New to the Site, new Turbo Buick owner, loads of questions

[Koshe]

Hi everyone,

Name is George. My wife and I needed a second car and somehow I talked her into letting me buy an 87 GN. We towed the car over from MD to NC... scariest drive of my life, I will never use a U-Haul Auto Transporter again. Anyways the car looks and runs great, the previous owner did real well maintaining its original look. Since 2006 (date the title was printed) the car has only been driven 4k miles adding up to a total of 84k miles.

I'm not gonna lie, my excitement and lust for the car was so high I overlooked a few things but I'm still happy non the less. Anyways now that I have the car I have a few days before the license plate arrives in the mail so I'm starting to wonder what should I address first? This is officially my new toy but my main goal is to get it to tip top operating order before I start playing with anything that will give it more power.

The only thing I have noticed so far that might be a problem is...

1) Starting the car. Every time I try and start the car, on the 1st attempt its a no go(foot on the brakes, key turn only). I end up needing to give it a little gas on the second go to get the car to start. Is this normal? The car has been sitting in a garage for years, only seeing the light of day once in a blue moon so I figured that could be the reason behind it.
2) Moving through gears seems rough. Getting it in and out of park seems tougher then it should be. Moving from Drive to Reverse and vice versa also can be slightly tough. Any thoughts there?

Other then those 2 things I'm really just looking for a list of things a person would normally replace when getting a used car. Spark plugs, hoses, etc. Any help that can be given is most appreciated.

 

[Farley]

Well idk about problem number two ..but problem number one can usually be attested to loosing line pressure. Which makes a restart over a period of time harder because the fuel system losses prime ....but that's just a guess
I am currently in the hunt for a Turbo Buick my self

Congrats on the purchase

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[deezdad]

You guys baked in that avatar? J/k (kinda) welcome!

 

[esinger]

Welcome George and congrats. If you're in NC and not too far from Burlington then you should take it to Richard's shop sometime. You'll learn a lot about these cars from him

 

[megawatt]

Congrats George. Where in NC are you?

 

[Williams3982]

Im a new Buick owner in NC as well, New Bern stationed at Cherry Point


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[JayC]

If its all stock and still has a stock chip in it, that would explain why it runs like crap when its cold. Stock chips had terrible cold start.

If its difficult to shift, you may want to make sure the cable isnt in a bind under the car. If the clip that holds the cable in place has fallen off, that can make it very hard to move into gears. Ive seen the cable housing split as well and cause the same issues.

 

[Koshe]

Thanks everyone. I'm actually stationed in Ft. Bragg living in the Spring Lake area.

 

[DavidM]

Hey George,

I'm at Fort Bragg too. I live in Raeford.
I can check your car out if you need some help.
Check your Private Messages

-David

 

[MillerMan57]

Welcome aboard George,
There's GN's all over NC. Burlington is TR mecca at Mr. Clark's place.
I'm in Fayetteville area. Check out the Carolina's section here on the board.

PS My 2 cents....
Look into fuel pump upgrade and hot wire kit.
Read up on this site. There is info for everyone at every level.
You need a Scanmaster too.
Don't blow a head gasket like I did at 68k miles.

 

[MillerMan57]

Oh yeah, I also used a UHauler to pull mine to Richard's last year. I feel ya man.
Best move I ever made car wise getting it to Burlington.

 

[DavidM]

Welcome aboard George,
There's GN's all over NC. Burlington is TR mecca at Mr. Clark's place.
I'm in Fayetteville area. Check out the Carolina's section here on the board.

PS My 2 cents....
Look into fuel pump upgrade and hot wire kit.
Read up on this site. There is info for everyone at every level.
You need a Scanmaster too.
Don't blow a head gasket like I did at 68k miles.

Hey Ron, how is the TType with TTops running?
I was over at George's place poking around and I must say he has an awesome looking stock GN. A few little issues that need to be worked out but I'm sure its nothing George can't handle.

George is in the process of replacing all his vacuum lines. They were mostly dry rotted and would not hold pressure.

His BLMs were bottomed out at 105 as the ECM is trying to compensate for a rich condition.
He will be replacing his O2 sensor as his cross counts on the Scanmaster were a bit lazy.
I believe his Mass Air Flow sensor is also sending false information, hopefully next time I see him I can swap my MAF sensor into his to rule that out.

As far as the fuel system, it still has the stock 28lbs Injectors. Not sure if the fuel pump is stock as we did not drop the tank due to the location we were in, but he does have a hotwire kit. Also has Stock non adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator.

 

[MillerMan57]

Hey Ron, how is the TType with TTops running?
I was over at George's place poking around and I must say he has an awesome looking stock GN. A few little issues that need to be worked out but I'm sure its nothing George can't handle.

George is in the process of replacing all his vacuum lines. They were mostly dry rotted and would not hold pressure.

His BLMs were bottomed out at 105 as the ECM is trying to compensate for a rich condition.
He will be replacing his O2 sensor as his cross counts on the Scanmaster were a bit lazy.
I believe his Mass Air Flow sensor is also sending false information, hopefully next time I see him I can swap my MAF sensor into his to rule that out.

As far as the fuel system, it still has the stock 28lbs Injectors. Not sure if the fuel pump is stock as we did not drop the tank due to the location we were in, but he does have a hotwire kit. Also has Stock non adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator.[/quote

David,
Runs good , like they say, merges well into traffic. I'm gone for a couple of weeks but I want to get back over to the Smithfield gathering soon.

 

[DavidM]

Ron,

That sounds like a great idea, send me a PM when you get back in town.

As far as the Fayeteville Turbo Buick community, it sure is growing. There is another local GN on Bragg I met this past weekend. He also has a very sharp looking stock GN. I actually saw a grey TType with chrome bumpers,GNX rims today down Reilly RD on Fort Bragg. I guess that makes 4 of us on Bragg.

-David