camaro..
well, the camaros are nice, and kinda easy to work on but, the turbo regals are easy to make go real fast. ya just gotta watch out for some pieces, as they have some miles on em.
as far as 83 grand nationals? there werent any. theres 83 sport coupes, and 82 grand nationals, but they were both slow. dont get em if performance is what you want. those are for collecting.
and 9 seconds on a stock block? that would be really rare. i cant imagine that would last too long, without it ejecting some shiny parts here and there.
the 86-7's are the easiest to work on, and to get parts/mechanics for but the hot airs arent that bad either. theyre a bit cheaper. like the rest of the guys said, ya gotta lay down some goals, as to what you want. if you want a 13 second car, buy a hot air. its a tad cheaper, and you can use the money you saved to do the basics to it. (ie total tune up, scan master, guages, all frame brace kits, tie down strap, fuel system)
I'd part your f body out on ebay during the off season, and with all the money youve saved up, buy a hot air.
though, if you get one, the ride and the cabin will be TOTALLY different than what youre used to. i mean night and day. but its ok, youll get used to it. plus have a LOT more room as well. but you better get full coverage for it, as well as a column lock, club, and a good alarm, cuz people kill each other for turbo regals. if you get one in good condition, youll soon see what i mean. seriously, they really are hot commodities. best overall performance car on the road in my opinion. you get everything with it. fuel economy (relative to other performance cars) room, luxury, performance, and the overall class of owning a buick vehicle. you can drive it in the rain, they dont sit one inch off the ground, so you can take it down a non improved road, theyre not made of plastic, so theyre a tad more durable than newer cars, and you can go grocery shopping as well. Selling a whipper snapper camaro and graduating to a grown folks buick, is quite a switch. its like growing up in the hot rod world (not trying to offend anyone) youll see the TOTALLY different type of people youll attract, wanting to come over and talk to you about your car. TR enthusiasts I've found, are generally in a higher age bracket, and a tad wiser and more mature when it comes to the autosports. hang out on the f body boards, then hang out on this or gnttype.org, and you will see what i mean. a TR is a true collectors piece, and will only go up in rarity and price. go to hagertys insurance site, and see what class they threw our gn's in.... totally different world and people in it. you will see.
and one more thing...you said that
"I don't see any banners on this site so I wouldn't even know who sells aftermarket parts for these cars"
on THIS site?? this is one of the few sites around, that has ALL KINDS of aftermarket vendors websites. if you cant find it here, you're in trouble
trust me, this is THE place to go. its where
all the cool guys hang out lol. should you decide to take the leap, and join the family, let me know, or anyone on here, and you will see a wealth of info that will blow your mind man.