Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith Seymore
I could see that happening.
I don't recall stumbling across it while I was attending GMI (1979-1984) and wandering the bowels of the various buildings.
K
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I was there in 1973-1978 and it wasn't there. We did have a 1971 Firebird Esprit that came with the 350 2 barrel. The "Firebirds" club under the guidance of Professor Jim Lyons installed a small turbocharger on the engine, pulling through a 2 barrel carb from a Chevrolet Vega. The intake manifold consisted of a 3 pound coffee can with 1 inch diameter copper tubing going to each intake port in the heads. We managed to get one of the very first lock-up torque converter turbo 350 transmissions from Hydra-matic for the build and we entered the vehicle in the Clean Air Car Competition. The car managed an amazing 28 mpg on the city cycle and 21 mpg on the highway taking 2nd place in the competition. We got dinged on NOX emissions-no catalytic converters yet. When Hydra-matic asked for their transmission back, we had to inform them the car had gone to the crusher. That didn't go over well.
Other engines in the lab included the Buick 3.8 V-6, both NA and an early turbo version, the developmental "Iron Duke", a Chevy 350 and an Olds 350. Thanks to Professor Lyons relationship with Pontiac (He later went to Pontiac as head of the 301 Turbo team), we managed to have an SD455 on a stand for a while.
Since I co-oped from the Lordstown plant, I tried to secure a Cosworth Vega engine for school, but because the short block was hand assembled, serialized, signed by the engine builder and carefully recorded for registration with Cosworth Engineering, GMAD could not release an engine from the vehicle assembly plant.