TacticalGN
Active Member
Ok, got it, LOL.
Grandfather's '87 GN
- Thread starter JRC99
- Start date
TacticalGN
Active Member
Man, she came out beautiful!!!
JRC99
New Member
It's been a LONG time. Car's still around, and broke again lol. Vapor canister is clogged, fuel PSI regulator is still bad, and I still haven't done the fillers. And the alternator crapped out. I got mad and parked it.
So, today I ordered the regulator and canister, and when it comes time to work on it I'll go get an alternator. A high school buddy, and a fellow GN owner, does paint for a living and he said he'll hook me up on the fillers.
Now, in the summer, I roast thanks to the T-tops, and Pap forbids removing them due to the notoriously bad sealing issues. I see the shades are available, but what's the right color? Is it 1598 or 1589?
Also, even looking like this it gets loads of attention and people asking if its' for sale. Answer is still no!
It's funny, looking at the picture you'd think it has 139,000 miles, not 39,000
So, today I ordered the regulator and canister, and when it comes time to work on it I'll go get an alternator. A high school buddy, and a fellow GN owner, does paint for a living and he said he'll hook me up on the fillers.
Now, in the summer, I roast thanks to the T-tops, and Pap forbids removing them due to the notoriously bad sealing issues. I see the shades are available, but what's the right color? Is it 1598 or 1589?
Also, even looking like this it gets loads of attention and people asking if its' for sale. Answer is still no!
It's funny, looking at the picture you'd think it has 139,000 miles, not 39,000
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kidsixpack
Active Member
Wow great read! Welcome to turbo Buick.com. Lots of great info here. I’m local to you. Maybe I’ll see you at Hines. My favorite cruise! If I’m not mistaking my TTA came from Red Holmes. Not 100% sure, I have the paperwork but memory is slipping.
KID
KID
JRC99
New Member
There's a good chance of it, but I might not be in the National this year (I had it at Telegraph last summer, it was pretty fun!)
I'd rather be in this, if I'm honest. I'll daily the GN and take this to cruises.
kidsixpack
Active Member
I like that better too! I don’t take my GN to many cruises. There’s always plenty of the around to look at.
KID
JRC99
New Member
Okay, this is perplexing, but hell, I'll take it!
Got it fired up recently. Alternator is charging it fine, and the canister doesn't seem to be affecting it. I'll take it! (I'm still keeping the new ones as spares)
HOWEVER, it whistles bad under full throttle. I'm trying to get Pap to drive it so he can diagnose it for me so I can fix that.
Here's a picture of my buddy's '87. It was rebuilt by his father, who passed away in 2005 and left it to him. He'll be painting the bumper fillers for me. I didn't know these came with manual windows. He's got it torn apart in the garage at the moment. The trans (apparently a Turbo 400 with a 4th gear added. Not a 200R4) has been nothing but issues since his dad built it, and the wiring's a mess. The car was a victim of an insurance scam fire, and it was his dad's dream car. He's looking to hurt some Hellcat feelings this summer.
Got it fired up recently. Alternator is charging it fine, and the canister doesn't seem to be affecting it. I'll take it! (I'm still keeping the new ones as spares)
HOWEVER, it whistles bad under full throttle. I'm trying to get Pap to drive it so he can diagnose it for me so I can fix that.
Here's a picture of my buddy's '87. It was rebuilt by his father, who passed away in 2005 and left it to him. He'll be painting the bumper fillers for me. I didn't know these came with manual windows. He's got it torn apart in the garage at the moment. The trans (apparently a Turbo 400 with a 4th gear added. Not a 200R4) has been nothing but issues since his dad built it, and the wiring's a mess. The car was a victim of an insurance scam fire, and it was his dad's dream car. He's looking to hurt some Hellcat feelings this summer.
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JRC99
New Member
I've replaced the ones on the up pipe, so the other two are probably the culprit.
I think I have spares laying around for the other two. How hard are they to replace?
TexasT
Texas, Where are you from
The one from the turbo to ic takes heat from the turbo and is most likely to fail. Not hard to replace but you will probably have to loosen the ic mounts so it can move around to get the hose over it. I like to use some hairspray to get the hose slipped on then it gets sticky to hold it on there.
JRC99
New Member
Gave it the first bath yesterday. Took it to my buddy's house and he schooled me a bit. There's no saving the paint on the hood, it's the dreaded cracking. Shame.
Drove pretty good, I still have to replace that hose, and I'm thinking the accumulator ball on the brakes is gonna have to be swapped soon (luckily we have spares). The battery did die again while I was washing it, but it was fine the rest of the day. Probably going to have to check the wiring out.
View attachment Eaton Truetrac2.jpg
It looks good in pictures, but not in person.
Oh well. Is what it is, because paint= money I don't have lol.
Also, could this be moved to Member's Rides or something?
Drove pretty good, I still have to replace that hose, and I'm thinking the accumulator ball on the brakes is gonna have to be swapped soon (luckily we have spares). The battery did die again while I was washing it, but it was fine the rest of the day. Probably going to have to check the wiring out.
View attachment Eaton Truetrac2.jpg
It looks good in pictures, but not in person.
Oh well. Is what it is, because paint= money I don't have lol.
Also, could this be moved to Member's Rides or something?
Last edited:
turbofrank
Well-Known Member
Welcome and good luck in your repairs take care of that car. I bought my first Grand National in Ypsilanti Michigan. What a thrill in 1987.
JRC99
New Member
Well, that was depressing.
Last year the car developed a whistling noise under WOT. I don’t mean the normal turbo sound either. So I replaced the hoses on the pipe that runs from the intercooler to the throttle body. Didn’t make a difference.
Today, I replaced the one that connects the turbo to the intercooler, and took it for a spin.
Not only is the whistle just as loud as ever, it won’t build but 4psi of boost, and it doesn’t even accelerate. At all.
For the whistling, I just don’t know. For the slowness, I’m thinking the fuel pressure regulator finally bit the dust. It’s been on it’s way out for years, making cold starts an absolute nightmare.
I'll figure it out eventually.
Last year the car developed a whistling noise under WOT. I don’t mean the normal turbo sound either. So I replaced the hoses on the pipe that runs from the intercooler to the throttle body. Didn’t make a difference.
Today, I replaced the one that connects the turbo to the intercooler, and took it for a spin.
Not only is the whistle just as loud as ever, it won’t build but 4psi of boost, and it doesn’t even accelerate. At all.
For the whistling, I just don’t know. For the slowness, I’m thinking the fuel pressure regulator finally bit the dust. It’s been on it’s way out for years, making cold starts an absolute nightmare.
I'll figure it out eventually.
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