how to tell if its a real gn??

[84gnLA]

I recently purchased a 1984 t-top grand national, but now i'm not certain if its a real grand national or a t-type. Its my first turbo buick (my dream car) so i dont know much about this cars...yet. It does have the Lear Siegler interior but i recently discovered that it was also an option for t-types in 1984. I tried decoding the vin but i believe that all grand nationals in 84 the vin reads as t-types..true? The paint is black but it some parts where the paint has began to peal it shows signs of red. I am not sure if it was painted red at one point or it came red originally from the manufacture. Are they any other ways to find out if its a T-type or GN??...Any help would be appreciated..

 

[theCATman]

If the SPID label (stuck to inside of trunk) shows a WE2 code, it's most likely a GN, unless someone got a trunk lid from a GN.

I know for a fact on 87's, the cowl tag will say 19U AND 19L for paint codes. This should hold true for all 84-87 GNs also. This indicates black upper & black lower body paint.

Look on your cowl tag for a 60H, this will indicate if the car had the Lear Siegler seats from the factory too.

 

[84gnLA]

My cowl tag shows none of that
but the cowl tag vin and the trunk (SPID) label do match..
on the last bottom row..1st column it shows a WE2...6th column reads 19L....7th column 19U..and 9th column it also shows 60H
would that be enough to determine what it truly is??
i'm also going to compare it with gnttype.org info..but it only shows info for 85-87 for the trunk label
Thank You!!

 

[pacecarta]

umm ...you have to open the hood to find the cowl tag

if the vin under the windsheild matches the spid (rpo list) in trunk and it shows WE2 its a gn

unless the trunk and the dash vin tag were swapped from a real gn

and yes the vin will decode as a reg regal since the GN was an option
the 8th digit of Vin is the code for engine
turbo engine , for 84-85 should show a 9, (86-87 was a 7)
if 8th digit is a 9 its a turbo regal ,
and the spid label in trunk will show if it had the GN option (we2)

 

[Ken Wolkens]

Bringing this back to life for a followup question:

Is there any way to confirm an 86 is a GN if the trink lid has been swapped?

The seventh digit of the vin is a "7" but all that tells me is that it's a turbo 3.8.

Anywhere else to look to verify it's a GN?

 

[Shawn N]

Truck lid rpo sticker has the vin on it. LM-9 is the engine code for 84/85. 86/87 is LC-2. The dash plaque will have Grand National and not Regal but it could be switched out.

 

[Ken Wolkens]

Trunk lid was swapped. No RPO sticker.

 

[Shawn N]

Some other things to look for. GN's don't have hood ornaments, same style alum rims as 86/87 TT except painted black, 84 TT has the same style wheels as 83 TT, All GN's had a spoiler on the deck lid it was included with the WE-2 option, all GN's are console shifted, all WE-2 WO-2 will have solid black trim pieces, not chrome underneath, 84 TT grill will have the 2 hole insert for TT badge GN's will not have this. Hardly no one clones a GN 100% so one of these items will stick out or not be there.

 

[Ken Wolkens]

Great info. Thanks.

Ken

 

[pacecarta]

post the cowl tag info from the stamped plate under the hood

 

[psycho6cyl]

If.it hasnt had signs of a blown headgasket then.its prob not a real.gn.lol

 

[adan villalobos]

Im confused, I recently purchased a 1987 GN but I believe the trunk was swapped and I was wondering if the Vin will tell me if its an actual GN or a clone?

 

[2QUICK2B6]

se9iously look at codes in your trunk

 

[2QUICK2B6]

your vin will only tell u if it a fac turbo car

 

[Shawn N]

8th digit a 7 in the vin it's at least a true turbo regal. Compare the vin on the trunk rpo label to the actual vin. Last but not least their is a paint code tag below the vin on the firewall. If its 14 it was a factory black regal. It wont tell 100% if it's a real GN but it will point out a clone since there was very few black TR's. Post up your results.

 

[Phoneguy]

Check the inside of the drivers door for the build sheet. My build sheet lists WE2 and the VIN.
The paint code is 19 U and 19 L for black , not 14

Bryan

 

[salvageV6]

The cowl tag will have the GN interior seats listed instead of gray or some other color T (type) seats.

So you can tell by the cowl tag if it's a GN or a T.

82C vs. 82B I believe for the gray T interior.

Speaking of 1987 models not sure if that applies to other years.....

 

[Shawn N]

oops 14 is black metallic