turbo39151
anycoloraslongasitsblack
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2002
- Messages
- 4,460
Nice find...
Turbo Buick Related - Kirban 2 Cents worth
- Thread starter Dennis Kirban
- Start date
Welcome!
By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.
Bought my 84 hotair car in CT. 18hrs driving round trip. Took my then 3yr old daughter with me and she rode in the car seat non-stop with no complaints.
To this day she gets a big smile when I mention "Road Trip"
She has been part of many road trips since.
Started a new job almost 2 years ago, i get put in to train under an older guy. He is 68 now.
We get to talking me being young and naive I think he is old, can't be a car guy. I mention my typhoon and he starts to spout out specs about it most car guys don't even know. I am starting to get confused why he knows so much.
Turns out he bought a 86 GN new, still has it to this day. I have seen it once in 2 years as it sits in his garage. Original owner, car was repainted but he keeps his cars immaculate.
I keep giving him hassle about me driving my 84 in before he drives his car in to work next. (84 is at a buddies shop getting new paint and 86 upgrade completed).
To this day she gets a big smile when I mention "Road Trip"
She has been part of many road trips since.
Started a new job almost 2 years ago, i get put in to train under an older guy. He is 68 now.
We get to talking me being young and naive I think he is old, can't be a car guy. I mention my typhoon and he starts to spout out specs about it most car guys don't even know. I am starting to get confused why he knows so much.
Turns out he bought a 86 GN new, still has it to this day. I have seen it once in 2 years as it sits in his garage. Original owner, car was repainted but he keeps his cars immaculate.
I keep giving him hassle about me driving my 84 in before he drives his car in to work next. (84 is at a buddies shop getting new paint and 86 upgrade completed).
flowerpower
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2006
- Messages
- 184
Ok I guess I'll add my story ....
About 9yrs ago were the wife worked was by a crappy part of the city...well one day she comes home and was telling me of this black SS that looks good for sale.
Well at this time I just got a 86 Camaro that needed front breaks but ran great and had a hell of a body on it for $1000 and I still had my 72 Ventura that was running 13.20's.
A few weeks went by and every other day she would tell me "go look at it!" so the next day we drove over to see this SS....well when we pulled up I said O-HELL YEA!!...but then I thought this cant be a 1986 turbo G/N for $4000....I went to 4 different doors looking for the owner......
Well long story short I gave him my $1000 car and $500 to boot for his G/N that needed paint and a fuel pump "but it still ran"....Well 9yrs & 1000's of dollars later I still have her
I talk about trading and selling but I know this is my only chance to have a car like this...
About 9yrs ago were the wife worked was by a crappy part of the city...well one day she comes home and was telling me of this black SS that looks good for sale.
Well at this time I just got a 86 Camaro that needed front breaks but ran great and had a hell of a body on it for $1000 and I still had my 72 Ventura that was running 13.20's.
A few weeks went by and every other day she would tell me "go look at it!" so the next day we drove over to see this SS....well when we pulled up I said O-HELL YEA!!...but then I thought this cant be a 1986 turbo G/N for $4000....I went to 4 different doors looking for the owner......
Well long story short I gave him my $1000 car and $500 to boot for his G/N that needed paint and a fuel pump "but it still ran"....Well 9yrs & 1000's of dollars later I still have her
I talk about trading and selling but I know this is my only chance to have a car like this...
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
kirban 2 cents worth:
What comes to mind first is "I hope you also have kept the wife as well! The GN you got back then in part was well worth it. Good story!
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Member every car has a story.
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
This is completely unrelated to Turbo Buicks... but still worth mentioning.
"Barn finds" are still out there.
These are pics I took of a car my buddy bought a few weeks ago.
kirban 2 cents worth
You can definately tell this car has spent many years sitting. I am sure most readers would agree unless they are narrow minded anything with Cobra or Shelby on the name plate they would make room for in their garage. Same goes for that 4 letter word Hemi.
Keep them coming...
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Appreciate the great response....
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
kirban 2 cents worth
Should not think of 68 years as being old. Remember outside of something happening to shorten your life on earth everyone is heading in that direction some are just closer than others. My age is 61 yet I pack quite a bit of knowledge having been around for the first muscle care era (1960s) and the rebirth centered around the Turbo Regals and beyond).
Precious time with the kids something they will remember.......
Enjoyed the story...
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
New story coming....
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
kirban 2 cents worth
Another kirban kwick story:
When I first started to buy Turbo Regals, I had no idea that I would buy more than a handful at the most. I thought 50 1986-1987 Turbo Regals was a milestone, then 100, then 150 and so on. Originally I sought ones that I could market for under ten grand as in the early 1990s that seemed to be the sweet spot and cars still did not have many miles on them.
When I first started I would usually take an employee and drive them back on a dealer tag registered to the dealership I was buying them under. Was going for this one in New England area a long day drive round trip. Unknown to me at the time the town had two similar streets with almost the same name.
Naturally driving down the main street we come across what I thought was the correct street and even had to turn the way my directions told me to turn. Drove down this street that really had some very very run down looking houses. However the street numbers were reading correct.
I come up to the rite address and see a car covered with a car cover on a dirt driveway. The house is in disarray with litter all over. This was a low mileage high dollar GN I was getting and my instant thought was if what was under the cover and matched the description, its value may surpass the house it was at.
I walked up to the door but no one answered. I then called the owner on the phone explaining I was at his house and no one answered the door. He said he never heard me knock. After a few minutes he figured out I was at the wrong street.
Once on the right track the car and the house both measured up to what I invisioned.
If you have ever bought a car any distance, you probably get that feeling as you get closer did you ask the rite questions in advance? Most surprises don't usually work out to be pleasant surprised, but it does happen.
Keep them coming
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
With 300 plus I got more stories...
Another kirban kwick story:
When I first started to buy Turbo Regals, I had no idea that I would buy more than a handful at the most. I thought 50 1986-1987 Turbo Regals was a milestone, then 100, then 150 and so on. Originally I sought ones that I could market for under ten grand as in the early 1990s that seemed to be the sweet spot and cars still did not have many miles on them.
When I first started I would usually take an employee and drive them back on a dealer tag registered to the dealership I was buying them under. Was going for this one in New England area a long day drive round trip. Unknown to me at the time the town had two similar streets with almost the same name.
Naturally driving down the main street we come across what I thought was the correct street and even had to turn the way my directions told me to turn. Drove down this street that really had some very very run down looking houses. However the street numbers were reading correct.
I come up to the rite address and see a car covered with a car cover on a dirt driveway. The house is in disarray with litter all over. This was a low mileage high dollar GN I was getting and my instant thought was if what was under the cover and matched the description, its value may surpass the house it was at.
I walked up to the door but no one answered. I then called the owner on the phone explaining I was at his house and no one answered the door. He said he never heard me knock. After a few minutes he figured out I was at the wrong street.
Once on the right track the car and the house both measured up to what I invisioned.
If you have ever bought a car any distance, you probably get that feeling as you get closer did you ask the rite questions in advance? Most surprises don't usually work out to be pleasant surprised, but it does happen.
Keep them coming
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
With 300 plus I got more stories...
turbo39151
anycoloraslongasitsblack
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2002
- Messages
- 4,460
The story of Angry Black...
Back in 2005 I was finishing up with grad school and by this time the other half was sick of hearing about my old TR that had been stolen while we were in the service... At her urging I started to shop around for a TR. Not having much money to work with, I kept to the low end of the spectrum. I finally found a car that many people seemed to be passing on so I figured I should at least check it out. I contacted the seller and he sent a few pics. The car didn't look too bad but the milage was questionable. I decided that at his asking price it could be worthwhile. We drove from San Diego to San Jose all night long so that we could arrive at 6-7 am and decide if the car was do-able. We grabbed some breakfast and started to head to the guys address.
The whole evening had been mild and clear. It looked like it was going to turn out to be a perfect day. After we got to the area, we discovered that the guy lived in a run down apartment complex with basically a dirt lot for parking. As soon as the guy came out the sky opened up and the biggest downpour ever started. With the rain on the paint it actually looked ok. The car started but the powermaster was on it's way out. No biggie I figured since I was going to swap to vacuum right away.
The car seemed to be all there with zero rust and minimal body work (some small dings).
After about 3-4 minutes of looking the car over, I told the guy I'd take it. We then left the apartment complex and went to the local ryder truck rental to rent a truck with a flatbed trailer. I showed back up and loaded the car and drove her home.
After thousands of dollars (many of them going to Mr. Kirban himself :biggrin: ) she is now my pride and joy. A 1986 GN with Astroroof and powerseat, fully loaded with 95 rpo codes and a few little mods to make it interesting, Angry Black is back on the streets and meaner than ever.
Back in 2005 I was finishing up with grad school and by this time the other half was sick of hearing about my old TR that had been stolen while we were in the service... At her urging I started to shop around for a TR. Not having much money to work with, I kept to the low end of the spectrum. I finally found a car that many people seemed to be passing on so I figured I should at least check it out. I contacted the seller and he sent a few pics. The car didn't look too bad but the milage was questionable. I decided that at his asking price it could be worthwhile. We drove from San Diego to San Jose all night long so that we could arrive at 6-7 am and decide if the car was do-able. We grabbed some breakfast and started to head to the guys address.
The whole evening had been mild and clear. It looked like it was going to turn out to be a perfect day. After we got to the area, we discovered that the guy lived in a run down apartment complex with basically a dirt lot for parking. As soon as the guy came out the sky opened up and the biggest downpour ever started. With the rain on the paint it actually looked ok. The car started but the powermaster was on it's way out. No biggie I figured since I was going to swap to vacuum right away.
The car seemed to be all there with zero rust and minimal body work (some small dings).
After about 3-4 minutes of looking the car over, I told the guy I'd take it. We then left the apartment complex and went to the local ryder truck rental to rent a truck with a flatbed trailer. I showed back up and loaded the car and drove her home.
After thousands of dollars (many of them going to Mr. Kirban himself :biggrin: ) she is now my pride and joy. A 1986 GN with Astroroof and powerseat, fully loaded with 95 rpo codes and a few little mods to make it interesting, Angry Black is back on the streets and meaner than ever.
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
The story of Angry Black...
Back in 2005 I was finishing up with grad school and by this time the other half was sick of hearing about my old TR that had been stolen while we were in the service... At her urging I started to shop around for a TR. Not having much money to work with, I kept to the low end of the spectrum. I finally found a car that many people seemed to be passing on so I figured I should at least check it out. I contacted the seller and he sent a few pics. The car didn't look too bad but the milage was questionable. I decided that at his asking price it could be worthwhile. We drove from San Diego to San Jose all night long so that we could arrive at 6-7 am and decide if the car was do-able. We grabbed some breakfast and started to head to the guys address.
The whole evening had been mild and clear. It looked like it was going to turn out to be a perfect day. After we got to the area, we discovered that the guy lived in a run down apartment complex with basically a dirt lot for parking. As soon as the guy came out the sky opened up and the biggest downpour ever started. With the rain on the paint it actually looked ok. The car started but the powermaster was on it's way out. No biggie I figured since I was going to swap to vacuum right away.
The car seemed to be all there with zero rust and minimal body work (some small dings).
After about 3-4 minutes of looking the car over, I told the guy I'd take it. We then left the apartment complex and went to the local ryder truck rental to rent a truck with a flatbed trailer. I showed back up and loaded the car and drove her home.
After thousands of dollars (many of them going to Mr. Kirban himself :biggrin: ) she is now my pride and joy. A 1986 GN with Astroroof and powerseat, fully loaded with 95 rpo codes and a few little mods to make it interesting, Angry Black is back on the streets and meaner than ever.
kirban 2 cents worth
Good story, seems like many of you have spent time in the service. Actually the downpour was probably a good thing as you could see first hand if the car had any major water leaks!
Having shipped several to California, and knowing how large an area the state is, I don't believe their are many to choose from on the west coast.
Good story
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Thread is gathering momentum.....
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
kirban 2 cents worth
Another kirban Kwick story:
Few years back had a customer in California with a GN move back to my area. With the job change etc and costs of everything he had to sell his GN that he had transported back to PA from CA.
Not an easy choice for him since he spent the money to have it transported across the country. He contacted me and I bought his GN.
As luck would have it, when I sold it the new buyer lived in Washington State! The car got transported a total of 6,000 in a matter of a few months. Soon after I took my 9,200 mile round the US road trip and the new owner with the GN showed up at a meeting I did near Seattle, Washington.
True story....
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Keep them coming I will keep dropping mine in also. Enjoy
Another kirban Kwick story:
Few years back had a customer in California with a GN move back to my area. With the job change etc and costs of everything he had to sell his GN that he had transported back to PA from CA.
Not an easy choice for him since he spent the money to have it transported across the country. He contacted me and I bought his GN.
As luck would have it, when I sold it the new buyer lived in Washington State! The car got transported a total of 6,000 in a matter of a few months. Soon after I took my 9,200 mile round the US road trip and the new owner with the GN showed up at a meeting I did near Seattle, Washington.
True story....
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Keep them coming I will keep dropping mine in also. Enjoy
turbo39151
anycoloraslongasitsblack
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2002
- Messages
- 4,460
"Good story, seems like many of you have spent time in the service. Actually the downpour was probably a good thing as you could see first hand if the car had any major water leaks!"
Turns out the car was dry when I checked it. When I got home there was a nice puddle on the passenger floor. Needless to say everything was gutted and redone properly.
Turns out the car was dry when I checked it. When I got home there was a nice puddle on the passenger floor. Needless to say everything was gutted and redone properly.
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
kirban 2 cents worth
Another kirban kwick story
Its the mid 1990s when I was selling a lot of turbo cars. Had a few years that I sold over 40. It was fairly common on some of these cars for past owners to install 1 or more alarms in them. This was a pet peeve of mine.
Usually meant extra holes in the door jamb area for a trigger, a siren drilled into the drivers inner fender, small red LED lite drilled in the dash bezel and seldom if ever they worked rite. The ones I really hated is ones where one alarm system stopped working and the owner simply installed another one without removing the first one.
End result you had a black box about the size of a pack of cigerettes under the dash cluster with a fist ful of rolled up wires. Trick for me was to carefully undo one wire at a time and restart the car to make sure it would run after each wire was removed.
I had this one car a GN, guy had some sort of clever theft deterrant on it. A magnet sat in the center console in a certain spot. If the magnet moved the car would not even crank.
At the time I had about 5 turbo cars sitting for sale. I sold this car guy drove it home on a weekend. Calls me few days later says he had the car towed to his garage as it stopped dead.
I said well find out what it is and let me know. Two days or so go by his mechanic can't figure out why the car refuses to even crank. At the time it had slipped my mind about the magnet in the center console.
So he has his mechanic call me and I am also baffed as the car ran great for me.
I then call the owner and ask him to tell me exactly what happened or what he was doing when the car died.
Turns out he was driving thru an apartment complex to visit someone to show them the car and he hit a speed bump in the parking lot and the the car stopped.
It then clicked in my head about the magnet in the center console and the fact the speed bump must must have jarred the magnet from its position!
I told him to call his mechanic and told him to move the magnet around in the center console until the car would come back to life. I apologized and said I had completely forgotten about that goofy kill switch since it was not something visible in the car that I would even remember nor did I ever disturb the magnet when I had the car.
Hands down it was one of the most clever theft deterrants, I had come across.
End of story
Hope to see more of your stories here....
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
I got more........
Another kirban kwick story
Its the mid 1990s when I was selling a lot of turbo cars. Had a few years that I sold over 40. It was fairly common on some of these cars for past owners to install 1 or more alarms in them. This was a pet peeve of mine.
Usually meant extra holes in the door jamb area for a trigger, a siren drilled into the drivers inner fender, small red LED lite drilled in the dash bezel and seldom if ever they worked rite. The ones I really hated is ones where one alarm system stopped working and the owner simply installed another one without removing the first one.
End result you had a black box about the size of a pack of cigerettes under the dash cluster with a fist ful of rolled up wires. Trick for me was to carefully undo one wire at a time and restart the car to make sure it would run after each wire was removed.
I had this one car a GN, guy had some sort of clever theft deterrant on it. A magnet sat in the center console in a certain spot. If the magnet moved the car would not even crank.
At the time I had about 5 turbo cars sitting for sale. I sold this car guy drove it home on a weekend. Calls me few days later says he had the car towed to his garage as it stopped dead.
I said well find out what it is and let me know. Two days or so go by his mechanic can't figure out why the car refuses to even crank. At the time it had slipped my mind about the magnet in the center console.
So he has his mechanic call me and I am also baffed as the car ran great for me.
I then call the owner and ask him to tell me exactly what happened or what he was doing when the car died.
Turns out he was driving thru an apartment complex to visit someone to show them the car and he hit a speed bump in the parking lot and the the car stopped.
It then clicked in my head about the magnet in the center console and the fact the speed bump must must have jarred the magnet from its position!
I told him to call his mechanic and told him to move the magnet around in the center console until the car would come back to life. I apologized and said I had completely forgotten about that goofy kill switch since it was not something visible in the car that I would even remember nor did I ever disturb the magnet when I had the car.
Hands down it was one of the most clever theft deterrants, I had come across.
End of story
Hope to see more of your stories here....
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
I got more........
Hehe... reminds me of the GN I just bought in Feb... (see sig)
Got the car home and it died backing it off the trailer. Alarm went off, killed the battery until I was able to yank the horn and siren wires off.
$90 for a battery and a phone call to the previous owner finally got the car running long enough to get off the trailer and into the garage.
Long story short, THIS is what I pulled out from under the dash:
Believe it or not, the car still ran after this was all snipped out. (After soldering and heatshrinking an assload of remaining needed wires of course)
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
kirban 2 cents worth
kirban kwick story
I see the aftermarket alarm struck a cord for the above person. Years ago we sold a very simple alarm system called the touch and go. The beauty about this trick unit was only one wire got cut in your Turbo Regal.
No switch was required. It did have small LED lite that you could mount anywhere so you could see that it was in the valet mode.
No key pad nothing to set it would set automatically a few minutes after you shut the car off so you did not have t remember to set it each time. Car then would not even crank.
One wire went to a metal screw. That was it...you had to touch that screw and any metal object in the car to complete the circuit such as the metal ring spoke on the steering wheel.
We sold hundreds of them when we could get them made. My source that made them could no longer make them so the project went away maybe 6-7 years ago. I have had cars I bought that still had them in it and I have customers that still have it working in their cars.
To set in valet mode you touched the live screw and a metal surface when the car was running that way car would start normally each time. The one year at one ofour Reunion events my son must have installed over 30 of them. That same year we had the two guys from AVC here dropping in GNX style dashes wile you waited....those were the days. AVC was first called Quality Engineering.
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
kirban kwick story
I see the aftermarket alarm struck a cord for the above person. Years ago we sold a very simple alarm system called the touch and go. The beauty about this trick unit was only one wire got cut in your Turbo Regal.
No switch was required. It did have small LED lite that you could mount anywhere so you could see that it was in the valet mode.
No key pad nothing to set it would set automatically a few minutes after you shut the car off so you did not have t remember to set it each time. Car then would not even crank.
One wire went to a metal screw. That was it...you had to touch that screw and any metal object in the car to complete the circuit such as the metal ring spoke on the steering wheel.
We sold hundreds of them when we could get them made. My source that made them could no longer make them so the project went away maybe 6-7 years ago. I have had cars I bought that still had them in it and I have customers that still have it working in their cars.
To set in valet mode you touched the live screw and a metal surface when the car was running that way car would start normally each time. The one year at one ofour Reunion events my son must have installed over 30 of them. That same year we had the two guys from AVC here dropping in GNX style dashes wile you waited....those were the days. AVC was first called Quality Engineering.
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
turbo39151
anycoloraslongasitsblack
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2002
- Messages
- 4,460
Nice idea- this touch and go... No plans to re-make this item again? I have plenty of kills in my cars but one extra one wouldn't hurt.
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2001
- Messages
- 1,488
My first 87 GN. The timing of the purchase was funny and hectic at the time but very memorable for me.
I bought this car in April of 1995. It was my second turbo regal with the first being a 1985 WH1 theft recovery that never ran right and I spent 5 years trying to sort out. Anyway, the 87 GN was owned by a friend of mine and his father bought it new. The car had low miles and was loaded and had the ASC roof option. The week before I was supposed to leave for Chiropractic college in Chicago (which leaves no time for working on cars!) I get a call from my buddy with the GN wanting to sell it. He just bought a house with his new wife and the car had to go and he was a VERY motivated seller offering the car for relatively cheap. I went out to look at the car and it was pretty much perfect cosmetically but ran poorly. The car had been in storage and needed some attention. The wastegate hoses were leaking along with the drivers side header which made the car run poorly and was the reason my buddy wanted to sell it to me cheap as he didn't want to deal with it.
At the time I was in between college and graduate school and buying insurance totals and fixing them for resale. I had a 1994 Grand Am I had just finished and had to sell before I left for Chicago. The day before I was leaving for Chicago I got a call from a dealer that wanted the Grand Am. So the next morning (moving day) I got up early and ran the Grand Am out and sold it.
On the way back I stopped at my buddies house and picked up the 87 GN. Left there and dropped off my friends car who was helping me move and went to pick up the moving van. Went home packed and left for Chicago that night around midnight! I still hadn't driven the GN except for the test drive and my best friend got to drive it out to Chicago and I got stuck with the moving van.
So I sold a car, bought a car, rented a van packed all my stuff and moved to Chicago in a day!
Once I got out to Chicago and get settled in and while trying to mentally prepare for the toughest academic challenge I've yet had to face, all I could do was think about that 87 GN. I fixed the exhaust leak and WG hoses and and found out ANS performance was 15 minutes from me! I bought a chip test pipe and K&N air filter all for a car I never planned to keep and planned to sell once I got to Chicago. I felt the car ran pretty strong but didn't feel it was super fast or anything. I decided to take it to Union Grove one Saturday afternoon. FIrst pass with the stock size 215/65 BFG TA's the car ran 13.1@101, I was hooked and kept the car all through college.
The car was in March 2000 GMHTP but shortly after that was seriously damaged in a hail storm while it was left outside another friends garage over night. I was racing TSS with it at the time and ended up selling the rolling shell to a friend of mine who fixed it and still races it in TSS today.
I bought this car in April of 1995. It was my second turbo regal with the first being a 1985 WH1 theft recovery that never ran right and I spent 5 years trying to sort out. Anyway, the 87 GN was owned by a friend of mine and his father bought it new. The car had low miles and was loaded and had the ASC roof option. The week before I was supposed to leave for Chiropractic college in Chicago (which leaves no time for working on cars!) I get a call from my buddy with the GN wanting to sell it. He just bought a house with his new wife and the car had to go and he was a VERY motivated seller offering the car for relatively cheap. I went out to look at the car and it was pretty much perfect cosmetically but ran poorly. The car had been in storage and needed some attention. The wastegate hoses were leaking along with the drivers side header which made the car run poorly and was the reason my buddy wanted to sell it to me cheap as he didn't want to deal with it.
At the time I was in between college and graduate school and buying insurance totals and fixing them for resale. I had a 1994 Grand Am I had just finished and had to sell before I left for Chicago. The day before I was leaving for Chicago I got a call from a dealer that wanted the Grand Am. So the next morning (moving day) I got up early and ran the Grand Am out and sold it.
On the way back I stopped at my buddies house and picked up the 87 GN. Left there and dropped off my friends car who was helping me move and went to pick up the moving van. Went home packed and left for Chicago that night around midnight! I still hadn't driven the GN except for the test drive and my best friend got to drive it out to Chicago and I got stuck with the moving van.
So I sold a car, bought a car, rented a van packed all my stuff and moved to Chicago in a day!
Once I got out to Chicago and get settled in and while trying to mentally prepare for the toughest academic challenge I've yet had to face, all I could do was think about that 87 GN. I fixed the exhaust leak and WG hoses and and found out ANS performance was 15 minutes from me! I bought a chip test pipe and K&N air filter all for a car I never planned to keep and planned to sell once I got to Chicago. I felt the car ran pretty strong but didn't feel it was super fast or anything. I decided to take it to Union Grove one Saturday afternoon. FIrst pass with the stock size 215/65 BFG TA's the car ran 13.1@101, I was hooked and kept the car all through college.
The car was in March 2000 GMHTP but shortly after that was seriously damaged in a hail storm while it was left outside another friends garage over night. I was racing TSS with it at the time and ended up selling the rolling shell to a friend of mine who fixed it and still races it in TSS today.
Back when I lived near Chicago, I bought my T-Type new in ’87, actually ordered in late ’86. I had previously considered a turbo Buick in ’86 when I chose instead to buy a V8 Mustang GT. I figured that V8 with a decent rear gear would stay out in front of any “hair dried” V6. One afternoon, I was at a light facing a long stretch of 3 lane concrete leading to one of the main expressways. 83 and North Ave. heading north for you Chitown guys...A GN pulls up next to me and we’re the only ones there. Green light comes and I had him out of the gate. By the time I thought it was time to hit 2nd, all I heard was a whooshing sound and he flew past me. He was so far out in front by the time I hit 3rd that it wasn’t even funny.
Tucking my tail between my legs I headed for the local speed shop for a nitrous setup. While I’m talking to the shop owner, the same GN pulls in. Conversation started and I found all he had was something called a Hypertech chip and a fish tank valve for his turbo. That was it. Took the nitrous money back off the counter and headed for the store to buy some “For Sale” signs for the Mustang.
A week later I was in a Buick dealer asking about the GN. Sales guy says they have one out back, but not enough sales people to go with on a test drive, so took the janitor kid with me.
The first hit of the throttle and that acceleration feeling in the cheeks sold me on one. But, I’m rather cheap, so I wasn’t going to pop for GN money when the sales guy says we can order what’s called a T-Type. But, I want all black. “No problem, we have option code WE4 that blacks out everything including the bumpers and grill.” Ordered it on the spot and drove it home a month later for $16,200 out the door. Anyone ever tried to keep their foot out of one during the new car break-in period? Even part throttle made the tires chirp into 2nd.
I still have it today with only 34k miles on it; probably 28k of ¼ mile runs. And I have one of the prototype Kirban fiberglass front bumpers on it…still. BTW, Dennis, I sure would like to trade it for one where the signal light bezels fit properly :biggrin: . I think I might have the first one out of the mold...
Tucking my tail between my legs I headed for the local speed shop for a nitrous setup. While I’m talking to the shop owner, the same GN pulls in. Conversation started and I found all he had was something called a Hypertech chip and a fish tank valve for his turbo. That was it. Took the nitrous money back off the counter and headed for the store to buy some “For Sale” signs for the Mustang.
A week later I was in a Buick dealer asking about the GN. Sales guy says they have one out back, but not enough sales people to go with on a test drive, so took the janitor kid with me.
The first hit of the throttle and that acceleration feeling in the cheeks sold me on one. But, I’m rather cheap, so I wasn’t going to pop for GN money when the sales guy says we can order what’s called a T-Type. But, I want all black. “No problem, we have option code WE4 that blacks out everything including the bumpers and grill.” Ordered it on the spot and drove it home a month later for $16,200 out the door. Anyone ever tried to keep their foot out of one during the new car break-in period? Even part throttle made the tires chirp into 2nd. I still have it today with only 34k miles on it; probably 28k of ¼ mile runs. And I have one of the prototype Kirban fiberglass front bumpers on it…still. BTW, Dennis, I sure would like to trade it for one where the signal light bezels fit properly :biggrin: . I think I might have the first one out of the mold...
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
Back when I lived near Chicago, I bought my T-Type new in ’87, actually ordered in late ’86. I had previously considered a turbo Buick in ’86 when I chose instead to buy a V8 Mustang GT. I figured that V8 with a decent rear gear would stay out in front of any “hair dried” V6. One afternoon, I was at a light facing a long stretch of 3 lane concrete leading to one of the main expressways. 83 and North Ave. heading north for you Chitown guys...A GN pulls up next to me and we’re the only ones there. Green light comes and I had him out of the gate. By the time I thought it was time to hit 2nd, all I heard was a whooshing sound and he flew past me. He was so far out in front by the time I hit 3rd that it wasn’t even funny.
Tucking my tail between my legs I headed for the local speed shop for a nitrous setup. While I’m talking to the shop owner, the same GN pulls in. Conversation started and I found all he had was something called a Hypertech chip and a fish tank valve for his turbo. That was it. Took the nitrous money back off the counter and headed for the store to buy some “For Sale” signs for the Mustang.
A week later I was in a Buick dealer asking about the GN. Sales guy says they have one out back, but not enough sales people to go with on a test drive, so took the janitor kid with me.
I still have it today with only 34k miles on it; probably 28k of ¼ mile runs. And I have one of the prototype Kirban fiberglass front bumpers on it…still. BTW, Dennis, I sure would like to trade it for one where the signal light bezels fit properly :biggrin: . I think I might have the first one out of the mold...
kirban 2 cents worth
On the glass bumpers mold does not change it is exact off the original front and rear bumper off my 1987 GN when it was new. My son filled in all the holes from the bumper cushion. Eve the factory front bumper if you look at it has a small gap on the one market bezel. On the rear bumper the factory looks like it has two push in areas in the main area also.
Actually our very first glass hood went on Conleys famous Turbo car Tweaked. t was also our design that was on his hood that featured the early trans am small vents that we offered s an option to let the heat escape.
My wife also drove a 1985 Mustang GT 5 speed that we were going to trade in on our first GN 1987 but instead kept both cars. I was not 100% convinced in the beginning and I did not want to let go of our GT.
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Generating some great stories.....
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 4,765
kirban 2 cents worth
On one of the above posts, the Buick tie is quite rare, unusual that some one would have it unless they worked at Buick or got it from a dealer?
On the other post hail damage on a black car every single little ding shows up. Those cars are really easy to dent. One of the most neglected parts on these cars especially ones that sit is the boost lines. Not a great design by GM as they should have used some sort of tie strap to secure it. Heat/oil hose swells up and turns brittle or falls off.
Other related area of concern is by the AC compressor on the 1986-1987 you have two wire leads taped up. One has a grey plug other has a green plug. If they fall against the hot header it can short out the injector fuse from what I remember and kill the car instantly. Mistake some owners make is plug one into the other. Going by memory I think that stops the led tach from working on a analog dash.
This is stuff I recall when we had bunch of the sitting for sale.
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Every car has a story what is yours?
On one of the above posts, the Buick tie is quite rare, unusual that some one would have it unless they worked at Buick or got it from a dealer?
On the other post hail damage on a black car every single little ding shows up. Those cars are really easy to dent. One of the most neglected parts on these cars especially ones that sit is the boost lines. Not a great design by GM as they should have used some sort of tie strap to secure it. Heat/oil hose swells up and turns brittle or falls off.
Other related area of concern is by the AC compressor on the 1986-1987 you have two wire leads taped up. One has a grey plug other has a green plug. If they fall against the hot header it can short out the injector fuse from what I remember and kill the car instantly. Mistake some owners make is plug one into the other. Going by memory I think that stops the led tach from working on a analog dash.
This is stuff I recall when we had bunch of the sitting for sale.
kirbanperformance.com
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Every car has a story what is yours?
