plain jane 1987 regal differences

[PaintedIron]

As a guy whos already has too many cars, listen up. There is nothing wrong with doing a plain regal in to a blacked out ride. Doing just the outside would only require a grill and painting the trim. The hood can be done later and the rear wing is easy enough. The interior is what sets a GN apart from a regular regal. The 2 tone color of the interior was only done on a GN. Every T-type was one color as well as the regular regals. If this car is solid enough to use the chassis and sheet metal, go for it. This will allow you to make your own car. You will not be stuck with asking yourself about mods that will hurt collectability. You will be able to do what you want. As for your choice of drive train, If you watch the for sale thread, you will find motor/trans/harness deals for 2500 -3000 every now and then. You could pick one up when ever you save for it. I am looking for a plain regal myself to mod the hell out if. Roll cage, frame notch, trick suspension, custom interior, etc. The sky is the limit. I would never do this to my GN, but a reg regal, look out.

GO FOR IT.
Coach

Same with me, i did it for the looks though. Cheaper way to look fast lol

 

["Turbo-T"]

Not true!! WH1 T-type came stock with a spoiler

Ok I stand corrected. :redface:

 

[novaderrik]

making itt look like a GN is easy- just paint everything black and put GN badges on it and 99% of the population will think it's a GN.
upgrading the suspension should be easy- just find a Monte SS and get the springs, steering box, and sway bars out of that. maybe grab the bucket seats, steering column, and console out of the Monte SS, as well. the Buick guys will tear the car apart, but again, 99% of the population won't know or care..
for the rear end, either find an 8.5 out of an 84-87 turbo Regal or get a bolt in 9" rear from a circle track supplier and put in a center section you find in a pickup in the junkyard.
as far as putting in an LT1- you will need a gas tank out of an 85-88 Monte Carlo with thte TBI 4.3 V6 or 84-87 turbor Regal, fitted with the appropriate fuel pump for the engine. you will also need the LT1 wiring and ecm, and a whole bunch of patience and willingness to make the Camaro wiring harness work.
get the motor mounts out of the Monte SS you got the suspension goodies from.

 

[m.$terner]

kirban 2 cents worth

first I like to be 18 again...

second....as most above stated stick to the appearance look anything deeper requires alot of work and time by someone and you never get out of it what you put into it.

Three cars already is a lot to keep on the road insured....

whatever you decide good luck.....

Helps to have an understanding girlfriend.....also

kirban

well shes not very understanding but its my money so she gets over it.haha bad news though, i didnt get the 87 regal.the guy selling it kind of screwed me over by avoiding my phone calls and not calling me back until he had the car all but sold to somebody else.kind of a long story but yeah,its whatever.so guess im back to searching car forums and keeping my eyes peeled for 4 sale signs when im driving.lol if anyone finds anything u think i might be interested in dont be afriad to PM me with it.my price range is limited as i stated before but i will spend more money the less work i need to do to the vehicle up to a specific point.i have the tools and set up to paint and have a decent variety of parts from a t-type so as long as the car isnt a complete rust bucket im not opposed to at least taking a look at it.thanks to everyone who chimed in with their two cents and for thoe who give me insight on other ideas and ways to save hassle and money.its greatly appreicated

 

[lespaul59]

lespaul you need ot find out whether it's an even or odd fire. They mount in simular places but the work a little different as far as the way they fire. Look at the timing cover and see if the timing indicator is cast into cover or bolted on plastic. The other diff is the heads. 77.5 to 78 have crap heads that don't flow and earlier than that nothing will work.

Thanks for the info, that more than I've been able to find in all of the searching I've done. Before the only info I could find was that in 1977 some of the 3.8Ls where odd fire and some where even fire. And that it is a Buick motor.

 

[charlief1]

Thanks for the info, that more than I've been able to find in all of the searching I've done. Before the only info I could find was that in 1977 some of the 3.8Ls where odd fire and some where even fire. And that it is a Buick motor.

The original V6 was in 1962 and was 198 cid, then in 1963 they switched to the 225. It was sold to Kaiser/AMC and bought back about 73-74 and turned into the 231 with some changes. In the middle of 77 the change to even fire was done and in 79 the intake and exhaust ports were changed to the high port design. Any one of the odd fire engines have a cast in timing mark on the cover and interchanges with most of the SBB timing covers. After 77.5 the timing cover indicator was changed to a plastic bolt on because of cost and it stayed that way until the RWD blocks were ended. Hope this helps. If the Cutlass is in decent shape I'd try to save her. Not a lot around now sadly and it's one of the best 2 door bodies out there.
Hijack over now.:biggrin:

 

[lespaul59]

The original V6 was in 1962 and was 198 cid, then in 1963 they switched to the 225. It was sold to Kaiser/AMC and bought back about 73-74 and turned into the 231 with some changes. In the middle of 77 the change to even fire was done and in 79 the intake and exhaust ports were changed to the high port design. Any one of the odd fire engines have a cast in timing mark on the cover and interchanges with most of the SBB timing covers. After 77.5 the timing cover indicator was changed to a plastic bolt on because of cost and it stayed that way until the RWD blocks were ended. Hope this helps. If the Cutlass is in decent shape I'd try to save her. Not a lot around now sadly and it's one of the best 2 door bodies out there.
Hijack over now.:biggrin:

Thanks. As far as saving the Cutless goes it pretty much depends on the frame and how much rust is in the body and floor. I wish I haddn't just let it sit because it wasn't what I wanted. But hind sight is 20/20. The Turbo Regals/Grand Nationals is why I would at least ry and save the motor. I've become a big fan of the Regal/GN since seeing one in Fast and Furious.