Should I feel guilty for modifying a mostly stock turbo regal?

[regalman4925]

I have been building g bodies for almost 25 years, mainly regals but I have a 86 442 and have had a couple of other cutlasses. I have been collecting parts and putting together a turbo clone up until recently, the woman finally convinced me to pull the trigger on a turbo Buick so that I can enjoy a car instead of spending all of my time rebuilding one from the bottom up. So this weekend if all goes as planned, I will be purchasing my first Turbo regal. This brings about a new dilemma in my head, upgrades such as the new style Dakota digital dash that I was going to do to my clone are now sounding like not such a great idea wanting to maintain the car as stock as possible with the values going up every year. It seems like the unmolested cars sell for more and I honestly intentionally seeked out a car that I felt only had only tasteful bolt on upgrades that could be reversed back to stock if needed. I was also planning to upgrade the suspension a bit, that seems ok to me because it’s easy to bolt the stock parts back on. But things like tampering with the original digital dash for a aftermarket worries me. Am I over thinking this or am I for once realizing that these classics are worth more without the modifications? Thanks

 

[Mr.Spool]

bolt ons make the car alot more fun but most dont know when to stop.its your car i would recommend you enjoy it.

 

[1984 t-type]

Are you buying an investment car or something you will get out in and enjoy often ?

 

[regalman4925]

I think the correct answer is, yes. lol. I plan to enjoy the car but one of the reasons that I went this route is I knew that the car will maintain value vs me dropping 20k into a regular regal and I could maybe get 12k if I sold it.

 

[1984 t-type]

Most of the common mods are reversible, i have the dakota digital dash and my thoughts were if needed i will take it out and put the factory back in but after actually doing the job it aint never coming out by me lol. If i go to sell it and the dash is a deal breaker for someone then its just not the car for them. I think the right mods done correctly can add value, just gotta find the right buyer.

The DD dash is my favorite part of my car honestly.

 

[TexasT]

make it like you want it and drive it. I can't understand how anyone can deprive themselves of the enjoyment by not getting the thing out and enjoying it. If the mods make it more enjoyable who is anyone to tell you not to do them. Near as I can tell with enough money anything can be fixed so let the next owner worry about it and enjoy your new vehicle.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Enjoy your car and mod it as you like. The bottom line is mods do not add any real value when you eventually sell. They can slow down the sale process. I am lucky in enjoying my car essentially stock. No out of pocket costs now any all payback when I sell. Stock is worth more because there are more buyers looking for stock as opposed to your own personal taste in mods. Pay the price for the mods you want and enjoy them. Just do not expect to get any money back on sale. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Before spending the money, maybe schedule a session with your therapist??

 

[ttypewhite]

Nothing materialistic will ever have any real value in my world. The moment you put any object in front of yourself...... that's a problem for me. Life is short, you can't live it with limitations, makes owning the car pointless imo. Even a brand new GNX that was stored since new, will fetch a couple bucks, probably quadruple your money, but you ain't gonna retire from selling it and you have thrown 32 years of possible enjoyment in the toilet.

 

[1 RARE T]

ttypewhite nailed it ! He would know about correct mods and having a blast enjoying your efforts.

I spend thousands on my last TR to get it how I wanted. Enjoyed it for a few years, got bored and wanted something new to play with. Sold it and I'm pretty sure almost all my mods came off and the new owner installed what HE wanted.

Stock TR's are boring. Are'nt really fast, un-inspiring by todays' standards. My DD Audi would destroy one in a race.

Lastly, the values for these cars if up at all in the past few years, isn't what people think. Lots of super nice cars with fair prices seem to sit on here for sale for a long time.

If I found a bone stock car for sale and bought it, the next day my credit card would be very active.

 

[V6sleeper]

I would advise buying a "stock-ish" one as possible if its in the budget, address the fuel system first ,add a few bolt ons, get the boost safely around 20, and enjoy the safe 12 second car, you wont be breaking the bank and the mods are easily reversible, 12 second turbo regals are fun on the street and not too dangerous lol

 

[regalman4925]

The car I am buying has most of the mods done that I would do myself but the block and turbo are original. I have passed on several highly modified cars. I think I can install the digital dash without cutting the stock wiring out, if I can pull that off, I will be happy. I am going to document the odometer with pictures to verify everything. I want to say I will never part ways with the car but you never know when you find another one that you have to have or if something ever happens to me and the woman has to deal with it. Thanks for the advise guys!

 

[1984 t-type]

You have to tap into a few wires for the dash install but i wouldn't let that stop me. Here is mine

 

[regalman4925]

That is beautiful! I was thinking white was the way to go for mine also. I just don't want to cut the stock wiring out in case i ever want to put it back. I have always been a believer in my cars and boats to not do anything I can not reverse. As technology moves on, allot of things will get replaced with newer stuff in the future and it may not work with things that you did that you can not put back to stock.

 

[1984 t-type]

Your just splicing into wires, i dont recall having to cut anything off. You will need a few parts from a spare dash to get the speedo to work.

 

[regalman4925]

Did you add the boost gauge to it? I see the option to add it but nothing shows what it looks like. What parts do I need from a spare dash? I just parted out my clone and have parted out many other regals in the past so I have allot of parts. Most of it's for sale so I do not want to sell or trash something that i will need. Am I going to have any issues having a stock digital vs standard?

 

[1984 t-type]

I did not add the boost gauge to the cluster as i already have one and i wasn't sure the readout would be large enough for me to see at a glance. One of the main reasons i went with the DD dash other than the looks was to get rid of all the gauges i had in my car, now i only have a scanmaster g and a PLX multigauge in my console pod holder and have all the info i need. Take this part out of a spare cluster you have laying around, the speedo cable hooks to the back of it .

 

[Beach]

My car was all stock when I got it, 4 years later it got bolt on parts and it's so much more fun to drive. I got the car for the joy of driving it & mods made it mor fun!

 

[Lockman]

Did you add the boost gauge to it? I see the option to add it but nothing shows what it looks like. What parts do I need from a spare dash? I just parted out my clone and have parted out many other regals in the past so I have allot of parts. Most of it's for sale so I do not want to sell or trash something that i will need. Am I going to have any issues having a stock digital vs standard?

My HO is..... Take in all the advice you've received here and balance it out.... Then do what makes you happy. ! Life's Short .As far as Parts go. I am in need of a OEM Wastegate Solenoid ; AC Delco Part #1997687. I got a 1984 Turbo SFI in My CJ5 ..... Any OEM parts would help. Anyway , welcome to the Forum. These Guy's really know their Stuff !

 

[chris kirk]

Nothing materialistic will ever have any real value in my world. The moment you put any object in front of yourself...... that's a problem for me. Life is short, you can't live it with limitations, makes owning the car pointless imo. Even a brand new GNX that was stored since new, will fetch a couple bucks, probably quadruple your money, but you ain't gonna retire from selling it and you have thrown 32 years of possible enjoyment in the toilet.

Damn.... That's deep....