Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

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Rettax3
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

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A little update on the car. A few growing pains along the way, finding there is enough drivetrain weight and torque to break the transmission mount and crush the original TPS on the brake master cylinder for instance, but overall doing well. I have finally gotten some OBD1 tuning equipment, so I'll be able to (eventually) get a proper tune on a chip for this thing and can start pushing the envelope a little.

I swapped on a correct-color junkyard hood in really good condition (the original is PERFECT, and I couldn't bring myself to chop a hole in it) and grafted-in the NACA-style hoodscoop to supply high-pressure air to the intake area and provide air extraction for the intercooler -I'll likely also duct some air over to blow on the turbo itself too, a LOT of higher-pressure air gets in that area.
Euro-style lights and a foggy morning, what could go together better than that?
Euro-style lights and a foggy morning, what could go together better than that?
I also fabbed-up some Euro-type headlights using the non-composite option from an '89 pickup. A little trimming on the brackets and a major chopping of the Beretta's header panel was needed to make them work, but they do fit in there okay, and once the headlight surround 'buckets' are built, should look like a factory Euro to the untrained eye. I can still put the original Beretta headlights back in too, without having to replace the header panel with a spare if I want to, as the panel wasn't butchered beyond use for the Euro lights.
FtQtrRgt1a.jpg
The speedometer quit working in my other '95 Z a little while back, so I installed a GM HUD (Heads Up Display) from a Pontiac Bonneville (so cool!), and will eventually take the silver-face electro-luminescent gauge overlay and stainless steel instrument bezel from that car, which will match-up to this car's silver-faced boost-gauge and stainless steel shift-knob very nicely.

Not much else on the to-do list for it now. Fun car, fast, sounds good and looks good inside and out (and underneath too) -can't say it was easy to get here, but also can't say it wasn't worth it. Loads of time but right around $1000 for everything there. Cheers!


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
heavywoody
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

Post by heavywoody »

Interesting on the HUD install. Any pics of that? I'm assuming it all works well minus the RDS system info (depending on which HUD unit you went with)...


Geoff
95 Z26 Turbo 3400 5spd - R&D Project
Beretta Preservation Society - Director of Acquisitions
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Rettax3
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

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heavywoody wrote:Interesting on the HUD install. Any pics of that? I'm assuming it all works well minus the RDS system info (depending on which HUD unit you went with)...
The dash in the 'old' Z is toast (this car's dash is practically perfect)-I have a near-mint one stashed away for it but never got around to installing it, so I wasn't concerned about chopping into it a bit. I haven't built a cover for it yet, but after it is presentable I will post up some pics. I am also waiting on a film used for aftermarket HUDs to reduce the glare that causes a ghost-image of the projected info which is caused by the display reflecting off both inner surface and outer surface of the windshield. Since Berettas never had a HUD option, there is no 'special HUD glass' windshield available, so the film will be necessary for a clear ghost-free display.

The HUD I have (I actually have a few of them I collected over the years) only displays MPH (or KPH if switched to metric), Headlight High-Beam, Left and Right Turn indicators and Low Fuel warning, and also has an indicator for 'Check Gauges' which I will not be using as it is PCM triggered. It isn't overtly fancy, I really would have enjoyed a Tach display as much or more than the speedometer, but since I no longer had a functional speedometer it seemed like a good time to try one of these out. I understand the newer Pontiacs had fancier HUDs available, but I believe they are also PCM-dependent, where mine can just be piggy-backed onto any of the VSS signals and can run by hooking up just a few wires.


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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ifixalot
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

Post by ifixalot »

You must be both ambitious as well as patient. What a challenging project to take on.
It looks like you did a great job on it. Getting all that to fit and inter-cooled as well!


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woody90gtz
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

Post by woody90gtz »

Pretty cool deal on the HUD. What era Bonneville has the version that didn't need ecm control?

And that price tag is impressive. I'm a cheap bastard, but you just have even more evil genius than I! Haha


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
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Rettax3
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

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woody90gtz wrote:Pretty cool deal on the HUD. What era Bonneville has the version that didn't need ecm control?

And that price tag is impressive. I'm a cheap bastard, but you just have even more evil genius than I! Haha
:D Thanks, and actually I didn't even deduct the $400 I got for selling the 4T60E out of the car, so actually WAAAY under a grand invested. :pardon:
The Bonneville HUDs I have were all out of mid-nineties cars, I have both variations with electronic height control and cable adjust. They switched that around maybe ~'96? On the 'old' Z-26's HUD, I actually removed the display-board from the housing and ditched the mirror setup, so I have a much smaller unit installed and thus a smaller hole cut in the dash and a less obtrusive housing can be put over it, but no tilt adjust and a slightly smaller, brighter display (one of the reflecting mirrors in the unit is convexed and enlarges the display slightly while also dimming it a little). I'm not sure I want it any bigger though, and the display is dimmable anyway, and can be set to have a night-time auto-dimming (reduces brightness when you turn the car's lights on) feature if I want that active -not sure I do though. I don't remember what I paid for them back in the day, I was out at the junk-yard all the time and the owners always gave me a huge break on prices -maybe $5 or $10 each? Not even sure I got charged for all of them, as I would always have other stuff too and he would just say, "Gimme $20 for that stuff." That is how I got this LQ1 for $150, same price for the low-mileage S/C 3800 in my GTU. Turbos used to run me about $15 or $20 most of the time and the intercoolers were often included for me -the posted price-list wasn't typically applicable to me at that point. I miss those days...


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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Rettax3
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

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Brought the Z into the shop today, got her lifted up for some exhaust-work. She has been parked for quite a while -exhaust-pipe pulled free from the turbo's downpipe at the flex-coupling, and life has just pushed the poor car back from being a priority for a while. I finally am getting fed-up with working on everyone else's projects instead of mine, so I'm taking some time for my cars here and there...

I had only tack-welded the flex coupling to the elbow into the main 3-inch pipe, mostly because once installed permanently I will have to remove the sway-bar to remove the exhaust-pipe... :no: But that is okay, my choice not to put a flange or other coupler in there, just to avoid potential leaks, was mostly due to the headache of the 3800SC GTU's monstrous exhaust-pipes and all the fittings and couplers that all seem to leak on that car.

I not only welded-up the pipe to the flex coupling, I also fixed what had caused the pipe to pull free in the first place: Not enough support at the front of the pipe. I had not gotten around to completing the exhaust-hangers for the car, and a full 3-inch exhaust pipe weighs quite a lot, even with the muffler fully supported at the back. I replaced two of the bolts that hold the front sub-frames in place at the rear with some of the many stud-head transaxle mounting-bolts I have, fabbed-up some brackets that secure to the studs, and welded them to either side of the exhaust-pipe right at the bottom of the elbow. I know this engine doesn't move much in the bay, not much room to, but unlike the GTU it isn't solid-mounted either, so I wanted to make sure the pipe had a LITTLE wiggle, and remained vibration isolated, so I used large rubber grommets where they secure onto the studs. At the back, I welded on another grommet-equipped bracket just in front of the rear suspension-beam's left bushing-bolt. Holes already exist there, so again, no permanent mods to the car -everything unbolts. I tested the exhaust by doing pull-ups at various places. I'm satisfied. :wink: I'll try to snap some pics before I drop the car back down, hopefully tomorrow.

Edit: Pics didn't happen. I simply forgot before I drove the car out. :fool: Oh well.


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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woody90gtz
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

Post by woody90gtz »

I really want to see some of your cars some day. You'd need a transporter to bring all your stuff though! haha


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
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Rettax3
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

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An average car-hauler moves 6-8 cars at a single shot, so I could move the Berettas all at once, plus a couple more... It still wouldn't even be all the Chevys though. :oops: Then there is the AMC, Pontiacs, Plymouths, and Imports too... Jay Leno I am not, but I do have a collection, of sorts. Even the not-stock stuff wouldn't fit all at once... :crazy:
...I am NEVER moving again... :shock:


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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Rettax3
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Re: Z-26 3.4 DOHC Turbo

Post by Rettax3 »

Ooo, somebody has a new avatar.... Can't slip anything by me, Woody. :P :D


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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