turbocharged quad-4????
 

Was there EVER a car sold by G.M. (of any brand, any year) with a turbocharged Quad 4 engine? I am trying to find out if such a car was ever sold to the general public.

Thanks for any info...

Bill

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Bill I don't believe there was ever a factory produced turbo-quad4. I was a service manager for a Pontiac store for 20 years and I never saw one. But to be sure call the folks at SLP in Toms River NJ 732-349-2109. If anyone would know they will.

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Thanks, Mark. I'll do that.

Appreciate the info!

Bill

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Mark, the consensus at SLP Performance is.... "they are not sure."

That, from the three techs working today.

Hard question...

Thanks again. :)

Bill

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

I might be able to shed some light on this. I belong to a Quad 4 forum. Can email me at rseibenick @hotmail.com. Ron

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Thanks, Ron; I'll do that!!!

Bill

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Try locating either Arlen Fadely or Paul Gentilozzi they worked/raced for Olds probably still have some connections at GM... Comp387

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Wasn't there a turbo skylark in 86 or 87? Just going by memory here, but we had an 87 Buick Service manual and I remember seeing a turbo skylark. Don't know if it was a quad 4 or not.

Didn't AJ Foyt set a closed course speed record in a turbo charged quad-4? I think the engine was done by Batton or McLaren, as I worked with one of the guys who did the engine.

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Chris, I think you're right on the Foyt deal, but I think that was a one-off engineering exercise, not a production motor. I'll have to chack on the Skylark. I would bet it wasn't a Quad-4, though...

Thanks for the input.

Bill

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

FED,

Thanks for the advice and info. I wouldn't have a clue as to how to get hold of either one of those guys. This is not that big of a deal, anyway; I just was trying to determine the veracity of a story I heard about a Quad-4 with what appeared to be a "factory" turbo installation, that a guy saw in a junkyard. I don't believe there was ever a turbo offered in a production car with the Quad-4 motor.
But, I've been wrong before... :) Lotsa times......

Bill

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Bill,

What about the Pontiac Fieros? I believe they had the 'quad four' and a turbo upgrade for that vehicle would have made sense.

Don Whitmore

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Don,

Yes, that would have been awesome; mid-engine and a turbo...

I'll look into that. Thanks!

Bill

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Thanks, Steve. I don't know what this friend of mine saw, but I don't THINK it was an OEM turbo on a Quad -4. Nobody seems to have ever seen or heard of one.

That was my contention, all along, but I could always be wrong... :)

Bill

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Supposedly there was 50 cars built but GM recalled all of them and scrapped them out...The only one that was documented for sure was a 250 HP engined car that ended up being either THE pace car at Indy 500 in 1988 or so and/or one that was a pace car for either the Champ Car/Indy car series or the pace car on the road racing circuit Imsa/SCCA etc.

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Dedman---TRy WWW.Rocketsports.com for Gentilozzi and I'm sure if you ask around Arlen is still in the Michigan area somebody knows how to get a hold of him---Comp 387

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Arlen still lives in Flat Rock Mi.

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

FED, Thanks a lot for that link, but that won't be necessary, now.

I just got an email from a guy who's the moderator of the Quad-4 Bulletin Board, and after polling his memebers, it was determined conclusively, that no such engine was ever available in an OEM application (to the general/buying public.)

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this discussion. I really DO appreicate all the good info and comments, from all you guys who posted possibilities and sources!!!

Bill, in Conway, AR

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Now that everybody has posted I'll put in my 2 cents.

I was working at an Oldsmobile Dealership when the Quad 4 first came and was told by the Zone Rep that the Quad 4 was designed to stand up to 300HP and the plan was to take it to those power levels. The factory also had a plan to Turbo the Quad 4 but it never happened.

As for the Fiero's the 4 cylinder engine was the piece of crap Iron Duke 151ci

I remember doing PDI's with the FWD cars equipped with the Quad 4 and they would flash the converter to 6,000 RPM and torque steer like crazy. That engine liked to RPM.

Bob

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Thanks, Bob, for that interesting and eye-opening info.

Too bad they never put a pair of those Quad-4 heads on a V8... a "Quad-8"... what a concept!!! :)

I'm sure it would have made the engine too wide, BUT, a 60-degeree V8 with some balance shafts, and those heads might have been feasible

Oh yeah.... NORTHSTAR.... :)

Leave it to Cadillac, who had two four-barrels in 1955, even before Chevy, to lead the way. I hear they're adding a blower to the Northstar, 4-valve motor, for a 600+ HP entry into the current horsepower race for 2008! Going into a 4-door sedan, I hear.

They're making it harder and harder for me to hit a "moving target," with my paltry effort, Vortech-inspired, street car... LOL!!!

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

FED,

That's interesting, that they only made fifty of them. Protoypes seldom end up in Texas junkyards, though, so I'm thinking that what my friend saw, was an aftermarket kit that for whatevrer reaosn (can you say "detonation"???) didn't work out, and ended up on the scrap heap.

Thanks for the input!!! I appreciate it. :)

Bill, in Conway, Arkansas

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Bob Mulry/Bill Dedman,

I remember the 'Iron Dukes' in the Fieros, but couldn't remember if the Fieros 'morphed' to the 'Quad-4s'. The 'Iron Dukes didn't quite live up to their namesake.

I do remember GM introducing the 'Quad-4' with a lot of fanfare and also seem to remember the racing community looking favorably at that engine. The question is: 'What happened?' Why did it fall on it's face?

When that engine was introduced, a whole new generation was being introduced to the Honda juggernaut. GM has never recaptured those kids and probably never will, IMO, a HUGE miscalculation on GM's part.

D. Whitmore

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Bill i race a quad 4 in super stock with some success, i looked for a turb car when i started and never did find one, now i know why.

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Larry,
That's a cool engine! I'd never seen anything about them releasing a turbo version, and I figured if they DID, it would have made quite a splash (can you say "volumetric efficiency"?) LOL!!!

Too bad; it would have been a killer....

Bill, in Conway, AR

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Bill, as you may remember I ran a 2.8 V6 Cadillac FWD for many years with GM sponsorship through Hydramatic. The Quad 4 Olds was my main competition for many years. The fastest I remember being the one fielded by Russ Abrams. To my knowledge no Quad 4 was ever produced, from the factory, with a turbo. BTW the Quad 4 was first produced in 1989 in the Olds Calais. You might want to contact Russ at GM Hydramatic, he currently runs a SS/IA Pontiac Firebird and posts on both forums.Jim

Re: turbocharged quad-4????
 

Jim,

I had already talked to Russ, and he'd agreed with you that there were NO turbocharged Quad 4's ever sold to the public in an OEM application.

I didn't think there were.

Thanks for the info!!!

Bill