Need help getting started, just bought 89SC (I'm a noob)

I just bought a Black 89 SC mostly stock 110k original miles, babied and taken care of. I love cars and I want to make this car as perfect as I can. There is one problem, I do not know very much about cars in general. I have done a lot of research to just get started. I believe i'm starting with the basics. I have already purchased:
Magnum Powers 3.5" intake system
B&M Short Shifter
SCP 2 1/2 - 3 - 2 1/2 exhaust system

I am posting for any advice and reccommendations from anyone on what I should do next? I would really appreciate any help anyone can give me, just remember though, I am a noob! and do not know all the technical terms but I am really hoping to learn from the members of this site.
 
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You made two great moves...Buying the SC and finding this site. The next best thing you can do is pay the membership dues of $15. That will open the doors.

Skip the 3.5" CAI and get a 3", Forget the throttle body for now. Do the exhaust and throw a 5% sc pulley on there and some 3:08 gears and call it a day. Than do everything to make it dependable. There is a plethora of knowledge and threads on items that can and will go bad. Dont be to hasty on performance just yet.

Thats my take on it. If you dont do those first, you will end up in the HiPo zone with a fast car that leaves you hanging half the time. Good Luck and Congrats.
 
Ya I paid the dues but I'm not sure what that did for me. This site so far is very confusing, I paid those dues and that was it, it didn't say what to do next or why I paid the $15 to become a member?!?!?

Also, "throw a 5% sc pulley on there and some 3:08 gears" I mentioned I was a noob with cars, I'm not sure what this means or where to get these parts? I think I understated the degree of a newbie I am lol

Why not 3.5" why 3"?
 
the 85mm tb is of no use to you unless you have mucho mods and a intake plenum to take advantage of the larger diameter opening. install an fan on the intercooler along with the 5% sc pulley and exhaust and have fun for awhile. once you get to know more about these cars and what motor mods give you the best bang for your buck then you can start modding up the motor, oh yeah, when that time comes have another ride to be your daily driver, hard to modify and drive it everyday.:D
 
Also, "throw a 5% sc pulley on there and some 3:08 gears" I mentioned I was a noob with cars, I'm not sure what this means or where to get these parts? I think I understated the degree of a newbie I am lol

on the other hand brother, you got the wrong car being a "NOOB" with cars..:rolleyes:
 
Ya I paid the dues but I'm not sure what that did for me. This site so far is very confusing, I paid those dues and that was it, it didn't say what to do next or why I paid the $15 to become a member?!?!?

Also, "throw a 5% sc pulley on there and some 3:08 gears" I mentioned I was a noob with cars, I'm not sure what this means or where to get these parts? I think I understated the degree of a newbie I am lol

Why not 3.5" why 3"?

5% pulley, the supercharger pulley is 5% smaller then stock. You have the stock size, next aftermarket size down is 5% smaller, also one that is 10% smaller then stock. A smaller pulley on the supercharger will make the supercharger turn faster because of the smaller diameter.

There is nothing wrong with a 3.5 inch intake. A 3 inch is sufficient enough for a pretty modified car. 3.5 inch intake is for the people with big bucks into their cars. So if you are planning to spend $7,000 into your motor by some point then you have made a worthwhile move. Either way, you are not hurting the car.

If you have already bought the throttlebody, you are going to have to set the idle on it and dial in the throttle posititon sensor for a successful install. If your not very car oriented, you need to find a friend with a supercoupe who has tweaked with just about everything on it or start reading these forums like the bible. Everybody has to start somewhere.

As for the exhaust. take the car straight to an exhaust shop for installation. Trust me.
 
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I just bought a Black 89 SC mostly stock 110k original miles, babied and taken care of. I love cars and I want to make this car as perfect as I can. There is one problem, I do not know very much about cars in general. I have done a lot of research to just get started. I believe i'm starting with the basics. I have already purchased:
Magnum Powers 3.5" intake system
Magnum Powers 85mm Throttle Body
B&M Short Shifter
SCP 2 1/2 - 3 - 2 1/2 exhaust system

I am posting for any advice and reccommendations from anyone on what I should do next? I would really appreciate any help anyone can give me, just remember though, I am a noob! and do not know all the technical terms but I am really hoping to learn from the members of this site.

The exhaust was a real good move. It is one of the first things on these cars that make a big diffrence. As nickleman said the 3.5 intake and big throttle body is way over kill. You just dont need them. If you could cancel your order than do so. A 3"" intake and a 75MM throttle body would be better sized for you. When you install the exhaust your boost will drop. It will have less restriction but more power. Installing a 5% jackshaft pulley will help bring the boost up and add a few more ponies. Any pulleys you replace in alum will let the engine rev faster. Underdrive pulleys add a few extra ponies, All these things can be looked at through the main venders here like SCP and spinningwheels. As for the membership money. You will get help from most of the guys here to keep your car running and improving the performace. Its a club and you can make some great friends here. Its worth 15 bucks many times over. The search button on the top of the page should be your best friend for awhile

Ken
 
Hey thanks for the help everyone really appreciate it, unfortunately i already purchased the 3.5" intake so I'm just going to stick with it. The only thing i didn't purchase yet was the throttle body which after reading your replies was a good thing. I only considered a new TB because my car will idle between 1200 and 1800 rpm's and I read a new TB could do the trick. If a 75mm TB will help out anyone let me know?

I was also wondering the importance of intake plenums and raised tops and if these are standard mods I should be looking at?

I'm not trying to go crazy with engine mods and everything just trying to make my TBird ride, sound, and feel good...and of course make it faster!
 
If the car idles that high it isn't the throttle bodies' fault. The throttle body is just a casting. There are two sensors on the side called the Idle Air Controller(IAC) and a Throttle Position Sensor(TPS).

Try this; On the throttle body there is a white rubber plug. If you pull that off there is a set screw with an allen head. I'm not exactly sure which way lowers the idle, but if you turn it one way and the idle raises, then go the other way. If this doesn't effect it, then you have a bad IAC. Listen for a "goose honk" whenever you shut the motor down.

Inlet plenums will only fit on blowers from '94 and '95 SC's. Blowers from '89-'93 SC's are not very good for making power. You can still port them to gain a little performance. A throttle body wouldn't make a positive difference with the early model blowers due to the bottle neck in their inlet plenum. Raised tops are a waste of money too.

This is what you should do. Exhaust, 10% pulley, cold air intake, Double Intercooler, and underdrive pulleys. I think you should really look for a late model blower.
 
The inlet plenum on an early model supercharger (89-93) won't even accept the 85mm TB. To even get a 75mm to work requires quite a bit of porting to the inlet plenum. You can bolt a 70mm on without any rework, but if the only reason you bought the TB was to correct your high idle problem, that's not going to do it. You don't need either of those things until after you upgrade the supercharger and inlet plenum. 3.5" air intake matches up good to an 85mm TB and an 87MM bullet style MAF, but isn't going to fit a stock maf or a smaller TB without using some reducers. I agree with the others about getting the 3" system instead.


Most likely the high idle is caused by a bad IAC valve or improperly adjusted idle. Does it make a goose honking noise when you shut the motor off ?
David

PS: The time to ask for advice is before buying the parts.
 
also if you get a bigger tb then you need to upgrade your maf. for example if you have a 2" diameter garden hose that ends at 3" then you are still only getting 2" of water same vice versa, if you go with a bigger tb then get a bigger maf. Also dramatically changing things will make the car run like crap unless it is properly tuned to use the newer parts!! Anyone correct me if i am wrong but i think i got it right. I am some what of a newb also but i have been reading well before i bought mine!
 
Already have the intake installed, exhaust is installed, just need to bring it to the shop to get welding done (couldn't do that myself). Any reccommendations on where to look for the intercoolers, pulleys or blower?

I was looking at Magnum Powers, but $1400 for intercooler is a little much for me even though it looks amazing.

Hi thanx David, however I don't know if you read where I wrote I was a newb at this stuff and am really trying to learn. I really appreciate your input its just I didn't really understand what you were saying. What exactly is a MAF?
 
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Already have the intake installed, exhaust is installed, just need to bring it to the shop to get welding done (couldn't do that myself). Any reccommendations on where to look for the intercoolers, pulleys or blower?

I was looking at Magnum Powers, but $1400 for intercooler is a little much for me even though it looks amazing.

Hi thanx David, however I don't know if you read where I wrote I was a newb at this stuff and am really trying to learn. I really appreciate your input its just I didn't really understand what you were saying. What exactly is a MAF?
MAF stands for Mass Air Flow. It is the unit that the air filter bolts to with the little black electrical box on top of it. I would suggest getting a 76mm C&L MAF.

Have you removed the air silencer? You should really do that, if not.

A couple of sites that you can get many parts:

www.supercoupeperformance.com
www.spinningwheels-sc.com
 
Is the air silencer that ugly black box that was at the end of the stock air intake?

Whats installation like for a MAF? Would someone like me be able to do this themselves or would I need it professionally done?
 
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Is the air silencer that ugly black box that was at the end of the stock air intake?

Whats installation like for a MAF? Would someone like me be able to do this themselves or would I need it professionally done?

The air silencer box is under that ugly black box, it silences air and prevents water from coming into the conical air filter (trust me i know) But it is pretty restrictive. The maf sensor is a total of three bolts,one wiring plug and two clamps connecting the air box to the maf and one connecting the maf to the tube to go to the tb!. Probably one of the easiest things to change aside from the dis module!!
 
found a picture for you the maf is circled in blue, used a random pic sorry if it is anyones car here!!
 

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Alright well I guess I will have to do some research on removing that air silencer because I have no clue how to remove it.

For the MAF, can someone look at this link and let me know if I have found what I was looking for:

http://supercoupeperformance.com/partBrowser.aspx?partId=88

O and Franky can you do that little trick with the picture showing me where the MAF is and circling a location of where the air silencer is haha

Thanx guys
 
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That is the correct one. Make sure you get the sampling tube for stock injectors (they are 30# injectors, BTW). Just like you did for the throttle body, you will have to get a reducer for the MAF.
 
Never did the TB so I'm not sure what reducers are?
And thanx for telling me what the stock injectors were that was my next question lol
 
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