Kirbans Korner

[Dennis Kirban]

I wasn't interested in the turbo side of the Buick V6 originally. My first car was a Vega. I had a friend that had one and we had lots of fun in his GT but it never seemed to have enough power to me. I bought my first H body car and was looking to do some sort of power upgrade but didn't want the normal SBC in it. I did find one book about building a Buick V6 and putting it in a Vega so I started reading more. I looked for a donor car and found a 76 Skyhawk to take parts off of. My mom liked the body better than the Vega so I got the Skyhawk running and got rid of the Vega as a trade in for an 86 GMC 1500 with a 4.3 and a granny 4 speed. I liked the idea of the V6 engine so I kept going with it.:biggrin:
I did a bunch of reading on the Buick and Chevy V6 cars and even have one of the Car Craft mags where they did a malibu Chevy V6 with a blower in it. I fell in love with the idea of getting the performance of a V8 out of a V6. The Skyhawk had a TH200 in it and it sucked so I switched to a 4 speed saginaw to get better times and feel. I was into road racing and was in with a guy that had a GT1 vette that I got to drive once in a while on the track. I wanted to do something like this so I went out and found an even fire block but the heads were cracked. I got a good set of matching heads and ported them, a 4.1L intake, and a Shelby cam. Then I got the KB 1 & 5/8" headers to go with the car.
Rhere and Morrison were doing the Indy blocks at the time so I decided they were going to do the block for me. At the time, $600 to bore a block seemed like a lot but their machinist Oley knew what he was doing so I left it in his hands. I put the car together and blew the head gaskets right away. All this time the GN was being put in all kinds of mags and I just drooled when I saw one.
I decided to see if I could find some sort of SFI I could adapt to the car (you know how that went in the mid 80's) And found an intake to figure out how to make it work. Never did do it though. I bounced from job to job and got the chance to go to TSTI Waco in the AUT program. Got my AAS and started working. The Skyhawk fell to the way side I'm sorry to say.:redface: I didn't do to much on the performance side of cars for many years. I tried to get my BS at MTSU and ran out of money. Times in TN were good but I got totally out of cars and into guns. Started a machine shop service and gunsmithing business with a "friend" and got royally screwed in the process. Left TN and moved back to TX in 05 and got hooked again on the car bug.
Looked around for a Regal and found one locally. Got her and started gathering parts to go back to a road car. Was looking on evil bay one night and found an 83 T Type for $500 with the reserve not met so, what the heck, I bid $500. The guy offered it to me at the starting bid and I went to Kansas to get her. Started to change my plan a little. I got intrigued by the lack of info on the carb/turbo cars and it kinds stuck with me.
I did lots of research on the draw through design and got more intregued with it. Some one up in Fort Worth joined the board because he'd bought an 82 GN so I tried to help him find parts for it. A few months later he posts that he wants to sell the car and I pretty much blow it off. A couple of months later he posts the if someone doesn't come get it he's going to send it to the crusher. I finally get hold of Eddo and get the car. I now have an 82 GN and lots of work to do but it's the same year that I graduated HS and I've always wanted a Regal but never figured it would be a GN. We'll see if I can make it the fastest non SFI turbo car when I get done with her but for now she's still my favorite car.:biggrin:

kirban 2 cents worth

Good story Charlie.....

I am always intrigued by the few individuals that pursue the road less traveled meaning working with a certain car model that when it was new it was tough to see another one in the same week. One reason in the early 1990s I wanted to restore a LeSabre GN besides the fact you cold go to the movies at nite and the car would still be where you parked it when you came out!

I did mail you that Buick bulletin that showed the parts for the 1982 GN. Good luck on your continued venture.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

[theamcguy]

kirban 2 cents worth

A few years back I was fortunate enough to buy form a Buick employee the actual doodling that would become the artwork that is found on the back of the GNX supplement manual that came in the glove box.

In the bottom far rite corner we show the actual back cover of a GNX owners supplement.

It appears at least to me and perhaps many of you that the theme was riding off into the sunset in the role of King of the Hill in performance. Their is no denying the GNX made a Performance statement and really was the whole package suspension-appearance-guages-drivetrain.

Member put post it on your computer as next weekend the Christmas contest will be posted under turbo lounge under a new thread. This thread will appear soon making readers aware of it also.

Title Kirbans Christmas Contest.....its a two-parter but you can win one part or both depending on your skill and knowledge.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Weird thing happened after my post here ....... http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/2347375-post45.html


Always wondered what happened to my Chevelle and it ends up 2 miles from my house. Hope to check it out this weekend. Maybe I can trade my GN to get it back?????
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/turbo-lounge/303752-strange-found-my-old-car-story.html

 

[just plain john]

In the last half of 86 I left Houston for a job at a Naval base in St. Marys Georgia. I rented a mobile home in a town called Kingsland, population about 1000. At the edge of town was a dealership that sold a couple of brands, Buick among them. They had a GN on the lot, and I'll never forget when the salesman popped the hood. Unfortunately, I was in Georgia in the first place because jobs were nonexistant in Houston, and with my first son just a year old a new car of any sort was out of the question. I still never have owned a TR, but I did score an 87 drivetrain a couple of years ago that's about 80% complete on my El Camino build.

 

[Larry Gibson]

kirban 2 cents worth

You lucked out getting the discount and a factory moonroof example. Plus you still got it.

I bought two non turbo cars out of Columbus, Ohio. A BMW from the BMW dealer think its along the bypass and a Lexus 300IS from the think Nissan dealership that was near a huge new mall east of Columbus....Pete Serio known as the window rattle guy lives in Bexley usually go to dinner with him n way to GS Nats every year.

He found me the two cars I mention above. For many years a GNX sat in that showroom at Emke Buick? Not sure of the spelling I know dealership is near where I bought the two cars I mentioned.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

The Buick dealership is Imke Buick. They still have the GNX and currently have it listed for sale at $125K. The original dealership owner, Len Imke, had a huge car collection until he passed away several years and some of the cars have been liquidated. He also was instrumental in starting the annual Arthritis Foundation car show that is held each July in Dublin, OH that attracts cars from all across the country.

I met Pete Serio recently as he rebuilt a Hurst shifter for my 70 GTO 4 speed convertible.

Larry

 

[charlief1]

kirban 2 cents worth

Good story Charlie.....

I am always intrigued by the few individuals that pursue the road less traveled meaning working with a certain car model that when it was new it was tough to see another one in the same week. One reason in the early 1990s I wanted to restore a LeSabre GN besides the fact you cold go to the movies at nite and the car would still be where you parked it when you came out!

I did mail you that Buick bulletin that showed the parts for the 1982 GN. Good luck on your continued venture.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

I got the info from you yesterday Dennis. Thank you very much.:smile: It will come in handy to get the old girl back in shape with a few mods to her. I've always taken the road less traveled so this one is just another on my ventures and I hope it will be one of the best I've ever taken.:biggrin:

 

[DailyDrifter]

I wasn't interested in the turbo side of the Buick V6 originally. My first car was a Vega. I had a friend that had one and we had lots of fun in his GT but it never seemed to have enough power to me. I bought my first H body car and was looking to do some sort of power upgrade but didn't want the normal SBC in it. I did find one book about building a Buick V6 and putting it in a Vega so I started reading more. I looked for a donor car and found a 76 Skyhawk to take parts off of. My mom liked the body better than the Vega so I got the Skyhawk running and got rid of the Vega as a trade in for an 86 GMC 1500 with a 4.3 and a granny 4 speed. I liked the idea of the V6 engine so I kept going with it.:biggrin:
I did a bunch of reading on the Buick and Chevy V6 cars and even have one of the Car Craft mags where they did a malibu Chevy V6 with a blower in it. I fell in love with the idea of getting the performance of a V8 out of a V6. The Skyhawk had a TH200 in it and it sucked so I switched to a 4 speed saginaw to get better times and feel. I was into road racing and was in with a guy that had a GT1 vette that I got to drive once in a while on the track. I wanted to do something like this so I went out and found an even fire block but the heads were cracked. I got a good set of matching heads and ported them, a 4.1L intake, and a Shelby cam. Then I got the KB 1 & 5/8" headers to go with the car.
Rhere and Morrison were doing the Indy blocks at the time so I decided they were going to do the block for me. At the time, $600 to bore a block seemed like a lot but their machinist Oley knew what he was doing so I left it in his hands. I put the car together and blew the head gaskets right away. All this time the GN was being put in all kinds of mags and I just drooled when I saw one.
I decided to see if I could find some sort of SFI I could adapt to the car (you know how that went in the mid 80's) And found an intake to figure out how to make it work. Never did do it though. I bounced from job to job and got the chance to go to TSTI Waco in the AUT program. Got my AAS and started working. The Skyhawk fell to the way side I'm sorry to say.:redface: I didn't do to much on the performance side of cars for many years. I tried to get my BS at MTSU and ran out of money. Times in TN were good but I got totally out of cars and into guns. Started a machine shop service and gunsmithing business with a "friend" and got royally screwed in the process. Left TN and moved back to TX in 05 and got hooked again on the car bug.
Looked around for a Regal and found one locally. Got her and started gathering parts to go back to a road car. Was looking on evil bay one night and found an 83 T Type for $500 with the reserve not met so, what the heck, I bid $500. The guy offered it to me at the starting bid and I went to Kansas to get her. Started to change my plan a little. I got intrigued by the lack of info on the carb/turbo cars and it kinds stuck with me.
I did lots of research on the draw through design and got more intregued with it. Some one up in Fort Worth joined the board because he'd bought an 82 GN so I tried to help him find parts for it. A few months later he posts that he wants to sell the car and I pretty much blow it off. A couple of months later he posts the if someone doesn't come get it he's going to send it to the crusher. I finally get hold of Eddo and get the car. I now have an 82 GN and lots of work to do but it's the same year that I graduated HS and I've always wanted a Regal but never figured it would be a GN. We'll see if I can make it the fastest non SFI turbo car when I get done with her but for now she's still my favorite car.:biggrin:

Charlie no one cares what you think :tongue:

They only care about how that Mac n Cheese is treatin ya :biggrin:

 

[charlief1]

Charlie no one cares what you think :tongue:

They only care about how that Mac n Cheese is treatin ya :biggrin:

I'll be making it for Thanksgiving DD. I'll tell you how it is with the sausage and chile then.

 

[ghall]

kirban 2 cents worth

Wow did not expect such a good opening response the first day....Will read the earlier posts later this weekend.

Meantime here is a story related to me on Richard Clarks first "encounter" with a Turbo Regal.
I am confident most readers know who Richard Clark is, for those that don't it is safe to say in our world of Turbo Regals he has the largest collection of Grand Nationals/GNXs and parts which would rival whatever GM still has in the parts system today. Unlike companies like myself, his passion and devotion lies with collecting and not selling anything.

Here is his story:

Around 1989 he had a good friend that would drop by from time to time and join him for lunch. One such day this friend dropped by in a plain jane looking Turbo-T. He said to Richard "looser buys lunch" meaning the Buick against Richards exotic ride. Richard can't remember if it was his Lamborghini or Ferrari he had at the time.

He remembers his friend did a burn out...Richard thought he was just showing off. They took off, and Richard lost although in the corners Richards foreign ride closed the gap.

Once at the restaurant his good friend was the clear winner. The first thing Richard wanted to do was to open the hood and count the plug wires. He was dumb founded that a six cylinder packed that kind of punch and was a full size car. The car was basically stock except for a chip back then.

]

I first met Richard Clark in 1990 at a car stereo competition in Charlotte. At the time, i owned a car stereo shop, was showing and competing in the IASCA pro division. We won the 0-100 watt pro class at that event, I had heard the speakerworks GN was at the event--having already owned 2 tr's--i was obviously interested.
He was giving personal demos at the end of the event(to the pro class i think)--to this day--i can still remember sitting in that car and listening---and just ABSOLUTELY blown away about how little i actually knew---it was truelly a life changing afternoon.
Mr. Clark was as gracious that afternoon as he is today with TR enthusiast.

This is a terrific thread.


Geoff

 

[Dennis Kirban]

I first met Richard Clark in 1990 at a car stereo competition in Charlotte. At the time, i owned a car stereo shop, was showing and competing in the IASCA pro division. We won the 0-100 watt pro class at that event, I had heard the speakerworks GN was at the event--having already owned 2 tr's--i was obviously interested.
He was giving personal demos at the end of the event(to the pro class i think)--to this day--i can still remember sitting in that car and listening---and just ABSOLUTELY blown away about how little i actually knew---it was truelly a life changing afternoon.
Mr. Clark was as gracious that afternoon as he is today with TR enthusiast.

This is a terrific thread.


Geoff

kirban 2 cents worth

Your story reminded me of another one concerning Richard and his background in the stereo world.

Maybe 3 years ago back when I was buying alot of Turbo Regals I was dealing with a good friend of mine on a deal for one. He bought this Turbo regal and it had some high dollar stereo system in it. He took it to this huge stereo shop in NJ to get it properly removed so he could sell it and let me take the car to sell. I met him that morning at the stereo shop and we got to talking as the guys did not have the stereo out of the car yet.

Course my friend also knows Richard and I mentioned his name when we were walking around the car. The owner of the stereo shop happen to hear us talking and heard the name Richard Clark. He then asks, by any chance were we referring to Richard Clark who is into stereos etc. I said yes the same guy.

At first he did not believe me at all. I said I can easily prove it to you. I have all Richards phone numbers in my phone. I said tell you what tell me your name and I will call him and put you on with him and you can ask him any stereo question you want. The owner could not believe it...must have talked to Richard a good 20 minutes.

To most of us that are not into stereos....myself included I was not aware in the beginning how well known Richard was in that field.

We are all very fortunate, that among all the cars Richard could easily be involved with, its the Turbo Regal notably black Grand Nationals/GNXs that his passion rides on. I talk to him several times day usually.

Less than one week before Christmas Contest hits under the heading Kirban Christmas Contest.

Keep the stories coming.....I enjoy them as do others

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

[charlief1]

kirban 2 cents worth

Your story reminded me of another one concerning Richard and his background in the stereo world.

Maybe 3 years ago back when I was buying alot of Turbo Regals I was dealing with a good friend of mine on a deal for one. He bought this Turbo regal and it had some high dollar stereo system in it. He took it to this huge stereo shop in NJ to get it properly removed so he could sell it and let me take the car to sell. I met him that morning at the stereo shop and we got to talking as the guys did not have the stereo out of the car yet.

Course my friend also knows Richard and I mentioned his name when we were walking around the car. The owner of the stereo shop happen to hear us talking and heard the name Richard Clark. He then asks, by any chance were we referring to Richard Clark who is into stereos etc. I said yes the same guy.

At first he did not believe me at all. I said I can easily prove it to you. I have all Richards phone numbers in my phone. I said tell you what tell me your name and I will call him and put you on with him and you can ask him any stereo question you want. The owner could not believe it...must have talked to Richard a good 20 minutes.

To most of us that are not into stereos....myself included I was not aware in the beginning how well known Richard was in that field.

We are all very fortunate, that among all the cars Richard could easily be involved with, its the Turbo Regal notably black Grand Nationals/GNXs that his passion rides on. I talk to him several times day usually.

Less than one week before Christmas Contest hits under the heading Kirban Christmas Contest.

Keep the stories coming.....I enjoy them as do others

denniskirban@yahoo.com

I had to laugh at this Dennis. It's one of the things that I love about Buicks. You never know who is one of the lovers of these cars. Rich has been as helpful as you have and I thak you for all the asistance you've provided so far. This is a great thread for all of us to keep up on.:biggrin:

 

[turboadict]

Bit late into the post, but..........

My first experience of the turbo Buick came while at a drag event at York here in the UK with a friend of mine in about 1995. At the time I had an 87' Mercury Capri RS with the 5.0 which I had had for about 7 years since I was 19 years old. Managed low 14's at around 99mph.
Anyways, walking around the pits and my friend steered me towards two black late model cars - I had no idea what they were. My freind did and explained a bit about them. I later saw them run silently side by side to the tune of 13 something and was shocked!

Went back to the pits for another look to find that one of the owners wife had to run her husbands car and beaten his personal best with it. He was a little annoyed.

The other owner was Sandy Mercer, who some of you guys might know.

I then saw an add for the Kirban news letter in the back of one of the car magazines, I subscribed and so began my search for one of these amazing cars. One finally came up for sale with Dennis which suited me and I flew over with the friend Steve who initially introduced me to these things (I hold him responsible) and bought an 87' GN back in 1997. I still treasure the car today.

I even get over to the GS Nationals, such is the draw of the Buicks and the community that supports them.

These things are a real sleeper over here, no one pays them much attention, and there are very few of them, probably less than 10, and one GNX.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

All been great stories and memories:

Ian the author above from the UK has become a good friend of ours and can be seen in the DVD we did of my 60th birthday party....he took the quick ride down my street with Paul piloting the Silver Bullet race car.....

In the next post I will throw out the next topic. You can post on that topic or the current one of your first "encounter" with the Turbo Buick.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

Member end of this upcoming week the Kirban Christmas Contest will be shown and listed the key is to be first with the correct and or closest answers. Although it will be a 2 part contest you can win either part.....or both.

Top prize is a piece of top fuel history. The real deal with proof.

Good luck

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Here goes the new question for the week.

What have you bought off ebay that either was a tremendous GOOD surprise or was a total disappointment. Do not name places or who from.

Especially if you purchased something major such as a car/truck/boat/ rv/ whatever...

I will start with 2 examples one that I bought and one my friend bought.

Here goes:

I use Mac computer equipment. The one computer I use at home I think is a G4. It is quite unique has a bubble base with a swivel screen. They are nt made anymore. Now they are more consolidated.

I wanted one to use at our office as I liek this certain model. I bid on one on ebay thinking all the bubble style would be exactly like my unit. I did not realize the later serial numbers are the better units which is what I got.

Well I won the auction for just under $200. They shipped it by mail parcel post which took almost 10 days to get here. I was amazed they simply threw it in a box with vritually no packing not even those stupid peanuts.

I quickly realize it was not quite like mine. I took it to our local Mac store and they said it is not worth fixing. I contacted the company and they said they would send me another one. I did bid on a working unit. I told them be sure to pack it better.

I then got the second one and it was a very late serial number one and looked almost new. I spend like $100 getting the info put into it and it has worked perfectly ever since. So for less than $250 I have a iMac computer. A good ebay experience.

On the other hand:

A good friend of mine actually this guy brought me over 45 Turbo Regals back when we were moving them. So you know this guy is fairly smart. He is looking for a small dual axle RV to use. One pops up on ebay...it looks great like new.

He corresponds with the people to verify everything and wins the bid. The RV is like 700 miles from his home. He figures to make the run on a weekend to retrieve his new purchase.

He makes the looong drive......Gets to the peoples house and can't see the RV from the street. He pulls up the driveway and looking way down the hill in the back yard spots a dingy looking RV. He is hoping that is not the RV he won.

You guessed it, it was. Not only would it require a tow truck with 75-100 feet of cable to pull it up the yard but it obviously had been sitting for many years. The owner shows him the RV and opens the door. The smell is enough to knock out most humans that have a sense of smell....

My friend as nice as possible......asks one question.....the photos where did they come from?
Turns out the buyer simply posted photos of the RV when they first bought it 6-7 years earlier!

Lesson learned...when viewing photos of any car/truck/boat/rv inquire how recent the photos are that they send you. Could be a key to the condition.

So give it some thought...lets here your ebay story good or bad again no names or exact locations. Every story has two sides....

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

[DailyDrifter]

Ebay experience

Long story short........... My first turbo buick threw the rod out the block on the ride home , I should of gotten out of the game then, but I'm still here.

 

[Little6pack]

I don't buy on EBAY.. Crazy shipping prices.

I Do sell on EBAY.. I PACK things WELL cause I worked for BOTH USPS & UPS.

With post office a Priority package can be dropped off a conveyor onto a wood pallet with a gaylord box around it from over 6 feet. if your package is the 1st off into a new pallet that is a long drop! & alot of stuff on top of it.
I heard many shatters.

UPS really CRAMS boxes into the trucks. The drivers would always re shuffle thier trucks becase the dock workers didn't really know the streets. I seen 1 HOT headed drive BODY CHECK a box.

 

[theamcguy]

kirban 2 cents worth

While car addiction can take on many forms from having a yard full of cars you hope to restore, or having parts in every possible room in the house this photo speaks volumes of devotion, and its Hemi related!

Not sure how clear it shows up but it is a full illustration that shows the Hemi engine probably tell by the placement of the spark plug wires. May be max wedge style or the 426. I spotted this individual at Chryslers at Carlisle. One of the largest Mopar events during the year.
He was quite proud of this tattoo which took several intense sittings to
complete.

It is valued the tattoo is, at $3,500.

My initial thought is....in 40 years I hope he still feels the "love" for
the Hemi engine.....

So, while car addiction can take turns....not often you see such devotion that you can always show someone on a moments notice.

enjoy


denniskirban@yahoo.com

PS I Appreciate all the nice comments....

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

MR AMC expects to be posting the two part Christmas Contest for me friday late morning.....
Two ways to win.

Good luck players it will be under the turbo lunge under Kirban Christmas Contest.

Denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

[midnightbluS10]

kirban 2 cents worth

With your location I am curious with your dealer background do you know or have seen the guy that has the last GN built? Think the town was Spring Hill, Louisana?
Was easy to smoke the tires back then as they were terrible tires when new and worse when they sat....like bricks.

Be great if the Saints can keep their winning record going.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

I realize this is old, but the content still applies. I know the owner of that GN. I met him back in 2009 when I started working at his dealership. Bob is a great guy. He's a Racer, also. His is brother, James, is a great guy as well. He has quit the collection of cars from over the years. A 65 Vette. 69 Z28. SS Chevelles and old Buicks and all kinds of stuff. And every promotional model GM has released since the 40's. There's hundreds. He still owns the GN, AFAIK. It's in a bedroom at his house, where it's been since the very beginning. At last count, it still had under 20 miles and was still listed in inventory at the dealership. Never been titled.