seing mid 5k or so. id like to keep the revs as low as possible but we'll see. if its 6800 this thing wants thats what its going to get!! lol

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

awesome build man. Derek told me about this build. WELL DONE

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

finally got some tires and the car is dead hookin' on 7-8 psi and its a white knuckle ride! the front end hits the bumpstops and doesnt come down until you let out! 11.3 afr (csu out of the box jetting) and plenty more fuel if needed. total is right at 30 locked out. dyno and track vids hopefully in the very near future

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

dude, take it to yellobelly or redline this weekend. I'l be the camera man. this thing should be sick.

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

This is one sweet build! I love the oddball stuff! That bonnet sticking through the hood looks killer. Any updates or numbers? It's builds like these that make me get off my lazy butt and start working! Congrats!

-dave

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

thanks! no numbers yet but ive got the boost under control and its flatlined at 7 psi (on the spring) and i just got my manual boost controller hooked up. im trying to get over retina surgery right now so i cant do too much. ive got some axles to put in and some air bags in the rear. probably going to the track before the dyno.

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

Your 4.3 is very inspiring. I've got a turbo build of my own in a 98 ext cab sonoma. The engine and transmission are stout,looking to upgrade the rear axle to maybe an 8.8 exploder or an 8.5 gm rear once I find one at the right price. Man that turbo certainly is huge. Drive it to the hilt and be safe.PEACE

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

Man, I just love this car too! I just found a red, 1979 Sunbird coupe locally and it has a 350 in it already for dirt cheap since it's not finished. Needs exhaust and cooling system. Maybe I should buy it and swap the 350 into my Safari and put the 4.3 out of my Safari in it! Looks like the added room at the front makes it well worth the V6 swap over a V8! Cooling must not be a problem at all. Got any videos of it running? I would love to hear how it sounds.

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

the one video i have for some reason the audio is messed up... i dont own a good video camera (stuck in the stone age) lol.. ill get some video posted the 1st chance i get! yeah the sunbird is pretty cool i like it cause its light. im 260 and im figuring on weighing about 3k. thanks for the kind words.

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

Yeah this car is awesome. All these high $$$ cars and builds on here and this is one of the coolest of all. I keep finding myself looking on craigslist for a Monza or Vega coupe everytime I run across this thread. Most those cars were hatchbacks unfortunately.

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

i love this car.

Definately love seeing something different from time to time

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

i love your avatar!

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

long overdue update... got my air bags in and where the car used to limit out the front end and drag the rear end.. now its a dead straight rocket ride! nothing but forward motion. we'll see what happens at the track but on the street the bags really work on this car. got my new offset upper control arm bushings in and aligned the front end, thats all good and just been enjoying the car around town. still dont have a video but i dont see why that wont be fixed soon.

 

Re: 1980 pontiac sunbird (monza) 4.3 V6 75mm S400SX

VERY NICE! I just got my S475 today for my compound turbo/blower setup on my truck This thing is a beast! lol. Gonna replace the little MPT76, lol.