Looking for a dd

1

1badbuford

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Hey guys. Just about ready to sell my f250 and get a good daily driver , I just bought a 87 Ttype and it will be in the garage, the supercharged 3800 have always intrigued me, then I saw a guys sig where it said his ran mid 12's and it really got my attention. What do I look for In buying one of these cars and what are the available years,models , and what are the best years ? What all are you doing to these to get them to run well , and are the cars dependable?
 
simple to work on , cheap to buy , durable ,dependable , responsive to mods , decent fuel economy.

I have owned 2 different brands of sc w bodies and the buick regal gs is definately the better build quality car between it and the pontiac gtp.

The series 2 sc engines in regals were from 97-04 which are all decent years but the sweet spot is probably in the middle of the run without getting into the minutia that changed over the course of those years , it took them a few years to perfect it and then the bean counters took away a few minor things the last couple years, 99-02 is where I feel they were best but if you find a great 97.5 or 04 theres nothing drastic to be wary of driveline/ build quality wise they were all very good.

during the years these cars were built was when buick kept winning jd power reliability awards , once they changed to lacrosse/lucerne from regal/ century/park ave they were not on top of JDP any more. Also through those series 2 years the 3800 was on wards top 10 engines of all time all manufacturers list - the engine itself was a gem.

as far as performance the quickest stock factory assembled 3800 s2 short block (unopened other than cam/chain) was zzp's front drive gtp, barely street legal well funded big turbo build that went 8.6 @159 , I only mention this to show potential most owners that mod them dont get out of the 13's which takes just basic bolt ons

I still have 2 regals one I run in the winter while my other toys are up and one my daughter runs daily year round.

I just have left my sig all buick since this is a buick forum lol
 
I'm kinda in the same boat as the op. my wife is finally getting her license at the tender age of 27. I'm wondering if there is something to look for with these cars specifically, such as, spots that tend to rust, parts that are prone to failure, basically anything specific to the 97-04 regal gs that may have been a problem other than what you typically look for.
 
The only known problem with the GS's you have to be careful about is the ignition switch and the stock chrome 9 spoke wheels they peel badly on the backsides and will usually leak air you'll be filling up the tires about every 3 days or so with the constant low tire light. And the drivers side master power window switches like to take a dump on you every once in awhile. Other than those things they are reliable cars. Mine seems to burn oil and the gas mileage is ok but not the greatest. I have an 03 and had an 02. Also check the ABS brake module and make sure that is ok, mine went out on my 02 and it was like a 400 dollar part to fix. Hope this helps ya.
 
^ and the fuel pump resistor and the little plastic elbow from the lower intake to water pump,
brake and fuel lines rotting,
 
1badbuford said:
Hey guys. Just about ready to sell my f250 and get a good daily driver , I just bought a 87 Ttype and it will be in the garage, the supercharged 3800 have always intrigued me, then I saw a guys sig where it said his ran mid 12's and it really got my attention. What do I look for In buying one of these cars and what are the available years,models , and what are the best years ? What all are you doing to these to get them to run well , and are the cars dependable?
Click to expand...
I just sold my Park Ave Ultra (190K on the clock, I wanted a car with paint!!) and found a 2001 GS w/ 69K(that shines). I was looking for a SC Rivvy but got tired of people's BS and gave up. A friend found this GS. Nice, solid car. What I like is the part throttle response let alone what it does wide open. If I get on an on-ramp it seems like just part throttle gets me to 80 effortlessly til I'm on the hiway. It ain't gonna beat my GN. I'm just saying, I drive alot of new cars and this thing holds it own. Don't be afraid to get one, just do the usual look over. I've found that almost all 3.8's leak at the front crank seal SC or not. I don't mind changing a seal every 70k for the benefits of the car. Good luck!!!
 
most of the cars ive checked out the fuse for the clusters go out. and bumpers seem always faded. other than that these will give anybody a run for their money if they dont no what their pulling up to
 
So after another year of my wife not having a license we had our first child and that finally set in the necessity. So after some shopping around I found an 04 1 owner 67k mile Regal GS. It's CLEAN. New tires, great paint, and interior that looks like it's never been sat in. Everything works and it shifts smooth. So all I have left to do is work out the price and it's mine. Gimme some ideas of what you think its worth then I'll tell you what he's asking.

image.jpg
 
Look for rust under the rocker panel extension. Strut towers at all four corners. Do a couple wot blasts, car shouldn't skip a beat and have a nice shift to it. Find a supercharged cars with the least options, they're already heavy.
 
I have a ported front manifold and homemade cai with panel filter with impala rotors on the front and I'm fine with the way the car brakes and accelerates. Some stiffer suspension would be nice but I just can't get myself to tear into it that far yet. Looking at the car it looks bone stock just like it should with 16k on it(y)
 
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