What Factor(s) Made You Purchase Your First Turbo Buick???

[313badbuick]

The factors that made me purchase my first turbo Buick started in 1986 while working in Dearborn Heights,Michigan at a local Steakhouse on Telegraph Rd. in High School. I was really into performance "MUSCLE" cars and there was alot of action on weekends in the Summertime to say the least and Iam sure any members on this board from the area would agree. As a 16yr old teenager I was really into performance cars like most teenage boys were and buying Hot Rod and Motor Trend magazines every month. Just couldnt believe what I was reading about this V6 Buick Regal "FASTEST AMERICAN BUILT PRODUCTION CAR" on the Front of Motor Trend. While reading Iam thinking to myself there is no way in h*ll that a V6 Buick could hold the title FASTEST AMERICAN BUILT PRODUCTION CAR!!! NO WAY NO HOW...this must be a mistake . You have these FAST V8 POWERED..Mustang GT, Iroc, and the MIGHT Corvette the AMERICAN FLAGSHIP OF PERFORMANCE. i will never forget, one warm Sat. July nite me and a manager decided to cruise Telegraph in his notchback 5.0. We decided to stop and watch some of the street action at a parking lot across from a red light that you can catch a good race most of the time. Well what do you know ...a MIGHT Vette and one of thoses GN show within minutes of us parking. I couldnt believe how that V6 Buick spanked the Vette, then several Mustangs, Iroc's!!!! We watched that Black car punish all kinds of cars for over two hours. Then finally the owner/driver of the GN ,while sitting at the red light ,yells out of the window "What do you fellows think...pretty good for a little ole 6 !!!" Since that warm summer nite in 86 I have been a life long fan of that lil ole 6...what else is there????

 

[2GNS4ME]

ya I remember late 80's I saw a GN fly by us when my mom was driving us somewhere(wasnt old enough to drive) I thought it looked sick with it being all back and the SOUND ....oh my God I think I had a boner and I didnt even know anything about the car. Then I think a year later I met Wikedv6 and the rest was history.

 

[Butchman]

What made me by my T last year was turning 38 and having a midlife crisis> :biggrin: Well kinda. My first car was a 75 Skylark then a 77 Regal so I was a Buick fan. In 1987 I was a senior in high school and loved cars. I used to watch Motorweek on PBS all the time. I remember them running the quarter and was amazed that a V6 was that quick. I also remember the Fastest Production Car statement. I was amazed because I had driven a 5.0 Mustang and that was super fast to me. I couldn't imagine something faster. I was in Auto Mechanics in High School and we got to go to the Auto Show in Chicago. One of the first things I did was hunt down the Buick area and sit behind the wheel of a Grand National.

 

[87granny]

I had wanted one since 1986 when i first saw one i was 13 just too young at the time then when i went to school in Ohio the school had an 86 that did not run donated by GM had fallen off of a car carrier and was fixed had 10 miles on it 4 of us got it running what a felling hearing one run for the first time i still had the bug but too young and no money when i first met my wife years later my father in -law was telling me he almost baught an 86 t-type but the sales men talked my mother in-law out of it too fast still the bug was their wife knew how bad i wanted one then last year found an 86 gn did not run talked to the wife was scared it had a blown motor she was like just buy it and so i did and did not regret it i will always have one of these cars

 

[xtremexnyc]

I saw the GNX in a 1987 Motor Trend magazine. When my father was car shopping we went to a Buick dealer here on Northern Blvd. Queens. I saw a brand new GN on the floor. While he was browsing the show room fl. I just sat in the GN waiting for him. Always been my dream car since I was a kid.

 

[excobraguy]

For me it was always a "mystical" car that i wanted. I saw these things at the track running low 13's back in 1988 with a few bolt on mods. Back then if you were in the mid 14's you were doing something. These cars back then were blowing everyone's doors off at the track.....it still amazes me today that they still have the same reputation, 20 years later! I'm 41 and my son is 17...all of his buddies come over to just look at the car and their jaws drop when they see it up close.....to them it's like a Lambourghini or something. I had one ask me "did you pay like $45k or something for this?" I replied, "or something"

 

[VegasSE]

Bottom line, getting destroyed racing them over the years growing up in Chicago did it. I HAD to have a Grand National at some point and the love affair with the car never faded.....so I bought three.

 

[BlackMetal]

Growing up with a GNX in the family and going to car shows in it.

 

[turbo39151]

After getting handled by one in my camaro (you can read about the carnage in the "kills" section).

My first TR was a Black 86 TType with T-tops. (1992-93) What a blast~! It was stolen in 1995 when I was stationed in Korea. When I came home I could not find another so I bought a 300zx (not turbo because all the ones I found were red- ugh!)

Anyway, after 10 years of reminiscing (and complaining ), I finally broke down and bought my current 86 GN in 2005 as a graduation gift to me and since then have continued to "acquire" more TR's. It's a sickness...:biggrin:

 

[6APPEAL]

Since a certain little '78 Regal Sport Coupe was my first car, it started my obsession with the "Black Car".
John

 

[Saladin45]

My brother was talking to me about racing and all sorts of stuff. He used to own a Caprice that he dragged. And well, I asked him if there are cars out there that are fast that would be worth buying. Well, he mentioned something called a "Grand National" and another car called the "T-Type". Well, I looked it up, and that was the first moment that I realized what the heck a Grand National was. I was hooked from then on.

 

[blackmonte]

Getting spanked by a GN when I had my 5.0s and I mean bad! I told my wife one day I will own one

 

[bradinwva]

I just bought one and Im driving to michigan saturday to pick it up. Ive always liked these cars and remember getting spanked by them in my mustang back in the late 80's. Now that Im a little older and could afford one I took the plunge!

 

[Black Power]

Growing up with a GNX in the family and going to car shows in it.

Nice! Which one?

I saw one at the track and was making fun of it (calling it a POS and a granny car, etc.) as it lined up next to a new Dodge Viper. After the GN beat the Viper by about 3 seconds in a blaze of spooling turbo glory I had to have one :biggrin:

 

[BadAssGN]

I got Spanked real bad in my 12.0 second 1981 Pontiac Lemans, it had a 1970 LT1 engine from a Z28, lots of work and lots of spray.

I left this GN at the line and it blew past me something bad.

I spent about an hour studying that car.

I wanted one ever since. :biggrin:

Now I'm that guy that Runs down fast cars. (not that 12s are fast any more)

 

[Underboost]

This was me in 1986 at the winter nationals in Pomona, CA, I was 8yrs old . My dad, and I went on a test drive in a 86 T-Type just before these pic's were taken with some crazy salesman at a dealer that did the gnarliest burn out ever during the test drive. He scared the living $h!t out of me in the back seat. lol After that I was hooked & my father was too. He bought one in 87. It was a weekend driver that he was building little by little until I blew it up prom night in 95 :redface: After I did that he built a motor through Kenne Bell, sadly it was stolen 3 months later out of a grocery store parking lot in Orange County, CA and found in Compton, CA 3 days later on the frame in the middle of an intersection with the Vin laser cut out of the glass. Insurance gave my Dad $16k so he bought another for 13k and was disgusted that it was a stocker. So I ended up buying it from him for $12,500 with 50k mi. Now we both have a great time with it and it just keeps getting faster.

 

[1chance]

Well the first one i saw was owned by this family that was rich, there sons were in the same school. I remember the older brother had a 87 5.0, and the younger one went and got a GN. The 5.0 had the meanest sound, but that GN would kill it evertime. Years later, the guy who cuts my hair has a GN, and a T-Type, and i went with him to a race he was going to race this guy, anyway, we drove up and i asked wheres the car your running he said thats it on the trailer!! This car was full drag, slicks, and all. I said you cant be serious, i rode in his car over there, and it rode like a caddy. They line up, this guy jump 5cars of the line, the GNs spinning wildly, i see him shift to drive, and the car seem to transform, it seem to look angry, and almost stood straight up on the rear bumper, and BAM!!! it took of, 3 cars from the line, it pass that car, and beat it buy a car, after that i had to have one.Plus the A/C worked, and 22mpg.

 

[olds443]

Well tecnically my first TR was bought due to the fact my GN powered Cutlass was stolen. I realized I really needed another TR.

I had heard alot about these cars, had magazines that had them and heard my brother talk alot about them, but never paid them much attention. When I bought the above Cutlass I decided to build it up like I always wanted. In my research I came across Gnttype.org and a blue 87 T Type was junked in our local pick'n'pull. I pulled alot of parts off it and took the axle for my own car.

I wanted a strong motor that I could still smog and get decent mileage and I didn't want a Chevy.
That's what started it.

 

[JimBlackGN]

Back in High School time during the late 1980's, a rich boy who had a Grand National always did the burning out leaving the parking lot and I thought it was a cool black mean-looking car. After graduating high school, I went looking for a GN and realized that it was out of my price range. I ended up buying a 87 Mustang GT 5.0 5 speed and had a lot of fun with it. GN was always in my heart for "someday." Of course I raced with GNs few times and they always blew me off... Fast forward to 2001, I finally got my dream to come true!! I was a proud owner of 87 GN and have had it for 7 years. I often told myself that I should have bought it back in 1987 when it was new and enjoy it more regardless of money issue.

Unfortunately, I no longer own it but I am glad that it went to a new owner who will appreciate it and enjoy it as much as I do... Yes! It is VegasSE!!! I am very happy that I am able to see my "former GN" once a while during the progress that VegasSE is going to do with it!!

I will not hesitate to buy another GN in the future whenever the time is right. As of right now, I am driving a 2006 Charger Daytona Hemi V8 and it is a fun car. My Suburban (as listed in this forum for sale) is put aside in the garage. If it is sold, then that is good. If not, then I will just keep it and cross my fingers that gas price will drop in the next year or two, and will continue traveling with our travel trailer. This coming summer, no plan to travel with the trailer, maybe one time.

Grand National continues to rule even though I own a "Mopar" product (first time in my life to own one!)

 

[kh440]

Worked for the local Buick dealer from 86-88. My 86 442 Cutlass had gotten stolen and totalled in the ensuing police chase (back in those days cops were actually allowed to catch the bad guys...go figure!) Anyway, could not find another 442, had almost settled on a Monte SS when my best friend from the dealer takes me out to lunch handing me the keys to to an 86 GN saying "try it...you'll like it!) Well needless to say I did...and I did. Roughly 2 weeks later sales manager asks would I be interested in making a dealer trade, swapping one of our 86 GN's for a new 87 turbo T. Left that Saturday morning, swapped the cars and was told to keep it over the weekend. (talk about job perks!)
3 confirmed kills later while still wearing dealer plates and walked in to the sales managers' office told him he wasn't getting the keys back and handed him a check instead.....Sticker on that puupy was 17,9-something and I paid 15 and change out the door...plus I made 200 doing the dealer trade!