.

the car junkie daily magazine.

.

BangShift Project Files: This 1978 Buick Regal Turbo Is Super-Clean…But What Kind Of Turbo System Is It, Again?


BangShift Project Files: This 1978 Buick Regal Turbo Is Super-Clean…But What Kind Of Turbo System Is It, Again?

The son of forum member “Stiney” should be very pleased with himself…he’s the owner of one of the cleanest early G-body Regals we’ve seen in quite some time. The car itself is a 1978 Regal Turbo, a 3.8L V6-powered unit with an early turbocharger setup. This isn’t Grand National territory, by any measure, but by 1978 standards the Regal Turbo wasn’t a dud, either. With 150 horsepower on tap in two-barrel form and 165 horses ready for a four-barrel car, the Regal Turbo was just a hint of what was to come. Not that the folks at Buick really knew what they were getting into in 1978…the turbocharger was more of an aid in the name of fuel economy than anything remotely performance related, and it’d take another four years before the performance ball really started to roll.

For the most part, the Regal is a cream puff. It doesn’t matter if the 19,000 or so odometer reading is rolled over or not, the Buick is good. Well, mostly good…a water pump and radiator have had to receive some attention, but for a forty-year-old car, that’s not surprising and if that’s all that is needing shop time, blessings should be counted. There’s other work to be done, like the typical headliner issues that you almost expect from any GM of this vintage, but what a car to start with. Now that the restoration companies have started to look at G-bodies with more than just a casual glance (OPGI has Buicks specifically in their sights right now) picking up a G-body makes more sense than ever. We dig the Regal Turbo and can’t wait to see how it holds up as a first car!

BangShift Project Files: 1978 Buick Regal Sport Coupe


  • Share This
  • Pinterest
  • 0