Restore T Type or Clone to GN?

[drfair]

I have a 87 T Type in good mech shape. The interior needs door panels, recover seats, and carpet. The exterior needs paint. The car left the factory with chrome trim, with additional chrome rocker panels beneath to doors. The color is a light gold. Options: bench seat, preminum sound, electric W/L, cruise, digital dash. It still has matching vin # on the code sticker on rear deck lid. The car currently is orginal, with Alum. turbine wheels.
What I need help with is this.
Is this car more valuable restored to orginal.....or restored to GN Clone? In 87 only 1037 T Types were made. How can I find out how many were made with my color and options?
I really would like to have a GNX clone, and could do this with this car, but would I be shooting myself in the foot 3-5 years from now when I go to sell the car?
I need your advice... I'm ready to order interior now... I need opinions as I can not see which is best direction to go.

Thanx, Don

 

[slow 87]

If you are going to sell it in a few years then restore to original.

or if

GNX clone =
= keep it and enjoy

 

[Turbo Brian]

If you were a buyer looking at two cars and one of the cars was a GN clone (probably with a higher asking price), and the other was a nice documented T, which would you buy? The value of the GN clone would be difficult to determine. The T value could be accurately determined would appreciate as T's became more scarce in the coming years. If you were to buy the GN clone, you could never resell it as a GN and its value would be difficult to determine and based on finding that scarce buyer that wanted a GN clone. Remember, your chrome trim and bench seat, would stand out like a sore thumb on the trunk sticker.

This is the same dillema that the GTO community had for many years. If someone were to clone a GTO from a Lemans, even with correct parts, did that increase its value? In most cases, not. Could you represent it as a real GTO or was it still just a Lemans? Sometimes, the person that cloned a car, represented it as a clone to prospective buyers, but somewhere down the road after several changes of ownership, someone who was not as knowledgeable could be lured into a purchase of an "original." The bottom line is that your best bet is probably restoring to original rather than cloning.

 

[MeanBuicks]

I vote for leaving that car stock.

Boy, how hypocritical can I be? I turned my GN into an X clone. However, that only entailed bolting on wheels & flares, adding vents and switching emblems. The paint color is the same as is the interior so it was easy to do and would be easy to undo.

Doing the same to your car would necessitate a total makeover and the car will lose it's identity. That is why I vote you don't do it with that car as the chrome trim and T interior combination that you have is pretty rare and unique. It would be a shame to cover all that up. As much as I love the GN/GNX look, I always dig the 'wolf-in-a-sheep's' appearance of a chromed, bench-seat T. Cool sleeper!

 

[GNVAIR]

Desirability and rarity seem to get confused in the automotive community. Even thouugh you really want a GN or GNX, you have an 87 T which is a much rarer car. The paint color, bench seat and chrome trim make it more unusual. I personally would leave it alone OR sell it a get a GN to start with. There are still plenty of GN's to be had for reasonable prices. You might even get lucky and find someone wanting to trade.

 

[TWIN86GNS]

If I were you, I would restore it to original. Like everyone else has said it will be worth more in original condition than modified condition. If I was going to buy another car I would buy the original one versus the clone any day.


Good luck,


Paul Beal
pbeal@sympatico.ca

 

[drfair]

Thanks Guys for your input.

I've decided to restore to orginal after reading your comments. As I move along the project I'll post some pix as I go. Before and After pix.

Again, thanx for your input.

Don

Restoring 87 T Type Bone Stock Orginal

 

[Two Lane]

We're still waiting on the the Pics!!

So, how did it turn out?????????

 

[dpok69]

Being new to GN's, i got sold a t-ype that was misrepresented as a GN. It had the seats and all the emblems as well as having blacked out trim.

I got suspicious one day when i noticed that the horn button had a round turbo 6 embelm. I peeled it off and saw an emblem for a T. The car did not have any vin #'s and had a salvaged title. I looked in the trunk and found the rpo code WE4. The bumper brackets were also aluminum.

This car is even more valuable than a GN (1700? made compared to 20,000 GN's), but the original owners have now probably destroyed the value of the car.

 

[jj86gn]

That's the problem with some slime out there. They'll try to get over of anybody to make a fast buck.

If this happened to me, I was younger, and I didn't have the job that I did, I'd find out where the guy lives and have him meet Mr Louisville Slugger.

But I'm older now and would handle if differently, Flame him/her on the boards!!!

Anyways, Don, your car is rare and I would restore it to it's originial condition. As far as dpok69, did you bring your car back to a original WE4, of did you leave it as a clone??

 

[dpok69]

I left it as a clone. Most people do not know what a we4 is anyway and i can convert it back anytime.

 

['71buickg.s.]

Arent the we4's factory lightened and therefore quicker than gns? Also, arent they rarer than a gn?

 

[Bweavy]

1547 made.Factory aluminum bumper supports & drums.Weight loss made it faster then a GN.Not the first I've heard of converted to a GN.

 

[RobV6]

My first turbo car was a WE-4. Which at the time I didn't know. but it did have T-Tops. Gray interior numbers all matched.

The weight was 3,600 pounds though I never weighed it.Registration. Indicaded this. So I don't know how light these cars really where
As I sold it 9 months later to get a GN.

Till that was stolen I was ha happy man.

Other side of the coin. Was I was in a grocery parking lot.
Saw a white car with chrome door bottoms. Thought it was a Clone of some kind. Till I looked at the dash. Found out it was a Turbo Limited. 6 ears of waiting .And the woman sold it to me.
Now have a GN & a Limited.........Just a short story.....