Hello

[Retired Guy]

I've been reading and soaking up a lot of information on this site and now I'm happy to be a member. Yesterday, I had the good fortune to run across a one owner, 1987 GN with 11k miles on it. I was the first one to look at it so I snapped it up. Unfortunately, for personal reasons I won't be able to pick the car up until Tuesday so I'm just sitting here reading and jonesing for Tuesday to come around. I had the same car back in the 90s and always regretted selling it. I've had many muscle cars through the years (and I'm 67 now) but something very special happened every time I got behind the wheel of that GN and the feeling just couldn't be duplicated with any other car. I don't know how to explain it but you guys know what I'm talking about.
I have to say upfront that I've always been a fast car enthusiast but never a mechanic. This may not be the correct place to pose this question but someone on this forum mentioned a chip that would smooth out the cold starts, increase fuel economy and performance as well. I'm not sure if that's for real but I'd be interested to know what that chip might be. I'm not interested in racing the car so I don't want to do anything radical that might jeopardize the engine in any way. Except for a K&N filter and a few additional gauges, my car is 100% original and I'd like to keep it that way as much as possible. Like I said, I'm new to this site so if this post would be more appropriate in another area maybe someone can help me get it to the right place.
Thanks for listening

 

[Nick Micale]

..... someone on this forum mentioned a chip that would smooth out the cold starts, increase fuel economy and performance as well. I'm not sure if that's for real but I'd be interested to know what that chip might be. I'm not interested in racing the car so I don't want to do anything radical that might jeopardize the engine in any way.

Thanks for listening

An increase in "fuel economy and performance" is not going to happen as more HP requires more fuel!

There are a few simple and rather inexpensive mods to get great street response and performance w/o hurting the value of a 11K mile car.

My original 1987 has only 9500 miles and the valve covers never removed, but with a few mods it will run in the 12's and is kick-ass at a stoplight.

If you would like more info, give me a call as my typing really sucks.

Since I "retired" before you, call any time as I now work from my shop at home!

 

[TLIMITED]

I've been reading and soaking up a lot of information on this site and now I'm happy to be a member. Yesterday, I had the good fortune to run across a one owner, 1987 GN with 11k miles on it. I was the first one to look at it so I snapped it up. Unfortunately, for personal reasons I won't be able to pick the car up until Tuesday so I'm just sitting here reading and jonesing for Tuesday to come around. I had the same car back in the 90s and always regretted selling it. I've had many muscle cars through the years (and I'm 67 now) but something very special happened every time I got behind the wheel of that GN and the feeling just couldn't be duplicated with any other car. I don't know how to explain it but you guys know what I'm talking about.
I have to say upfront that I've always been a fast car enthusiast but never a mechanic. This may not be the correct place to pose this question but someone on this forum mentioned a chip that would smooth out the cold starts, increase fuel economy and performance as well. I'm not sure if that's for real but I'd be interested to know what that chip might be. I'm not interested in racing the car so I don't want to do anything radical that might jeopardize the engine in any way. Except for a K&N filter and a few additional gauges, my car is 100% original and I'd like to keep it that way as much as possible. Like I said, I'm new to this site so if this post would be more appropriate in another area maybe someone can help me get it to the right place.
Thanks for listening

Welcome and Eric @TurboTweak can do the chip you are looking for.Scroll down to the bottom of home page to vendors and click on his site.Or try this:Ohttp://www.turbobuick.com/forums/link-forums/turbotweak.153/

 

[racerxrick]

welcome, I'm back too. Enjoy! Oh and post pics when you pick up the car....

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Welcome to the site. Lots of good info and great people here. Congrats on the find.
As was said above, post up some pics when you can. You can ask any question you want. This is your thread. You own it.
When you get the car, please post how it runs and any questions you might have.
We try to help each other out here. If you are helped, pass that knowledge on and help the next guy. That's how it works here.

Once again, welcome and happy spooling.

Mike Barnard

 

[Retired Guy]

Here are a couple of photos of my car. I just picked it up on Tuesday so we're still getting acquainted. I'm having her dyno tuned tomorrow and detailed on Tuesday. I love driving the car and look for any excuse to take her out. As I mentioned, I had one back in the early 90s. Loved it then and still do now. It's a unique bond that a guy has with his car and for me, the GN is as much of a time machine as it is car; rather than a flux capacitor, I have a turbo. I sit in it and it transports me back to a different time and place.

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

A great looking hot rod. I dig the blue pin stripe. I'm not sure how much they'll be able to do on the dyno. Does it have a Adjustable fuel pressure regulator and chip? At this point, a scanmaster may give you more valuable data than a dyno. Keep us in the loop.

Mike B

 

[Retired Guy]

A great looking hot rod. I dig the blue pin stripe. I'm not sure how much they'll be able to do on the dyno. Does it have a Adjustable fuel pressure regulator and chip? At this point, a scanmaster may give you more valuable data than a dyno. Keep us in the loop.

Mike B

Thanks Mike. I don't know what they're able to tell me on the dyno either. Hopefully they'll be able to tell me if it's spooling up properly and if the air to gas ratio is where it should be. IDK, I've spent all my time with muscle cars behind the wheel and not under the hood so I'm not much of a mechanic. Not something I'm particularly proud of but it's just the way it's been. I'm assuming the car is original with the exception of a K&N filter and some passenger side gauges. It seems to run like stock. It's a one owner car out of Texas and at 80 years old the original owner traded it in on a motor home. I doubt if he had anything modded but who knows. I'm using it as my daily driver and might want to get a little more speed out of it for the street if that can be done without me having to be constantly tweaking it. Would you recommend the TurboTweak chip for my purposes? I'd be interested in any other modds that you know of that fit into the carefree category. I recently sold my 2012 Mustang GT and that car felt faster than the GN and that's not acceptable to me. Thanks for any input you may have.
Lynn

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Here's a good game plan.
Before you go buying tons of parts that you may not need, or you'll outgrow. Do a little evening reading. Here's a good place to start. http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/info-for-new-turbo-regal-owners.380856/
Don't get too uptight if you don't understand half of what they're talking about. Just try to learn some of the vocabulary and over all strategies. The details will make sense later.

In a nut shell, these cars make a ton of power with only a small engine. Things need to be set up and tuned correctly. When done right, these cars can be incredibly fast and reliable. The first thing to do is make sure the car has a good/ safe tune. My recommendation is to get with some of the Turbo Buick people in your area to show you the ropes first hand.

 

[Retired Guy]

Here's a good game plan.
Before you go buying tons of parts that you may not need, or you'll outgrow. Do a little evening reading. Here's a good place to start. http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/info-for-new-turbo-regal-owners.380856/
Don't get too uptight if you don't understand half of what they're talking about. Just try to learn some of the vocabulary and over all strategies. The details will make sense later.

In a nut shell, these cars make a ton of power with only a small engine. Things need to be set up and tuned correctly. When done right, these cars can be incredibly fast and reliable. The first thing to do is make sure the car has a good/ safe tune. My recommendation is to get with some of the Turbo Buick people in your area to show you the ropes first hand.

Thanks for your input Mike and I'm taking you up on your plan. The place I'm taking it to tomorrow is called Central Florida Turbo. I doubt if they're Buick people but they do work on and build turbo cars to race so maybe I'll get something out of them. I just did my first mileage check and I'm getting 13.25 mpg. That's mixed highway and around town. I should be getting better than that so something's not quite right. In the meantime, I'll be doing your suggested reading.
Thanks again

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Cool!
Let us know how it goes tomorrow. There are lots of Turbo Buick people in FL. Keep an eye on the South Eastern section for get togethers.

 

[Retired Guy]

Cool!
Let us know how it goes tomorrow. There are lots of Turbo Buick people in FL. Keep an eye on the South Eastern section for get togethers.

I had a slight change of plans. As I was looking through some old posts on this site I came across KDK Performance Automotive here in Orlando. The business is owned by Kevin King who is supposed to be the Buick turbo guru in these parts. I called him up and made an appointment to drop my GN off next week for a couple of days. He's going to go over it from stem to stern and make sure everything is brought back to spec and functioning properly before he would even talk to me about any mods. I can tell by talking to him that he's a meticulous professional. Obviously I can't personally recommend him at this point but he has a good rep. I'll let you know what I think after I get the car back.

 

[gsgnnut]

Finding a local guru is a Good plan. A tt chip is a must as is a Scanmaster. These are unique machines and can become quite addictive. Had mine since 92 and drive it regularly and it never gets old. Boost is addictive!

 

[Retired Guy]

Finding a local guru is a Good plan. A tt chip is a must as is a Scanmaster. These are unique machines and can become quite addictive. Had mine since 92 and drive it regularly and it never gets old. Boost is addictive!

Thanks. Yeah, I know it's addictive. I had a 1987 GN back in the '90s and have had at least a dozens hot cars since then but that feel when the turbo spools up has haunted me all these years so I had to get another one.

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Yep!
I have owned and raced many cars. There is something very special about these things. They are very addictive, yet very satisfying.
Like no other I've seen. The first time you drive one, you say to yourself, "This thing can't be doing what it's doing".

Then you find out that it can, it does, and wants to do a lot more.

Welcome to The Dark Side...

 

[Eddie Strength]

Here are a couple of photos of my car. I just picked it up on Tuesday so we're still getting acquainted. I'm having her dyno tuned tomorrow and detailed on Tuesday. I love driving the car and look for any excuse to take her out. As I mentioned, I had one back in the early 90s. Loved it then and still do now. It's a unique bond that a guy has with his car and for me, the GN is as much of a time machine as it is car; rather than a flux capacitor, I have a turbo. I sit in it and it transports me back to a different time and place.

View attachment 260034 View attachment 260035 View attachment 260036

SEXY!

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Well!
How's it going? That thing running tens yet?

 

[Retired Guy]

Well!
How's it going? That thing running tens yet?

Hi Mike, I don't mean to ignore your question because I appreciate your concern but I don't have good info to offer at this moment. I should be able to offer something soon. My car is still at the shop and I'm awaiting a diagnosis. As soon as I have something substantive to say I'll be back. Thanks again for keeping me in mind. Just one more example of this tight-nit community watching out for each other.

 

[gsgnnut]

These cars are so different than Any other muscle car before or after it. It uniqueness is both its strength and reason so many of us hold them so long. You need to get a Scanmaster in that machine asap. It is the only way to know what is going on with the tune. Without it you or most shops are blind guessing at the state of tune.#2 get a tt chip. The factory chips are no good and were set for passing emissions and as a result idle usual suffers. The orig chip belongs in the glove box for annual emission testing if your state still requires antiques to pass.

 

[Retired Guy]

I've been reading and soaking up a lot of information on this site and now I'm happy to be a member. Yesterday, I had the good fortune to run across a one owner, 1987 GN with 11k miles on it. I was the first one to look at it so I snapped it up. Unfortunately, for personal reasons I won't be able to pick the car up until Tuesday so I'm just sitting here reading and jonesing for Tuesday to come around. I had the same car back in the 90s and always regretted selling it. I've had many muscle cars through the years (and I'm 67 now) but something very special happened every time I got behind the wheel of that GN and the feeling just couldn't be duplicated with any other car. I don't know how to explain it but you guys know what I'm talking about.
I have to say upfront that I've always been a fast car enthusiast but never a mechanic. This may not be the correct place to pose this question but someone on this forum mentioned a chip that would smooth out the cold starts, increase fuel economy and performance as well. I'm not sure if that's for real but I'd be interested to know what that chip might be. I'm not interested in racing the car so I don't want to do anything radical that might jeopardize the engine in any way. Except for a K&N filter and a few additional gauges, my car is 100% original and I'd like to keep it that way as much as possible. Like I said, I'm new to this site so if this post would be more appropriate in another area maybe someone can help me get it to the right place.
Thanks for listening