knowledgeable advice needed

[84gnLA]

OK so i'm new to turbo buick cars and have a bit of general knowledge of them but lil hands on experience. Yet i have this thing that makes me want to have them and learn about them. I am thinking about purchasing my first intercooled buick so what should i look for? what are the does and donts? and is the price worth it? I am posting this here because i noticed that the westcoast has plenty of trust worthy knowledgeable people. Asking price is now $8,000. I am dueling on the idea, should i just go for it? The car is a..

86 wh-1 t-type (t-top)
2nd owner
95% all original and well kept
bench seat
column shifter
non-posi

 

[williamsGN]

Not a fan of bench and column shift myself, and with a non posi rear end unless it has super low miles I'd hold out for something else.

http://gnttype.org/general/buyguide.html

 

[Squid4life]

If you don't find something by the time I am selling my 85, you might get a better deal if you want IC'ed and are not dead set on 86-87. Mine is IC'ed with an 87 setup, with lots of other fun stuff added. I hate to sell it, but need to concentrate on the 87 twins car...

 

[Gary Wells]

'87's, bucket seats, console, floor shift, & no roof treatment are preferred by me.
I am sure that you would be very happy with James (Squid4life)'s car.
Come to Mike's (SPOOLFOOL2) 's car show for a better idea of what you like.
I believe that Mike might have it open to the public.

 

[Reggie West]

Where are you located?

 

[meanchicken]

Me thinks you can get a better candidate for your $8000....
Would even be better off spending more for a nicely optioned and preserved 87 GN or TB.
...and anything that turbolou is selling is definitely worth the money if you have the patience to wait for him to find and dress up his next one.

 

[84gnLA]

Not a fan of bench and column shift myself, and with a non posi rear end unless it has super low miles I'd hold out for something else.

I'm a bit use to the column shifter/bench seat my other g-body (chevy) has it like that, but i'm honestly looking forward for a change. Yes the non-posi rear end is a bit of a bummer. I did a carfax on this wh-1 and its last odometer report was 85,000 miles in 12/17/2011. Owner says it should be somewhere between 130-150,000 miles but not certain since the gauges were changed into the gnx style. Something doesnt sound right, thats a whole lot of miles put into it with in 7months. Thank you for the helpful link

 

[84gnLA]

Where are you located?

I stay near Downtown Los Angeles

 

[84gnLA]

'87's, bucket seats, console, floor shift, & no roof treatment are preferred by me.
I am sure that you would be very happy with James (Squid4life)'s car.
Come to Mike's (SPOOLFOOL2) 's car show for a better idea of what you like.
I believe that Mike might have it open to the public.

For some reason t-top and sunroof cars just get my attention a bit more, even though i know they arent as solid as hard tops. It must be a cool look factor with the t-tops and the fact they dont make cars like that anymore. I've read about Mike's (SPOOLFOOL2) 's car show it sounds pretty kool i hope it is open for others being that i dnt have a running buick. The one that i do have an 84 GN t-top is still sitting patiently waiting to see what i will decide to do with it

 

[williamsGN]

Way too much for a T type with that kind of miles.... time to shop around. Definitely try to make it to Mikes show on the 30th.

 

[Squid4life]

For some reason t-top and sunroof cars just get my attention a bit more, even though i know they arent as solid as hard tops. It must be a cool look factor with the t-tops and the fact they dont make cars like that anymore. I've read about Mike's (SPOOLFOOL2) 's car show it sounds pretty kool i hope it is open for others being that i dnt have a running buick. The one that i do have an 84 GN t-top is still sitting patiently waiting to see what i will decide to do with it

Mines a sportsroof.

 

[TurboTGuy]

Me thinks you can get a better candidate for your $8000....
Would even be better off spending more for a nicely optioned and preserved 87 GN or TB.
...and anything that turbolou is selling is definitely worth the money if you have the patience to wait for him to find and dress up his next one.

Couldn't agree more.........

and if you're a Buick guy, I don't think any of us would shun you if you were to show up to Mike's event, am I wrong, guys?

 

[1986TR]

i work down town LA let me know if you need some one to look at what ever car your buying .....

 

[84gnLA]

I thought being an intercooled and rare wh1 the price might of been acceptable but of course i dnt know much, reason why i asked for opinions. Thank you all for your helpful inputs.

 

[BoyWonder]

I personally don't think it is "too much" for any TR, since 8 grand hardly gets you a running KIA these days.

However, it is an oddly optioned WH1.
Most were more optioned as Grand Nationals, than simple non-posi, roll up windows; TR's.
I'd like to see the SPID label.

But there are certain things that get expensive to duplicate...Posi / G80 is a start...
I have a list of the most popular Wh1 options that one would expect to see on a "GN/WE2-like" Wh1 car.
If you'd like to look it over, PM me.

One last thing..
I'm a sucker for the T-tops.
One Astroroof for riding with my girls, ...the hair ya know.

Nothing, IMHO, beats that muscle car look of the T-Top
However - refurbishment of these parts can run into the 100's, thousands...
Channels, seals, locks. glass - it can add up in a hurry.
And you have to be careful that nay watert seepage or rust has not peentrated critical areas.
But - at the end of the day - I still love a T-Top.
In fact, I look at certain black We2/We4 cars and always think.."Why didn't the get a T-top"
It to me just looks oddly out of place.


From a WH1 / T-Top / Optioned out / owner's opinion...

 

[miggy]

OK so i'm new to turbo buick cars and have a bit of general knowledge of them but lil hands on experience. Yet i have this thing that makes me want to have them and learn about them. I am thinking about purchasing my first intercooled buick so what should i look for? what are the does and donts? and is the price worth it? I am posting this here because i noticed that the westcoast has plenty of trust worthy knowledgeable people. Asking price is now $8,000. I am dueling on the idea, should i just go for it? The car is a..

86 wh-1 t-type (t-top)
2nd owner
95% all original and well kept
bench seat
column shifter
non-posi[/quote

 

[miggy]

OK so i'm new to turbo buick cars and have a bit of general knowledge of them but lil hands on experience. Yet i have this thing that makes me want to have them and learn about them. I am thinking about purchasing my first intercooled buick so what should i look for? what are the does and donts? and is the price worth it? I am posting this here because i noticed that the westcoast has plenty of trust worthy knowledgeable people. Asking price is now $8,000. I am dueling on the idea, should i just go for it? The car is a..

86 wh-1 t-type (t-top)
2nd owner
95% all original and well kept
bench seat
column shifter
non-posi

One of my buddies is selling his 87 GN it has a stroker motor built by HYE TECH he stays in EL MONTE..

 

[BoyWonder]

I did forget to mention that if your interest is to hype up the motor, the hardtop is the way to go.
i.e. GNX is only avaialbe in a hardtop style body
And to be watchful of frame torques on T-top cars that have been launched repeatedly and drive hard and put up wet.

 

[williamsGN]

A few frame supports and my T Top car is tighter on corners than any hard top I've been in. My first stocker cracked at the B pillar - hard top, no cracks on the modded T Top I have now.

 

[BoyWonder]

Yes, I suppose it works both ways.

Just sayin...about T-top cars

I'd be curious to see the frame supports you installed.
I know of the under hood, diagonals between the fenders and the header..and the rear seat cross braces from Kirban..