Buick Regal Turbo Brake Conversion Basics (84-87)

[@rickeyjohnson2167]

That's for the advice man I just converted my 1987 Buick GN. Over to vacuum boost and it great. My power master went out too. Best investment I ever man thanks.

[@TheRealMichaelP]

Rickey Johnson did you use the GN petal? Mine won’t fit on to the booster

[@thom2847]

Pontes not to be confusing...iirc there are 2 or 3 types of vacuum boosters offered over the years, Kirban had a booster designed that allegedly you could re-use the GN pedal. Another similar kit re-using the GN pedal you were supplied with a cotter bolt and pin and had to relocate it (leaving the old factory booster arm pivot point stud in place in case of change back and it's out of sight) and drill a new hole then weld the bolt in place thru it so you could hook up the booster actuating arm. If using a regular Regal booster you have to get the regular pedal too.

[@ClockFixer]

Did you just use the car's vacuum? Or did you have to buy the vacumm pump from Jegs?

[@jerrynavarro9580]

This guy is smart and has a lot of balls to drive a car all the way back home .

[@charleslong3290]

Thanks for the info!

[@jamessouthworth1699]

I had an old '60s Dodge that I converted to disc and left it manual and it stopped pretty good. I wonder if one of these can be converted to manual brakes and how good would it stop? Sure it wouldn't be as good as power brakes but if it's close that's good enough for me.

[@tim5cad203]

I had the breaks on my GN fail twice. First time the break warning light came on as soon as I tried to stop. No breaks at all. I replaced the entire break unit. Same thing happened again a year later. I am having mine changed out to something different.

[@alister166]

what do you do about the wires that went to the original brake master?

[@brandonmcelroy8905]

Fyi... There’s no vacuum in a hydraulically pressurized system. That’s a hydraulic pressure accumulator ball on the oem hydroboost assembly

[@CHASINGPROFITS]

I did the conversion what to do with the sensor now so I can get the light off?

[@budgetboosting]

I unplugged mine

[@Cash2112]

My '84 GN "Powermaster" system doesn't look like yours. It has the older style cast iron master cylinder and it doesn't seem to have the electric motor or switch on top. It's more like a hydroboost system connected to to power steering pump. Any ideas what this is?

[@budgetboosting]

I would have to see it. I do not recall what the 84 brake master type is.

[@victorsandoval3690]

The 84 and 85 Buicks came out with hydroboost the old kid. 86 and 87 came out with this electric one so it won't steel any vacuum.

[@jcastillo2007]

Hey man! Love you channel, just subscribed! Just purchased my second turbo regal and looking to get my brakes converted over. I like that little vacuum motor idea, you mentioned you got it from Jegs? What part number is this? Reason being is when you have the vacuum booster and want to build boost off the line the car wants to creep forward. This might be my solution to avoid converting to a HYDROBOOST which are double the price as the typical Vacuum booster brake setup. Thank you in advance!!

[@budgetboosting]

jcastillo2007 There is one more thing you can do before going to the vacuum booster. Get a 1982 through 1987 or G body non turbo brake pedal, they have a longer throw and travel further giving much better braking. The powermaster brakes on the turbo buicks had very short throw brake pedals great for the electric vacuum but bad for vacuum brake conversions. hope that helps.

[@MrWest1600]

I ‘am in San Francisco California where can I meet you to pay you to do mines?

[@MultiLossi]

thanks this helped me

[@budgetboosting]

***** Outstanding, thank you for watching and do tell your friends.

[@walkerscranger]

This is great if you don't know how to diagnose. The motor, accumulator, relay and pressure switch are still available. Most people replace every thing (like in this video). Don't know how it works... eh, just replace stuff until it does. Generally what happens is the seal in the line from the motor doesn't seal and causes the motor to run all the time. The relay gets hot and fails or the motor fails. Sometimes the pressure switch fails or the bladder in the accumulator will fail. You just have to diagnose it. People NEVER flush their brake fluid which is part of the problem.

[@budgetboosting]

The larger problem is when this Power Master system fails, Example: At highway speeds approaching traffic jam, power master fails, no matter how hard you push, no dice, hit the rest of the traffic jam. Bad day.

[@walkerscranger]

Nine times out of ten there is a warning before that happens. I've been servicing GN's since 1985 and in all the cases I've had poor maintenance or people ignoring the warning signs (brake light on dash, pedal feel, etc.). I've never had one where everything is perfect and then no brake assist.

[@walkerscranger]

I've never seen or heard of a Power Master system failing without warning. If the accumulator is not pressurized you know it when you start the vehicle and the brake light will be on. If it fails (blown fuse, malfunctioning motor, etc.) while you're driving you still have the pressure in the accumulator to stop the vehicle. If it does result to a hard pedal... there was a warning before hand. Poor maintenance.

[@budgetboosting]

I have always watched my gages and vehicle very carefully, it happened to me on the Highway going to Reno and it failed just before the exit and it was at that time the light was illuminated. I installed a regular Regal non turbo brake pedal, master cylinder and vacuum brake booster for the final fix and it has been great ever since. Prior to that drive, the brake system had no issues. The power master is a poor design which has no backup system when the electronics fail.

[@walkerscranger]

Did you diagnose what was the issue with your powermaster?

[@fitman3170]

I currently have the vacuum brakes on my '87 GN. I'm having issues with he car holding at the line during launch due to the all the boost I'm producing (29psi) Will the electric pump assist more in holding me still during brake torquing? Thanks in advance!

[@budgetboosting]

yes, the electric with the vacuum combined should improve your hold. A front line lock or trans brake would be helpful with that kind of boost on tap.

[@fitman3170]

Budget Boosting Thank you for responding. I forgot to mention. I plan on blocking off my current vacuum from motor when I convert to the electric pump setup. Will I still have enough vacuum to hold car with electric pump alone? I only plan on using the electric pump at the track. Thanks in advance.

[@TONEakaSHOW]

man thx for this video, I been so lost with my baby down. what happened to you happen to me almost word for word except I was in downtown Dallas when my brakes failed. I'm going to try this, only thing is my 86 has a lot of mods, many that I'm not even sure of, example could a line lock prevent me from doing this conversion?

[@budgetboosting]

The vacuum pump I did in my Buick worked ok. I later did a complete conversion from a regular 84-87 regal brake package. I used a regular Regal brake pedal from a wrecking yard that has a lot more pedal throw. I used a regular Regal brake master cylinder and brake booster and routed the booster line to a one way valve that only allows vacuum towards the brake booster. This prevents boost from blowing into the brake booster. So at low throttle and very low boost, there is a lot of vacuum for brake booster, at higher RPM and higher boost levels, it is blocked by the valve so the vacuum is not disturbed in the brake booster. This complete conversion cost around $300 (depending on wrecking yard brake pedal cost) I used new brake booster and master cylinder from a regular standard Buick Regal non turbo. Used parts was the Regular standard Buick Regal brake pedal assembly. The braking performance is great. It is a simple and reliable system that cannot just electronically fail you while driving like the power master. Many out there say, just rebuild the power master, well that's great until something electrical with it goes out again and its great brakes to no brakes in a split second. Not worth it to me to experience that again. It happened to me in Reno, NV traffic and if I had not swerved, would have hit several cars.... Not worth the risk.

[@TONEakaSHOW]

Budget Boosting yes it's not worth it, I didn't buy my GN for it to be exact parts I want a bad ass car I can drive so I'm all for ur brake set up. now to just find the parts

[@Perry_Fan]

Do you have Part #s for the parts involved to do this swap minus the pedal?

[@CuttykiddW]

I have a 87 stock Gn and just did the swap and I see this ol boy ran this after market vac can or he can plug it in on the top were after market parts @ if u are looking to find a vacuum with out any mods look were the p v c is on the in take right side plum a tee in there and u are Rollin the Gn or t type stock some one sold because there were not smart or have the will to keep this legend on the road or in my case the car I got hope this helps out

[@budgetboosting]

Yes, the compressor inlet port is a great source of strong vacuum. Even easier than tapping into a vacuum source with a one way valve like I did.

[@CHASINGPROFITS]

cutty kid do you have part numbers>?

[@kidmystic9232]

got a 1987 GN and want to do a swap what do i need please

[@erik61801]

makes me miss my 87 Regal T-Type with T-Tops...had the shitty olds 307 though...

[@budgetboosting]

erik61801 Oh a 307, why would someone do that.... They have a great body style especially with the t tops. Thanks for watching.

[@jimtuna1354]

hey man just picked up a gn it got the swap no vacuum pump straight to intake my problem when u hit the pedal it will get stuck then I have to lift it up with my left I see u have to change the pedal when u do the swap I'm thinking they left the original how could I tell? and also the cars not stock 72 mm prescioun turbo with the big front mount cooler maybe its not creating enough vacuum to the bring the pedal back up or that works of that spring in the booster I don't no any help would be appreciated defiantly gunna trow that pump on it thanks

[@jimtuna1354]

o yeah I also took the line of the booster drove it and the pedal does return maybe the booster gone bad?

[@budgetboosting]

+Jim Tuna The brake booster sounds like its bad. The vacuum line that goes to the booster needs a one way valve installed on it to allow only vacuum but not boost when the turbo spools. You only want vacuum sucking the booster not boost blowing into the booster which can break it. Also only when the brake pedal is removed can you see the difference. It has a longer throw which pushes the brake master further during braking where the stock pedal throw is short since the stock powermaster did most of the work.

[@jimtuna1354]

+Budget Boosting thanks mad matt prob try swapin that booster and I looked at it again it does have that value your talking about between the intake and booster vacuum someone did something right lol I think it just a cheap O'Reilly booster put on my 97 chevy c1500 it only lasted a few months and rusted in 2 months no coating onit I thaught to my self before I put it on should I paint nah it will be ok boy was I wrong always trust your instinct how do I get sticker I like it I be honest not gunna put on my dont like any sticker on it but wood look nice on my tool box

[@budgetboosting]

+Jim Tuna our budgetboosting website has a link to go to ebay for the stickers. On most of our videos, there is a link in the video description to the ebay sticker page. www.budgetboosting.com/

[@Rusty_trombone62]

All 1984 turbo regals came with hydroboost not a powermaster.

[@Perry_Fan]

Where can i find a Hydroboost, Id like to convert my 87 Buick GN from the stock unit? P.S. I've searched but no results/very frustrating... Can you help?

[@jerrynavarro9580]

I remember I had 1 on my 89 caddy I got rid of that pos!

[@ClockFixer]

What becomes of the wiring that went to the pressure switch?

[@TTATurbochargeThemAll]

I unplugged them. The new system has no wiring so no problem for just unplugging the connector and let it sit to the side

[@TheRealMichaelP]

I’m converting to vacuum right now and I bought the non turbo Buick booster but it won’t fit with my grand national petal ... it won’t fit

[@TheRealMichaelP]

This conversion has me stressed the fuck out

[@robertprestandrea6019]

I'm just finishing up my conversion now, Maybe I can help. Call me three one two eight zero six eight two two two. Thanks Rob

[@robertprestandrea6019]

I just purchased the same vacuum pump and will be assembling soon.

[@TTATurbochargeThemAll]

The regular regal pedal is needed to fit right. The regular Regal pedal has more throw for the vacuum booster

[@ClockFixer]

There should have been a RECALL against GM on these units, forcing GM to cover the upgrade.

[@CuttykiddW]

Any body got an idea why my fan is not liking to kick on when the car is on but will work great when car shut s off ?i just added a new relay ?

[@budgetboosting]

there is a sensor/switch on the intake manifold that sends a signal to the fan to turn on once I believe 180 deg. is reached.

[@bacan630]

CAN YOU PROVIDE THE PARTS NUMBERS FOR THE CONVERSION.

[@budgetboosting]

That would take a while, many parts. for now I can give you my sources, GN1 performance for the turbo kit, intercooler, fuel pressure regulator, Turbo tweak for injectors and chip combo, Full Throttle performance for all 4.1 engine internals. Your specific block deck height will need to be determined by your machine shop to ensure the right custom pistons are made for your specific engine. Some 4.1 blocks have different deck heights than others. Some 3.8 engines as well depending on how much they have been milled on deck in the past.

[@chrisatc627]

There is something called a emergency brake , in a emergency you can use it to brake, drove 70 miles that way one time

[@leww2873]

Do you have part number for vaccum pump?

[@TTATurbochargeThemAll]

I used all regular 1987 standard Regal parts, the non turbo regal brake master and booster, and pedal

[@blackie361855]

Why not use hydro boost off 84-85 t type/gn

[@budgetboosting]

blackie361855 That is a great idea too. It is a great option, either of them are much better than the factory powermaster that just quits with no warning and then no brakes....

[@finneycent83]

blackie361855 i had to convert the hydroboost off of my 84 to the vacuum booster. Three downsides to the hydro booster, one being when it starts to fail is leaks into the interior of the car so you get power steering fluid at your feet. Also it is much more expensive to replace. Lastly it requires a different power steering pump.

[@CuttykiddW]

I just did a brake booster swap this if u got a stock Gn no mods like this please boy

[@budgetboosting]

A very important part is changing the pedal to a non turbo regal since it has more pedal throw. The braking is much stronger with the non turbo brake pedal which I found in a wrecking yard, ebay is also a great source for non turbo g body brake pedals.

[@johnbryant5086]

Dennis kirban sells them

[@jesusmunox9296]

Mira esto

[@kevinng8672]

Showing the face not the parts,