Hello. I bought a 1983 3.8L V6 Buick motor/ TH200 tranny yesterday. The motor is (I believe) a stock H/O motor...It is a factory 4 barrel motor. It will be replacing the 250 CI Inline Six in my 1964 Chevy Nova Wagon. I have some questions...
1.) Can I install a turbo kit on that?
*And if so, do they make a whole kit for it?
2.) Any suggestions on where to get all the parts?
3.) I have to pull the heads anyway to change the head gaskets, so is there anything INTERNAL that I have to do to the motor to handle boost?
4.) Like I said, it has a 4 barrel carburetor and stock intake manifold...Will I have to change the intake and/or carb?
5.) Will I have to change the camshaft/lifters/pistons/crankshaft?

*Now, it does not have to be a race car, but I would like to make some decent horsepower for the street. I am hoping to run 7-9 lbs. of boost.

Any help is greatly appreciated...as I am new to the turbo game!!
THANKS!
-Rick

 

You should check with the guys at Turbobuick.com about that.

However, I beleive the ONLY 3.8 with a factory 4bbl (Qjet) was actually a 4.1L. All carbureted 3.8s had nothing bigger than a 2bbl on them.

Putting turbo on a carbureted motor..... not so easy. I believe All the turbo Buicks back in the day were fuel injected, whether they were intercooled (Grand National/T-TYpe) or not (earlier T-Types without the intercooler).

 

Well, I used to have a car we all affectionately called "the heap". Heap was a 1979 Buick Regal Sport Coupe, with the 3800 turbocharged V6, fed by a Rochester Quadrajet. It was a suck-through setup, the the carb mounted over on the driver side of the motor near the rear of the engine bay. Carb sat on a box that fed the compressor inlet. Compressor outlet was plumbed to the middle of the intake manifold. Turbine was over on the passenger side. No intercooler.

So yeah, you can turbo a carb'ed 3800, just go to a boneyard and find a late 70s Buick turbo coupe and grab the intake manifold and the carb base box. Supply your own carb, that quadrajunk sucked. Get a reman turbo.

Oil supply line for the turbo central bearing came from the rear of the motor somewhere.

Those motors were real prone to leaky valve cover gaskets. The turbo bearing was also real prone to coking. When you park it, let the engine idle for 30 seconds or so before you shut it down. Change the oil FREQUENTLY, use synthetic and a K&N filter. The lack of intercooler makes them prone to detonation as well. Run premium only.