new to me 47k mile GN*need advice*

[fastlif]

I just purchased a 47k mile gn 100% original. The interior is mint, the drivetrain is stock and mint etc. The paint has seen better days. The previous owner kept under another GN on a lift and something leaked on it and ate the paint. Before that it was left in the sun some. I plan to get it repainted soon but I need advice. Things like the headlight bezels, door handles, rubber on bottom outside of the windows are not bad but not great. I am afraid with a new paint job these things will stand out and look old.

My questions are: Is there a way to repaint the headlight bezels/door handles and it look factory correct? I see some reproduction parts are available, will these look correct, do they need painting? My original pieces aren't bad, would it be better to have slightly faded originals or a reproduction piece as far as later "value?" I assume the rubber around the windows is available, can anyone confirm this?

The wheels are in great shape other than the black part is starting to fade. If this was to be painted, should it be gloss or flat black?

One more thing, this car has the open diff. Is changing the diff. to a locking/limited slip going to hurt the long term value of the car?

Thanks in advance!

 

[BILL HAINES]

Welcome !!

Congrats on your purchase.. You are in good company.. First... Remove all>>>mlds,lps,bumpers,handles, qtr glass etc.... You want no tape lines anywhere... The paint will need stripped to bare metal(a must) epoxy prime bare metal,then follow with a fill primer... Find a good,trustworthy bodyshop,ask a lot of questions on there reputation...sorry i guess i jumped all over the place on this..,,,lets start over... Are you able to do bodywork and paint or do you know a good shop???start there...

 

[fastlif]

I've got a good body shop. I haven't shown them yet. My questions more on the "correct" finish I'm looking for. I mean did the headlight bezels come painted new or were they just molded black plastic. Can mine be painted and look correct? Would the reproductions look correct unpainted? Same thing with door handles? Mine are faded and actually no paint in spots from being waxed I guess. I guess my body shop will know if the rubbers around windows can be reused?

 

[TRFanatic]

I've got a good body shop. I haven't shown them yet. My questions more on the "correct" finish I'm looking for. I mean did the headlight bezels come painted new or were they just molded black plastic. Can mine be painted and look correct? Would the reproductions look correct unpainted? Same thing with door handles? Mine are faded and actually no paint in spots from being waxed I guess. I guess my body shop will know if the rubbers around windows can be reused?

That depends on your perspective - an "original" car has NOS parts. Nos 4 GN dot com has some parts like headlight bezels, I also have them any many other discontinued parts like tail lights etc.

Hope this helps,

Ravi

 

[fastlif]

Ok how good are the reproductions? Are nos worth it? I want the car to look original but I'm not anal and could save a few $$. Can you tell them apart?

 

[BrownLimited]

Try to hold on to it long enough to go to the Nationals with us.
You will have a blast. And bring mom too.

I don't think the diff will make a diff.:biggrin: As long as you're keeping OE parts in place.

 

[Kip]

I agree with Joe, I have never seen the addition of a limited slip hurt the value of one of these cars.


Joe you seem to be pretty active on here today. Can you send me some pics of you car via email sometime?


Take care, Kip

 

[fastlif]

I've actually been to the nationals a couple of times back in the early 90s. I had an 11 second T back then. It was great, I also made several corvette trips, museum grand opening etc. The Buick meet was always better than the vet stuff!

I'm really trying to enjoy this car stock but I want more noise. I can't decide if I want 100% stock or atleast exhaust/chip etc.

 

[BILL HAINES]

the reproduction h-lp bezels

ok how good are the reproductions? Are nos worth it? I want the car to look original but i'm not anal and could save a few $$. Can you tell them apart?

i would refinish the door handles,w-s and rear glass mlds as needed. Mar-hyde makes a beautiful satin black. The reproduction headlight bezels and grille are buautiful. I installed them on a 26,000 mile gn,there is no way to tell the differnce between nos and the reproduction set. Dennis kirban stocks the grille and bezels,if you check,maby he'll offer a christmas special..

 

[BrownLimited]

You going out to Watkins tonight?

 

[DJ Red Barron]

fastlif, my car needed much of what you're looking for when I first got it. What started out as a "decent paint job just to freshen the car up a little" turned into much, much more. You could quickly tell the old pieces would have been very obvious. So a very long list of NOS & repro parts were ordered and installed.

As others have said, the repro headlight bezels look great. Here's a pic of them...

The rubber around the windows is available. I got mine from Glen at Nos 4 GN . com (no spaces). I also have new door handles from him along with a ton of other stuff.

Good luck with your car & have fun!

 

[t-topflyer]

Unless you're doing a concours restoration I wouldn't worry much about the headlight bezels being NOS or repops. Repops are fine for a local show car and/or driver, but a can of Dupli-Color TP70 OEM Black Trim Paint from autozone or your other local autoparts store will also do wonders for faded bezels, door locks, handles, black inserts in GN wheels, etc.,and it's a lot cheaper. I think you would be satisfied with how close of a match the trim paint is to original.

Here are some handy GM part numbers to have:

20737658 passenger's roof rail weather-strip (no t-tops).
20737659 driver's roof rail weather-strip (no t-tops).
20674283 passenger's beltline molding/dew sweep.
20674282 driver's beltline molding/dew sweep.

1986-87 Common parts for Turbo Regals

You can order original GM parts from nos4gn or you can use one of the gm discount parts suppliers like gmpartsdirect.com to order the ones that are still available although most of the parts for these cars are quickly becoming obsolete from GM. So get them while you can!

Don't see how making an open differential into a posi could be a bad thing.