What's the connection betwenn TR's and the east coast?

[jpwahler]

I've had my GN for about 6 months and have bought a lot of parts off ebay and the typical TR vendors. I've noticed that ALOT of the cars and parts seem to come from the east coast. Is there any reason? Am I nuts or is this just coincedence? Most parts seemed to come from NY, PA, FL, NC, etc. Any ideas?

 

[GNBRETT]

Good question. If fact, most ALL of the top TR engine builders and shops are located on the East Coast as well. The cars seem to be more popular here then elsewhere.

 

[KevinB]

Lots of them here in the Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky area.

 

[SIXBANGR]

Bet if we go by population my little town has more than most. 500 people, 2 Tr's. My '87 and an '84 T around the corner.

 

[Little6pack]

Like in the Bob Segar song those folks on the east coast have the MOST!.

I spoke with GTO JIM WANGERS many years back when I was into Pontiacs GTO's.
He said the BIGGEST markets for the 60's GTO's was BOSTON, NYC/NJ, PHILLY & MIAMI on the east coast.

CHI town and West coast cities like LA also big markets for the GTO.

The reason is the densly populated areas tend to have the most concentration of well liked cars.

Same holds true for the GN's... Living in the greater boston area in the 80's which is basically a forigen car domain since the mid 80's I was amazed at how many GN's, Turbo T's & I know we all hate them but MCSS's roamed the streets of greater Boston.

Back as a teen in the 70's the cars the rich kids had were 76 to 80 TA's & Z/28's

 

[JOHNDEEREGN]

Bet if we go by population my little town has more than most. 500 people, 2 Tr's. My '87 and an '84 T around the corner.

LOL x2, I owned an 87, 86 and 89 TTA all at once and all had under/around 20 k miles:biggrin:

There are TONS on the East Coast though, maybe more drag strips? PEr Capita?

 

[SGRIM]

Good question!

There are plenty of TR guys on the west coast... BUT!

The majority does seem to be on the east coast... More imports out that way I think!

NC is set to be the TR capital of the World:biggrin: You got Mr. Clark, Bweavy, BigWoodRacing, Bob Stanley, etc... There is a whole lot of TR knowledge right there

 

[QuickBuick87]

Great question! And I think I know the answer. I remember reading an article about this and can't remember which magazine, but back when these cars were still in the showroom, the East Coast, and in particular, the North East, had the best economy in the US at the time. Places like the West Coast, Texas and the mid-west were'nt do as well and therefore, the large sales of TR's in the Northeast. I remember stoping by a local Buick dealer here in CT in the summer of 87 and seeing rows of GN's and Turbo Regals lined up out front. They were buying them from mid-west dealers(as told by one of the salesmen) who could'nt move them. What a great site, and man do I wish I took some pics.......

 

[mjdwyer23]

Well, in the Northeast, we have winter to fix them when they're broken.

 

[Little6pack]

Great question! And I think I know the answer. I remember reading an article about this and can't remember which magazine, but back when these cars were still in the showroom, the East Coast, and in particular, the North East, had the best economy in the US at the time. Places like the West Coast, Texas and the mid-west were'nt do as well and therefore, the large sales of TR's in the Northeast. I remember stoping by a local Buick dealer here in CT in the summer of 87 and seeing rows of GN's and Turbo Regals lined up out front. They were buying them from mid-west dealers(as told by one of the salesmen) who could'nt move them. What a great site, and man do I wish I took some pics.......

Ha I met a salesman that worked a Smiley Buick in Saugus Mass. He said the salesmen use to take the gn's out & race them on route 1.

 

[d0n_3d]

As far as I know........there are many more people living on the east coast compared to the west coast so maybe that plays a factor. I know the Great Lake states have TONS of Turbo Buicks (Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin). In my local region alone, which would be about 3 or 4 counties, I bet I could name about 50 people with Buicks. DLS and PTE are located 2 counties from me and Full Throttle isn't too far north in Michigan.

 

[phillyturbosix]

Living in this area all my life that is a easy question to answer. This region is full of working class people. People in this area work hard for their money and love to go fast. The GN was the perfect working man's car that did it all for you. You could afford a GN new and drive it on the streets slap some slicks on it on the weekend and take it to the track. Then when going somewhere on the weekend with the wife and kids the GN was the perfect car with ice cold AC and plenty of room for everyone. Back in the late 80's I use to see 4 or 5 GN's on any given day all around the area. Even today in the summer I'll see 3 or 4 turbo Buicks on the weekends driving around and I still see a ton of NA 86 and 87 Buick Regals. I could get in my car and show anyone 10 Buick Regals in a half hour ride around my area. There were many shops around here that modded them and worked on them. I could also put you in my car and within an hour I could show you 10 or more turbo buicks sitting in shops around here. The thing that amazes me is how big these web sites are and how many people never even come on here who have owned turbo Bucks all their life! Just several blocks from my house a guy owns 3 turbo Buicks all rare, high option, low mile cars and he's never been on this site. So even tho it seems like there is a lot in this area there is way more then you even think around here!

 

[JOHNDEEREGN]

We want your "neighbor" to join and show pics of his rides. You need to get us some pics while cruising Jim, cars being parked worked on etc, might be kinda neat

 

[krom]

Just the fast ones out here in the west.

 

[phillyturbosix]

Ty I went by this guys shop the other day that's 10 mins from my house. The owner around my age never goes on the forums and yet on any given day of the week there are 3 or 4 GN's in his shop. He owns a GN most of the GN's he works on run low 11's and 10's. I'm also near Dale Cherry. Another big name turbo Buick shop around me.

Ty these older guys for some reason don't even care to come on line and surf around. I'm always telling him about deals and stuff and they just don't seem to care. They ask me to get them stuff half the time! lol

 

[bison]

The older dealerships with the most sales typically had more connections and were able to get larger orders of cars delivered and specialty LE's like the GNX. Dealerships dont always get what they want. There was a gap in mid-late 87 model year when there where zero GN's at any of the CT dealerships. Then the dealerships were able to get some more all hte way through December of 87.

 

[Evans Ward]

Another sad fact that theft follows suit to the areas where these cars are located in greater numbers too. Crooks may not be the sharpest knives in the drawer but they can follow the logic of supply/ demand.

Here's my PSA for today: please install multiple anti-theft devices on your car and do not reveal them on the web! Also, a current appraisal is money well spent too just in case. None of this would help against a roll back though....

 

[turbo39151]

I've recently relocated to KY and I've only seen 2 tr's since I've been here. I would regularly see many more tr's and tta's in SoCal Maybe it's the weather...

 

[turbofish38]

NC is set to be the TR capital of the World:biggrin: You got Mr. Clark, Bweavy, BigWoodRacing, Bob Stanley, etc... There is a whole lot of TR knowledge right there

No doubt that's at least 100 years or more of TR knowledge but what do y'all do for excitement in this state? No group get togethers, except for Richards open house, or something along that line. I mean you guys dont have any clubs or region group. I guess I'm spoiled by what I was used to since the day I bought my GN back in 87. Just look at the Central FL guys. They got kicked out of their old parking lot and still managed 17 cars for a monthly get together last Sat night. It was no problem for the FL guys to show up even the GSCA with a record 50 cars back in 2007 for our annual show in Orlando. Now that's the type of stuff that would make NC the TR capitol of the world IMO. Not complaining or cutting you guys down. It would be nice to put a face to the name every once in awhile instead of the usuall crowd that you see when I hit the tracks or even the GS Nationals. If any of you guys do know of any TR meetings or shows let me know. We do have one GN here at GBodyParts that's good for sitting in a parking lot looking pretty.

 

[toofastforyou]

No group get togethers, except for Richards open house, or something along that line.

Speaking of get-togethers on the east coast, don't forget Jack Cotton's "Winter B-B-Q. The date is Saturday, February 21st, 9:00 am until the food is gone. Buick stories and good friends required. Tapes of "Pinks" and Michael Nogrady's runs. Other racing videos as well. We hope you all can make it to the shop. 105 Walnut Street, Agawam, Ma 01001. Phone: 413-789-0531
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