what made YOU get a TR?

[Vendor Defendor]

i was wondering why everyone here got a TR instead of anyother car....

my story is that on the last day of school in my junior year my 84 El Caminowas stolen.. ugh sad day.. i knew in the bottom of my heart that i was never going to get that car back in one peice if at all.. so i already started thinking about what to get.. at first i was sold on getting a 68-69 chevelle or camaro.... then shortly later at my GF's high school graduation, my friend said that i should get a GN or a T-type.. i was sold instantly on the idea, i had almost forgotten completely about those things.. i was like hey what a good idea, a high performance car that actually got good gas mileage, how could i lose. three weeks later i got a call from the Broward County Sheriff saying they found my car..... my sister comes running into my room going neil neil!!! they found your car!!! (yes i was thinking) stripped!!! (doh!) so i go look at my car now looks as it did in that bottom picture, sadd stuff.. so the hunt for a TR was on.. i eventually found an 87GN for 8000 with 55k on it 95% stock. well thats been my toy since.

people often ask which i would rather have, my El Camino or the GN, i usually say i dont know... the el camino was a really high performace beast, i mean, i could form idle, punch it and spin the tires to the top of 3rd gear.... it was a head turner, not to metion a loud thing.. the only thing i didnt like about the car was the fact that i was always under the hood maintaining it, and the fact that it got 8 mpg... but i still dont know which i would rather have more, the GN or the el camino. its a tuff call, but i love the GN now, its grown to be part of me.. i think i will keep it for a while...

i was wondering... what made you get a TR?

neil

 

[bishir]

My first car was an 86 Regal. This is what happened to it.. http://members.cox.net/bishir/id35.htm

I loved my old car but it was slow. A turbo Buick is my old car with balls!

James

 

[Two Lane]

Some days, I think "de' debble made me do it"!
_________________________________________________

Essentially though, it's because the GN/TR is the final curtain-call
for the mid-size GM musclecars, my lifelong personal favorites for all-around street/strip cars.

 

[Dan K]

My buddy that I bought it from decided that he didn't want it anymore and I didn't want to see it go. So now it sits in my garage.

 

[Rubrburnr]

It was my father who got the idea. I really didn't know what they were. In fact, at one point I was considering selling mine. I decided to wait a year, save up some money, and redue the engine. Best decision I've ever made. A diamond in the rough.

 

[equalizer442]

well my story started out several years ago, my grand dad lost the engine in his old 85 cutlass so i thaught sure this should be fun so i got it from him and try to fix it up, next i baught a 83 for a parts car for the 85. i droped the 83s engine in to the 85 but could not get the car to run right so i sent it o a mechanic who turned out to be about as stright as a gay in a arab orgey. 6 engines, a year, and a letter threating to sew i got the car back. the same day i got the car finished i found my 442 and later restored it.

well by now im gussing your wondering why in the hell am i talking about cutlasses and 442s, ill get to the point in a min.

one day last year i went down to the bop nationals to show my 442, the bop nationals sucked that year and the show was totally crooked but on the way back i found a gn and a t type at classic auto sales near bristol. well i fell in love with the gns, wasent to hard considering my past history with g bodys.

about 2 weeks later i called to see if they had the gn and t type, yup! so me, my 95 year old granny, and my dad drove back down to bristol and turns out the gn was gone and the t type was rusted all to hell but just when i was about to drive all way accross the state back home a guy who worked there sed he would sell me his personal 87 gn boy did i have fun comeing back home. i only whish i had a picture of the guys face in the ss camaro i out ran when he seen my granny at the next light.

 

[BIG-G]

Why I got a GN

Hi it was May Of 87, a nice spring day,a Sunday.. I was headed to a Corvette show. I was driving my 1980 custom Corvette.It had those square head-lites that are dropped down and don't move,an aftermarket hood that looked like one of those old 427 style one's from a late 60 Yenko car. Custom tri colored stripes down the side..Intake ,carb,headers ,no cat nice for the time stereo cassette. 4 speed.. It was all mine,did'nt owe a dime on it. T-tops off cruising down the highway towards the show.
A black car pulls up on my bumper.We are in traffic about 60-65 MPH.. I think its a Monte (Believe me,I know the difference now) He's riding my tail as I go in and out of a few cars,no crazy moves,just a little aggresive. I tell myself,when I get around this next little cluster of cars,I'm gonna lose him. I pass the cars,all clear ahead.I drop that Vette back down into 3rd and nail it..While the secondary's are still opening.I hear this odd sound coming up on my left... Brand new 87 Grand Nash.. Still has pieces of the window stickers from the dealer on it.. Blows by me like I had the brakes on.. I had been reading about them in all those magazines,saying how unreal they are.. But come on,it was only a 231 V6..How fast and how long could that last??
I didn't have any fun at the show..I was pissed off about getting embarassed so bad.. I grabbed the Sunday paper on the way home.. By wednesday nite of that week ,I had a brand new 1987 Buick Grand National sitting in my driveway.. I never ever regretted it for one second... George

 

[JayLashua]

ahh..it started out when i got my first car.. a '90 Regal GS.. all black.. black out trim, digital dash, it was nice... nice and SLOW. So I started searching on info on how to mod.. and ended up on GNTTYPE.org..well a copule months later,
I was driving from bradenton to titusville to pick up my '84 GN for $4k!

all my friends were like WTF.. so I took em all out one night.. and romped on it.. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!!" looking at my LED boost gauge and rpm gauge, while holding on to their seats... no my car wasnt fast that time, but it sure suprsied them!

and sometime after that i realised gn's were special, valuable cars, and decided thast what im going to have from now on.

 

[1ARUNEM]

It all started when i was around 15yrs old and went to church one Sunday with my father.. Walking through the parking lot I saw on of the coolest looking regals I had ever seen. Of course i was big into cars and red car mags so i knew exactly what it was.
Walked up and checked out this brand new GN.. Wanted one immediately, but it was a pipe dream at that time. However, the seed was planted..

Fast forward to when i was about 23. Owned a 66 chevy IISS, a 340 cuda, and a 66 mustang.. But in the back of my mind I still wanted a TR. A local acquaintance had one and the itch was still there. I moved to Houston, sold the mustang and found a 32k mile charcoal grey T. Bought it after a short test drive. Car ran good, but i was an old school v8 guy and didn't know **** about working on it. Got frustrated and sold it. Well, i continued to frequent gnttype.org (this was back in the mid 90's) and had to have another... And so the story goes..

So far, I am on my 5th TR. (Usually only selling one for another. And unless something changes, I'll have this one for a while..

 

[Awesome T]

Big G,
Great story! I too was driving my 'Vette when I first became aware of GN's. I was driving down a street in Boston in my '71 LT-1 roadster, which used to have sidepipes, but was switched back to a stock dual exhaust with LT-1 mufflers, yet still very healthy sounding. I pulled into a parking spot on a side street, and as I was heading towards a store, a fellow called out "Nice car"! I looked back, saw him polishing a black car, and said "Yeah, thanks". I didn't think anything of it, and when I returned from the store, the guy was still polishing this black car, so I went over to talk to him. After admiring his car, and becoming amazed at what was under the hood but still doubting it was fast, I asked him if he would let me drive it. To my surprise he said yes. I didn't get on it until we were on a straightawy, but when I did, the back end felt like it was on ice. I looked at the guy and said what's up with the rear end, and he said "Traction, there's none"! That did it. I couldn't keep a smile off of my face. I was amazed at the silence and power, as before fast always meant loud, because to get good power from the LT-1, it had to be spinning 4000 PRM's +.
So whoever that guy was, thanks, it's been great.

 

[turbotwister]

hi,
i have biult and raced pontiacs for years.and very much love them.
when i tell you what sparked my interest in the buick turbo cars you might get a little sick,so here goes.

a guy came in my shop with what is now my 86 t-type.the shifter wasnt working properly.turns out the bolts holding the cable bracket were loose.quick fix.he proceeds to tell me he is looking to sell it becuase he wants his fathers 84 trans am he has in the garage for years. right then and there i knew this guy obviously didnt understand what he had.then he tells me his father will give him the trans am for $1500.00 .so i asked him how much he wanted for the buick and he told me if he got the money he need for the trans am then it would be good. .
being as casual as i could be ,i told him i wanted the car.so minus the cost of the repair (which meant i got it for $1435).i was the proud owner of my first turbo car. now im sure all of you are wondering on the condition of the car.so ill tell ya.

there are absolutly no rips in the interior,a few small stains in the rug.no dents,no rust,almost all origional,and it seems it was never raced.engine has 25-30 pounds of oil pressure hot.tranny shifted very firm.i drove the car all of 5 miles to my shop and instantly fell in love with it.i have since tore alot of the car apart and redone it.i have redone most of the suspension(most of it was still in great condition).the motor is just about ready to go together,with alot of performance improvements.oh,and by the way,it has 101,000 miles on it and when i took the engine apart i could still se crosshatch in the cylinders and it has never been apart .the stock timing chain was on it,including the nylon gear,and it was in great shape(no kidding).it is almost ready to go back together and cant wait to drive it.i raced and biult cars since i was a kid(im 35 now).and took a break for a couple years becuase i just got burnt out from it and lost some of the interest i had for it, but this car has made me feel like a kid again.there isnt a day that goes by that i dont think in anticapation of the fun and excitement this car is going to bring me.

so thats my story.i hope everyone else's buick brings them the same joy mine has.and ive only driven mine 5 miles!

 

[jastrckl]

I was looking at an overpriced 70 mach 1 fastback that my dad was trying to talk me out of for safety reasons, he had seen one sideswipe a bike cop from the low rear visibility. In the process of talking me out of the mach 1, he listed a bunch of reasons why his car was better. I hunted for one in the san antonio/houston area for sale and it was a b1tch to find one, so I talked him into selling me his. MAN did he miss the car. When mine gets back together and cleaned up a bit I'm taking him to the track with me so he can remember

 

[2GNS4ME]

My story!!

I have to give credit to WIKEDV6. I always read about GNs and saw them in magazines but never saw one in person. Mine you I was 15 at the time. I loved them because they were all black and looked EVIL. I think it was 1990 if I remeber correctly. Well my friend bought a 84 GN from WIKEDV6. Man I got a ride in that thing and boy did that thing scare the crap out of me. It was one bad car. I had to get one. NOT REALIZING THAT 86/87 were different.

FWD. My friend says he is going to WIKEDV6's house. I said cool I will join him. When we get to his house he has 3 GNS SITTING ONE AFTER ANOTHER IN FRONT OF HIS HOUSE. This was in Chicago in not the best of neighborhoods. I was just about to unload one. He came out ..was real friendly and gave me a ride in the 87, all I have to say is I was scared out of my mine grabbing on to anything I could hold!!!! I went nuts. I had to have one.

When I turned 16. I had to have one but did not have the money. I contacted WIKEDV6 and he helped me find my 1st 86T for 4K. Man I was so happy.

I was driving home the night I got it and this loud mustang came up on the side of me and was revving is motor and downshifting..sounded really mean. Me nervous looked in front of me to see if the road was clear. I saw a bus that was 3/4 of mile away. (mind you my car was not running right. Bad chip and no air filter). I said okay. He punched then I punched ..not hammered but punched since it was detonating at full throttle. Man tires spinning before you new it I was behind the bus!!! Slammed on the brakes and scared to death..my heart was pumping like crazy. It felt like it took me 2 secs to get to the bus. Well after that I started driving slow and the mustang guys asked what I had the car ...told them it was stock with detonating issues...all I saw was both of their jaws drop. I waved to them and drove home with my heart on the floor but a smile from ear to ear.

Now I have a 87 GN thought I would never afford to get one. I miss my car now. I want to go home and hug it.

Later

 

[sixgun86gn]

Back when I was a teenager,my dad showed me an article.It was about a guy named Ken Duttweiler(whoever that is LOL).He had a v6 Buick with like 750 HP.Then a year or so later he was in another article and the number was something like 1200 or so.I knew that was my kind of power.I wanted one ever since,but could never afford one.Well fast forward about 15 years an I had a 96 mustang with juice.Iknow,I know(it needed the juice just to hang with stock z-28s).I wanted something else.Me and the wife were talking in the car on the way someplace and she said "sell it and buy ONE car that you always wanted and let that be it"(I want every muscle car that ever existed).As she said that I was looking over from the highway to the service road and saw a GN kicking the **** out of a mustang and that was it.I said "I'm finally going to get a GN".A few weeks later a guy brought his GN to My Father-in law's upholstery shop to have the DS seat recovered and mentioned to my wie that it was for sale.I bought it.I love that car.It was fate.

 

[NASSTY]

Back in 1990 I was looking for a new car.I looked at lots of brand new cars and most of them didn't have enough rear seat room.I saw a 86 GN at a dealership. I heard they were fast but never had driven one so I stopped to look at it.The dealer came out and the first thing he said was"You want to drive it".I figured why not try it out.So he went with me on the test drive.About a mile down the road I got on it pretty good and pinned us both back in the seats,he looked scared.I couldn't believe a 6 cyl. went like that.I said"I'll take it".And the rest is history.I haven't even thought of owning any other muscle car besides a GN since.I've owned four GNs,and currently have two.

 

[NOKA72]

whats up guys....i will share my story....got my first car at 16 in 1988...a 76 cutlass...found i had a love for cars, i tore it apart.

fst fwd...i started building engines and working in speed shops..ever hear of ATV..well any way i built an 84 cutlass with what i believe was a stout small block...built trans...373 rear..so on and so forth...take it out for its first real street wars...throw the car sideways at 40mph like nothing...tearin up stangs..crusin the hood like a king...my girl by my side...livin large... everyone in the neighborhood knew the car
THEN!!! ONE NIGHT
pull up to a 4 way stop sign..my boys roll up beside me in this charcoal grey buick hey vin wanna run...man this car had no lope, no exhaust.... nothin... i was like what the hell can this POS have on me..i look over to my girl and shes like show em babe..im like ha!! no problem...so on three we hit it...i get the big jump on this fool then all of a sudden from behind this SWWWWOOOOSSSHHHHHH!!!! comes flying buy me like i was standind still ALL I SAW WERE TAILIGHTS!!!!!

what the hell was that....i met them back at the corner where we hung out and looked this car up and down...scratched my head and been hooked on TURBO BUICKS ever since
SOLD THAT OLDS TOO!!!!!

 

[8UWITH6]

I drove one, that was all it took. Bye-bye Monte SS, hello Mr. Turbo Regal.

 

[Turtle TR]

I was always into regals. I was into the lowrider scene a lot and i loved the aggressive look of the regal. I just matured one day and just wanted a TR. thankfully I no longer am into the lowriderscene. the TR would be pimpin on some pumps and switches and at your local lowrider convention.