Wow! Great looking car. I had a 4-door '01 for a little while recently, just a 170hp J-code 3100 (3400s did not make it into the Grand Prixs of this era), but it actually pulled pretty hard. I would've put it up against my old Z-26 any day, despite the 3400 intake I had on it. Very nice driving car, too. I picked up a fully-loaded Chrysler 300M with the 250+hp 3.5L H.O., and came out ~$1500 richer for the efforts, I'm just not certain I'll keep that car either. I almost want that GP back now, after looking at yours...
I'm sorry to hear about all of the unpleasant events hitting your life right now, and it is too bad you decided to move on from your GTZ, but I'm still glad you are on the board.
These 3800s are very tough engines, one of the reasons I don't mind the iron heads -they don't warp, ever
okay, almost never.
I'm still running the stock pulley on mine in the GTU, but I am also running 9.4:1 compression, vs 8.5:1, so I'll stick with the 3.8".
Pushing to 9.1:1 cr with the smaller pulley sounds aggressive, but I doubt you'll have any issues with it, and the stock L67 internals are really over-built for stock anyway. The crank was re-balanced due to the added weight of the heavier-duty connecting rods, if that tells you anything.
With what you've already done to this car, headers would be a good addition. On the rear bank, it is almost redundant, but that front log... Well, we all have our opinions, don't we?
But chalk me up for the "headers, yes please" group. Especially with the blower on top, it is worth while.
The early Northstar engines use a 76mm TB that almost bolts itself onto the M90, just turn it upside down, two of three mounting holes line right up.
- I test-fitted this N* TB on the 3800 in my GTU during my build, but I didn't want to tune for it at the time, so it is still residing in my trunk.
I thought the same thing you said regarding the tips -they stick out a little too far, especially with the otherwise de-badged "sleeper" effect of your car, but they are a beautiful match otherwise. And I, for one, like your cloth interior better than the leather option -it is lighter-weight for the track, too.
Well, congrats on the car, I'm sure she'll be another good car for you.