SteveZ82
Active Member
First of all, I'd like to start by introducing myself. My name is Steve, I'm a 37 year old IT professional born and raised in Chicago. I've been a car/bike nut my whole life. Throughout the years my family has collectively owned a lot of cool cars. My father had a 66 K-code convertible Mustang, 62(?) ish Corvair, original Beetle, 57 Caddy, 55 Bel Air, 79 SVO Mustang, 66 Dual Glide suicide shift Harley. My uncle, his brother, an Olds 442 (don't know the year), 2 E-Type Jaguars (one hardtop and one convertible), 83 Merc 380SL (which later became mine, what a piece of junk), 69 GTO, 89 IROC, and a Grand National.
My uncle worked for GM through the late 70s until the early 90s. He was there for some really good cars including our beloved Turbo Regals. One of his company cars was an 87 GN with T-tops and a digital dash. I remember being about 5-6 years old and seeing it for the first time. We went to my uncle's house and there it was in all it's glory. I didn't know what the hell it was, I was young. But I do remember how cool it was just sitting near his nice woodsy house out in Carol Stream. We went there to drop off the IROC that he had borrowed to my Dad for a few months. My dad hated that car. Anyway, long story short, my uncle at some point threw my dad the keys to this GN and said, "all yours, don't crash."
Now, one little tidbit about these guys, they moved to the US in 1956 after being run out of Ukraine and growing up in Germany. They witnessed some horrendous things during the war as young children. So, for them, having an American car was a dream come true. I remember TO THIS DAY, the look on my dad's face when he opened that door and turned the key. He was like, "V6? turbo? What are they thinking?" Then we went for a ride. And what a ride.
I was in the back seat, my uncle in the passenger seat, my dad driving. You could tell he liked it because it was comfortable, spacious, and an all around family car. I mean, it is a Regal. I remember my uncle persuading my dad to get on it or something like that and he did and all I remember was being thrown back into the rear seat and it felt like a roller coaster. My dad had a lot of fun that day but that's just the beginning.
So, Dad took the car home. We took it on a trip to Virginia to see his dying, war-hero (Vietnam), younger brother (my other uncle). Any chance he got, he raced. He used to race in the 60s and 70s on the streets of Chicago so you could tell he was loving this car. I was too at 5 (it was a HUGE matchbox car!). Anyway, there was always one story him and I always talked about when we spoke of cars. It was the time he pulled up with the GN to a tollbooth here in the city and some ZR1 Corvette started revving his engine. Me and my mother were in the car with him because we were on our way out to Virginia. They went when the gates let up. And the story always ends, "I only saw two headlights in my rear view mirror." I do kind of remember him beating the hell out of this car but it may be my imagination. I only have one picture of it and it's parked in Virginia in my uncle's condo parking lot and you only see the rear end. But what a picture and how about those memories?
So, there is my story. My dad is almost 2 years gone now but we used to drool over GNs at car shows together and I finally got my own this year. A 1986 hard top GN. He wasn't around to see it but I did it for a lot of reasons. This car makes me think of those times back in the 80s when my Dad and his brother were car nerds, and this was the one car they always, and I mean always, talked about. My dad and I would sit on the back porch and talk cars and guess what, the GN always came up. But one thing that always stuck for me was the experience. Being so young at that time, I just remember it. Everything about it that a five year old would remember. And I think you know what I mean. Now that I own one as an adult, I ask the question, what the hell were they thinking with some of the things they did?
Maybe this is me being used to newer cars and more modern engineering but after owning this car for about 6 months, I shake my head at some of these things like the powermaster, plastic center caps, the size of the brakes, the oil leaks, the cracked DS manifold. But with all the quirks that these cars have, you can't help but love them. And I do love it.
I've been posting here and there on the community forum to get some help and I cannot thank you all enough. It's a wonderful community and I'm glad to be a part of it now. I've learned a lot more than I already knew about the car and it's great that we have this arena to help each other and keep these memorable automobiles on the road for others to enjoy. I will tell you what, every time I put my foot down....I smile. My dad did too. I get it now.
Thanks to all who has helped me and I hope to offer some help or advice in the future. Great community here. Thanks.
My uncle worked for GM through the late 70s until the early 90s. He was there for some really good cars including our beloved Turbo Regals. One of his company cars was an 87 GN with T-tops and a digital dash. I remember being about 5-6 years old and seeing it for the first time. We went to my uncle's house and there it was in all it's glory. I didn't know what the hell it was, I was young. But I do remember how cool it was just sitting near his nice woodsy house out in Carol Stream. We went there to drop off the IROC that he had borrowed to my Dad for a few months. My dad hated that car. Anyway, long story short, my uncle at some point threw my dad the keys to this GN and said, "all yours, don't crash."
Now, one little tidbit about these guys, they moved to the US in 1956 after being run out of Ukraine and growing up in Germany. They witnessed some horrendous things during the war as young children. So, for them, having an American car was a dream come true. I remember TO THIS DAY, the look on my dad's face when he opened that door and turned the key. He was like, "V6? turbo? What are they thinking?" Then we went for a ride. And what a ride.
I was in the back seat, my uncle in the passenger seat, my dad driving. You could tell he liked it because it was comfortable, spacious, and an all around family car. I mean, it is a Regal. I remember my uncle persuading my dad to get on it or something like that and he did and all I remember was being thrown back into the rear seat and it felt like a roller coaster. My dad had a lot of fun that day but that's just the beginning.
So, Dad took the car home. We took it on a trip to Virginia to see his dying, war-hero (Vietnam), younger brother (my other uncle). Any chance he got, he raced. He used to race in the 60s and 70s on the streets of Chicago so you could tell he was loving this car. I was too at 5 (it was a HUGE matchbox car!). Anyway, there was always one story him and I always talked about when we spoke of cars. It was the time he pulled up with the GN to a tollbooth here in the city and some ZR1 Corvette started revving his engine. Me and my mother were in the car with him because we were on our way out to Virginia. They went when the gates let up. And the story always ends, "I only saw two headlights in my rear view mirror." I do kind of remember him beating the hell out of this car but it may be my imagination. I only have one picture of it and it's parked in Virginia in my uncle's condo parking lot and you only see the rear end. But what a picture and how about those memories?
So, there is my story. My dad is almost 2 years gone now but we used to drool over GNs at car shows together and I finally got my own this year. A 1986 hard top GN. He wasn't around to see it but I did it for a lot of reasons. This car makes me think of those times back in the 80s when my Dad and his brother were car nerds, and this was the one car they always, and I mean always, talked about. My dad and I would sit on the back porch and talk cars and guess what, the GN always came up. But one thing that always stuck for me was the experience. Being so young at that time, I just remember it. Everything about it that a five year old would remember. And I think you know what I mean. Now that I own one as an adult, I ask the question, what the hell were they thinking with some of the things they did?
Maybe this is me being used to newer cars and more modern engineering but after owning this car for about 6 months, I shake my head at some of these things like the powermaster, plastic center caps, the size of the brakes, the oil leaks, the cracked DS manifold. But with all the quirks that these cars have, you can't help but love them. And I do love it.
I've been posting here and there on the community forum to get some help and I cannot thank you all enough. It's a wonderful community and I'm glad to be a part of it now. I've learned a lot more than I already knew about the car and it's great that we have this arena to help each other and keep these memorable automobiles on the road for others to enjoy. I will tell you what, every time I put my foot down....I smile. My dad did too. I get it now.
Thanks to all who has helped me and I hope to offer some help or advice in the future. Great community here. Thanks.
