So, why did you .........

[Jerryl]

Saw quite a few of you who have had some fast cars that you were able to find all kinds of parts for at reasonable prices. Just wondering ....

 

[zeus87gn]

Didn't buy it, but I drive it

2 weeks after I met my wife (of course she was the GF at the time), she asked me if I could fix a headlight on her other car. I said sure and my mouth dropped open when she showed up the next day driving it. I have been working on it ever since. She calls it 'ours'. :biggrin:

 

[NJVetteGuy]

The GN breaks up the monotony of working on LS1s constantly. I just needed a change of pace for my personal car

 

[pontiac69fb]

My dad is very old school. Big v8 engine lots of horsepower kinda guy he grew up in the 60s. To this day he still has 3 69 firebirds a 68 firebird and a 74 camaro. He raised me on the idea that "there is no replacement for displacement". Anyways my dad once told me about a Grand National? That has a little v6 in it that raced his cousin who has a GTX that runs 11s and hung with it. I couldn't believe a 80s (the slow era) car with a v6 motor in it could be so fast it could hang with an 11 sec car that has a massive v8 in it. Until I went to the local track in Noble Oklahoma and saw some of the Grand Nationals out here run mid to low 11s, and run whisper quiet almost "stealthy" the whole way down the track. All my beliefs about the obnoxiously loud V8 big engine power etc... went out the window, and ever since then the Grand National has been my favorite car in the world. Everytime I look at my Grand National I thank my Father for helping me to get my dream car.

 

[JDSfastGN]

my dad has had an 85 GN since 1987... i always loved that car (still do) and when it came time for me to start looking at cars i was thinking either an Lt1 fbody or a GN. One morning 2 weeks before my 16th Bday my dad found one in the paper. I really didn't think he was being serious but a few hours later he asked if i was ready to go look at the car. I still wasn't convinced he was ready to buy, but when we came up to the owners house we both knew it was the one. He told me to not say how much i liked it.... he wrote him a check on the spot and i was driving away in the GN. Sadly i was still 2 weeks away from being 16 so i had to pull over a few miles from the house and drive our hoopty truck home and watch my dad drive the new Gn. Ive been in love ever sense

 

[Little6pack]

Originally in the 80's I liked the look of the Monte SS. So I bought an SS 1 year old at the time. I thought WHAT A DOG! compared to my 65/68 GTO's I owned in the 70's. The Monte got stolen & I traded it after it was repaired.
A person mentioned to me I should get a BUICK GN because they were fast.
I said why would a want a WHIMPY V-6.

Well someplace, I think it was NEDragway I saw the TURBO Buicks boys putting a whipping on the mustangs around 1990. :biggrin:
I thought to myself are those real? or Implants?
I walked over to the staging lanes to see the engines seeing they all had v-6's. I talked with a few of the nice buick & tta guys. All of them were very nice folks & explained to me about the TBV6.
From that day on I had the HOTS to get one. It burned inside me. but it took me years because when I got back into cars slowly on a low working slugs budget back in 96.
I looked at a HOT air car that PINGED like crazy! Passed on this one, Then a dealer had an 87. took for a ride & when I depressed the pedal it was INSTANT love. But the price was too high at 14k.

So I got back in settling with a $2500 with a trans am 400 pontiac, then $7k 455 70 GTO... the GTO went up to 12k Value.... I hated this GAS GUZZILING LOUD SNORTING, 4speed HOT CABIN GTO.. I wanted silent, quick & AC.

I traded the GTO for a low mile 86 GN... The gn was nice but too flashy I wanted a GRANDPA car so now have a Limited T w column shift & bench seat. Just call me BARNEY.

 

[strikeeagle]

Why did you decide to buy a TR out of all other cars?
I noticed that some have traded some fast "other" cars to own a TR.

Me? ............ My GF said it was her ultimate "dream car", so I thought; "Heck, it is not that expensive for a "dream car". So I got one (before I knew about these boards ).

I got mine because your GF phoned and told me to buy it...

strike

 

[Jerryl]

I got mine because your GF phoned and told me to buy it...

strike

KOOL! You fell for that line too uh? :tongue:

 

[benoitthegr8]

Because the guy down the street owned a Turbo-T, he smoked me in my Stang. When I got rid of the Stang, low and behold there was a mint 87 GN hard top for sale with 36,000 miles on her. After one test drive, and now 3 TR's later. Well what can I say

 

[kh440]

worked for the local Buick dealer at the time (85-87), best friend was on eof the salespeople. dude comes up to me at the parts counter tells me i HAVE to go to lunch with him, something I had to see. Put his dealer plate on an 86 GN, and from that moment on I wanted one. Bought TR#1 6 weeks later (silver 87 T).

 

[plowboy72]

I saw a magazine article back in 87 about these Regals that had a turboed V6 in it. I told my dad this this was the car I wanted (being 15 at this time) He read the article until it said TURBO. "Nope" was the answer I got. I too was raised on big cubic inches. Time went on, and one night at the dragstrip I saw a bone stock GN absolutely spank an IROC-Z! Still couldn't afford one. I bought several fast vehicles after high school 69 chevrolet pick up, 79 Bandit T/A 6.6, and a 70 BB Nova. In 1996 I was paralized from the shoulders down in a dune-buggy wreck. I had to sell everything I had. Then in 2002 I bought my first GN with 55,000 miles. Sold it 18 days later to a family friend. I have had 5 now. I currently own 2. An 87 GN and a 87' manilla T. The turbo buicks are simply special! People can't believe that even though I can't drive that I own a car much less one that is this fast. This is my dream car! Thank god I have a hobby that I truly enjoy, even after my injury.

 

[Jerryl]

I saw a magazine article back in 87 about these Regals that had a turboed V6 in it. .........

WOW! What a story. ALL the best to you and thanks for sharing your story!

 

[Turbo Indian]

we were looking for a daily driver for the wife. we were looking for a 66-67 GTO, while looking threw Hemmings I came across a low mileage GN that was local & at a fair price. well we went to look at it just for ****s & giggles, & the rest was history one side note if only I knew then what I now now. there was a 22 mile GNX in the same Hemmings issue for $22,000, yes I kick my self in the ass for not buying that one.

 

[SouthernCal GN]

I had been into imports since high school; thought that domestics were for losers....until I was given then chance to buy a 1970 Challenger for $500! Still wish I had that car, but that's life.......

Move forward to 1986- the Navy stationed me in Hawaii, and what struck me as odd was that the majority of the police cars were normal cars with a blue 'bubble-gum' light on top. I bought a 1982 TR (retired police car) and couldn't believe the power that the V-6 had!! After a year, I traded that for a 1984 TR, and was hooked for life- I opened up Unlimited Auto Performance (to get cheap parts ), went to California to meet with Jim Bell, and have been buying, selling, trading, and learning about these cars ever since...

...and my boy has the disease, too......

 

[Black Box]

I had absolutely no plan to buy a TR. My choice was about as spur-of-the-moment as they come. Still, no regrets whatsoever.

Steve

 

[plowboy72]

WOW! What a story. ALL the best to you and thanks for sharing your story!

Thank you sir.