Is this normal?

Usdmskyline

New Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2011
Looking to purchase a GN this weekend and the passenger rear tire sticks out 1/2 in outside the fender ? Was told this is normal with these cars? The car is highly modified and is an 11sec car if that helps any.


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Also forgot to mention I ran an auto check report and it came back with no accidents.


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The rear axle was definitely not centered under the car on mine or my friends when we got them. I just looked at mine and kind of tight to see it in garage, but mine looks to be over towards the passenger side too, so I'd say that is a true statement. I have 275/50R15 drag radials and they are within wheel well, but can rub the lip (not rolled), so I'm assuming they are even wider tires or have less backspacing on wheels if sticking out which will rub unless there is a lot of clearance above them. They can be centered using adjustable control arms. Good luck in whatever you decide, these cars are fun, but can be very frustrating. I bought mine in Orlando back on 4 Jan 1988 at dealer and still a novice compared to the many experts on this forum. This is the place for information on these cars.
 
I know it's common for the body to NOT be straight on the frame a lot of the times.

I would check out the upper and lower control arms on the rear axle to be sure they are not bent.

It's possible some previous owner installed adjustable upper control arms and got them a little off center which could be adjusted to re-center the axle.

If all check to be good, one can loosen the body mount bolts and pull the body over a bit with ratchet straps.
Check out the front for center as well.

I suppose it would be a good idea to follow the car and check for dog tracking.

I know it's hard, but look the car over very well and be prepared to walk away if it's not EXACTLY what you want condition wise.

A few options either way would probably not break the deal.
 
1986 BUICK GX1. Never thought about loosening body mounts and trying to center up that way. I did change out original body bushings way back and thinking it is about time to do them again. Had to do the radiator core support bushings last year to get doors to line up with fenders - front end sagging and have the rest of the poly bushings to install. I'll try centering when I change bushings. Thanks for the idea. I put on METCO adjustables - way back in the day too, but made them exactly the same length as stock and it kept the same offset of axle to the passenger side. I was worried about dog tracking - not getting it straight so kept stock lengths.
 
The rear axle was definitely not centered under the car on mine or my friends when we got them. I just looked at mine and kind of tight to see it in garage, but mine looks to be over towards the passenger side too, so I'd say that is a true statement. I have 275/50R15 drag radials and they are within wheel well, but can rub the lip (not rolled), so I'm assuming they are even wider tires or have less backspacing on wheels if sticking out which will rub unless there is a lot of clearance above them. They can be centered using adjustable control arms. Good luck in whatever you decide, these cars are fun, but can be very frustrating. I bought mine in Orlando back on 4 Jan 1988 at dealer and still a novice compared to the many experts on this forum. This is the place for information on these cars.

The car has 295x15 on there now which is wider. I’m still a beginner with these cars. Your post put me at ease. Thanks for the reply. Greatly appreciated [emoji1417]


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I know it's common for the body to NOT be straight on the frame a lot of the times.

I would check out the upper and lower control arms on the rear axle to be sure they are not bent.

It's possible some previous owner installed adjustable upper control arms and got them a little off center which could be adjusted to re-center the axle.

If all check to be good, one can loosen the body mount bolts and pull the body over a bit with ratchet straps.
Check out the front for center as well.

I suppose it would be a good idea to follow the car and check for dog tracking.

I know it's hard, but look the car over very well and be prepared to walk away if it's not EXACTLY what you want condition wise.

A few options either way would probably not break the deal.

Thanks for responding. I’ll check it thoroughly and keep you all posted.


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The car has 295x15 on there now which is wider. I’m still a beginner with these cars. Your post put me at ease. Thanks for the reply. Greatly appreciated [emoji1417]


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I ran 295/50-15 Hoosier quick times on 15x8 American racing wheels back in the '90's without rubbing. Stock height springs, bilstein shocks and no rolled fenders, but there were no passengers, well maybe one.

I don't know the backspacing as these wheels came on an '82 Trans Am I bought.
 
I just saw this post. I have an 87 Grand National, 2nd owner purchased in 2/89 with 8k miles. I also noticed after I purchased the car that the back wheels were out of alignment, a little sideways & also sticking out more to the right. I had the car checked after I purchased it with several collision shops that we were friendly with. One focused on chassis issues. None of them noticed any damage to the chassis or any body damage & I never knew why body was out of alignment. I recently did a Carfax & it also stated no accidents to the car. I now have about 25,500 miles. Car is stock with original rims & tires. I never thought that the body was not put straight on the frame. I always wondered if there was another reason, but didn’t know what it could be. It always irritated me. I will look into what 1986 Buick GX1 mentioned doing. Hopefully that will resolve the problem. Do you think I should change the rear bushings as well?
 
In addition to your responses I reached out Kevin at KDK and he confirmed for me as well that these cars aren’t straight from the factory.

I drove out to NC and purchased the car from TLturbo. Based on the short test drive and looking the car over it was in good shape for a 31 year old car.

Since it’s been in my garage I noticed oil in my garage floor so hoping to get it to Kevin this Friday to get that checked out. Hoping to post some pics soon.


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In addition to your responses I reached out Kevin at KDK and he confirmed for me as well that these cars aren’t straight from the factory.

I drove out to NC and purchased the car from TLturbo. Based on the short test drive and looking the car over it was in good shape for a 31 year old car.

Since it’s been in my garage I noticed oil in my garage floor so hoping to get it to Kevin this Friday to get that checked out. Hoping to post some pics soon.


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I bet it's your rear main seal leaking oil. This is a pretty common problem with these cars. Congrats on your purchase!!
 
Do yourself a favor and stick to close to stock car if you have no knowledge about Turbo Buicks. There's a lot to learn. Worst thing is to buy someone's abortion. An unknowing eye can miss the signs of hackery, neglect or abuse.
 
Do yourself a favor and stick to close to stock car if you have no knowledge about Turbo Buicks. There's a lot to learn. Worst thing is to buy someone's abortion. An unknowing eye can miss the signs of hackery, neglect or abuse.

My goal was to purchase a stock car especially since I don’t know much about turbo Buick’s aside from I’ve wanted one since I was a little kid. About 8 years ago I had an 85 GN that I bought from Kevin. It had a motor from an 87 in there but that was short lived. The guys who painted the car for me after I bought it did a terrible job and I sold it a month later.

This car is far from stock. The seller was upfront with me about a number of things and wasn’t aware of the leak so hoping it’s nothing major. I’ll keep you all posted and expect a lot of questions coming from me in the near future.


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Since it’s been in my garage I noticed oil in my garage floor so hoping to get it to Kevin this Friday to get that checked out. Hoping to post some pics soon.


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Do you really expect to have a clean garage floor?

Better get used to that. Along with high blood pressure, wallet lightening and strong desires to set things on fire, in particular your car. LOL
 
Find a seasoned TB owner to go with you to look at any potential purchases.
 
If you could see my 2 car driveway you'd have no problem picking out which side the buick parks on. They leak. Hey here's an idea for our vendors, turbo buick diapers! They attach underneath and get changed weekly.
 
If you could see my 2 car driveway you'd have no problem picking out which side the buick parks on. They leak. Hey here's an idea for our vendors, turbo buick diapers! They attach underneath and get changed weekly.


Mike Barnard, aka Spoolfool2 has a fix, (not a solution, but a fix) honestly.

Check out his site, the "drip lip" works great.
 
My goal was to purchase a stock car especially since I don’t know much about turbo Buick’s aside from I’ve wanted one since I was a little kid. About 8 years ago I had an 85 GN that I bought from Kevin. It had a motor from an 87 in there but that was short lived. The guys who painted the car for me after I bought it did a terrible job and I sold it a month later.

This car is far from stock. The seller was upfront with me about a number of things and wasn’t aware of the leak so hoping it’s nothing major. I’ll keep you all posted and expect a lot of questions coming from me in the near future.
My goal was to purchase a stock car especially since I don’t know much about turbo Buick’s aside from I’ve wanted one since I was a little kid. About 8 years ago I had an 85 GN that I bought from Kevin. It had a motor from an 87 in there but that was short lived. The guys who painted the car for me after I bought it did a terrible job and I sold it a month later.

This car is far from stock. The seller was upfront with me about a number of things and wasn’t aware of the leak so hoping it’s nothing major. I’ll keep you all posted and expect a lot of questions coming from me in the near future.


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Yes these cars leak. I have a pan under mine on the garage floor. I just accept a little leak, Welcome to the Dark Side. These cars can be about the most frustrating money pits you can drive, but sure are fun. Good luck. Read, learn and proceed cautiously. What mods does the car already have?
 
Mike Barnard, aka Spoolfool2 has a fix, (not a solution, but a fix) honestly.

Check out his site, the "drip lip" works great.
That's awesome. Especially if it catches it before it hits the crossover. Thanx for the heads up.
 
Mike Barnard, aka Spoolfool2 has a fix, (not a solution, but a fix) honestly.

Check out his site, the "drip lip" works great.

KDK is actually installing that on my car. Worth its weight in gold. Unfortunately I had numerous other things done so I won't be able to give SpoolFool ALL the credit. But I am really excited to get it back and I am hoping and praying no more exhaust smell or oil on the ground.
If that happens that would pretty much be the equivalent of seeing the Loch Ness monster or Bigfoot. Heard rumors and blurry visions of clean driveways just never a confirmation of them.
 
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