1987 Grand national question

[berserker6]

if thats the case why so many people wish to own a GN?...there has to be something positive about owning a grand national. when you mean breakdown,do you mean something with the motor or trans?...or just small stuff?

More importantly is why do you want one?

I know why I do. From the very first time I saw one back in 86. I wanted one. From the very first time I rode in one back in 87. I wanted one. The very first time I heard the turbo spool up I wanted one. And my first ride in a modded one (thanks Greg) and it was over. I'm on my 2nd. Oh yeah another reason, my daughter and I pulled up next to a brand new camaro ss. I opened up the dump and asked him "we gonna do this?" his response "I don't mess with grand nationals"

 

[dashoekid21]

ive always been into muscle cars since i was little.now that im 21 i rather buy me a classic right now before the price goes up than to buy a new car which i can always do.another reason is i wanna buy this car right now b/c later on in the future i know its gonna be tough to buy anything i want when i half a wife and little kids running around,so im tryna to get what i want right now since im still young.

 

[87NAT]

More importantly is why do you want one?

I know why I do. From the very first time I saw one back in 86. I wanted one. From the very first time I rode in one back in 87. I wanted one. The very first time I heard the turbo spool up I wanted one. And my first ride in a modded one (thanks Greg) and it was over. I'm on my 2nd. Oh yeah another reason, my daughter and I pulled up next to a brand new camaro ss. I opened up the dump and asked him "we gonna do this?" his response "I don't mess with grand nationals"

Very well said. You my friend are our official GN spokesman.

 

[williamsGN]

do these cars break down easy?im not going to be racing it,just going to use on fri-sun.

Broke down and stranded me... not yet

BUT.. I've put in a new motor, trans, turbo, AC... and the first three had been done by previous owners also !

If your a fan of the GN body style, turbos, etc.. go for it. If your just looking for a fast car, non forced induction cars are way less temperamental and easier to work on in my opinion.

 

[2QUIK6]

in the future i know its gonna be tough to buy anything i want when i half a wife and little kids running around,so im tryna to get what i want right now since im still young.

Then you'll just have to part with it down the road Unless you meet your future wife at a car show or the drag strip A GN holds a car seat real well with plenty of room...probably more room than most SUVs Even going down the drag strip with the car seat in the back..hehe.
Who did you find on the Dallas side to help you out?
Come out to Papas BBQ Saturday the 12th for our LSPBC club meet, probably a link for it in the Texas Section, there's always someone in the club selling something...I think Phil still has an extremely nice gray TType for sale for less than that GN, and its a spotless car with mods done right to put it in the low 11's... I thought he had it posted on here at one point.

Also check http://www.lspbcforums.net/

 

[dashoekid21]

Then you'll just have to part with it down the road Unless you meet your future wife at a car show or the drag strip A GN holds a car seat real well with plenty of room...probably more room than most SUVs Even going down the drag strip with the car seat in the back..hehe.
Who did you find on the Dallas side to help you out?
Come out to Papas BBQ Saturday the 12th for our LSPBC club meet, probably a link for it in the Texas Section, there's always someone in the club selling something...I think Phil still has an extremely nice gray TType for sale for less than that GN, and its a spotless car with mods done right to put it in the low 11's... I thought he had it posted on here at one point.

Also check Lonestar Performance Buick Club

do you know if that guy phil still has it for sale?..i really want a grand national though..i might come out and check it out but are there any young dudes my age...lol

 

[2QUIK6]

do you know if that guy phil still has it for sale?..i really want a grand national though..i might come out and check it out but are there any young dudes my age...lol

He does, I just talked to him last week as he had someone come look at it but they couldn't finance it.
Here was the link to his original post although the link to Autotrader is no longer there.
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/cars-sale/326746-87-gray-turbo-t-astro-roof-spoiler.html
Not sure what his price is at currently, was down to $16k for members in this post. I personally know Phil and the previous owner of this car and it has been taken very good care of. The car has around 100k on the body, but it was professional rebuilt by the previous owner and is now in near showroom condition. Bill Duke did the motor work on it about 8 years ago, he is very well know in the DFW area for Buick turbo builds.

As for the meeting, I never know who will be showing up, everyone in the club is young at heart, but there are several members in their early 20's... Hell I was in my 20's when I joined back in the mid-90's
Just about all of the members have TR's, although there are a few non-TR members.

 

[2QUIK6]

Here's a link with a couple of pics
FS: 87 Gray Turbo T - Sell, Trade or WTB - Lonestar Performance Buick Club

 

[dashoekid21]

Here's a link with a couple of pics
FS: 87 Gray Turbo T - Sell, Trade or WTB - Lonestar Performance Buick Club

damn thats a nice car?...i didnt see the asking price though.
i can def. see me driving that car around.
i saw in the description it said" Its a GN but not in Black. More Rare than a GN." what exactly does that mean?

 

[2QUIK6]

damn thats a nice car?...i didnt see the asking price though.
i can def. see me driving that car around.
i saw in the description it said" Its a GN but not in Black. More Rare than a GN." what exactly does that mean?

There was a price in the original post on TB.com in that link I gave previous. Was at $16k for board memebrs then, he's not real pressed to sell it so I doubt he comes off much.
It's a TType, they made less of them than GNs, but same drivetrain....everyone knows what a GN is when your out and about and will always get asked if its the twin turbo model....Not many people know they made TTypes in different colors which are just as fast as a black GN
I really thought about buying this car before Phillip did, I just simply didn't have space for it...showed it to Phillip who has a TTA and he jumped on it a couple of years ago.

 

[dashoekid21]

i want that car now...lol
it looks so smooth

 

[just plain john]

Young gun, there's nothing wrong with being 21 and wanting a bad ass car. I think all of us here can relate. Turbo Buicks are neither magic nor voodoo, but be aware that it's a hands on proposition. There's lots of technical help here, maybe not so much when it's just you with a wrench in your hands. ANY GN or T Type needs to be in good working order before you start slinging parts at it. Given that these cars are 25+ years old, that may or may not require general repairs depending on the car, and like someone already posted it is expensive to get a shop to do it (if you can even find one that will). But like anything else, the only way to learn is to dive in and do it. Here's a couple of pointed questions already asked but not answered yet. 1) what is your budget? and 2) what are your abilities? If the answer to either is not much just get an LS powered Chevrolet and spend more time driving it than working on it.

 

[dashoekid21]

Young gun, there's nothing wrong with being 21 and wanting a bad ass car. I think all of us here can relate. Turbo Buicks are neither magic nor voodoo, but be aware that it's a hands on proposition. There's lots of technical help here, maybe not so much when it's just you with a wrench in your hands. ANY GN or T Type needs to be in good working order before you start slinging parts at it. Given that these cars are 25+ years old, that may or may not require general repairs depending on the car, and like someone already posted it is expensive to get a shop to do it (if you can even find one that will). But like anything else, the only way to learn is to dive in and do it. Here's a couple of pointed questions already asked but not answered yet. 1) what is your budget? and 2) what are your abilities? If the answer to either is not much just get an LS powered Chevrolet and spend more time driving it than working on it.

budget is about 10k. i was looking for a GN but that grey turbo t like the guys just posted here is pretty nice.the only problem is convincing my parents since i do still live with them.they think i should just buy a car from 2006 and up but i cant cuz i love muscle cars too much.especially the GN

 

[just plain john]

Speaking as a parent of a 22 year old son, I would have to agree with your parents.

 

[dashoekid21]

Speaking as a parent of a 22 year old son, I would have to agree with your parents.

so if your son wanted a GN or turbo t you wouldnt help him out get one?
there no car out that i like unless its a benz/bmw and thats too much.i literlly would rather have a classic and later when i graduate get me a nice fancy car.

 

[Victory]

are you being sarcastic?
im trying to learn as much about this car before i buy.

The best way to learn is to read. Then read again. Then read some more...


All the information you would ever want to know has been discussed at least 12 times already, trust me. I was a member of this board for a very long time before I ever had to actually ask a question. Even then I searched 3 more times before I posted.

A matter of fact, I'm having a feeling of dejavu about this "I wanna buy a GN" thread

 

[dashoekid21]

The best way to learn is to read. Then read again. Then read some more...


All the information you would ever want to know has been discussed at least 12 times already, trust me. I was a member of this board for a very long time before I ever had to actually ask a question. Even then I searched 3 more times before I posted.

A matter of fact, I'm having a feeling of dejavu about this "I wanna buy a GN" thread

maybe you should help me out since you been through this situation before.

 

[2QUIK6]

so if your son wanted a GN or turbo t you wouldnt help him out get one?
there no car out that i like unless its a benz/bmw and thats too much.i literlly would rather have a classic and later when i graduate get me a nice fancy car.

There are some good points above...you didn't say what your mechanical abilities are?? If you live here in Dallas, there is exactly 1 person that I would allow to do any major work on my car IF I did not know how to do it myself or couldn't figure it out...and that person ain't cheap.
If this is going to be your only car, and it sounds like it is...none of the cars above would be good candidates IMO...nothing wrong with an LS powered vehicle, and even more so if your mechanical abilities are slim....
Just went thru similar thing with step-daughter when she graduated college...she wanted a classic Benz as that's all she ever had driven...she didn't understand about the maintenance of a classic car or how much they would need attention and repairs....but she wanted nothing else...after much thought and trying to change her mind to no end, we got her an '87 SL but only under the agreement that any repairs were hers to deal with and pay for, but I had a mechanic that could work on them...same guy as mentioned above Well needless to say, after timing chain issue, transmission issue, oil leak issue and several others she had to pay for ...she either never had a working car, or was broke most of the time... Taught her a good lesson the hard way but at least I was the good step-dad...She now has a Scion TC and the Benz is long gone.

But hey, I bought my GN I have today when I was 22..but was a second car and parents didn't have to be consulted cause I didn't need their help.

 

[HighMileage]

do these cars break down easy?im not going to be racing it,just going to use on fri-sun.

It sounds like just a regular Regal might be a better alternative if you just want to drive around in a nice Regal a few days a week. ? Definitely much less expensive to buy.

As far as breaking-down easy.... Much depends of the competence of the previous owner. You don't want to buy a car from a cob-job mechanic previous owner.

Also,much depends on carefully planning upgrades to work with each other. One ill-planned upgrade...and one heavy footed owner,will lead to expensive problems.

 

[berserker6]

Very well said. You my friend are our official GN spokesman.

thank you sir. and may i say you have excellent taste in music.:biggrin: