Raised white letters or blackwalls?

M

Mera

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2015
I just bought my friends 87 GN hardtop that is all original except for the tires and battery. 9800 miles on it. When I went to look at it I did not like the solid white letter tires. So I had him reverse them. I even colored the white letters with a black magic marker so one would not be able to see the white letters on the inside. I like the black wall look on this almost all black car. I did not do my research and now found they came from the factory with raised outline tires. The tires he put on had solid white letters. It looked way out of place IMO. Now I wonder if I should have left the solid white letters outward? I really like that the tires are black walls and I am trying to keep this 87 GN all original (for the most part). Looking at GN's for sale over the last few months I find more seemed to have black walls than those with raised white letters. My new GN looks nasty with the black walls. :)

Any opinions?

Thanks
Rodney
 
It doesn't take anything away from or add to it if you have them 1 way or another. Back in the 90s the raised white letters were huge due to the nascar popularity boom because that's how they ran em. If you were heavily influenced by that era you probably still like the look. If not, they look odd.
Sounds like you got a real nice, low mile car too btw. I didn't check the new members section but if you haven't yet, introduce yourself and post up some pics.
Oh and be careful trying to run too high of boost if you are still running the stock chip and don't have a scanmaster to watch for knock. Last thing you'd want to do is blow a head gasket.
 
I like the Darth Vader look. :)

Funny as it sounds I do not plan on abusing it very much. Plus I will not modify it in any way. Will stay all stock. Will only be driven on nice days and only if there is good parking where I am going. Maybe 2000 miles a summer. In 10 years it will have maybe 20,000 miles on it.

Rodney
 
Mera said:
I like the Darth Vader look. :)

Funny as it sounds I do not plan on abusing it very much. Plus I will not modify it in any way. Will stay all stock. Will only be driven on nice days and only if there is good parking where I am going. Maybe 2000 miles a summer. In 10 years it will have maybe 20,000 miles on it.

Rodney
Click to expand...
I would implore you to at least get a couple of things. Get a hold of Turbo Tweek, and have him burn a chip for your stock car. The original (even after the recall) probably has way to much timing in it for 2015 gas. The other would be a scanmaster. You can plug it into the aldl port, and for power just wire it to a cigarette lighter plug. Oh, yeah, an AAA card for when the Maf or the coil pack/ module craps out.

Congratulations on your purchase, read a lot, and welcome to the dark side!
 
Mera said:
I like the Darth Vader look. :)

Funny as it sounds I do not plan on abusing it very much. Plus I will not modify it in any way. Will stay all stock. Will only be driven on nice days and only if there is good parking where I am going. Maybe 2000 miles a summer. In 10 years it will have maybe 20,000 miles on it.

Rodney
Click to expand...
If you can follow through with your plan to keep it all stock then you have more willpower than 99% of the people on this board :D Congrats on your purchase! Post up some pics when you have a chance.
 
Mera said:
I just bought my friends 87 GN hardtop that is all original except for the tires and battery. 9800 miles on it. When I went to look at it I did not like the solid white letter tires. So I had him reverse them. I even colored the white letters with a black magic marker so one would not be able to see the white letters on the inside. I like the black wall look on this almost all black car. I did not do my research and now found they came from the factory with raised outline tires. The tires he put on had solid white letters. It looked way out of place IMO. Now I wonder if I should have left the solid white letters outward? I really like that the tires are black walls and I am trying to keep this 87 GN all original (for the most part). Looking at GN's for sale over the last few months I find more seemed to have black walls than those with raised white letters. My new GN looks nasty with the black walls. :)

Any opinions?

Thanks
Rodney
Click to expand...


I like white letter tires on everything,when the car is slowly rolling by,the {{{ movement }}} or spinning of the raised white letters adds another dimension to the car, especially on a gn that is black on black with black,it adds a little well deserved contrast.
Plus now where the FAD is to just black out everything,including rims(i hate that ) and windows etc. i would put the white letters just to be different.
I put white letters on most of the tr's i've owned and love the look, especially the gn's.
I have found though ,that the white letters are very small,compared to the medium size ones we used to put on muscle cars in the 70's, and it seems to me alot are just white outlined now too,verses the solid raised white letters of the past , though i havn't bought tires in a while so i'm not sure exactly how they are available right now.
 
IMO, RWLs on 15" rims. I thinks it adds another dimension.

RWOL have a sharp look too but no one sells them except Coker, for more than my car is worth haha

Congrats on a low milage car, I'm sure it will look awesome no matter which way you go!
 
I had my Mickey Thompson regular street radials mounted with the raised block white letters out. Then after a while i blackened the letters out thinking i would like that better. Then after a while i removed the black from the letters and have them white again. I like the white letter look better at least for now.
 
I have American Torque Thrust IIs on my '87 Grand National...( thanks to the influence of Mark H.).and a set of RWL tires to put on them...I wonder how RWL tires would look with 15 x7 American Torque Thrust IIs....would love to have someone show me a picture of this combination. The GN looks great with the present set of black walls, but still on the fence myself about RWL with these wheels.

If this is considered highjacking someone's thread, I apologize.


Bruce '87 Grand National
 
I'm staying with the black walls out. I'm all for keeping it as close to original as possible but draw the line at white letter tires. For me the GN is all about intimidation, a nasty dark look, etc. White letter IMO soften that look. So I'm staying with black walls. I've looked at my GN several times over the last few days and just love the black wall look. If anyone at a car shows asks I'll say you can't get OEM type replacement Goodyear RWOL tires so my choice is black walls. I doubt few will know black walls are not correct on a 87 GN. The GNX had black walls.

On the scanner and chip thing. I tend to think I will rarely abuse this car. Maybe a few times once I get plates for it to see what it does. I do not want to beat up my pristine 87 GN. I've had several fast cars in the past, I lived thru the muscle car era and beat the $hit out of a few muscle cars. I do not need to beat this pristine GN. For me it is all about the look. And about having a GN that is almost all original. The previous owner had this GN 10 years. He bought an aftermarket exhaust system but never put it on. I'm very, very, very happy he never did. I can't wait to have it in some local car shows so I can brag about how close it is to 100% original. :)

Rodney
 
It's your car. Do whatever makes you happy. But just to clarify, a scanmaster and modern chip is not only for guys who beat on their cars, in fact, it's for guys who love their cars and want to make sure its running properly! I get the whole keep it 100% stock mentality but you could be doing harm to your motor by not changing the factory chip to a modern one and without a scantool wouldn't even know you're doing it...
 
Look on your RPO code in the inside of the trunk lid (of it is still there) the raise white letter tires were an option. RPO - QYH (P215/65RX15 SBR W/LETTERED) is the code, if it is not on the sticker car came with black wall tires.
 
Not all came with rwl. Matter of fact I'm sure they were outlined white letter. Certain cars I think look ok with it. The regal isn't one of them.
 
Another $.02:
Yes on blackwalls. Also yes on the TT chip, and yes on the Scanmaster. I only drive a few hundred miles per year in the GN, but felt those things were needed after listening to the experienced voices. No one will ever know they are there if you don't want them to know.
The gas today is nothing like what was at the pump in 1987, surely you don't want any detonation.
 
Turbobuickltd is right, NOT all cars came with RWL. It was an option and had a RPO code. If you are wanting to stay true to what car came as from the factory and keep it original, than the car should match the options on the label.
 
I'm going to keep my GN as close to factory original as possible but mine will have black wall tires. I do have the OEM tires. The second owner took them off at 7800 miles. They are RWOL Goodyears (like new yet. This GN has never been abused). As much as I want to keep it original I can't have white letter tires on it. At car shows I'll tell people it is all original except for the tires and battery which is the truth. I'll see how many question the RWL tire question. I bet few if any will ever ask that question. IMO it looks more proper with black walls. What is the RPO code for black walls on the 87 GN? Anyone know?

Thanks
Rodney
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

vader6
84/85 GN wheels
Replies
1
Views
616
Buckshot G/N
Buckshot G/N
T
Buick is in the family DNA
Replies
6
Views
855
Chuck Leeper
Chuck Leeper
0-60n4
How to identify valve bodies?
Replies
1
Views
2K
INEEDAGN
I
L
72/68 Turbonetics turbo with 3 & 4 bolt housing
Replies
4
Views
972
Loosenut
L
T
Amazing 1986 Grand National
Replies
4
Views
2K
Tom Kelly
T
Top