So, getting it out there right off the bat- I don't have a Grand Prix, but one if its cousins- a 1998 Buick Riviera.
Why, you might ask, am I here? Because I'm building the Riviera for a somewhat unique purpose, and am trying to get as much information and suggestions (and parts) as possible to try and make it get somewhere close to working.
I'm working on building the Riviera for this year's Grassroots Motorsports $20XX Challenge (this year's is the $2017 Challenge). The Challenge is budget car building competition where the competitors have as many dollars as the year (hence this year being the $2017 Challenge) to buy and build a vehicle to compete on the drag strip and autocross course and in a technical/concours judging. While there are some who take it VERY seriously- past years have seen sub-10-second drag runs- most of the people who bring cars do so more for the fun and, well, challenge of it than as serious competitors. It's often been described as a 'Party where a race breaks out' and is a chance for us to just have fun with our car building/modifying skills and pit them against other like-minded hobbyists.
So, anyone who knows anything about the Riviera would realize that I'm probably not going to be exceedingly competitive. The car is longer than its 4-door sibling the Park Avenue and just about the same weight, and firm handling was obviously NOT high on the priorities list when it was designed. Going in its favor is the fact that all the later Rivs came with the L67 Supercharged Series II engine standard- so while it is a boat is has considerably more power than most people are expecting. The challenge will be making it actually turn so it doesn't just plow through all the cones on the autocross and bumping up the power and putting it to the ground to be more competitive in the drags (which I expect it will do better at than the AutoX)- all on a shoestring budget (the car itself & getting it safely drivable was about half the budget).
Why, you might ask, am I here? Because I'm building the Riviera for a somewhat unique purpose, and am trying to get as much information and suggestions (and parts) as possible to try and make it get somewhere close to working.
I'm working on building the Riviera for this year's Grassroots Motorsports $20XX Challenge (this year's is the $2017 Challenge). The Challenge is budget car building competition where the competitors have as many dollars as the year (hence this year being the $2017 Challenge) to buy and build a vehicle to compete on the drag strip and autocross course and in a technical/concours judging. While there are some who take it VERY seriously- past years have seen sub-10-second drag runs- most of the people who bring cars do so more for the fun and, well, challenge of it than as serious competitors. It's often been described as a 'Party where a race breaks out' and is a chance for us to just have fun with our car building/modifying skills and pit them against other like-minded hobbyists.
So, anyone who knows anything about the Riviera would realize that I'm probably not going to be exceedingly competitive. The car is longer than its 4-door sibling the Park Avenue and just about the same weight, and firm handling was obviously NOT high on the priorities list when it was designed. Going in its favor is the fact that all the later Rivs came with the L67 Supercharged Series II engine standard- so while it is a boat is has considerably more power than most people are expecting. The challenge will be making it actually turn so it doesn't just plow through all the cones on the autocross and bumping up the power and putting it to the ground to be more competitive in the drags (which I expect it will do better at than the AutoX)- all on a shoestring budget (the car itself & getting it safely drivable was about half the budget).