Mr. Wizard

This is My 1988 BMW 327A 2dr Sport Sedan, original equipment was a Bosh Jetronic 205bhp aluminum Head iron Block 4spd OD Automatic 3.72-1 Positive traction Independent Suspension Rear drive axle. The Car came equipped with all available options except Tilt/Telescope Steering, and Heated /Power front seats. ALL but The anti-Loc and power assist for the brakes, the fuel Injection, 4spd OD Trans and Independent suspension rear axle remain. But for some Intricate welding and bending of the 8 Point 1.5" Round tube 4130 Chrome Molly Roll cage and sub-frame connectors, narrowing of the 9" Ford axle w/ 12" Wilwood Disc brakes, The Coan TH400 full manual reverse pattern Trans, Custom 9'"Hub Balloon Plated Tq Converter, The car Is completely HOME BUILT, INCLUDING THE ENGINE, axle assembly, drive shaft, cooling system, Fuel System and Ignition system. The axle is suspended on a Mopar Direct Connection/Mancini Racing/Southside Machine Super Stock Leaf spring, adjustable pro-preload link(vs adjustable Pinion snubber) System for an A-Body Hemi 4 speed Factory Super Stock 104" wheel base car, i crafted it to fit the BMW w/STOCK wheel Tubs and stock 56" Track, keeping THE REAR SEAT. The Axle is a 56" Track Custom narrowed from a 1984 Ford F-150 Crew Cab Dualie 3/4 Ton Truck, with 12" Wilwood Disc brakes, Ford Traction Lock Posi Carrier, Richmond 3.50-1 Gear set, Moser 31 Spline axles. The Trans Is is a Coan 2.38-1 1st, 1-1 3rd Full manual Reverse shift Pattern TH400 w/o Trans Brake. The Engine is a Home Built 1x4V Stage II 455 Buick(factory Stage II 400 and 455 Buick engines came with an inline Aluminum 2x4v Intake, 2 500 cfm Q-jets for the 400" and 2 600cfm Q-jets for the 455). I used a 1973 Nodular Iron Stock Crank and stock 455 Buick Forged Steel Rods(the last year for the Nodular Iron Cranks). I used a 1974 Stage I 455 Buick Block(the Stage II 455 Buicks were 70-72 Only, the Stage II 400's were 67-69, the 401's were 65-66, the 425" were 63-66, and ONLY for The Riviera, all Other Stage II engines were SKYLARK GSX factory Installed, or u had the Intake, Carbs, Headers(all Stage II 400 and 455 Buicks came with Custom tubular Headers and a 2.5" exhaust system whether they were dealer/owner or factory installed), Heads, Transistorized Ign. Dist, Carb Linkage packaged in light oil and Visqueen plastic in the trunk and could be an Option(the 455's) on ANY BUICK MODEL in coupe, 2dr post or Convertible, Including The Wildcat GS, Electra 225 GS, or a base model Skylark GS). I used the 1974 Stage I Heads, (73 was the 1st year for the hardened valve seats for low and unleaded gasoline Use) the Major Diff tween tween Stage I and Stage II Heads is the radius' of the runners and the exhaust port configuration, the Radius' can be duplicated in the Stage I Heads, diff being the Stage I heads have 2.12" Intake and 1.68" exhaust valves, the Stage II head have 1.71 Exhaust Valves Like the Ram Air IV Pontiac, which uses a 2.11" Intake valve( since July 15, 1920 ALL Pontiac, Chevrolet and Buick Engines are PONTIAC DESIGN DEVELOPMENT and PRODUCTION, with Buick, THE Parent, Founding and ONLY INCORPORATED Division Of what u call GM, doing their own Machining, assembly and installation of theirs, BUICK is Pontiac's BIG BLOCK, Chevrolet is its Small Block, its why in Production ONLY BUICK, OLDS and PONTIAC reached 455", ONLY Cadillac exceeded 455", while Chevrolet Never exceeded 454") all others are INCORPORATED UNDER BUICK, and since July 1, 1909 what u call GM is actually Incorporated as BUICK General Motors Inc., GMC is THE CORPORATE FISCAL and Controlling Production Scheduling Division of Buick, NOT The Corporation, THAT, GMC, did not come until July 1, 1936, when THE TRUCK DIVISION of PONTIAC became a CORPORATE PRODUCTION and ASSEMBLY DIVISION separate from PONTIAC, its why the ONLY more OPTION as STOCK Truck from GM than THE GMC is one that wears a BUICK or Cadillac Badge. GM as its called is a CREATION of BUICK, OLDSMOBILE and PONTIAC(Pontiac began as OAKLAND MOTOR CARRIAGE COMPANY in PONTIAC MICHIGAN's section u know NOW as AUBURN HILLS, as PONTIAC it began In The Section of Pontiac known now as Milford /Drayton Plains July 1, 1920, as Chevrolet in Flint Michigan July 1, 1920, and GMC became GMC July 1, 1936, The PONTIAC and GMC Facilities were dedicated Ground Up AUTOMATED Facilities, that Opened July 1, 1923, while the Chevrolet Division Began Production July 15, 1920 in an existing BUICK PLANT on South Saginaw Street in Flint Michigan Automated by Lois and Franklin Chevrolet, which is why ITS CALLED CHEVROLET, The 1st CEO(Chief Engineering Officer)/CFO(Chief Financial Officer of BUICK MOTOR DIVISION after David Dunbar Buick which is who its named for in 1902, was Walter Pearl Chrysler 1909-1929, Followed By Charles Kettering in 1930 who founded in Dayton Ohio, Dayton Remy Electric Company and produce the 1st VIABLE production automotive electric Starter on the Planet, 25% of which he sold to Henry Clay Ford in respect for his friends and former Theory Students @ MIT The Chevrolet and Dodge Brothers who automatic the 1st automated auto production/assembly in Dearborn Michigan, Ford's River Rouge Complex which is yet in Operation 1904-present. Much of the most previous Paragraph may well seem OUT OF CONTEXT but in fact its ALL RELATIVE CONTEXT since but that YOU KNOW THE NATURE and HISTORY OF THE BEAT u seek to Modify for better performance than factory delivered, if u achieve same YOU DID NOT KNOW what u were doing, YOU GOT LUCKY cause u followed the template of someone who DID, and even then u did not KNOW what u were doing, YOU ONLY THOUGHT YOU DID, which was the case for ME From July 4, 1963- September 8, 1988 when I began My Master Degree Program @ GMI/Kettering International University in Flint Michigan where i have Lived since October 4, 1982, I completed my course of study 6 years+ later on 12/21/1994, matter of fact, it was not until January 1974 before i began to WIN more drag races than TIE and Loose combined. I neither Know it all, nor do i want to, and never did or thought i did, it is why I have always been NOSY about anything that attracts the attention of any of my 5 common senses, its cause i have yet to believe i know enough about what i want to know, which accounts for my vast knowledge and experience, as well as education in the field of Auto crafting for performance beyond factory delivered, I am VERY GOOD at that, but i am NOT the best and i have yet to ever believe i am, what I KNOW better than anyone, is WHAT I KNOW, a situation i do not believe makes me capable of KNOWING more than anyone can, nor does the fact that I KNOW MORE than many, mean that i know as MUCH, let alone more than anyone else will in this area or any other for that matter. I have ALWAYS BEEN a BOP&C fanADDICT, Oldsmobile(the producer in concert with BUICK of Cadillac) is MY favorite CAR, BUICK is MY FAVORITE engines for HOT ROD MOTIVATIONS, My most prolific outings for performance endeavors have been PONTIAC, Followed by CHRYSLER, reason being THESE offer my best overall blend of what i love about the power curve character of BUICK and Olds, PONTIAC more akin to BUICK cause a BUICK is a PONTIAC, Chrysler More Akin to Olds since it is Walter Pearl Chrysler, David Dunbar Buick, Ransom Olds and Zora Arkus Duntov who CREATED PONTIAC/Chevrolet out of Oakland Motor Carriage Company. My engine in the Car is 9.25-1 vs the stock Stage II 10.25-1, i use a single 1050 Cfm Dominator vs 2 600 Cfm(1200) Carbs, to split the difference between the total 1000 cfm and 1200 cfm of the 400 and 455 Stage II, since the exhaust ports on my stage I heads are MORE RESTRICTIVE than those of Stage II Heads, same reason i use the stock 2.12" Intake and 1.68" Exhaust valves, I PORTED the heads, Including the Bowls and exhaust ports to match the radius' of the Stage II Heads which are 78-82CC 70-72 while mine are 112CC which i matched at 114CC after shaving .010 off the deck of the heads, But i used the 390hp 10.25-1 compression height pistons from the 70 Stage II 455 to achieve the 9.25-1 Mechanical Compression. The Camshaft is a Hydraulic Poston 305 H reground to my specks on the LIFTS, .517 In. x .523 Ex. by T/A Buick Performance of Scottsdale AZ with 1.65-1 T/A-Harlan Sharpe Roller Rockers vs the stock 1.5-1 stamped steel shaft mounted system(HARLAN SHARPE is the PRODUCER of T/A Roller Rocker Systems, Lunati Cams Is their Camshaft Producer, and their After Market Blocks in Aluminum are based on the IRON 605" Limit Bulldogg Engineering( in fact i originally had BUILT for the car a 573" Bulldogg Iron Block-T/A Aluminum Stage II Heads in their Stage III Configuration, for the Intake and carb i have on the engine in the pictures but with my engine builder's 1.6 -1 Rocker system, ended up selling the engine less my Intake, Carb and dist at a 4450.00 loss which gave me the funds to build 1 set of Heads as well as 9.5-1 Stock bore n stroke Block with ARP Fasteners, and a 10.2-1 .030 over bore Girdled main web 464" 455 Short Block, the one in the car now is the 455, it remains until the car is completely sorted and debugged, while all other than the short blocks and camshaft is common to both engines(the 464 uses a T/A .588/.604 Solid Flat Tappet, My Trans Am uses a Comp Cams .587/.594 Solid Flat Tappet an it is BY me massaged from its stock 7.9-1 to 8.15-1 Mechanical Compression. The Last 4 pics are my 1977 390hp/435lbft 455 H.O. 4 Spd WS6S Pontiac Firebird Hurst Trans Am and the award it won for 1st place in the October 2015 POTM @ Pontiac's on-line, and my 2008 6 liter 400bhp Pontiac G8 GT Sport Sedan daily Driver stable mate for the Trans Am, i have owned the Trans Am as its 2cn only owner since May 2000, soon to be 19 years...