Color of hood liner paint

[Bruce Urie]

Painted underhood GN

Thank you Bruce for your nice comments, I appreciate! :wink: I'll try to talk to Santa about bringing you a fiberglass hood this coming Christmas..but I dunno what he'll say...It depends if you're being a good boy!...:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

Claude :biggrin:

Hey, Claude, you're welcome. You deserve the comments. I love how it came out!:biggrin: Talk to Santa for me? Great! If he asks for my address tell I'd be glad to send it to him. Thanks. And, don't worry, I'm being a real good boy. I eat, sleep and dream Turbo Buicks/Grand Nationals (and I've been a Vette owner since 1972...oh, the betrayal!!! So, don't forget to tell Santa that, too. Appreciate it.
Earlier I was showing some friends pictures of the underside of your hood...they thought it was stock from the factory. That shows what attention to detail will do.:biggrin: Again, great job.:biggrin:
By the way, was it expensive to have your hood painted in the matching black? Reasonable or expensive?

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[toofastforyou]

Bruce, since it was so long ago, I really don't remember how much I paid to have this done...sorry...

Claude :wink:

 

[Bruce Urie]

Underhood paint

Bruce, since it was so long ago, I really don't remember how much I paid to have this done...sorry...

Claude :wink:

Claude, no problem. As long as you still have that GN. Don't forget...talk to Santa for me.

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[toofastforyou]

Bruce, don't worry about my GN...I've had it for 20 years now...and swore many times that it will NEVER be for sale...NEVER! When I'll be too old, it will be part of the heritage I will give to my two sons who are also GN enthusiasts.
About Santa, don't worry. I won't forget!...

Claude :biggrin:

 

[INEEDAGN]

Once you get the lettering looking right you should have a decal cutter make you some stencils that you could sell on the board. Many people would be willing to buy a blank hood liner and paint their own lettering on if they could just buy a $20 set of stencils or whatever. Maybe offer some sort of heat applied transfers or offer them in both standard and reverse cutout patterns. Just throwing ideas out there for you. Someone should do it.

Also these didn't just skyrocket because the cars hit 20. They were available for less than $100 right up until the day GM quit lettering them. If YOU had a lettered one in the closet, would you sell it for less than $3-400?

Think of what a new unused lettered liner with the correct number of pin holes is worth! All of them made after 1987 are missing one of the holes for the pins to hold them on.

 

[Bruce Urie]

Bruce, don't worry about my GN...I've had it for 20 years now...and swore many times that it will NEVER be for sale...NEVER! When I'll be too old, it will be part of the heritage I will give to my two sons who are also GN enthusiasts.
About Santa, don't worry. I won't forget!...

Claude :biggrin:

Ah! You you must be the original owner of your Grand National, right? If so, I think it's wonderful that the guys/girls here have been able to still have their first Grand National/Turbo Buick. That's admirable. Your sons are very fortunate. Which son will get the front and which will get the back of your '87?
I heard over the phone, way back in 1987, that my beloved, late Dad had gotten delivery of TWO '87 Grand Nationals! News from my Mom, who was pitching a royal fit, "two new cars, can't afford it, have to eat beans, lose the house, how can one man drive TWO cars, oh Lord, poorhouse here we come, no TV anymore, electricity will be cut off, have to live in a refridgerator box, donate the cats to the Salvation Army..." all that from my poor Mom, all crying and upset. Of course, I rushed over right away to "console" her:wink:. Here came my Dad, driving up to the house in his new Grand National like Mario Andretti! City street, full bore to hell, like a mad man...biggest s**t eating grin I've ever seen on his face! God, that man was happy! You could plainly see it! My Mom was about to have a coronary!!! I told Mom, "Don't worry, I'll go get the other Grand National so Dad can only use ONE car to kill himself in." Didn't work...Dad said no way...he's saving the other '87 for future collectability. :frown: No Grand National for me. I didn't believe this all black Buick Regal could be a fast car...a BUICK???!! A family car??? Well, I laughed at Dad just one time too much...in the car he threw me...and I came back looking like this... I was shocked out of my mind by the blinding acceleration when that damn turbo kicked in. I've never been so impressed in my life. And with a trunk, back seat, and air conditioning!!! Jeez, what a rocket!! Dad, almost until the day he died, had that silly, s**t eating grin on his face all of the time, especially after coming home from work and telling me over and over...all the cars he beat, a Vette, a Mustang, a Datsun Z, a Roadrunner...every car you can imagine, he blew their sorry doors off. My Dad never shut up about that Grand National, he was so proud of it...him being a Buick man all of his life...and an ex B-25, B-26, P-38 Black Widow pilot in WWII. He drove that Grand National like WWII was still going on! The other '87? Damn...he turned it over to his boss at work who wanted one, sticker price only. Crap:frown:
And me??? Here I've always told Dad: "You'll never catch me in a fricken Buick family car, never! Only Corvettes for me!!!!" Look at me now, the proud owner of my late Dad's
'87 Grand National and two years ago I bought my wonderful wife a '99 Buick Lesabre Limited.:redface: And I wouldn't part with my wife or the '87 for all the money in the world. Every night I give my wife a kiss, and go out into the garage and just look at that '87, just can't believe how fortunate I am. (a great wife, a very fast car!) Only the second owner. I just love that Grand National so much, and miss my Dad even more. Ah, Jeez, I just couldn't resist talking about Dad and his Grand National...see, Claude, what happens when you start talking about your real cool Grand National? You get me started on memory lane. Well, just wanted to share with you and all the fellas here, and I hope to hear some stories of the people here about getting their Grand Nationals, too. Care to share? I'd love to hear about it. Just to get off the technical things for a minute and hear about how all you guys got hold of your incredible, fast "family" car. Ha, ha. Did Dad ever have the last laugh on me!!!!


Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Bruce Urie]

Hood stencil idea

Once you get the lettering looking right you should have a decal cutter make you some stencils that you could sell on the board. Many people would be willing to buy a blank hood liner and paint their own lettering on if they could just buy a $20 set of stencils or whatever. Maybe offer some sort of heat applied transfers or offer them in both standard and reverse cutout patterns. Just throwing ideas out there for you. Someone should do it.

Also these didn't just skyrocket because the cars hit 20. They were available for less than $100 right up until the day GM quit lettering them. If YOU had a lettered one in the closet, would you sell it for less than $3-400?

Think of what a new unused lettered liner with the correct number of pin holes is worth! All of them made after 1987 are missing one of the holes for the pins to hold them on.

Ineedagin, I think your stencil idea is terrific. I'd gladly pay twenty bucks for a set, even just to save for future touch up of the silver paint already on the hood liner. I sure hope someone picks up on this idea. But give credit to this guy here. Great idea. I wasn't aware of all made after '87 didn't have the pin holes in them. Thanks for that tip.

Bruce '87 Grand National

PS: I just checked my closet to see if I had an extra hood insulation pad...realized good thing I didn't, I would have had to fold it into eight sections, very small closet.

 

[87we410877]

Once you get the lettering looking right you should have a decal cutter make you some stencils that you could sell on the board. Many people would be willing to buy a blank hood liner and paint their own lettering on if they could just buy a $20 set of stencils or whatever. Maybe offer some sort of heat applied transfers or offer them in both standard and reverse cutout patterns. Just throwing ideas out there for you. Someone should do it.

Also these didn't just skyrocket because the cars hit 20. They were available for less than $100 right up until the day GM quit lettering them. If YOU had a lettered one in the closet, would you sell it for less than $3-400?

Think of what a new unused lettered liner with the correct number of pin holes is worth! All of them made after 1987 are missing one of the holes for the pins to hold them on.

I have an original still in the box and i have a stencil made up but its on cardboard. How can i get it on something i can replicate/sell? Should i go to a screen printing place with the original or the stencil? Im not looking to make money here just want to help out the few of us left here 20 years later!!! I want to donate the finished product to the X mas give away for this year.

 

[Sleeper-6]

87WE441087 - I think you're on to something there. I'm not sure, but I'm going to guess the originals were screen printed on not painted. The hood liner material is more like a fabric than anything else. The overall process of screen printing is really pretty basic, it can prob be done a home with some creativity. The only problem I see is where the "6" drops down on the curved surface. I'm not sure how you would go about getting the screen to sit flat on there.

 

[87we410877]

87WE441087 - I think you're on to something there. I'm not sure, but I'm going to guess the originals were screen printed on not painted. The hood liner material is more like a fabric than anything else. The overall process of screen printing is really pretty basic, it can prob be done a home with some creativity. The only problem I see is where the "6" drops down on the curved surface. I'm not sure how you would go about getting the screen to sit flat on there.

Yes ive come to realize that its more like a decal then a paint since you can actually peal it off in one section. Spray paint doesnt come out as good and more or less just soaks into the fabric whereas the stock one completely covers the fabric. I think i'll take a ride to a screen printer and get some ideas and see what they can do for me. I'll be letting these things go for what i pay for the blanks + shipping. I helpin ppl out!!!