'84 GN value

[Maddox Racing]

New to the forum so forgive me if I didn't post in the correct place. I've been looking to purchase my first GN for some time and I've finally come across what I believe to be a good deal but I would like some expert advice. The car is an '84 GN with t-tops. Car has 105k miles. Runs but needs paint, bumpers, and carpet, seat covers, headliner, and door panels. They are asking $3,000.00. I've looked around on autotrader, craigslist, and ebay to try and see what they are selling for but can't find many '84's with t-tops. I know there weren't that many built so I figure thats why I can't find values on them. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Red C5]

Seems like it might be a good deal but you should try to come up with how much $$$ you're going need to spend to get it to where you want it. You might be able to buy one already done for less than that.

 

[fmster]

Post in the "HOT AIR" section, you will get more responce.Good luck.

 

[kh440]

It's pretty easy to sink upwards of ten grand into redoing even an 86-87 car, As an investment opportunity I would probably shop around a little longer as the "hot air" models just don't bring the same bucks as the intercooled models. However the fact that the 84 is fairly unique and has the more comfortable seats may make it worth saving.

 

[INEEDAGN]

My brother found an 84 gn not too far away from here, similar condition as that for about the same money. T tops also. The way I see it, There's probably 3k in parts there, so I doubt you'll ever find one much cheaper or people will just part them. It's a shame but these cars are far from being immune to the axe swingers. Especially a hot air.

 

[hesermon]

Seems like it might be a good deal but you should try to come up with how much $$$ you're going need to spend to get it to where you want it. You might be able to buy one already done for less than that.

I agree 100% with the above! If your looking for a daily driver you really can't get hurt too bad considering if you had to part it out you would just about break even. Best case if you have someone that can do the paint and interior cheap enough you could end up with a pretty nice ride on the cheap. If you run into mechanical issues there are a lot of stock hot air parts for sale out there pretty cheap. (I have several because I converted my car to I/C). Keep in mind that even though 84-85's are more rare that does not make them more desirable. Every little bit you can bargain on the price is more you'll have to work with on the recon. Good Luck!

 

[hesermon]

BTW, if you're wanting to put it back to "original 84", it could get pretty expensive. i.e. it has the wrong center caps for an 84, the correct ones are very hard to find and are quite expensive. Also the "correct" grill is expensive and not available in reproduction so again it comes down to what you want to do with the car.

 

[Maddox Racing]

Do the hot air make a lot less power than the intercooled?

 

[HotAirGN]

I only paid $1000 for mine and was able to drive it home but later found out that it was a complete rust bucket and there was no reason to keep it. I ended up parting it out and putting alot onto a rust free chassis. Just show up with cash in hand and you can get a better price as this car seems to need some work.

HotAir parts are harder to come by so it will be a mess trying to fix the seats, brakes and matching the interior color. Just make sure that when you remove the t-tops there isn't much rust as that was motivation for me getting rid of another GN.

I actually miss my 84 as it was my first ever GN and wouldn't mind getting one again stock but will pay for one that has all the major items intact.

 

[hesermon]

Do the hot air make a lot less power than the intercooled?

No and yes. No because if you believe the factory rating (forgive me for not remembering the exact numbers) there was about 30-40 HP difference, keeping in mind that GM grossly underrated the HP rating to begin with. In reality the 86/87 versions actually made better horsepower AND there are a lot more easy upgrades for the I/C versions of the car. There are ways to make the hot air cars really fast, just not as easily and cheaply as their I/C cousins.

 

[hesermon]

HotAir parts are harder to come by so it will be a mess trying to fix the seats, brakes and matching the interior color. Just make sure that when you remove the t-tops there isn't much rust as that was motivation for me getting rid of another GN.

I actually miss my 84 as it was my first ever GN and wouldn't mind getting one again stock but will pay for one that has all the major items intact.

I would disagree with a couple of things: 1) the brakes are hydro-boost which is 100 times better than Powermaster. HB parts are easily available.
2) reproduction carpet is available pretty cheap.
3) headliner is pretty cheap and door panels can be recovered fairly easily.
The seats will be the tricky part.
Again, if you want to go back to "original" it will become very expensive. If you want to refurb the car to "nice" condition, not that expensive. The ultimate goal when done will be the deciding factor if the car is worth doing or not.

 

[Casey Jensen]

I think that is pretty reasonable. I bought my 84 back in 2002. The paint was bad with some rust and the interior also was in bad shape. I paid 4,500 then, but the engine had been rebuilt. I stripped the car to bare metal, replaced the rust areas and repainted myself. Not a pro job, but still looks real nice. The interior I hired out and replaced the carpet, headliner and recovered front and rear seats. Total investment is around $11,000. My car had 82,000 when I bought it. If you really want a gn, this is a place to start. They aren't as quick as the 86's and 87's, but are still fun to drive and they are still a gn. With a few mods, they can be very quick too. Just my past experience so I hope it helps. Paint, materials and labor has gone up considerably since then. Just remember there were only 2,000 made so maybe someday they will be worth some real money. Good luck on your choice