New guy about to purchase an 87 GN

[CuzzinOlaf]

http://www.cars-on-line.com/51145.html

Someone posted this on Facebook.

 

[m3x1c0]

Looks like I might be going with Burick's suggestion. His buddies hardtop is in much better condition. Although I will have to go to Chicago to get it. The idea of driving from Chicago to Virginia sounds aweseome in that car!

 

[m3x1c0]

I have a question about that car though: It is set up to run E85. Which is not available anywhere near me and likely wont be easy to find on the trip from Chicago to VA. What is involved with converting back to run straight fuel and can the E85 cause issues since the car appears to not have been driven much (in pictures). I've heard that the Ethanol content can gunk up an engine pretty badly. He has sent me running videos and the car sounds very healthy.

 

[CuzzinOlaf]

Find out if he has a 93 octane chip.

 

[DavidM]

All it takes is a chip. There are 2 main chip makers for our cars. Eric at TurboTweak or Bob Bailey.

I run E85 so I have a chip burned for E85. In the winter I run 93 so then I just swap out to the 93 chip.

 

[DavidM]

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/index.php?threads/402212/

This one looks decent. Use your remaining budget for some more modern mods.

 

[LIVE4RDO]

oops.

jim@buickturboperformance.com

 

[Antbankstwo3]

I'll give u my 2 pennies. TAKE YOUR TIME!!! 2-3 months ago, I purchased a 1987 GN 40k miles for $12,500 out of Indiana. I was really attracted to the low miles very clean interior & paint is not too bad. Engine was decent but def needed some work. Even tho it was mostly stock it ended up still having all original parts that I ended up replacing due to age & sitting for so long. Now after all this time & money spent working on it, I know I should've spent a lil' more time researching. My original budget was 15k max. After shipping cost & parts I've spent to get it running good, I probably could've found a lot cleaner one regardless of miles.

Oh & mine is a TTop car. The driver side floor board was totally destroyed & patched VERY poorly. I have since fixed it. I'm sure u see where I'm going with this. Luckily I saved a bit of money to resurrect it but it couldve been avoided if I was patient. U just don't want to get to far into someone else's mess. Jus sayin....

 

[626gn]

I'll give u my 2 pennies. TAKE YOUR TIME!!! 2-3 months ago, I purchased a 1987 GN 40k miles for $12,500 out of Indiana. I was really attracted to the low miles very clean interior & paint is not too bad. Engine was decent but def needed some work. Even tho it was mostly stock it ended up still having all original parts that I ended up replacing due to age & sitting for so long. Now after all this time & money spent working on it, I know I should've spent a lil' more time researching. My original budget was 15k max. After shipping cost & parts I've spent to get it running good, I probably could've found a lot cleaner one regardless of miles.

Oh & mine is a TTop car. The driver side floor board was totally destroyed & patched VERY poorly. I have since fixed it. I'm sure u see where I'm going with this. Luckily I saved a bit of money to resurrect it but it couldve been avoided if I was patient. U just don't want to get to far into someone else's mess. Jus sayin....

^^^^Great advice. Hard to argue with someone with first hand experience. These cars can suck up your money real quick trying to fix problems if you buy the wrong one. Taking your time looking, and waiting, for the right car usually results in a happier buyer.

 

[TurboBuRick]

I'll give u my 2 pennies. TAKE YOUR TIME!!! 2-3 months ago, I purchased a 1987 GN 40k miles for $12,500 out of Indiana. I was really attracted to the low miles very clean interior & paint is not too bad. Engine was decent but def needed some work. Even tho it was mostly stock it ended up still having all original parts that I ended up replacing due to age & sitting for so long. Now after all this time & money spent working on it, I know I should've spent a lil' more time researching. My original budget was 15k max. After shipping cost & parts I've spent to get it running good, I probably could've found a lot cleaner one regardless of miles.

Oh & mine is a TTop car. The driver side floor board was totally destroyed & patched VERY poorly. I have since fixed it. I'm sure u see where I'm going with this. Luckily I saved a bit of money to resurrect it but it couldve been avoided if I was patient. U just don't want to get to far into someone else's mess. Jus sayin....

Wanting a car with T tops is the first mistake new GN buyers make.

This car here in Chicago is nothing like that. It's worth a lot more than the guy is asking.

Rick

 

[Antbankstwo3]

Wanting a car with T tops is the first mistake new GN buyers make.

This car here in Chicago is nothing like that. It's worth a lot more than the guy is asking.

Rick

I will say I do love the car! I wanted TTops & I did know the about some of the issues. It jus ended up being more work than I anticipated. The car is coming along quite nice & in a couple weeks when I'm get it on the road it's gonna be worth it. But if/when I have another opportunity, I will def take My time & reference this board more. So do yourself a favor & take advantage of that.

 

[Rafs-T-Type]

Looks like I might be going with Burick's suggestion. His buddies hardtop is in much better condition. Although I will have to go to Chicago to get it. The idea of driving from Chicago to Virginia sounds aweseome in that car!

If Rick says it's nice, rest assured it will be nice.

 

[m3x1c0]

Picking up the car this weekend! Will be driving down from Illinois to VA. Should be a fun way to get familiar with this car!

Any things I absolutely must bring for the trip. I've been given full confidence that the car will be perfect to accomplish the drive but it can't hurt to be a little extra prepared. What tools/ spares should I bring along? Also, it is currently fueled by e85 so what can I expect when it filters out to premium only? Also, I noticed it has something called a translator pro attached above the scan master. What the heck is that?

 

[CuzzinOlaf]

Does he have a 93 octane chip for the car?

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[m3x1c0]

Any

Does he have a 93 octane chip for the car?

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

He sent me a long message with all the mods. Here is some of it on the tuning side:


Car is running E85 with 120lb injectors. He is going to tune it down to run safely on 93 but obviously will need some work to make it an optimal setup on 93. Should I bring octane boost just in case? Any resources I need to be reading up on?

 

[CuzzinOlaf]

I'm sure someone much more knowledgeable than I am can chime in on this.

I would think you would need a 93 octane chip to run 93 and that is exactly what I have for my car. If that is true and he doesn't have a chip I'd be willing to send you my old chip (or meeting up with you since you're in IL) to give you my old chip to make it home. I know each chip is burned to spec for different setups but I would think it might be better than running 93 on an e85 chip.

You would obviously need to take it easy for the ride home. If Rick or someone else thinks this will work I'll give you my old chip if you want it. My "old" chip was on my car with the TA-49 turbo, Walbro 340 fuel pump, 42lb injectors, stock location intercooler and a half, and unopened engine, with no alky.

 

[m3x1c0]

I'm sure someone much more knowledgeable than I am can chime in on this.

I would think you would need a 93 octane chip to run 93 and that is exactly what I have for my car. If that is true and he doesn't have a chip I'd be willing to send you my old chip (or meeting up with you since you're in IL) to give you my old chip to make it home. I know each chip is burned to spec for different setups but I would think it might be better than running 93 on an e85 chip.

You would obviously need to take it easy for the ride home. If Rick or someone else thinks this will work I'll give you my old chip if you want it. My "old" chip was on my car with the TA-49 turbo, Walbro 340 fuel pump, 42lb injectors, stock location intercooler and a half, and unopened engine, with no alky.

Yea he told me he will bring down the boost and take out fuel for the drive. I asked him about the chip and hopefully Rick will chime in as well. If you guys want to meet up on the 4th or the morning of the 5th I'd love to buy you guys a drink or something just to get a little more informed about this stuff!

 

[CuzzinOlaf]

I wonder if you can get Eric from Turbo Tweak to rush you a 93 octane chip. Try calling him this evening and see.

 

[TurboBuRick]

Pretty sure it can be tuned without a chip swap via the Tpro. Johns going to run the e85 out, throw a fresh tank of 93oct in and give it a go. Boost will be turned down to 17-18psi.

More than welcome to stop by my place. I can try and give you a crash course on the Tpro.

Too, this is a car that was never in the plans to be sold. It is a sweet ride with some sweet mods.

Rick

 

[blackmonte]

Pretty sure it can be tuned without a chip swap via the Tpro. Johns going to run the e85 out, throw a fresh tank of 93oct in and give it a go. Boost will be turned down to 17-18psi.

More than welcome to stop by my place. I can try and give you a crash course on the Tpro.

Too, this is a car that was never in the plans to be sold. It is a sweet ride with some sweet mods.

Rick

Thanks Rick. Many have seen my car and how I keep my car , all mods done right . Rick helped with this car as well . And yes it kills me to let my car go !