Poll: To mod or not to mod

[maxcom]

I can relate to this. I have a low mile GN that has a few mods. Cold air, TT chip, adj. fpr, hot wire, ATR exhaust, scanmaster, MAF and Translator but I feel the need for more. I want it to be FASTER. Everyone thinks these cars are soooooo fast. The reality is that they were fast in 87 but now they will get spanked by alot of stock cars on the street. I also dont want to decrease the value of my car by adding a ton of mods. What do you do?

would be nice to have two, one to show and one to thrash

 

[GNBRETT]

Low mile cars are kool and look good in show rooms. Other then that its just another stock Buick. Nothn really special about that. Nothn bad either tho. But quite slow by todays standards.

 

[six is enough]

would be nice to have two, one to show and one to thrash

Yes it is. Back in 2002 I took my 5000 mile GN updated the fuel system put in 42.5Lbs injectors and put a te 44 turbo and thdp. Took car to the track and ran 11.87 at 115. I thought I did not want to mod it any more so I bought another one that was to be my race car. Man can this hobby become expensive. Then came GN number three, but this is another story for another time. So yes you can do small mods and have fun with your car. But not to worry GN one now resides in a bubble.The key in my book is to have fun with you car as you can't take it with you.

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Don't mod it.

You'll ruin the value. It will get butchered up and never be the same. You'll regret it for the rest of your life. The only thing that I (might) do is to replace the tired old valve springs, and THAT'S IT. However, I have heard that it's not a bad idea to change the 23 year old fuel pump and injectors, just for safety. One might also be wise to change out the old flat tappet lifters with some new Hyd rollers, before you wipe a lobe and trash your whole motor. Come to think of it, a nice set of Champion ported irons would complement that new cam, especially if it were matched to a turbo that was big enough to ingest the hood and fenders at half throttle. Did I mention a Roll Cage?

Oh Heck! Mod the cr@p out of it ONLY if it makes you happy.

Happy spooling.
Mike Barnard

 

[Fachie Motion]

I know this to be true.

No matter what we say, you will mod your car. You may be able to hold off for a couple months....but you will get the itch, then an infection, then a full blown disease.

and there's no sex in the champagne room.

Yep It's a sickness !!

 

[jpwalt1987]

Buy a high mileage car if want to go "fast". Keep the original GN's original.

x2:wink:

 

[coach]

Say you have a low mile original GN.....would you mod it? What mods would/can you do that are completely reversible? What would you expect to gain from those mods?

How low? Mine had 15,000 when I started. I have done bolt on mods only and have preserved all original parts, nuts, bolts and washes that were removed. I made 2 mods that are un-reversable, and I asked several guys on here before doing. One was I welded in a GNX rear seat brace. My car is a T-top car and really needed it. Everyone here said to do it. It is unnoticable unless you remove the backseat. The other was, I installed an aftermarket shifter and had to put a small hole in my tranny tunnel for the new cable. You have to remove the tranny to see it. I bought another console to cut up too, and saved my original. It is all in what you choose to do. I just picked up another tranny so my low mile one could be set aside. My car should run in the 11's this spring and that is all I expect. Read my sig for mods.

Coach

 

[Pronto]

Don't mod it. Just sell it and buy a higher mileage one that has some good mods already. You'll can go as fast as you want without worrying about it's value. If you don't care about value then why ask if you would mod it? No worry of value, mod the hell out it if you got the money. Once you get alittle more power out of the stocker you'll want more. It's an addiction.

 

[SGRIM]

Keep modding the stockers!

Makes the vaule of mine go up:biggrin:

 

[justcrusin']

Do what makes you happy.

I have one stock 50k..

And one heavily moded..roll cage..(9.1 sec.) 540ci, th400, 9"
This keeps me from beating up my stock car.

I have other track cars but the GN's have always been my favorite.

The stock car has some mods for performance (11.48) but it could be changed back to original fairly easy..I can't imagine why I would want to do that though.

If I had a very low milage car (20k or under) and it was mint, I guess I wouldn't touch it. I wouldn't drive it either. Then again, if it was my only GN something might get moded...lol

decisions decisions...????

 

[davidf]

Life is short fellas. Mod it, have fun with it. If I want stock, I'll drive my wifes Honda. When I'm dead and in Heaven, I don't care to hear about your stock GN. I want to see your mod list.:tongue:

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Life is short fellas. Mod it, have fun with it. If I want stock, I'll drive my wifes Honda. When I'm dead and in Heaven, I don't care to hear about your stock GN. I want to see your mod list.:tongue:

That says it all!:biggrin: I am almost 54 and not saving my GN for the next guy. I started modding mine as soon as I bought it in 1995 and never looked back and don't regret it at all. It had 4700 miles on it when I bought it BUT already had a FORD 9" in it as well as being lowered and having custom wheels on it, Hooker exhaust and a K&N filter, that was it. Didn't get the stock rear with it OR the stock wheels tires.

Hell I sold off all my stock junk too to help with paying for all the mods and don't regret that either.

 

[jasjamz]

How much do you plan to drive it? That is a factor. In three years, some and 3000 miles, while others add 30,000. A bone stock 70,000 car is not a keepsake to me unless it a late 60's early 70's classic.

 

[artrenee10]

The mods done to the car in your sig should be a good start. I would do a TT chip instead and use the stock injectors.

And those to me aren't necessarily "mods" those are things that the car needs to run well in '10....

 

[coach]

How much do you plan to drive it? That is a factor. In three years, some and 3000 miles, while others add 30,000. A bone stock 70,000 car is not a keepsake to me unless it a late 60's early 70's classic.

My thoughts exactly. I got mine with 15,992 on the clock in June 2007. It now sits at 21,153. Thats about 1750 miles per summer. I can do that for 5 more summers before I hit 30,000. I have 2 other cars to drive this summer, so I doubt the GN will get 1750 put on it. I want to finish my new engine and save the drive train. I already am swapping trannies. My car has the "BAD PAINT", so I figure, if I ever put it back to bone stock, to sell. It has to be stripped down and sprayed anyway. My friend, who bought the car new, was at sea in the Navy and missed the deadline to get a repaint. GM would not take that into consideration and I even have the letter from GM stating so. He gave it to me when I bought the car.

The first summer I had it, I drove it to Buick Performance Group (BPG) Nationals in Columbus. It was about 350 miles one way. Some guys there thought it was a travisty, other thought it was cool I did it. To each his own.

Do what you want,
Coach

 

[maxcom]

 

[coach]

I remember those days...Oh well, that was a nice memory. NOW MOD THE CRAP OUT OF IT!!! Just dont cut it up.

Coach

 

[blackgn1]

Here ya go. Throttle body bored to 62mm by Steve Monroe. Machine the upper plenum to match. I have both so you can have mine. It's a stocker....you pay for the boring.:biggrin: My adjustable fuel pressure reg. you can have....I'm upgrading.:biggrin: Turbo tweak chip with 60lb Motron injectors. Your alky kit. Bigger turbo that will still work with you stock converter. Downpipe, MAF pipe to match the new turbo. Stock location intercooler with Dut. necks. Pick up a stock one cheap and have the necks done. Walbro fuel pump with hot wire. Needs that anyway. There you go. Can be turned back completely stock in a day. It's still the Grumpy way. Simple stupid. Oh!! Your scanmaster and a boost gauge please. Nice to have someone close who has some parts laying around right? Now what is your excuse? Minor mods with the opportunity to go back stock anytime.

 

[maxcom]

Here ya go. Throttle body bored to 62mm by Steve Monroe. Machine the upper plenum to match. I have both so you can have mine. It's a stocker....you pay for the boring.:biggrin: My adjustable fuel pressure reg. you can have....I'm upgrading.:biggrin: Turbo tweak chip with 60lb Motron injectors. Your alky kit. Bigger turbo that will still work with you stock converter. Downpipe, MAF pipe to match the new turbo. Stock location intercooler with Dut. necks. Pick up a stock one cheap and have the necks done. Walbro fuel pump with hot wire. Needs that anyway. There you go. Can be turned back completely stock in a day. It's still the Grumpy way. Simple stupid. Oh!! Your scanmaster and a boost gauge please. Nice to have someone close who has some parts laying around right? Now what is your excuse? Minor mods with the opportunity to go back stock anytime.

Bet I know how you voted :biggrin:

 

[benoitthegr8]

That's why you own two... one mild and one wild... you just have to walk that fine line between fast and unreliable....