New to the Buick Grand National Life

A

AJ87GN

New Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2016
Well guys, I was lucky enough to find a 1987 Grand National tucked away in a garage for the past 12 years. The pervious owner passed away and the vehicle sat in the garage on jack stands. What concerns me for one, I have no idea about these cars. So please bare with me as I try to learn as much as I possibly can. I fell in love with the Grand National when a buddy of mine had one for a short period.

The issues with the car the son tried to get the car running several years ago and failed. He ended up removing the gas tank then gave up. So I know at least I will have to replace the entire fuel system.

I just got the GN back to my shop. I will be doing a cleaning on the exterior and interior. As I remove the spark plugs and coating the cylinder walls.

Anyone have any suggestions on where to start.
 

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Or Jim Dunn in Philly, PA. That's who works on my car. Look in my build thread. Bit further from you
 
There is a couple of strategies IMO. There is get it running, and getting it running reliably. Be patient.

Evil sent a VERY good link. If it is rubber replace it. If it carried fluids, flush/replace it. If the fuel system sat opened for that period of time I think you are right to replace it. The fun part of that will be what to replace it with (AKA How fast do you plan to go haha). You will for sure want to get something more beefy than stock. You will also need a modernized chip from TurboTweak pair with whichever new injectors/fuel pump you choose. Lots of options for fuel delivery. E85 is a popular choice that you may want to look at if you have stations in your area and plan on running higher than stock boost. Alcohol injection is another alternative.I know it may seem silly to think about that now, but since you already have to do the work, it makes sense to consider it.

These forums and the members are awesome. My knowledge has increased 1000% because of them. Try to link up with the gurus in your area. They can help accelerate through the learning curve for you.

Congrats on your find! I always makes happy to see one get brought back to life.
 
AJ87GN said:
Well guys, I was lucky enough to find a 1987 Grand National tucked away in a garage for the past 12 years. The pervious owner passed away and the vehicle sat in the garage on jack stands. What concerns me for one, I have no idea about these cars. So please bare with me as I try to learn as much as I possibly can. I fell in love with the Grand National when a buddy of mine had one for a short period.

The issues with the car the son tried to get the car running several years ago and failed. He ended up removing the gas tank then gave up. So I know at least I will have to replace the entire fuel system.

I just got the GN back to my shop. I will be doing a cleaning on the exterior and interior. As I remove the spark plugs and coating the cylinder walls.

Anyone have any suggestions on where to start.
Click to expand...
Feel free to PM me with questions.

Do you work on you own cars?
I can help you get it back on the road, im currently doing the same thing you are, at least this GN had the gas tank still in it LOL
All fluids flushed just pm me ill get you my # and fill your head with what to do
Bryan
 
Dialtone76 said:
There is a couple of strategies IMO. There is get it running, and getting it running reliably. Be patient.

Evil sent a VERY good link. If it is rubber replace it. If it carried fluids, flush/replace it. If the fuel system sat opened for that period of time I think you are right to replace it. The fun part of that will be what to replace it with (AKA How fast do you plan to go haha). You will for sure want to get something more beefy than stock. You will also need a modernized chip from TurboTweak pair with whichever new injectors/fuel pump you choose. Lots of options for fuel delivery. E85 is a popular choice that you may want to look at if you have stations in your area and plan on running higher than stock boost. Alcohol injection is another alternative.I know it may seem silly to think about that now, but since you already have to do the work, it makes sense to consider it.

These forums and the members are awesome. My knowledge has increased 1000% because of them. Try to link up with the gurus in your area. They can help accelerate through the learning curve for you.

Congrats on your find! I always makes happy to see one get brought back to life.
Click to expand...

I plan on ordering a tank, sending unit and lines asap. I was thinking about going to just go ahead and add a walbro pump. As far as mods I would like to keep stock turbo for now, maybe bigger injectors and full exhaust. I want to remain reliable while I learn how the electronics and mechanics work on these motors. The last thing I want to do is do a engine build.

What do you guys suggest on just replacing all the major sensors such as the cam, crank, o2, maf, tps right off the bat. The car has been sitting for 12 solid years. I just figured if I go to start it I will be beating my head against a wall trying to chase senors.
 
Quick6'n'-K.C. said:
Feel free to PM me with questions.

Do you work on you own cars?
I can help you get it back on the road, im currently doing the same thing you are, at least this GN had the gas tank still in it LOL
All fluids flushed just pm me ill get you my # and fill your head with what to do
Bryan
Click to expand...


Ok thanks Quick6, how successful were getting your GN running. did you replace all ignition items.
 
A hotwire Kit and good fuel filter to go along with your Tank and pump, you'll want a good scan tool (scanmaster 2.1 or the like) once she is fired up set up the basics (TPS, IAC) and let you know what sensors need replaced. Good luck with it and congratz on the find. Definitely use the help of the experts here, they are great at sorting out he gremlins that lurk in our cars.
 
Thanks, Yeah I heard a lot of people talking about the hot wire kit. What's the reason for it? Does the factory harness having issues?

When it comes to the scan master it sounds like its a essential tool, bad thing I have absolutely no idea how they work nor how to tune a car. So I will have to find a thread about Scan master 101. Hopefully I don't flunk out lol
 
They are not difficult, plus there are a million write ups on the functions and parameters they display, a definite must have for diagnostic purposes. The Hotwire kit overcomes the stock's setup inability to provide the needed voltage to the pump. Since the prior owner was pointed towards a fuel issue, definitely start there.
 
Ok thanks, I will have to invest in one. What are your thoughts about what fuel pump to use? Also I need new fuels for the vehicle any place that I could order pre bent fuel lines.
 
quite a few vendors on the site that sell fuel pumps. you will want to try and lay out a plan in advance so your not doing things twice. what are your goals for the car, are you going to drive it everyday? race it? car cruise and occasional use? the search feature above will become your best friend, if you have a problem or issue, believe me, many have before you and many ideas are out there, like type in 'what fuel pump' and youll have a wealth of info at your disposal.
 
quite a few people have done frame off restorations, and they usually have nice new fuel lines so i'm sure there out there, see if someone chimes in on that.
 
ok thanks. yeah I'm pretty new to this. My goal for the car is to make it reliable where I can jump in it and drive to a car show or whatever, but fast enough to surprise people.
 
Pay attention to the "grounds" on your car, with a thirty year old car, all it takes is some corrosion and it will play havoc with the car. allot of people run dedicated ground wires when installing the hotwire kit. plus you'll find grounding issues thru out the vehicle, just a tip.
 
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