why are gn's worth more than Ts??

Right after I bought the car, I went to autozone to get a oil filter, battery and other ods and ends. When the parts guy asked for what vehicle, I proudly said 87 grand national. To my surprise no one behind the counter had a clue what it was. I told them its a regal with the turbo V6. One of the parts guys said he used to have a regal and it had the mighty V8 and was still a POS. I just laughed and said ya those 305s were boat anchors and got my parts.

yeah i went in to pep boys and ordered something for my T. i figured it was easier to say 87 buick grand national to the guy. he goes, "is that an SUV?" i chuckled and said, nah it's a regal. those guys are idiots.
 
Gn

That's OK, one of the guys at work calls mine an "International". He's not busting my balls, either. BTW, you could get a V-8 and a turbo in the T-type......just not in the same car. When I was looking for my car the salesman at the Buick dealer was trying to get me to buy a T-Type with a 305 V-8 that was in PA. He wanted me to pay shipping on it, too! I said sorry, looking for a V-6 turbo. I looked at a Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2 with the bubble back window. Took it for a drive...waaaay to slow.
 
That's OK, one of the guys at work calls mine an "International". He's not busting my balls, either. BTW, you could get a V-8 and a turbo in the T-type......just not in the same car. When I was looking for my car the salesman at the Buick dealer was trying to get me to buy a T-Type with a 305 V-8 that was in PA. He wanted me to pay shipping on it, too! I said sorry, looking for a V-6 turbo. I looked at a Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2 with the bubble back window. Took it for a drive...waaaay to slow.

"international" Thats great! LOL
 
yeah i went in to pep boys and ordered something for my T. i figured it was easier to say 87 buick grand national to the guy. he goes, "is that an SUV?" i chuckled and said, nah it's a regal. those guys are idiots.

For the first couple weeks I would take the time to try and explain what a WE4 is, now I just hang my head and say "ya its a grand national"
 
Going to the GS Nationals, we had our cars on open trailers. To communicate we brought along portable CB radios and heard two truckers talking about our cars... they said (sounding like Gribble on King Of The Hill) "hey look at those nice Monte Carlos". :confused:
 
Comparing a turbo Regal to a GN is an exercise in futulity. First off the whole "aura" or mystique is a perception created by the dumba$$es and posuers in our hobby. Everybody thinks they are a car guy or expert on anything with four wheels. If HOTROD said the 71 Vega was the fastest car in the world than it must be true. Just look at who doesn't know the difference between a MonteCarlo and a Regal. The same applies here. Go back into time. Okay which was faster? A 61 Biscayne 2 door sedan with a 409 horse 409 or a 61 Impala SS with the same motor. Nobody even knows what a Biscuit Sedan looks like unless they spent time at the track. Was a 68 Chevelle 300 coupe with a 375 horse L78 more desirable than a SS396 with the same motor. No because it too wasn't a mainstream icon. Hemi Satelite or Hemi RoadRunner? T-Type? What's that? Oh yeah my Grandma had a 4 door Century with T-Type on the fenders. Those are slow, which is what most people think when they hear T-Type. Now just the word Grand National has substance. That name wasn't hung on the fenders of just any Buick(okay spare me the 86 LeSabre GN story) so when you talk about fast cars that was the name that is associated with the myths and legends. It may have been a white turbo Regal that beat your Mustang at the track Friday night but you know you are telling everybody it was a GN. If you guys want your Ts to go up in value than you'll have to figure out how to capitolize on the GN mystique. IMO you're 20 years too late.

Did it ever dawn on anybody that the reason the 87 GN is worth more than any other TR was just the plain fact that it stickered for more money. Assuming that the values were on a constant variable than 50% of $18K is more than 50% of $16K. Back before these cars were collectables the value was based as a percentage of the retail invoice price.



You hit the nail on the head. The only thing I somewhat disagree with is the difference in value for the 86 vs the 87 GN

Before I got into Turbo Regals I knew that 86s and 87s were the same drivetrain wise but the grille on the 86 looked downright terrible. This is the same thing I have heard expressed from many other people who arent into turbo buicks. When I got my 86 T type I actually planned on getting an 87 grille but ended up just painting my 86 grille all black. (My car is far from a show piece)

I finally just picked up an 87 grille the other day actually. Still need to install it.
Seems pretty silly to think that that is what would drive a price difference, but in my opinion, the 86 grille significantly takes away from the visual appeal of the car.
 
One of the parts guys said he used to have a regal and it had the mighty V8 and was still a POS. I just laughed and said ya those 305s were boat anchors and got my parts.

Regals would have had the 5.0 liter, 307 Olds engine. The 5.0, 305 Chevy was a Monte Carslows engine.


I usually use the Mustang GT and LX 5.0 comparison when I tell people what my car is. For some reason it seems to make it easier to understand.
 
When I still had my 86 T-type two guys, one older in the passenger seat and a younger guy driving, pull up next to me at a stop light in a 70's nova that was beat to hell. I heard the young guy ask is that a one of those turbo buicks, the older guy gives my car a good once over and says, nah that's just a regal :confused: Not sure what was louder when I left the light, my tires protesting or the turbo screaming, either way they got the message :biggrin: Even though the sleeper aspect can be fun it was tiresome explaining what my car was I have to admit. When I tell peoople I own a Grand National most immediately know what it is.
 
Melissa went threw the "Monte Carlo" thing with her GN and "whats that " in her WE4:rolleyes: So she did have this plate for a few years after :p
 

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you guys have got to understand that everyone knows that the 87 model was the last of the turbo cars. So the people that go to looking for these cars have a general yr in their head (87). someone stated it in the first page about the heritage that has came along with the GN NAMEPLATE. The t-type started after the first yr GN (1982) the first yr t-type (1983) before that they were sport coupes.


This is the same when comparing the 67-68 camaro's to the 69 model. Another example is the shoebox chevy 55 and 57 were hot and always will be.
 
Thanks for the explaination. Sorry if I came off a bit harsh.:redface: Anytime I have my 86 out I always get "You should trade that in on an 87. They were faster and had an intercooler. Yours is an after market one".:confused:

Its hard for some to believe they are the same. They did alot more advertising, and there were more made in 87. I got my 86 appraised last year, and it is a fair amount, but I bet if it were an 87 it would of been worth a few grand more. I'd love to compare appraisals with a same condition 87 to mine and see what the difference was.



hey GNgirl

GMturbo6 was having a show @ the lowes motor speedway during autofair. Well while i was there i heard all kinds of comments about the regals/gn's etc. but there was one comment that was made by a man telling his wife that only the 87-88 grandnationals came with the turbos. The other yr cars had the aftermarket stuff on them as to why they looks somewhat diffrent under the hood..
 
Actually I believe the Regal was available with the 305 Chevy engine up until about 1983.

The only Regals with 305s or any type of SBC were the Canada only cars. The 78-81 US Regals used either the Pontiac 301 or 265. The 82-87 US Regal used the Olds 307. Actually you couldn't even order the Regal with the 307 for the 83-85 model years. All you could get was the 3.8/4.1 V-6. Except in Canada were you could still get the SBC. The only other V-8 choice was the Olds Diesel available in 82-85.There was also a 4.3 Diesel V-6 for 82-84.

Those Canadian 305 Regals are a tad different than any SBC G-body sold down here in the 50 states. The big and major difference being that the Canada cars did not use an ECM to control the engine. Just a good old fashioned non-electronic Q-Jet and non-CCC HEI.:smile:
 
hey GNgirl

GMturbo6 was having a show @ the lowes motor speedway during autofair. Well while i was there i heard all kinds of comments about the regals/gn's etc. but there was one comment that was made by a man telling his wife that only the 87-88 grandnationals came with the turbos. The other yr cars had the aftermarket stuff on them as to why they looks somewhat diffrent under the hood..

I had my GN at my Nephews auto class for his open house about 3 years ago. I over heard this teen talking to his buddy about my car and I wanted to flip on this kid. As he looked at the engine bay of my beauty he said "Thats one of those after market turbos they use on Hondas". :eek: Thank god my hubby was there to grab me, as I was on my way to killing this kid. Instead my hubby told the kid loudly "that Buick put that on at the factory almost 20 years ago. Buick beat the Honda fags to the turbo thing.":biggrin: Twards the end of the open house the Honda fags were attempting to do burn outs in the back of the building by the garage doors, that I so happened to have to go out to leave. HEHEHEHE. As I was backing the GN out the shop teacher said "Show them how its done Stac" :biggrin: I filled the back of the building up with tire smoke and left tire marks the whole length of the building. My Nephew told me his shop teacher smiled from ear to ear for weeks after the fact.:biggrin:
 
No. The gap will continue to increase between the 2 as time goes on. With GN's being worth more. It has ever since they were released and i dont see it going the other way at this point. Demand is the key as i stated earlier. Nothing else really matters but demand. If there was no demand and they only made 300 Tr's then the value would equally suck for all of them. Dont forget they are all actually T-types or Turbo T's. The GN option is just a package not an actual model name.

Rediculous! When does your delerium medicine wear off? How can you say that the gap will increase? I think you HOPE the gap will increase Mr. Bison GN man. Here's my prediction (I just read the Nostrilldumbass book). Having nothing to do with owning a T, I think as time goes by, and as more of these cars change hands and get abused,parted, beat, and even totalled, the cars that will keep their price (either GN,T or Limited) wil be the ones closest to stock (big secret).It won't matter 30 years from now which TR. The GN definately has the recognition, no doubt, but it's the performance that will ultimately put these cars on an even keel. Although, the really low mileage GN's a year ago were only getting around $10k more than when new. That's $500 a year gain- not so good. T's no better...I could have bought many different GN's in the last 4 years of looking, but I waited and bought an 86 blackT-Type because that is what I purposely went out looking for. Imagine that! Ewwww, it's an 86!... AND a T-Type!... WITH CHROME BUMPERS!... AND A PIECE OF CHROME SLAPPED IN THE MIDDLLE OF THE GRILL! THE HORROR!- hang a letter around my neck.....~
 
i'll admit it. i want an 87 gn, and will have one soon. tired of telling people that my T is the same as the grand national but it came in different colors. hopefully i can keep the T and i'll just tell people it's a regal, and then blow their doors off.


That's crap. You should be PROUD of your T
If I had that gunmetal T, I'd be happy as a pig in s**t. That is a SWEET ride. If that person doesn't sign your paycheck, then it doesn't MATTER what they say. They can go eat a ****. There's nothin wrong with a gun metal T type. That's a classic ride.
 
i have nothing against the gn's but i love it when i am at the stop light and a bunch of young kids in the rice rockets laugh,saying it is just a regal a "plain white regal" then the light turns greens i take off with the tail of the car wagging all over the road and the kids looking like they had seen a ghost,love the sleeper look They didn't have to muich to say at the next light.
 
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