Newbie needing your opinions

[BARRACUDA1968]

I hope I'm posting in the right section here?

I need some advice on a car I'm thinking about buying. I'll give you a basic run down of the car and the specs I know of so far. I want to go look at the car tomorrow and need some insight from the people who know.

It's a 1987 GN cloned to a GNX. The car was bought new in Florida and spent it's life there. It was supposedly cloned by the owner of the Buick dealership for himself. The new owner does not have the original ODO so the true miles are unknown but the GNX ODO states 4000 miles. I haven't seen the car so I'll look for obvious signs of excessive mileage but otherwise my understanding is the car is a very low mile car.

Here's what's been done to the drive-train.

Built by KDK Performance in Orlando. The guy has a receipt for the work.

Bored 30 over
TRW pistons
re worked stock rods, crank and heads
Lunati cam
High volume fuel pump
Garret T60 turbo
Hooker 3" exhaust
Blue top injectors
Built trans and convertor. Don't know specs
Auburn posi
Red Armstrong chip
Front mount intercooler
Gear reduction starter

I called KDK performance and although he didn't remember the car he did state that this is old school stuff which kind of backs up the sellers story.

He said this combo is good for 400 to 450 HP at the wheels.

Is there any opinions or advice you can give me so I make the right decision here?

 

[Adrian87]

Pics And Price?

 

[BIGPSI]

old school parts still work just fine. i would look at the deck lid to make sure RPO sticker is present,and sticker in drivers door also. look for normal wear and tear, a low mileage car should have little wear on the pedals. if its a ttop car check for rust in that area and a pillars

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

The guy wants mid 20's for the car but I think he is negotiable.

Here a couple pics I hope they turn out

Thanks for the tips on what to look for. I appreciate any advice I can get

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

Few more pics

 

[Adrian87]

If you're paying anything near $20k you better get the miles verified, somehow. That's a big number for these cars. Maybe if it was an all original, 4k mile GN, in perfect shape.

 

[OhioC5]

My friend has one with 20k actual miles, showroom new and it's looks like the day it was built for sale in the mid 20's just for reference. I'm not trying to sell it to you, just giving you something to compare. Also, I bought one with 18k miles all original for $19,900 3 years ago. The one I'm driving no has 28k miles on it and I paid 20k for it. Lot of nice cars out there once you get over 20k without stories or mileage issues. I understand the one you're looking at is kind of modded. Check out the for sale section for comparisons. If I had to do it again I'd probably buy the one in the FS for 16k that already built with a bunch of 10 sec parts.

 

[mgmshar]

The car looks very nice, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with "old school" technology. The blue-top injectors are too small for that combo, in my opinion. I have 57-lbers (blue-tops are 36-lbers, IIRC), and they run at over 80% duty cycle when I'm making over 450 hp. With the head work, cam, and turbo he has, it can move enough air to support over 500 hp. The blue tops won't support that. They will reach 100% duty cycle around 400 to 425 hp, depending on what air-fuel ratio you run.

In my very humble opinion, he's asking too much $$$ for the car. I've been trying to sell my car for a while now at a much lower price. With 100-octane, I'm at least 450 hp (closer to 500 based on my 1/4-mile mph and car weight). My car has just been painted and is easily a "9" out of "10". 41,XXX actual miles. Here is the ad - look and judge for yourself. I guess it depends on how much you value the GNX cloning.

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/1986-gn-41k-miles-new-paint-great-interior-for-sale.396770/

Then again, if you pay mid-20's for that car, maybe I will raise the price on mine!

Good Luck either way,

 

[Adrian87]

I'll sell ya mine for $17k! Drives like a stock car, until you put your foot in it! Handles too!

 

[Red C5]

I would have concerns about buying a clone but if everything on the car can be documented then it's really just your call. For that kind of money, I would rather have a GN rather than clone GNX.

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

WOW thanks for all the replies so far! I will take a look at the FS section here and the cars posted in this thread.

I don't really want a "stock" GN because I just spend money on making it faster. I also want a car I can drive and enjoy so a museum piece is out.

Buying a GN close to home is appealing to me because transportation gets expensive and I own my own business and it's tough for me to get away to circle the globe looking for a good car.

If the car seems to be legit I will feel comfortable at low 20's but no more. I do like the GNX look so that has a little weight in my decision but I also like the non GNX look too.

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

Oh one thing i forgot to mention is this guy has a real GNX #417 so that is why he thinks this clone has some real value. The guy's 73 and a super good guy but he doesn't need the money and has 40 cars in his collection. His wife is encouraging him to get rid of some toys so hopefully I can use that to my advantage.

 

[dartguy340]

Welcome to the site. Do a Car Fax or an Auto Check
on the car, that will give you an idea how many miles
are on it. Then you can use that as some leverage. Only
"GNX" items makin it a clone that I can see are the vents
in the fenders, the black spoke wheels, and the dash cluster.

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

Does the 87 GN have a 17 digit VIN number?

 

[earlbrown]

It has a standard VIN just like any other modern car.

That's odd that an actual GNX owner thinks a clone is worth stupid money. Normally it's the other way around.

 

[Rafs-T-Type]

There are plenty of nice cars here that are upgraded, sweet, and for sale at a reasonable price. I agree that you should buy one done and save yourself some cash.

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

Well since his real car is probably worth $75,000 ish I bet he figures the clone is worth a 1/3 of that. Makes sense and it don't.

 

[kels87gn]

I paid way too much for a stock 14,000 mile GN but I wanted to start off at stock and learn. With that being said I sometimes wish I bought one already modded and I think you should be able to find an awesome car in the $15,000 range. Kevin at kdk seems to be a good guy and have bought several things from him so maybe if its that close let him give it a look over. This spring I stopped by there and they had 6 gn's and a gnx there getting work done.


Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[Adrian87]

I've had my Buick for nearly 10 years. It is literally JUST NOW at the point mechanically where I've always wanted it. Still have to do interior and body. Please do yourself a huge favor and buy a finished car, you'll think 300hp is fine, then want 400 - then 500, then 600. lol.

They are money pits! I've got over $20k in mine, and it's probably not worth $12k! BUT I love it, and I made it how it is today, so there is certainly pride to take in that - but if I'd had any idea how time and money intensive these cars are, I would have just saved longer and bought a finished car.

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

I ran a carfax this afternoon and the car is a bust.

Last reported miles in 1999 was 86,000. It was stolen at one point and didn't come from Florida. It did end up there but the story doesn't match.

The guy that owns it now may or may not know this??

It's too bad because I liked the car and the mods. At this point I'm going to keep looking.

I appreciate everyones input and it will help me find the right car.

I would prefer a car with a base/clear repaint with lower miles (under 40,000) and some tasteful engine mods. I live in Iowa and I'd like to be able to inspect the car before purchase.

I'm going to call the guy who owns this car in the morning and tell him I'm not coming and break the news to him. Like I said he may or may not know.

I do have a lead on another car very similar to this car with less engine mods. It's about 3 hours away.