New Grand National in Peoria, IL. Need to find local GN peers

Here is a complete list of work done to the car provided by the seller. He has provided me with complete documentation of dates and descriptions of mods as well as all receipts. He said every aspect of the car has been all sorted out and its been pretty much completely restored. It is a high mileage (140K+) car although it sounds like you wouldn't know it. Fairly fresh paint, i think he said 7 years ago, but he said very well cared for paint, and judging by the conversations I've had with him, I believe him. Everything he has told me about the car makes me feel warm and fuzzy, you know, just very comfortable with the purchase. It sounds like he built the car right and had all the right help. He said the only thing it needs for troubleshooting is that there is a small drip (maybe from the A/C) in passenger foot well. Wondering if its just condensation or what. Other than that, he said about the only thing left untouched are the axles which he said were straight as can be. Maybe driveshaft is original as well, not sure. Anyways, here is the complete mod list:

BLUEPRINTED 109 BUICK V6 BLOCK
·FORGED DIAMOND PISTONS
·H BEAM RODS
·CUSTOM ROLLER CAM 210/215
·T&D 1.55 ROLLER ROCKERS
·100 LB. BEE-HIVE VALVE SPRINGS
·PORTED STOCK HEADS
·ARP HEAD STUDS
·ALUMINUM VALVE COVERS
·ARP OIL PAN BOLTS
·DLS DEEP SUMP OIL PAN
·DOUBLE ROLLER TIMING CHAIN
·HIGH VOLUME TIMING COVER
·PORTED INTAKE MANIFOLD
·PRECISION PLENUM RACE PORTED
·RJC PLENUM SPACER
·WALBRO 340 FUEL PUMP
·BILLET ALUMINUM KIRBAN ADJUSTABLE FUEL REGULATOR
·60 LB/HR INJECTORS
·MODDED ECM FOR HIGH IMPEDENCE INJECTORS
·INNOVATIVE WIDE BAND 02 SENSOR
·SCANMASTER V2.1
·FULL THROTTLE SPEED 3” MAF PIPE
·LS1 MAF
·FULL THROTTLE SPEED MAF TRANSLATOR II
·TURBO TWEAK CUSTOM RACE CHIP
·CASPER’S HOT WIRE KIT
·K&N 9” AIR FILTER
·ATR STAINLESS STEEL HEADERS
·TERRY HOUSTON STAINLESS 3” DOWNPIPE FOR ATR DOWNPIPE
·DNC ELECTRONIC EXHAUST CUTOUT
·TURBONETICS CPT66 BALL BEARING TURBO
·EXTERNAL WASTEGATE
·GREDDY SPEC-2 ELECTRONIC BOOST CONTROLLER
·STRETCH STOCK LOCATION INTERCOOLER BY TR CUSTOM
·RAZOR’S ALKY KIT INSTALLED
·F BODY RADIATOR
·DUAL SPAL FANS
·KEVLAR REINFORCED BANDED 200R4 TRANSMISSION
·NEW UPGRADED BILLET DRUM FOR TRANSMISSION
·2800 PTC STALL CONVERTER
·TRANSMISSION COOLER AND EXTERNAL OIL COOLER
·G80 EATON POSI REAR END
·EIBACH 1” LOWERING SPRINGS
·KYB REAR SHOCKS
·KYB FRONT SHOCKS
·SINGLE RIGHT REAR AIR BAG
·GBODYPARTS UPPER CONTROL ARMS
·FULL POLY-URETHANE BODY BUSHINGS FOR COMPLETE FRAME
·H&R POLY MOTOR & TRANNY MOUNTS
·KIRBAN REAR SEAT BRACES
·NEW REAR END BRACE KIT
·FRONT BRAKE LINE LOCK
·NEW REAR DRUMS AND S10 WHEEL CYLINDERS AND FRONT BRAKE PADS. INSTALLED LARGER SHOES IN DRUMS
·2 GAUGE POD WATER AND OIL PRESSURE
·SINGLE A-PILLAR TURBO GAUGE POD
·NEW MOOG BALL JOINTS
·NEW IDLER AND PITMAN ARM
·NEW STEERING BOX
·NEW DETROIT SPEED SHOP BILLET STEERING ARM
·NEW 140 AMP ALTERNATOR
·NEW TRIGGER PLATE FOR LINE LOCK AND EXHAUST CUTOUT
·NEW AC COMPRESSOR AND CONDENSER AND DRYER
·FRONT SEATS RECOVERED BY JAX’S SEAT & UPHOLSTERY
·NEW CENTER RAIL FOR T-TOPS
·INTERIOR HAS BEEN RE-UPHOLSTERED (NEW TRUNK AND FLOOR CARPET)
·GTA FRONT ALUMINUM POWDERCOATED WHEELS 245 FRONT/255 REAR
·4 ORIGINAL GN WHEELS ON (2)215/60/15, (2)275/60/15
·POWDERCOATED Black TURBO COVER
·VERY COLD AC CHARGED CONVERTED TO R132
·CAR HAS ALL NEW RUBBER SEALS INCLUDING TRUNK AND T-TOPS
·NEW POWER STEERING PUMP
·NEW U-JOINTS FOR UNIVERSAL SHAFT
·UNIVERSAL BALANCED
·NEW YELLOWTOP OPTIMA BATTERY
·NEW POWER WINDOW MOTORS AND DOOR LOCKS
·PIONEER HEAD UNIT WITH AUX OUTPUT TO CONNECT SMARTPHONE
·3’ TWEETER/PIONEER 51/4” DOOR SPEAKERS AND KICKER 6X9” REAR SPEAKERS. PIONEER 400 WATT 6 CHANNEL AMP
·1 12” KICKER SUBWOOFER. KICKER 400 WATT MONO AMP FOR SUB
·100 AMP BLOCK
·VIPER 350HV ALARM SYSTEM
·NEW HEATER CONTROL VALVE
 
BTW, I was going to ask Razor when I can, but can you use 99.9% Isopropl Alcohol (IPA) instead of methanol in the alky system? Just asking because I can have a limitless supply... Neverending 55 gal drums. So if that works instead of methanol, it would save me lots of $, but if it doesn't protect engine as well, I certainly would not use it. Any advice or experience with this?
 
boosted-para said:
Hey Benny, I am over by glasford canton area. Nice to meet someone so close finally.
Click to expand...
Awesome. You'll have to let me know next time you're coming to east Peoria area and get the GNs together for a play date. I actually know a few people from glasford.
 
I actually in the country halfway between canton and glasford. In the sticks. Polzin has been to my place. I love where I live, but it's a pain to get here lol
 
boosted-para said:
Damn, u wanna go get it? I can drive. Lol
Click to expand...


Screw it let's go. I may have to crack some skulls when I meet this truck driver though, so just be prepared for it to get bloody.
Big thumbs down for fidelity auto shipping corp. I could not de-recommend them enough. Dispatch just tells you what they think you want to hear. Driver acted like they had never intended for the car to be here by Sunday. Dispatch gave their word Sunday at the latest, possibly Saturday, and that information was given after they rerouted me to the second truck after the first one "broke down". Because it was originally slated for delivery by Friday. So angry right now. But I will calm down if/when it arrives undamaged and unscratched. As long as they take care of the car I'll be ok.
 
Ok, car finally came last night....after I had already suffered a virtual heart attack dealing with montway auto carriers, the worst name in all of customer service and quite possibly the most unprofessional & poorly run outfit I've ever had the displeasure of doing business with. I highly recommend them if you can't tell.

So, car is here, and as it sits it's brown not black. In desperate need of a detail after sitting on that trailer for an entire week gathering dirt dust grime and neglect. Hopefully I will address that later today. Then, and only then, I will post pics.

So my 1st impressions... I'll start with the positive.
The freshly powdercoated Wheels are perfect and beautiful. Tires are pretty fresh. Body panels are straight and look good and I see very little signs of rust anywhere under the car. Interior is perfect and beautiful. Carpet and seats are super fresh looking and beautiful. Only issue here is some jackass before nick owned it had screwed a tach to the dash and the little screw holes are leftover from the mount job.

Which leads me to the rest of my initial perceived negatives. The cars paint isn't nearly as nice as I had hoped, seller rated it a 7/10 but he stated he was picky. I don't think it was a great paint job to begin with as there are many blemishes and imperfections including cracking and such below the doors, maybe that will look much better when all cleaned up I don't know. The gap between passenger door and fender and also where the hood lines up do not line up nicely at all and it's immediately noticeable even from far away. Huge gaping gap between door and fender, I don't like it and want to fix. Gaping gap? Did I say that? After typing it it sounds weird and incorrect lol. Anyways, you get the point. It also looks as if the grand national emblem on driver side fender isn't straight, may be just me but just doesn't look quite right. All things that can eventually be worked out.

1st startup
Car starts very strong and relatively fast. Sound is outstanding as exhaust seems to be in excellent condition, and the tips look beautiful. Idles perfect, nice low rpm rumble but subtle and gentle. Electronic cutout works beautifully and makes the car pissed off and angry sounding, but not so obnoxious that it's deafening. Perfect sound and idle... love it.

Test drive
Shift into drive and crawl to movement. It feels immediately as if the transmission is beefy and solid. It doesn't feel stock at all as the torque converter slip is noticeably different than normal. I do not like this, although I realize it's importance in a highly modified car. It just has such a different feel from a crisp gentle takeoff, I was hoping to avoid this, but if I cared about this enough I probably would have bought a nun modified car. Ok, let's take it up to cruising speed after a 10-15 minute warmup while I did my detailed walk around. Out the driveway, steering feel is definitely 1980s, as expected. As I accelerate, the engine is smooth and strong, steering loose and sloppy making it a chore to keep it going perfectly straight between the lines. To be expected I suppose, after all, I'm used to driving my wife's 2012 sonata which although is uninspiring does have nice tight steering and good feel and feedback, but it's a 2012! At this point, I'm being reminded that I purchased a 1987 with 140k+ miles on it. With nicks steering component upgrade and the beefed up and tightened linkage, I was hoping for a bit tighter of a feel though. So I cruise for a bit. Wind noise imminent and louder than I'd like, but again, it's a 1987 with t tops no less. Nick had installed an anti rattle kit for t tops. I'm unsure of what that consists of, but it didn't fully work because there is some minor rattle. Wasn't thorough enough to narrow down where exactly it was, could be just interior plastic panels around t tops. All in all, I'm being picky here and it does feel solid for the most part. Ok, it's warmed up and I've cruised gently for a bit. I accelerate to a brisk 90mph at 10 lbs boost and there seems to be almost no turbo lag as that thing spools immediately. An ear to ear smile implanted on my face with one sweeping swoosh woooaaaaabbaubaubuab . Love that waste gate sound. Nice strong and commanding pull. Needle buried past 85 so fast it's ridiculous. Come to a stop and the brakes feel like a brand new car. Here's one point where I'm not reminded I'm in a 1987 because pedal feel is crisp and perfect and tight. Minimal pressure needed and I'm thrilled with this. It's definitely a highlight of this car. So I wait for the squad car to turn past me down the road I'm just leaving, yep, first test drive and I see an officer. ... While I have no plates on the car other than the front silver grand national memorabilia plate. He stares at the car, as filthy as it is, and drives slowly by then speeds up and is on his way... sweet. So I pull out and turn and give some gentle but healthy throttle and with a perfect fishtail the tires break effortlessly loose at 1/4 throttle and accelerates smoothly with minimal boost. Nice. Cruising again. That big ass dimly lit needle at 60 mph. Scan master never left zero on knock screen. Ok, let's see what she's got for roll on power. Not quite floored, but most the way I nail it, boost creeps up to 20 in a blink as the tranny downshifts, tires break for a split second and it takes off like God smashed its ass with a sledgehammer. Super impressive, however, I noticed knock registered on scan master. I do not remember what the number flashed to, but it seemed high to me and I got frightened and uneasy. Backed off immediately and very gently drove it home which was only 3-4 mins away.

A couple things to note here. nick had told me that if I ever saw knock register to pull the car over immediately and shut the car off to cool down, I couldn't do that because of where I was, a highly traveled narrow 2 lane. Also, the greddy electronic boost controller has 2 preset settings a high(25psi max) and a low(20 max). I'm guessing it's set to the low setting as I saw close to 20psi registered when I nailed it. Not sure as I'm not yet educated enough to operate the greddy. Nick said he never gets any knock and that the alky kit is dialed in and is legit at 20 or 25psi pulls with no knock. After all, Julio tuned the car, this thing should be righteous. It felt righteous, I'm just uneasy seeing any knock register on the scan master. I'm wondering what issue is at play here and I'm reminded of the fact that I purchased a highly modified car that is generally known to be less than reliable at times, and so goes my first experience in this arena. It was about 60 degrees out. Cars water temp nice and cool. Another thing to note here is that the car made no suspicious noise, no studder, no nothing other than the scan master acknowledging some knock. Knock registered right before hitting peak boost on that pull. So there's that.

When I got home, car sounded and felt great but shut off immediately. Did another walk around and popped the hood. Holy cow, the holy grail. Here's the biggest positive of the car yet. Other than maybe seeing my wife walk towards me at my wedding or watching my kids grow up, this is the most beautiful f'n thing I've ever seen in my life. I can't hardly imagine a nicer looking engine bay. And after seeing the black powder coated turbo cover heat shield in person, I really like it and it contrasts nicely with the chrome and billet components. Super stoked at the sight of the engine.

So final thoughts on my first impression... Well, I guess it boils down to Do I think I got my money's worth. And the answer is a definite yes, but I was just hoping for a bit more than what I should have expected for a high mileage 1987 GN purchased for under $20,000. I wanted better paint, tighter steering, less road noise, and perfect reliable no knock performance. I was hoping for fully restored perfection. But I feel I got what I payed for and am happy. I will follow up after I detail and photo car.
 
Sounds like u are happy, so that's good. Well worth the wait. Yes indeed. Hoping to see pictures soon. Maybe come over and see it in person as well.
 
lets meet up this weekend then sometime. I live right off of 116 past the McCluggage bridge in East Peoria
 
I posted a thread in the engine tech section about this issue as well, but wondered if a few extra people would see it here and chime in... I've already had a nasty oil leak on the driver side of the block. Furthermore, under heavier boost, smoke was pouring out the back of the car. I think the smoke was from the oil leak getting way worse under boost and smoking when burning off exhaust as it trickled down. But no mistaking a good sized cloud of smoke once boost climbed past 15 lbs or so. Also, I've registered knock several times on the scanmaster when under heavy boost.
As for the knock, how do I determine if it's false knock or not? Knock is sometimes occurring on the gearshift but not always. Worst recorded knock retard was 4.7 that I remember. Once at 1.2, a couple times at 2.3 or so, once at 3.4. Slightly worried about this, shouldn't I be? Alky is always topped off and it is spraying under boost. So there's that.

As for the oil leak and smoke, I first turned to the valve cover gasket. It had a metal gasket with the blue rubber on both sides, which I thought was a poor gasket selection because the finish of the head and valve cover were both rough castings and not machined smooth. I put a felpro cork gasket on to replace it with because I thought it would form better to the rough casting. Anyhow, test drove again, and that did not sove the problem completely. I still got fresh oil in engine compartment, especially noticeable on the steering linkage and surrounding area. Also, again, smoke poured out back under heavy boost. My brothers hypothesis was that it was coming out of the dipstick sleeve. Excessive crank pressure pushing up on dipstick and spitting oil everywhere. Pulled dipstick and reinstalled rubber cap seal that previous owner had on. I cleaned up the oil best I could and let sit overnight Saturday night. Sunday, yesterday, went for another ride, and when I got into heavy boost was when I noticed knock of 4.7 degrees which worried me, but no smoke. Let cool down for a bit and Tried again and it performed great. Nice pulls at full boost with almost no knock, registered 1.2 once at gearshift. Ran awesome. Made a few more pulls with no knock, no smoke. Got back home to check engine and no fresh oil leaked anywhere. Appears problem solved. But why am I getting knock especially only at 20 psi with heavy meth injection ( alky control set at 6 ). Previous owner said motor runs perfect with no knock even when boost controller set at 25 psi max, which I haven't gotten near since I've had it. I've only gone to the low setting of 20psi. Also, if excessive crank pressure is to blame, what causes that? Oil pressure was at 80psi under full boost.
 
Benny,
Welcome to the site:). My first and overwhelming impression of you, is that you have a exceptional way of describing events and bringing the reader into the picture. Which brings me to my next observation.:D Not sure if you've had the chance to read anything out of the "Kill / Fish stories" section? It is my hope that some day when you have had a chance (once the snow melts:bigtears:) to lay waste to some unsuspecting, worthy opponent, we'll be honored to hear your detailed description of this future carnage;).

The car.
Sounds like you got a lot of car for the money. Now that you have "The car", snowed in to your garage until April. Ooops . Did I say April:eek:? I meant Early March. Yea that's it:D. But, what the heck do I know, I'm in So Cal, wearing short paints and flip flops:p. Anyways, lots of good stuff to learn about over the winter. Here's a start. http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/info-for-new-turbo-regal-owners.380856/
Owning, tuning, and keeping these cars healthy is as much what NOT to do, as it is what to do. So far, your doing fine.

The knock you're seeing:
If it's under 45 mph, it's most likely false knock retard (KR) from tires spinning, shifting trans, etc. Don't loose too much sleep over this, or you can chase your tail forever, if you don't understand what you're seeing. Also, in the lower gears, you're not loading the engine enough to do much harm. If you're rolling at highway speeds and mat the gas, what happens is the trans may kick down, the rpm's shoot up, and the alky doesn't have time to keep up with the early requirements. Hence, "KR". My advice to you is "Don't do this". If you want to flog the beast at highway speeds. roll into the throttle. Taking off from lower speeds wont be a problem, as the alky will be spraying as the power and load is coming up.

Squeaks, rattles, body gaps, sunroof, Etc:
Here's what's going to happen. You're going to stair at "how bad" your car looks all winter long. :cry:
Spring time. You'll go to car shows and see what the fit and finish of other Turbo Buicks look like.:yuck:
You'll then take another look at how nice you're car looks next to all the others.:D
Don't worry. These things go so fast, people will never even see that crap.;)

Oil leak:
Not really sure. Need more info. Yea, I hate those blue silicone gaskets too.:eek:

Let us know if you have any questions. Lots of great people in your area. Get with those people. Go to some of the get togethers (once the snow melts:eek:). Back to my Mia Tia and sun screen. Did I mention that I went surfing yesterday. Water temp 67 deg. Air temp 67 Deg.:D

Happy Spooling..

Mike Barnard
 
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