Turbo Buick Related - Kirban 2 Cents worth

[Dennis Kirban]

Had the heading suggested by one of the readers of this forum. I plan to keep writing under the Trunk ID Label one but wanted to start a generic one that would cover a certain topic as it dies down jump to another yet stay in this same thread.

Far easier for me to do it that way. If you like, suggest a turbo buick topic, or pose a question and we can see how it goes. Obviousily my knowledge is not related to the drivetrain but more on the actual cars and related options etc to original style 1986-1987 Turbo Regals.

Here is the opening question:

What unusual circumstances were involved with the purchase of your turbo regal. Either the car? Or the owner? or did you get some ultra rare unusual paper work when you bought your Turbo Regal.

Here are 3 short examples from my buying experience one that covers each of the 3 noted possibilites.....

Unusual purchase:

Took my truck and trailer up to New England to buy a very nice low mileage GN. It was tucked away in a one car showroom. The owner could not meet me there so I had to deal with a person that was like a custodian for the building. I knew in advance the car had a dead battery and have been sitting for several months.

I got there and I figured I could just drop the battery in and drive it out of the building. No such luck. This building was a train museum with model trains can't remember what scale, but they lined all the walls. The guy who opened the building for me told me I by myself had to hand push the car out of the building as fumes etc would create dust and would not be permitted. Plus he was not going to help me in any way.

Needless to say what would have been a simple 30 minute project took me awhile to hand push the car out of the building and then get it started to put on the trailer.

Unusual Seller:

With my track record I have dealt with many many owners some had some way different ideas. This one is near the top of being "different". One thing I have come to hate with these cars is when someone puts those christmas tree air fresheners in a car. When they do its usually one. Well picture a GN that literally and I am not making this up had at least 100 or more in the car. Several hung on a string off the glove box knob it had turned the glove box cover green. Hung all over the trunk.

The smell was so overwhelming that my wife did not even want it sitting outside at the house it was so strong. The mistake I made was having the owner deliver the car so I had no idea of this beforehand. It is not generally a question you ask about a car you are buying. Funny now but very strange back then. I had to keep it at the shop until it sold. I betcha the car still has that christmas tree smell to it to this day!

Unusual Paperwork:

In our state Pennsylvania we have yearly state inspections they used to be twice a year. Many states have them today. Again another super nice GN I bought the owner had a very nice binder and in it he had carefully saved every yearly state inspection sticker. Not the type of document owners usually save simply because they don't scrap off the windshield intact. This is the type car you love to buy because if the owner was that anal about something it carries over to everything about the car.

It's like when you are driving down the street for the first time and looking at the different properties on the block in your mind you are hoping you are going to the house with the real neat lawn and landscaping because your chances of the car being equally as nice is a lot better than pulling up to the one house on the block
that shows years and years of neglect.

Like to hear your stories that fall into any of the 3 above categories. Any suggestions? Once interest fades we will look at another subject concerning Turbo Regals. Don't mention any sellers names obviousily. The world is made up of many different people and the object is not to offend anyone.

krbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

Know enough to keep it interesting.....

 

[TurboRegal84]

When I purchased one of my Buicks the seller gave me the shirt he was wearing the day that he bought the car new in 1987. Also gave me the 'Buick' Styrofoam showroom cups that he received his coffee in while signing the paperwork for it.

 

[turbo nasty]

Wow who would have thought, thats cool.

 

[SS_Sean]

Small guy. I bet the seat springs are still in good condition, too.

 

[KevinB]

I bought my first TR in '97 when I just turned 18. Did not know what a TType was. A buddy and I were leaving the mall and the car was sitting across the street with a for sale sign. I was in the market for a Cutlass but the white Regal with black trim caught my eye.

I talked the guy into a test drive (with him driving). He would not let me drive...said it was too fast and he didn't want me to wreck it. So, i basically bought it w/o driving it. After the cash traded hands, I got my first experience driving a TR. It's been an addiction ever since:biggrin:

By the way, it wasn't fast at all lol. I took it to the track the next week and ran a 17.1 Lets just say there was a lot wrong with it. At the time I worked at a tire shop that had a few mechanics. All the mechanics refused to work on it! Thanks to gnttype.org and the old mailing list, I learned most of what I needed to know to get it in the 14's

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Good stories thus far. I have never seen those coffee cups. That Hawk logo was the Buick logo at the time our cars were built. I got other stories but will hold off for now.

I can see a seller not letting someone test drive their car. I remember local to me at a dealership, car jockey took a GN to the wash bay area and took it for a spin. We all know what wet original goodyear tires are capable of. Spun the car into a wall. Not sure if they made the car jockey tell the customer or the service manager did.

Keep them coming...

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

Can't think of a closing remark.......I could list my cars that I owned.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Need more stories to "pop" up before switching to a new topic. Here is a few sad ones from my experiences.

Not sure if you ever bought one from someone who has passed away or not. Laws may be the same in every state. I have bought at least two from a surviving spouse. Usually the wife, stats are never in our favor of outliving your wife, unless by some stroke of luck they are a lot older than you.

You have to have an original death certificate not a copy to go with the title to register the car. For example, lets say you have 6 cars in your name. Your wife will need to pay for 6 original death certificates to sell them.

The problems arise if you buy such a car I have had this happen wheels had a lock on them. Never could find the lock. I tore the car apart no luck.

I also have bought several from owners that were near death to the point when one seller was bed ridden in his apartment. Car was stored in an under ground garage to his complex and he made the request that I trailered it around front so he could look out the window one more time before I took his car away. This was indeed sad because it had been over a year since he had seen his car at all.

Another case owner as so sick he simply gave me the keys to get it out of the garage as he cold not walk more than a few feet without being exhausted. When you witness something like this first hand it makes you appreciate how lucky you are. Also makes you want to drive your car more because you never know what lies ahead the next day or the next week. Your car could be just another asset for your surviving spouse.

These owners like most of my buys were from customers. That is how I have bought probably 90% of the cars I have bought over the years. Sellers that knew I was a dealer and were concerned that I would make a fair del with them and their car would go to someone that would appreciate it. Also, the car would go out of their area so it would not bring back memories to them.

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

I got more stories, but like to see some of yours........

 

[KevinB]

kirban 2 cents worth

Good stories thus far. I have never seen those coffee cups. That Hawk logo was the Buick logo at the time our cars were built. I got other stories but will hold off for now.

I can see a seller not letting someone test drive their car. I remember local to me at a dealership, car jockey took a GN to the wash bay area and took it for a spin. We all know what wet original goodyear tires are capable of. Spun the car into a wall. Not sure if they made the car jockey tell the customer or the service manager did.

Keep them coming...

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

Can't think of a closing remark.......I could list my cars that I owned.

Yeah, I was 18 at the time...looked like I was 14 haha. Looking back on it, I see his point.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Thought we would score more unusual stories who goes another one from me.
With over 300 cars bought hat has been a few occasions where I backed out of the deal because something just did not appear rite.

Generally I drive a car maybe around the block before I load it. I usually turn over the check after the car is loaded just to be 100% sure. Member most sellers know who I am so they are not worried about running off with their car.

This car was a GN with a super nice repaint. By super nice I mean exterior mirrors were pulled so no rough spray areas on the back side of the mirrors, 1/4 windows had been pulled prior to painting.

I drove the car around the block. Weird thing was making rite hand turns was fine making left hand turns I could hear the front tire rubbing gently on the inner plastic front fender.

Closer look did not see anything at first. I then pulled the car up on my trailer.
I have special hooks for GM cars that sit in the oval slots in the GM frames.

Guess what this car had NO slotted holes in the front frame section on either side
I had never seen this before. Now with the car sitting on my trailer I looked again at the front end and the spacing with one front wheel to the back edge of the fender was different from the other side.

At this point I knew I was not buying the car. I also was pretty sure if I was to follow this car down the road it wold not track straight. Plus having never sen a frame without the oval slots I had no idea what frame was under this car.

The owner had bought the car like 6 months earlier and had no idea. I believed him and told him I had to pass on the car. If he wanted to verify what I found I told him simply have someone drive your car and yo follow it and see how it tracks.

I also said take the car to a body shop that has a frame rack and I am sure with their experience they could tell you what was done to this car.

Had I not trailered it home I would not have discovered the frame being odd.

true story

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

Not every picture tells a true story.

 

[benoitthegr8]

Good deal gone bad gone good

This is not too unusual but maybe interesting... I buy an 86 GN from a guy in NC. Drive the car, it runs ok; the trunk tag said it had the G80 RPO, but didn't want to launch the thing and really get into it. The Car needed to be gone through with the basics. The car has stock exhaust, airbox, hoses, clamps, ect.ect. The only modification on the car was an adjustable wastegate actuator (so I thought) I go ahead get a scan master, boost gauge, O2 sensor, those nice grey plug wires Dennis sells, hoses, T-bolt clamps, and other odds and ends. Change all the vacuum hoses and zip tie em off. Get the car running mechanically correct, and throw some BFG drag radials on it. I was getting some traction loss on launch but not too bad as I only had it set to 14 lbs of boost. So I notice the tranny making a groaning noise when the car would sit in drive at the light. No problem drive up to Mr Clarks and pull the tranny, change the convertor, problem fixed. Then Richard starts looking at my rear end, he says that’s not an 8 1/2 inch rear end. I checked the RPO's but was too lazy to crawl under the car to verify the axle codes. It turns out the rear end was a pegleg and the old convertor was out of Cadillac... WTF... I call the seller and he says he bought the car like that. Fast forward a year later >>>> I get a phone call from the guy who I bought the car from, he tells me he was "saved" and wanted me to have the original posi trac rearend for the car and some other parts he still had. We set up a day and he drives about 60 miles from his house gave me the rearend, an unmolested TH2004R, a set of glass bumpers, and some other odds and end. So I asked him what he wanted in return, he replies "gas money" (that was when gas was almost $4.00 a gallon). So I gave him $40, and he really made my day.... at least not everyone is a crook out there....

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Good story! It's good to see a happy ending. Your rite about rears something that is hard to detect. I have gotten burned a few times with cars having a 7.5 rear. I can usually detect when the gear ratio has been changed to like 3.73.

Keep them coming.

Here is another quick one from my past. Back when I was moving a lot of them, I had two guys in Maryland that brought me over 50 cars back in the day. I remember, they were out test driving one stopped for gas Another GN pulls in for sale. The one they were test driving was not as nice as it was described. They ended up buying the one that pulled in for gas for me, and not buying the one they originally where test driving.

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

Keep the stories coming.

 

[imjoesnuffy]

I went to go pick up my tuxedo for my junior prom back in 1991. I drove my car, 1986 Chevette, to go pick it up, lol. When I got back to my house I saw a Grand National sitting in the driveway. I didn't know who it belonged to. Went in dropped off my tux, come to find out my mother had bought an 85 GN that day. Well I talked her into letting my drive it to prom that night. Also drove it to my senior prom, just cause it was a cool car back then and even to this day most people didnt know much about them.

Fast forward to 2004, my mother still has the car but she has let it sit and it needed alot of work. Well I was sent overseas to Germany, at the time I had 1971 Camaro Z-28 LT-1, split bumper. I had put a lot of work into the car and had it in good shape. I stored the car at my mothers house and she would start it for me once a month, drive it around the block, that sort of thing. Well one day she calls me in Germany. She kept asking me to sit down and that she had some really bad news, just by the sound of her voice I knew it was bad. I was thinking a close family member had passed away or something along those lines. Fortunately it was just the car. She had driven to the store and parked it outside. A hail storm blows in out of nowhere and 22 minutes of softball sized hail hit the area. Did like $38,000 worth of damage to the house. Totally destroyed my camaro, looked like someone worked it over with a ball peen hammer. I ended up selling the drivetrain and a few other interior pieces. My mom felt so bad about what had happened she insisted on giving me her old GN. And the rest they say is history. I loved that Camaro, but the GN outperforms it in so many ways.

When I first got the car it was in such bad shape it would only spin a tire if you brake torqed it AND you were turning a corner. I took her for a ride in it after I had just about everything rebuilt, she couldnt believe how much faster it was than her 97 corvette she had at the time.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Great story....like they said "every car has a story" Owner of Mid America Corvettes published a book a several years ago based on stories of owners of Corvettes. Like at some of the recent car magazines they now print stories of "barn finds" and cars that original owners still have 25-35 years later.

While its true I have a lot of stories, its neat to read what you readers have to say as many of you are younger than I am.....

Here is another quick on from my past:

In the late 1990s during the winter months especially between Thanksgiving and Chistmas I would buy several Turbo Regals. Great time to buy those type of cars. At the most I would have anywhere from 7 to 9 sitting. I live by the way in PA where some winters can be tough weather wise.

Anyhow my neighbor who is fairly wealthy (since now has passed away), would spend every winter in Naples Florida leaving their house empty.

When they would do this they gave me their garage free to store cars as long as I promised to always leave 2-3 cars sitting on their driveway so the house did not look deserted.

It worked out great for me having additonal space, and for them having peace of mind. In this day and age its tough to always get a long with your neighbors, since they may not share the same interests as you do. Although they were not into cars we got a long great.

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

Keep them coming.......good reading

 

[Polecat]

Estate Sale

After much searching I came across an advertisement for a 1987 Buick Grand National that caught my eye on the internet. Contacted the gentleman about the car and he was selling it to clear his fathers estate. His son who was about 45 new very little about this car but said that the car and his dad's boat were his two toys. The car had been driven very little and almost not at all the last couple of years as his father was ill for sometime. He was claiming the car had only 53,000 kms (aprox. 33,000 miles) had never been driven in the rain or snow and that as far as he new the trunk had never been used.

Now I live in Winnipeg, MB and the car was located north of Toronto ON so it was almost impossible to go look at the car so I asked for photos. He only had a couple of photos but I was wanting pictures of the underside, vin #, interior and etc. Now I found out the car was not even located where he was living and that I would have to wait a couple of days until he could go get the pictures.

When I received the photos I had more questions as the exterior was beautiful but there appeared to be rust in the engine compartment. His son new that the car had been repainted because the factory paint wasn't good and that his dad had the car completely stripped before it was painted. I'll admit that I've done almost nothing mechanically to cars and always even took my cars in for oil changes and I now found out that the person I was dealing with had the same experience as me, that being none.

Eventually I think we both became frustrated with each others lack of knowledge and our communications ceased. Curious if he still had the car I sent him an email asking if he had the car and if he did here was an offer, a very low offer in my opinion.

He phoned me back saying that they really wanted to settle the estate as his sister was now ill with the same disease that his father had. I accepted the counter offer and arranged for the vehicle to be shipped to me via train.

This year we had a great fall and were enjoying above average temperatures. However arrangements for shipping were difficult and the car didn't arrive until December, in the middle of a snow storm and a deep freeze. When I saw the car for the first time it looked like crap and I was wondering why did I buy something without looking at it first. The exterior was covered in dust, ice and snow, the drivers side window was partially open and as such the car was full of snow inside as well. The car was almost on empty and wouldn't start even with a boost. I had it towed home put a charger on it and filled it up with premium gas and some stabil. This was all it need to get it running so I took it to the car wash and it cleaned up great.

The seller couldn't find any of the paperwork for the car but said his dad had everything in a binder and will send it when he goes through everything at his dads house. The only thing in the car was a transfer of ownership document and a certified appraisal that was performed when the car was repainted in November 2007. The car had only 300 kilometers on it since the appraisal was performed and the appraisal says original owner, accident free and 52,399 km's. It appraised for $35,340.00 which at the time was probably about $25,000 usd.

I think the appraisal is a little high. The downsides are that the emblems were put on in the wrong locations and because of it's sitting all of the bolt heads and other surface areas in the engine compartment has some minor rusting. I'm presently replacing the hoses, tires, fluids, belts and etc. Later this year I hope to have the engine pulled and have the engine compartment cleaned up to look original.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Wow great indepth story. I never realize that trains would be used to transport single cars up in Canada. I can appreciate your weather when I was a lot younger I was up in Three Hills Alberta Canada. Had two sisters go to college up in that neck of the woods.

They now live in Washington State. Like I wrote earlier it is tough dealing with an estate situation because the owner has passed on that knows the car and knows where they put everything. I always tell my wife when I go I wanna have my car keys in my pocket.

Another quick story from my past:

The first GNX I bought (have had 8 of them to date) was in 2001. A one owner with 179,000 miles on the clock. Not normally a car one would consider but since it was a one owner, all original and a GNX I was very interested.

Turned out the owner bought a new Lexus and the Lexus dealership had no interest in the GNX. (I am sure one of the mechanics there would have been interested had they known!!!)

He called me and I went down with my truck and trailer. Usually when I buy a car, I take it for a quick drive and most sellers know me so they don't go with me. I took the GNX for a drive in this guys nieghborhood. I left my cell phone in my truck. Since it was the very first GNX I was buying I wanted to make sure all the guages worked etc.

So I am checking the guages not paying attention to the different streets. Guess what I get lost in his huge housing development. Adding to the problem I did not have my phone, nor could I even remember the street he lived on...It took me over a hour to find my way back to his house.

I told him what happened....The GNX was in unbelieveable condition for the miles, sure the drivers seat and steering wheel were worn, but everything even the antenna worked. Body was good and all original. I paid ten grand.....

I offered the car to two local friends of mine into Turbo Buicks for around $12,500 neither jumped at the chance. Once I put the word out the car sold in one week for $13,900 out the door.

Several morals to the story, most obvious, one of the highest mileage ones sold that was all original. The original owner is one of the few that really got to enjoy his GNX as a regular go to work car. Plus in looking back I don't think any others in that condition have sold as cheap as I gave that one away for.

end of story

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@ yahoo.com

keep them coming we will stay with this topic as long as people reading it contribute before jumping to the next topic. Every car has a story..........

 

[turbo39151]

Not sure if this falls into the unusual seller category but... back around 1991, having run up against a GN on the street in my slow Camaro, I had been "shoping" for a GN. I had gone to a few dealers that had used GN's for sale but they were still pretty pricey $13-16k... and I was young and making about $6.50 an hour. Needless to say I didn't qualify for a loan. I tried to buy a 89 GTA Trans am with bank financing and was again declined.

One day, after having found an SS Monte in ok condition for $5k at a local buy here pay here lot(I was really leaning toward the SS's v-8), my uncle asked me to give him a ride home. I took the back route which ran through a lower income area of town. As we were driving I noticed what looked like a GN parked in a buy here pay here lot. I did double take but wasn't sure if it was the real deal or what.

I raced to drop off my uncle and came back to "inspect" the lot. Sure enough it was a turbo regal only it was Black 86 T-Type. When I asked the guy how much I expceted to get shot down but then he said "$5k". I nearly fell over. I tried to play it off cool. I asked him if he'd take a trade and he said if it was paid off that he'd consider anything so I told him I'd think about it and raced home to crunch the numbers.

Ironically, my FINAL car payment was due on the camaro. I borrowed the money from my dad and went to the bank to pay off the car a few days later. Before that time I took a mechanic friend of mine with me to look at it and test drive it. He told me to punch it and that was it. I was hooked. I asked for his opinion and he said to buy it now.

A few days later, I showed up and traded my camaro on it and drove her to my friends place where we had to put a new water pump... Powermaster failed later and required many calls to GM to get it fixed...

That car was the love of my life and went everywhere with me-smoking everything that crossed it's path (In fact I think I still have some of my old original Kirban catalogs):biggrin: She even went to TX when I was stationed there. After new weatherstrip and a new paintjob, I left the car at my friends place hidden in the back of his house while I was stationed in Korea for a 1 year tour.

A month or two before I was supposed to come home I got a call from my mother telling me that my father had some bad news for me... I thought that someone had died. Actually, my car had been stolen (actually it had been stolen a few weeks after I had shipped but everyone was too scared to tell me fearing I might do something crazy). I had let my insurance lapse since I was out of the country -I was young and didn't know any better. My friend had been struggling financially and his home owners insurance had been lapsed for several months. I lost everything. My friend and parents scoured the area chasing down potential targets but to no avail.

The car has never been recovered. (S.W. FL)

On a brighter note, fast forward many years to 2005... After talking non-stop about my old TR, my other half fianlly said that I should probably just buy another one before she stangled me. SO, I bought a GN, then another and another, and ...Well, those are stories for another post...

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Great story....this part of the thread is open to anything related to finding/buying a turbo regal. I enjoy reading them. I can see the military plays a part in many of your lives. Me being slightly older, put m in Vietnam back in 1966-67. The hot car back then and launched my business, was the Pontiac GTO. Enough about that since it is not a Turbo Buick.

Another quick story:

This car holds a record for me. By record I actually bought it 3 times and handled the sale on a 4th time all on the same Grand National. So from that statement you know it had to be a super nice example, and each owner kept it extremely nice for me to go buying it back each time and made money each time.

I reside in eastern, PA first time I bought the car it was in western, PA about 300 miles away. Brought it back home. Car originally came from NC got traded in at dealership in western PA because his father or some relative worked there.

This car was absolutely gorgeous guy kept a little black book every record the works. I got the deal because a Buick GS guy worked there and knew me. I trailer the car back about 300 miles.

I sell it to a guy in NC. Member it originally was in NC when it was new. Now its going back to NC. Time passes the guy in NC is a cop needs to sell it. Calls me I buy it go to NC bring it back to PA. This time I sell it to a guy maybe 20 miles from my house. Years go by, he calls me up hardly used the car. I buy it again.

At this point I decide to call the original owner in NC and tell him the travels his car has made since he sold it. Also to tell him it looks no different than when he traded it in several years earlier in western PA. Guy is now a Doctor.

Misses the car appreciates the story but passes on the car. I then sell it again. This time the buyer lives in Arizona. Maybe 1-2 years goes by he calls me wanting to sell the car. Course I am not going to travel 3,000 miles this time so I tell him I am pretty certian I can get him a buyer based on the fact I have owned it 3 times.
Plus going by memory I don't think the car travelled more than 5,000 miles since I first owned it.

I then get him a buyer in Arizona to a friend of mine that used to live near me in PA who owns one of my other GNs and he buys it.

So, technically the car passed through my hands 3 times phyiscally, and 1 time over the phone. Not often you can make money 4 times on the same car and have it still look the same having passed through more than 2-3 owners!

Moral of the story, most of my customers appreciate and take care of these cars.
True story.....car still to this day resides in Arizona. Current owner is a fanatic. Also each owner carefully maintained all the records papers window sticker and I passed them a long to each buyer so everything stayed intact. True story!

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com
great stories keep them coming......

 

[jpwahler]

GN Stories

This is not my story, but a good friend of mines that got me into GN's. His father owned a service station and my friend worked for him. Dad decides that he will order a brand new 1987 Grand National upon learning that they will no longer be produced with every single option available.

Unfortunately, shortly after placing the order, Dad underwent surgery and passed away during the procedure. My friend was faced with taking over his father's business and taking delivery of this new Grand National. Now Dad was a good businessman and had negotiated a great deal with the Buick dealer across the street (who also happened to be a customer) and the salesman offered to sell the car knowing that he could sell it for considerably more than the negotiated price. My friend passed on his offer and took delivery of his father's Grand National.

Fast forward 18 years later, the car (which was kept absolutely immaculate) was sold to my friend's friend who offered a premium price for the car. After four years, the current owner wanted to get back into corvettes and offered the car for sale in the Autotrader during the beginning of 2009. After many people looked at the car, it turns up stolen. The thieves came and got the car out of his garage when no one was home. I can't help but believe it was a "prospective buyer" that looked at the car previously.

Very disappointing story. Remember...be very careful about letting people come to your home to purchase cars or parts (these cars especially)!

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Concerning story above. I can't tell what area your friend lived, but the advice is well taken as I know of that happening to a few people over the years. If you think about it, as a seller of a nice car you have provided a "thief" with an exact location of a car worthy of stealing.

While you think they are interested in the car they are more interested in seeing the area surrounding your car where it is kept do you have a dog etc...smart thing to do is meet a potential buyer away from your home.

Along that same note every year their is a huge race/show event in the Fall for Buicks in nearby Raceway Park, in NJ. This happened maybe 8 years ago. I know its true as the owner owned one of my cars.

My friend takes his turbo regal to the event as a spectator. He has convinced his Dad to go with him. They park their turbo regal in the spectator lot. We all know that to break into these cars is almost as simple as lifting the door handle.

My friend and his Dad enjoy the event go to leave, can't find his car. If you ever had that feeling you know what I am referring to as I had it happen to our 1963 Corvette at a movie theatre. You get a funny feeling in your stomach. You wonder if maybe you parked it a little more to another area.

I know of cases where owners back in the day had them stolen off their driveway even with another car behind it. Unfortunately the Turbo Buick specially black ones were very high on the thief list of cars to steal.

Only difference today, is the pickings are slimmer than 10 -12 years ago. Point well taken do not let your guard down. One reason you often see enclosed car trailers with no wording on them.

Keep the stories coming.....

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

On the Vette it was a 1963 split window coupe. We found it about 2 months later just a shell. So little left 4 people could lift it. We did not have proper insurance on it and it was just prior to when their values started to climb.

 

[yullose]

This is completely unrelated to Turbo Buicks... but still worth mentioning.

"Barn finds" are still out there.

These are pics I took of a car my buddy bought a few weeks ago.