Why hot rod a perfect factory GN?

[Ssg Ken]

Hi, new guy here. I do not see a better sub forum to discuss value, so I will start here.

When i was a kid, everyone would look for good driving cars with enough years and miles to lower the price to a quarter or so of new to make it affordable to add after market parts which were superior. I bought a 1960 348hp Pontiac in 1966 and added headers, clutch, valve springs, cam, 3.90 rear end, etc. You cannot believe how weak a 1960 clutch was.

What I see on ebay are original factory GNs sell for more than modified cars that have more money in them. I would always think that a modified car has been beat to pieces and rebuilt. It might not be tight in the joints, steering and everything but the rebuilt parts could be worn out.

With this in mind, if a person wants a fast GN looking car, why not just buy a nice Regal and a 370hp+ crate motor? With OD, add a 4.56 rear end if you want a drag/street car or Maybe find GN wheels, hood, trim etc. if you want the look.

 

[BREAKIN IT]

370 hp in the GN world is nothing. Don't waste your time:smile: Buy a real GN!

 

[Boston GN]

With this in mind, if a person wants a fast GN looking car, why not just buy a nice Regal and a 370hp+ crate motor? With OD, add a 4.56 rear end if you want a drag/street car or Maybe find GN wheels, hood, trim etc. if you want the look.

Because at the end of the day it's still not a GN. People buy GNs or other turbo regals for what they are, modded or not.

 

[xrunner123]

And how about add those whistles to the tailpipes? So it goes Wooo Wooo.

 

[Ssg Ken]

370 was just a figure I picked out of thin air. It would likely be equal or better than my factory GN with 27K on it. A 370 crate motor is about what you can get cheap, like maybe $2000. Of course the Sky's the limit just like the guys who dream of 33 psi boost cars.

If 370 is chump change, what size mouse motor would be a fair comparison? I have never seen an estimate of factory hp. Is it greater than the 245hp listed?

 

[PHINFAN]

370 was just a figure I picked out of thin air. It would likely be equal or better than my factory GN with 27K on it. A 370 crate motor is about what you can get cheap, like maybe $2000. Of course the Sky's the limit just like the guys who dream of 33 psi boost cars.

If 370 is chump change, what size mouse motor would be a fair comparison? I have never seen an estimate of factory hp. Is it greater than the 245hp listed?

The 86-87 GN actually put out about 280-285 hp. The reason they did not advertise this amount is that it exceeded the amount the transmission could handle.

You can check this on your own, the hp figures actually came from Buick seeing what the Corvette was rated at, then adding 5 hp (not kidding).

 

[coach]

If 370 is chump change, what size mouse motor would be a fair comparison? I have never seen an estimate of factory hp. Is it greater than the 245hp listed?[/QUOTE]


First off, bite your tongue. A mouse motor does not belong in a Buick. At least have the go-nads to put a 400 or 455. Next thing is people EXPECT to see a Turbo3.8 in a GN or any 84-87 Regal when it is at a cruise or show. I can appreciate this because of my other cars. When I see a guy at a cruise drive by in a 62-64 Chevy with "409" flags on the fender, I run over to check it out. When you get there, it is a small block or Rat motor and I am totally disappointed. Sometimes they leave the hood down and tell you its there, but "its dirty". Same with my Max Wedge car. They are easy to make it look like a real Maxxie car. It is a sin to falsely advertise these pieces of automobile history this way. I know not everyone can afford these so they do what they must.This is my opinion only, but it is the opinion of many like me also.

Thanks
Coach

 

[salvageV6]

Value is determined by the owner as well as the market.

For the cost of a high end Toyota if there is such a thing, you can buy a low mile stocker and do what you want with it.

Like drive it and mod. it.


Thread deleted by SGRIM
Reason: Spam and/or unwanted content

 

[Ssg Ken]

A person can buy a 425hp hemi in the new Dodge too but they are not in the $17,000. range that will get you a nice GN. I just registered my GN at the Courthouse. In Alabama you have to show it to the Probate Judge. She went out to check the VIN and came back and said "THAT is a nice car". In rural Tallapoosa county and not in a City, the sales tax rate is 2.1% (two and one tenth percent) not a typo. We do not put the mileage on the title for cars over ten years old because it is so unreliable and a buyer might say the State was culpable in a mileage fraud if some car had 117,000 miles and it reads 17,000.

I think somewhere I lost my point of the thread. If a person thinks he may sell the car, why spend money on expensive mods that only reduce the value?

 

[rmar]

Remember (Tool Time) with Tim Allen? Some of us can't leave any thing alone..:biggrin: It is not always about end value as most know you can
almost never get the money back that you put in a car.
That is why it is always cheaper to buy than build a car. If we were doing this for a profit we would be in worse shape then G.M

 

[Ssg Ken]

We have a winner !!

Remember (Tool Time) with Tim Allen? Some of us can't leave any thing alone..:biggrin: It is not always about end value as most know you can
almost never get the money back that you put in a car.
That is why it is always cheaper to buy than build a car. If we were doing this for a profit we would be in worse shape then G.M

Thank you.


I think you hit the nail on the head. I never did one thing to my GN when I had the first one, but I am no longer handy and cannot do it myself. I was thinking of getting rid of the chip to see how fast it went, but I thought I would kill myself by doing something stupid and I did not want to pay for the 160 mph rated new tires.

 

[stagemonster]

Hi, new guy here. I do not see a better sub forum to discuss value, so I will start here.

When i was a kid, everyone would look for good driving cars with enough years and miles to lower the price to a quarter or so of new to make it affordable to add after market parts which were superior. I bought a 1960 348hp Pontiac in 1966 and added headers, clutch, valve springs, cam, 3.90 rear end, etc. You cannot believe how weak a 1960 clutch was.

What I see on ebay are original factory GNs sell for more than modified cars that have more money in them. I would always think that a modified car has been beat to pieces and rebuilt. It might not be tight in the joints, steering and everything but the rebuilt parts could be worn out.

With this in mind, if a person wants a fast GN looking car, why not just buy a nice Regal and a 370hp+ crate motor? With OD, add a 4.56 rear end if you want a drag/street car or Maybe find GN wheels, hood, trim etc. if you want the look.

why would you want to do that to a turbo buick? Second you could easly get 370hp out of a stock car with a chip, injectors and down pipe. If you want to buy a crate motor go get a monte carlo and stick it in there dont ruin a buick!!!

 

[coach]

A person can buy a 425hp hemi in the new Dodge too but they are not in the $17,000. range that will get you a nice GN. I just registered my GN at the Courthouse. In Alabama you have to show it to the Probate Judge. She went out to check the VIN and came back and said "THAT is a nice car". In rural Tallapoosa county and not in a City, the sales tax rate is 2.1% (two and one tenth percent) not a typo. We do not put the mileage on the title for cars over ten years old because it is so unreliable and a buyer might say the State was culpable in a mileage fraud if some car had 117,000 miles and it reads 17,000.

I think somewhere I lost my point of the thread. If a person thinks he may sell the car, why spend money on expensive mods that only reduce the value?

I can answer this one. When I bought my GN, I bought it from a friend who owned it from new. He was needing $$$ and knew I had always wanted it. We agreed on a price and a "clause", if I ever want to sell it, it goes back to him first. If he does not want it, then I can advertise it. Well I started modding it and he said he never did that for value sake. I have never drilled a hole and never will. Read my sig and all the mods I have made I can reverse in a weekend or two. No cage or frame mods, just as fast as I can go without cutting or welding. I am going to either build a different motor or buy a T-Type and mod it to death someday. It gets addicting and is hard to stop.

Thanks
Coach

 

[Ssg Ken]

why would you want to do that to a turbo buick? Second you could easly get 370hp out of a stock car with a chip, injectors and down pipe. If you want to buy a crate motor go get a monte carlo and stick it in there dont ruin a buick!!!

I said "nice Regal " I did not mean or say a turbo Buick. You can get a wide choice of Regals with low mileage for cheap, hot rod it up, and have a fast car that may keep its value if not worn out to death.

This thread was intended to question why people, men usually, pour money down rat holes like boats, classic cars, (insert your poison here) and not leave well enough alone. Forum members have mentioned the bling factor and I myself got a rush when the Judge, who sees a lot of cars, made a nice compliment. I was invited to a gun club in 1998 and it did not take me long to see that the land they owned for their club was worth many millions. I was surely the poorest man there.

However, I was welcomed with open arms partly because I was driving my Buick GN which impressed them that I had seen its value and bought one new. They also liked to hear that while I once had a money pit of a boat, I sold it and if I want to go sailfishing maybe five or ten times a year, I just rent a charter boat for no more than what I was paying for insurance and maintenance.

 

[GNBRETT]

The 86-87 GN actually put out about 280-285 hp. The reason they did not advertise this amount is that it exceeded the amount the transmission could handle.

Actually the HP numbers were advertised lower because GM wanted the Corvette to look better. It was obviously a better selling car.

 

[Ssg Ken]

Actually the HP numbers were advertised lower because GM wanted the Corvette to look better. It was obviously a better selling car.

The 86-87 GN actually put out about 280-285 hp. The reason they did not advertise this amount is that it exceeded the amount the transmission could handle.

It seems there is a difference of opinion here. I put 117,000 miles on my first GN and the transmission was just fine. I even pulled a trailer with a pontoon boat with the top up. It pulled like a parachute. Going up one mountain, the boost gauge just kept climbing. So, in fact, the tranny COULD take the hp that the engine produced. That is not the real answer. Perhaps the tranny was only advertised to take 355 pounds of torque. As I understand it, trannies, rear ends, along with the whole drive train fail from excessive torque not hp.

 

[L8TRH8R]

Keep all your original parts and put back to new if you wanna sell.I've built my car how I want it after purchasing from the 91 year old widow of the first owner. This car will go to my son (who is five) and then he can do what he wants with her! All the OG parts are in boxes in the garage and could go back on. (or in) Build it how you want it so you can make 500-700 with a 109 block and EAT all those 370 HP mouse motors!!!!

 

[L8TRH8R]

It seems there is a difference of opinion here. I put 117,000 miles on my first GN and the transmission was just fine. I even pulled a trailer with a pontoon boat with the top up. It pulled like a parachute. Going up one mountain, the boost gauge just kept climbing. So, in fact, the tranny COULD take the hp that the engine produced. That is not the real answer. Perhaps the tranny was only advertised to take 355 pounds of torque. As I understand it, trannies, rear ends, along with the whole drive train fail from excessive torque not hp.

Owned mine for five years and have had my 2004 built three times BEFORE I started serious mods.

 

[Roger]

A "nice Regal" will NOT have any of the heavy duty parts a TR come with & will require a very substantial amount of beefing up to be "safe" with the power you have in mind. I find many aftermark "performance" parts to be spindly when compared to my TR.

 

[Ssg Ken]

A "nice Regal" will NOT have any of the heavy duty parts a TR come with & will require a very substantial amount of beefing up to be "safe" with the power you have in mind. I find many aftermark "performance" parts to be spindly when compared to my TR.

Quite true. If I had thought this question better, I would have said "Get a Monte Carlo". Then you could get a strong rear end and the rest and be all Chevy, at least.