Thread: BrandonHall10's 2001 Regal GS - The kids car now!

Having gone to Tucson in the middle of July (116F when we landed), I need to say it doesn't feel like much at all. Sure it's warm, but with the negative level of humidity it feels pretty decent. Here, the sweat pours off of you and you are well aware that you are losing water faster than you can drink it. In AZ.. I took a gallon jug of water to bed each night and woke up with an empty jug. Both suck...if given the choice I'd rather deal with the AZ lack of humidity.

Always had one of those wire holders, it's such a good design. Did you flip the engine mounts yet?

I actually walked away from one in the junkyard yesterday. Not yet...

Trans cooler is finish mounted. Had to change out the top fitting due to limited real estate. I *think * I have all the fittings I need to plumb it. Running in series, going directly into the top radiator boss with a M18-1.5 o-ring fitting x -6AN and into the trans case with a 1/4"-18 NPS x -6AN.

Looks good.. you need it in that heat

Thanks Bill. Yeah, out running errands yesterday with an air temp of 107°, the trans temp just barely tipped over 200°. I much prefer to keep it under 180°

Marshal, $100 is about what the local Pull a part gets after all the BS fees. I'll get there someday. Back when I had my GP, you would never see a GENV in the yard. I've seen 2 of them in the last 6 months. They're out there. I'm not worried.

I'm thinking methanol injection would be my next best bang for the buck, after the headers are on. Best fuel I can get here is 91. Well, there is one E85 station up the road, but that's not super practical for the family vehicle.

When I got my Regal (well the white one) I wanted not white and NA to consider rockers and a turbo. We all know that didn't work out. But I would have liked it.

Originally Posted by SgtMarshal

water methanol injection works good, just have to be able to monitor your air fuel ratio and be able to subtract fuel. I put my water methanol tank in the trunk, but you don't have to, just have to make sure you mount the pump at the lowest possible point.

Thanks for the feedback. Long term plans include installing a WB. I'll weld the bung in the headers before I install them so I'm all ready when that time comes.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

When I got my Regal (well the white one) I wanted not white and NA to consider rockers and a turbo. We all know that didn't work out. But I would have liked it.

So you're saying things don't always go as planned?

Ill be doing meth and a WB sooner rather than later, id be happy to share my experience.

meth rules. you know if you cant get e85 anyways lol

i went from a 3.2 on a gen 3, 8.5 psi, at 14º wot. added meth, in 20 minutes time i was on a 2.8 and 21º at 13 psi.

i set my start to spray at 6 psi, max at 10 psi. if driving normal the meth dont spray. aem kit has a led light to let you know when its on.

Ill be doing meth and a WB sooner rather than later, id be happy to share my experience.

Please do.

meth rules. you know if you cant get e85 anyways lol

I do have E85 available and not too far from me, but it's the only spot on this side of town. Not very practical for the primary/family vehicle. Especially if we take this thing on a 2-1/2 hour trip up to PHX. There's nothing in between here and there except Indian reservations.

i went from a 3.2 on a gen 3, 8.5 psi, at 14º wot. added meth, in 20 minutes time i was on a 2.8 and 21º at 13 psi.

I had similar results in my GP when I went from 91 to E85. Pulley drops for days. Ran cooler too. I loved everything about it except the availability.

i set my start to spray at 6 psi, max at 10 psi. if driving normal the meth dont spray. aem kit has a led light to let you know when its on.

Noted. Assuming you went with the 30-3300 kit?

Trans cooler is plumbed. Took the car for a quick rip up the road to bring everything up to temp. No leaks! Haven't done the drive through test, but it looks like it will keep the fluid nice and cool. When I shut the car off the trans was 40 degrees under coolant temp. I may need to partially block it off in the colder months. Time will tell.

The way it is plumbed, I can easily go back to the stock configuration. I didn't cut or remove any factory hoses. Here's how I did it:
Trans vertical line / clip in fitting → Bottom of factory radiator cooler / clip in fitting → Top of factory radiator cooler / M18x1.5 O-ring X -6an fitting → Bottom of LPD cooler / -6an X 1/2"npt straight → Top of LPD cooler / 1/2"npt X -6an 90° → trans horizontal line / -6an X 1/4"nps

I ran both lines to the aux cooler around the left side of the core support. Probably could have saved a little hose if I ran the feed to the aux cooler around the right side but I don't mind the extra fluid capacity and cleaner installation.

Up next should be the shift kit. Maybe weekend after next.

Nope. Not shift kit... Fire extinguisher.



While I can't say that using the OnStar bracket to mount a fire extinguisher is uniquely my idea, I guarantee it would have one regardless. I have not personally had one of my vehicles catch fire, but I have been tangentially affected by vehicle fires more than a couple times. Had a flatbed truck burn down inside a shop I used to work at. Watched a Neon cook in a grocery store parking lot back when I lived in Michigan, and most recently had a friend show me cell phone video of his early 80's Bonneville on fire in the right turn lane on of Speedway.

I've been told if you catch a vehicle fire quickly, it can be fixed with a fair amount of cleanup, but minimal damage. I hope to never find out, but I'll be ready if that day comes. I don't think it should be mandated for vehicles to have fire extinguishers in them, but I'll always have one.

Here it is, Sunday night as I type this. Just got back from a long weekend vacation. Our first real road trip with this car. Tucson to Show Low. 432 miles round trip with an elevation change of just under 4000' (2389' in Tucson to 6345' in Show Low). I can't say that everything went flawless, but in the grand scheme of things, I think this old car did pretty well. Fully loaded with 5 passengers and all the "stuff" 5 people would need for a long weekend in a cabin. Trunk was full, we were heavy. Going up and down grades of up to 8° for long stretches. On the way there (uphill), never was the temperature UNDER 100° and for more than a half hour it peaked at 117°. It was hot. I had to pull off one time on the way there to let it cool down. 10 minutes of idle time with the hood up and we were back on the road. That's it. Otherwise, all was well. I have come to a couple conclusions after spending 8 hours behind the wheel of this car...

1.) Meth injection is a perfectly reasonable modification for a bone stock car, depending on your driving conditions. She was knocking pretty bad on some of those longer uphill grades. I think a chemical intercooler would have been a huge help.
2.) Without the auxiliary trans cooler, the fluid would be cooked after this trip alone. Even with the cooler, the trans temp would jump up to 210° after a long pull. I can't imagine what it would be with just the radiator cooler.
3.) The amount of knock you see per pound of boost is directly proportional to engine temperature. Like, the amount of knock at just 3psi with an ECT of 190° vs 210° is HUGE.
4.) I have an exhaust leak. It sounds terrible. I need to get those headers on soon.

These are all things I already knew, but after this trip they are very much reaffirmed. Back to work tomorrow.

Normally I'm not a big stereo guy, but even I can't tolerate a blown speaker. After 20 years the factory right side separated. This is step one of a full system upgrade. Plan is:

1.) door speakers (done)
2.) rear speakers
3.) head unit
4.) amp + sub woofers
5.) door tweeters

Originally Posted by BrandonHall10

Normally I'm not a big stereo guy, but even I can't tolerate a blown speaker. After 20 years the factory right side separated. This is step one of a full system upgrade. Plan is:

1.) door speakers (done)
2.) rear speakers
3.) head unit
4.) amp + sub woofers
5.) door tweeters

I definitely recomend bypassing the factory amp if you can. Also mounting tweeters in the sale panel sounds much better than the factory location.
Also be super careful with the rear speaker grills , theyre like gold .

Originally Posted by 04lss

Also be super careful with the rear speaker grills , theyre like gold .

I did not know this. Thanks for the heads up.

Originally Posted by BrandonHall10

I did not know this. Thanks for the heads up.

If you have any questions on audio, feel free to PM me, ive done quite a bit to my car in that area.

Originally Posted by 04lss

If you have any questions on audio, feel free to PM me, ive done quite a bit to my car in that area.

Plan on it!

when you go after the sub..holler. You can do a nice sub and not use trunk space