Pros and cons

[Gbodyguy27]

I have been a long time fan of the Grand National. I recently have the means to make a purchase. I know that the GNX is the best choice but I dont have those kinds of means. I was wondering some pros and cons of the car from 85-87. I have decided against the 84, but dont know much about what was better or worse from 85-87. Any help will be appreciated. Thank You

 

[fast86gn]

The 85 is pretty much the 84... at least under the hood. The 86-87 cars are the best bet. Easier to mod more aftermarket support etc.

Cons It's a 80's GM car cheap plastic bad paint etc. I could go on and on.

Pro's The fastest production built in 86 and 87. Low production numbers. A cult like following. Sinister looks, a modern marvel ahead of it's time. Need I say more.

 

[Gbodyguy27]

The 85 is pretty much the 84... at least under the hood. The 86-87 cars are the best bet. Easier to mod more aftermarket support etc.

Cons It's a 80's GM car cheap plastic bad paint etc. I could go on and on.

Pro's The fastest production built in 86 and 87. Low production numbers. A cult like following. Sinister looks, a modern marvel ahead of it's time. Need I say more.

I knew a bit about them, but i didnt really know the difference under the hood. I know most guys are after the 87 but didnt know where the 86 fell in

 

[fast86gn]

I knew a bit about them, but i didnt really know the difference under the hood. I know most guys are after the 87 but didnt know where the 86 fell in

If you were looking under the hood of a stock 86 and stock 87 you wouldn't know the difference. The 87's were advertised at 10 hp more 245 vs 235 in 86 but if you watch "Black Air" they'll tell you there was no difference in the two only messing with the guys at Chevrolet.

I guess people that don't know always go for the 87. Of course there were a lot more built in 87.
Four 87's to every one 86.

 

[Gbodyguy27]

Did they use different guage pods through 87? I have seen pictures of 87's with 3 styles of dashes

 

[gsgnnut]

analog or digital and aftermarket. among other things ,the big advantage of the 86/87s is they are intercooled and SFI

 

[S10xGN]

Con: Thieves love 'em! Getcha a good alarm/kill system...

 

[charlief1]

Big Con: if you don't know what you're doing or have someone that does, you will blow the engine at the very least.

 

[BuickMike]

Big Con: if you don't know what you're doing or have someone that does, you will blow the engine at the very least.

Charlie brings up something that you want to take to heart. Before even considering a purchase of one of these, do a ton of research and try to spend time with Turbo Buick owners if at all possible. This is one of the few cars out there that you do not want to just jump into. You will severely regret it. There are plenty of recent threads here of new owners dumping thousands of dollars into these cars and making them worse. These cars are very complicated and you literally have to throw most of what you know about other cars out the window and learn from scratch if you want to maintain or fix them. They are full of 70's leftover parts with bleeding edge tech for the 80's bolted on. They have several faults that need to be addressed and run like crap stock with today's gas.

All that being said, don't buy one of these if you want a race car. If you want a cool classic that you can cruise and enjoy, spend your cash on a nice low mile, all original one. Keep the car simple and trust known Buick experts to help you put the basic bolt on upgrades on that will make it a reliable, enjoyable car.

 

[turbo39151]

X2^^

Pros: 86-87 are a better investment. Everyone "in the know" knows that the 86's are faster but it's our little secret. (full disclosure: I'm selling a couple of 86's in the for sale section)
The turbo Buick is one of the greatest cars ever made. Period. The pure pleasure you get from driving one is impossible to put into words. Hell, I don't even listen to the radio in mine- I listen to the fury of the turbo and the whine of the defeated.
These cars have a learning curve but this board is a huge support so that's not such a big issue. People here will bend over backwards to help you. It is probably one of the better car sites on the internet.

Cons: The main issue, as I see it, is prospective buyers using the words "Turbo Buick" and "limited budget" in the same sentence. That, and people who don't turn their own wrenches. If you can't work on your own car to at least some degree, it will nickel and dime you to death. As a board member so eloquently stated - I'm paraphrasing- "The reason you see Buick pics with the hoods open is because they're hungry and they demand that you throw your wallet in there". This is a statement that most of us who have been around here a while can attest to.

Hope I haven't scared you away.

 

[MCH86GN]

X2^^

Pros: 86-87 are a better investment. Everyone "in the know" knows that the 86's are faster but it's our little secret. (full disclosure: I'm selling a couple of 86's in the for sale section)
The turbo Buick is one of the greatest cars ever made. Period. The pure pleasure you get from driving one is impossible to put into words. Hell, I don't even listen to the radio in mine- I listen to the fury of the turbo and the whine of the defeated.
These cars have a learning curve but this board is a huge support so that's not such a big issue. People here will bend over backwards to help you. It is probably one of the better car sites on the internet.

Cons: The main issue, as I see it, is prospective buyers using the words "Turbo Buick" and "limited budget" in the same sentence. That, and people who don't turn their own wrenches. If you can't work on your own car to at least some degree, it will nickel and dime you to death. As a board member so eloquently stated - I'm paraphrasing- "The reason you see Buick pics with the hoods open is because they're hungry and they demand that you throw your wallet in there". This is a statement that most of us who have been around here a while can attest to.

Hope I haven't scared you away.

Because of this very reason, I learned to work on my car. However, there are some things that need to be left to the professionals. I was going to install my H&R swaybar, upper and lower control arms. Bruce at Aggressive Performance, offered to do it for a very reasonable price. He has installed a few hundred of these sets, even on his own car, and it took him about 8 hours to do the job. I guess from past experience he knew the job would be a lot harder for me, because I didn't have the best tools or a lift.

 

[MCH86GN]

Con - You can't take the car to your local mechanic shop. You have to take it to someone who knows what they are doing.

EDIT:
My front brake lines needed replaced. In addition to not replacing the parts with the correct replacement parts, this shop over filled my brake fluid reservoir and brake fluid went all over my chassis that I had just spent a considerable amount of time on cleaning to the bare metal and coating with anti rust and then painting with chassis coat black. It strip off the paint and got on my freshly ceramic coated headers and left a big ugly stain. Luckily I had pictures of my chassis before I went to that shop and when my wife saw what had happened she went the to manager and got most of our money refunded.