Full build of my 87 GN...the 300K mile tune up ;)

J

junkbrick

Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2004
I wanted to start a thread showing the "tune up" of my 87 GN...and most importantly to give some thanks to my really good friends who have helped me out along this journey! I have owned this car since 1994, and it has been a blast since day one! This thread will document the build up, and I hope to provide some technical help and answer some questions that other members can use along the way. It will take me a bit to get all the pictures loaded up...so be patient! Anyway, here is my "Junkbrick" as I pulled it into the shop last fall



Pulled the engine and front sheet metal...

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-0417.html]

Pulled all the front suspension...

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-0554.html]

Pile of stuff to sort through...

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-0555.html]

More fallout...

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-0560.html]

The car has been rode hard for the past 8 or so years...I knew that everything was in need of some attention!

more to come...[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
 
 
At this point I started to sand down the body slowly by hand...started out first with a good razor blade and a bunch of patience. My good friends Justin, Kent, Eddie, Tommy, Matt and Jeff all jumped in at some point over the weeks it took to get it all slowly stripped down.



Started stripping the front section of the frame...it will be so nice to work on a clean Buick again!



Next was stripping the firewall...this took way longer than I expected! I think I have over 10 hours in sanding, stripping, hammering and dolly work to get it all happy! I am not "restoring" the car, but I do not plan on smoothing every little imperfection either. Going to just give it some love and hopefully make it look like it was built on a good day up in Detroit in 1987!



thanks for looking...more to come!
 
 
The more I stared at the car, the more things I wanted to do to it...so, off came the body!



The car started "driving left" on launch at the dragstrip a few months before I pulled it apart...I had assumed it was either a heim joint in the upper control arm, or a problem with a shock. Good thing I pulled the body, it ended up being the lower control arm mount where it is welded to the upper side of the frame. Hard to see without the body off...might have missed it! Pictures coming later on that repair.

Started the rust repair...I used some sheet metal and slowly tig welded it all up...had to make a bunch of repair here, but luckily it all is behind the weather stripping and trim. Did the best I could!

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-1544.html]

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-1546.html]

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-1547.html]

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-1549.html][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
 
Holy cow. I thought the Buick looked pretty good to start with, but I'm pretty sure it will be unreal when you're done with it!
 
Wow nice stuff. Keep up the good work and most of all the updates/pics :)


Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
Rafs-T-Type said:
Holy cow. I thought the Buick looked pretty good to start with, but I'm pretty sure it will be unreal when you're done with it!
Click to expand...

I appreciate the compliment...the car has been very good to me, my DD through college and then I did a pretty thorough paint/interior re-do around 1996...



I put it in a few car shows around that time, quickly realized I liked driving it a little more than showing...and racing it was always a blast!

Lassiter Mountain Dragway...just about every Wednesday night for T&T

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img004-2.html]

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img012-2.html]

Out front of my dad's shop with Scott P's 85 T-Type (which was his grandmothers car!) and Jason B's 84 IROC...first car I ever put 17" wheels on :D

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img014-2.html]

Sorry for the crummy pics...probably taken with a Kodak 110 camera in a box :p[/URL][/URL][/URL]
 
I tweaked the heck out of my rear axle housing...way to many "jumper valve" launches! At some point in my adolescent youth I thought it was a good idea to install bigger wheel cylinders, bypass the proportioning valve, smash the e-brake to the floor and try to launch a 3600# brick at the dragstrip on a stock housing. Lets just say the results were a 1.42 60' time on 28x10.5 Mickeys...but the poor old housing was wrecked!



I hate to show pics of the abuse, but it is amazing what this car has been through and I could/would still drive it anywhere!

The rear axle seal had no chance of holding in any gear lube...I drove the car from Birmingham all the way to SGMP (Valdosta Ga) for the ORTC race last fall and the seal finally let go...

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-0556.html]

Lucky for me I had installed a 9" in my friend Tim's 87 GN and he gave me his old 8.5" as payment...so a little cutting of some un-needed brackets and it will be perfect. The car has a good set of 30 spline axles, Eaton Super Brute and I have fresh bearings and 3.42's to drop back in!

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2338.html][/URL][/URL]
 
Here is the best part of the whole car...my "junk motor"...sometime around 2002 my buddy Rusty got a T-type and decided to kill it by putting a turbo SBC in the hole, and I got the fall out LC2. The poor little engine was .040" over with cast pistons and ring set, .020" rods and .030" down mains. I had just lost my first "good engine" that had TRW pistons to a freak encounter with my mother's sprinkler system. I had been at Bristol TN for the Buick race, and the car was running worse and worse each pass. I ended up bringing it home and driving it to my mothers for supper. While I was inside, dad decided to move the lawn sprinkler and it just so happened to spray the front of my car. Needless to say the reason the car was running bad was due to a faulty weld on my FMIC...and the sprinkler decided to fill the intercooler up with water. Got done with dinner and went to crank the Buick...lets just say sucking in a bunch of water is not what it wanted! It bent 2 rods and broke the starter off the block before I knew what happened! This "junk motor" was the only replacement I could afford at the time. For the cost of gaskets and such, the Buick was back up and going!




The car ran this engine for over 100K miles...made a little under 400 WHP and 586# of torque on my buddies dynojet @ 15 PSI...and the car ran a best of 7.18 @ 99 mph on a set of Nitto NT-555R's...I was pretty happy.

Note in the picture the slack in the timing chain opposite the tensioner...it made some groovy noises :D

On my way back from SGMP I decided to goof off a little with a newer 'Vette on the interstate...that is when the poor girl finally gave up the ghost...pushed some water and I thought it was just a head gasket, but ended up being a nice little crack in the cylinder. Guess .040" is not that sturdy after all...

 
Got my money's worth out of the rod bearings...



Cast slugs...

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2174.html]

I did a little trading for a "stock" 98,000 mile engine, and that was going to be the "new" bullet...but I am very lucky to have some good friends that came to my rescue...
Freshly machined 109...

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2296.html]

Weisco .030" PT forged pistons...

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2298.html]
Fresh set of GN-1's with 1.65 T&D's...a small 235* Roller to replace the paltry 228* flat tappet that was in the "junk" motor!
[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2300.html]
ARP main studs and a STD/STD crankshaft...ohhh for new things....
[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2301.html]

Dood...I owe ya big time :D :D :D


[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2302.html]

Birmingham is a small town...and us Buick guys try to stick together...I can say that this car has introduced me to many of a good person! Most of them have become best friends of mine over the years...its a great common thread![/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
 
Got the short block all together...just waiting on some head studs and gaskets...



Meanwhile the frame has been patiently waiting for me to start re-assembling it...fresh coat of enamel and all the lines started going back into place...

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2307.html]

The body is off to the side for a bit...but it is 100% bare metal now...no secrets and no worries! If you look closely you can see where I patched in the 1/4 panel job when I was 19 years old...man have I learned a bunch from my mistakes!!

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2308.html]

Another shot of the frame...it took days of scrubbing, wiping, welding, sanding, stretching and anything else imaginable to get it to this point...but I am happy we did it!

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2309.html]

Set the engine in the frame...it is backed by my trusty TH-400...best thing I ever did to this car. One day I will spend the money on a bullet proof 200, but until then...3 speeds FTW!

[URL=http://public.fotki.com/reedp231/grand-national/img-2310.html][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
 
Last pic for the day...my helper is tired of car stuff and ready to go outside and play! Thanks for looking...I will update all of this as the car comes together! My goal is to have it all painted and assembled in about a 2 month time frame...really want to take it to BG this year and put a pass or two under the tires.





--reed
 
Please tell me you welded a brace where the rear cross member is Reed. If you broke the LCA mount it's very possible that the rear cross member is going to be next to crack.;)
 
charlief1 said:
Please tell me you welded a brace where the rear cross member is Reed. If you broke the LCA mount it's very possible that the rear cross member is going to be next to crack.;)
Click to expand...

I have put the "Texas Hold'em" fix into action sir....I just modified it a little bit "LA style"...., like lower Alabama, that is :D...thank you for all the advise Charlie, it has helped me out greatly!
 
OMG, I remember "Ole Maytag". I envied Scott's Refrigerator White T Type... I wished my Granny had had a T Type like that one. Scott and I both has T Types and also Mustang SVO's. I spent most of my time at Fairfield Car Clinic hangin with Larry. I can say Scott's car was a head of his time (Reed created a Monster). His SVO was not so bad either...


junkbrick said:
I appreciate the compliment...the car has been very good to me, my DD through college and then I did a pretty thorough paint/interior re-do around 1996...





I put it in a few car shows around that time, quickly realized I liked driving it a little more than showing...and racing it was always a blast!

Lassiter Mountain Dragway...just about every Wednesday night for T&T





Out front of my dad's shop with Scott P's 85 T-Type (which was his grandmothers car!) and Jason B's 84 IROC...first car I ever put 17" wheels on :D



Sorry for the crummy pics...probably taken with a Kodak 110 camera in a box :p
Click to expand...
 
Am I the only one who tried to read/see pic's on this build? Sorry not 1 picture cam up for me!
 
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