What got you hooked on TR's, and why.

[usetaboost]

Well being the young dumb kid I was (and kinda still am!) I saw a 78 sport coupe in the paper and it said "Turbo". I thought I was getting what I saw on TV and drag strips, obviously it wasn't. But from that point on after I strapped on a totally rebuilt turbo I fell in love with it. Like an idiot, like I said, young, dumb, and full of ....... it blew a headgasket, I kept driving it and flattened out the cam and the lower end started rattling. Did the headgasket and it never ran right after so I sold it to fix up my 86 z28 because I was stupid. After seeing that car sitting down the street with a 455 residing, I wanted it back but he wouldn't give it to me. So as you all know I was on the sites everyday and checking ebay. After 2 years of prego wife, marriage, baby, buying a house, buying the wife a decent car and me driving junk for the rest of my life, I finally found my baby an hour away on ebay and been working on it ever since as money has allowed. Can't wait to see the look on my Dad's face the first time I take down a Vette or his dreamcar GTO!!!!

 

[84gnguy]

2 years ago I went for a ride in a 38K mile original,stock 87 GN,then I drove it.Hooked ever since.My cousin's friend had a mint 1985 GN,but never drove it (this was back in 1989) and I always loved the way they looked.

 

[mjdwyer23]

Dale Cherry's shop was down the street from my parents' house and I was friends with one of his sons. He drove his 8 sec car to the Hatboro car show and did a huge burnout afterwards. Pretty killer.

 

[DissT]

I was in H.S. in 87, sophomore year I think, in Milwaukee WI. I worked at a golf course and a fellow employee had just received a brand new 87 GN from his parents.

Having no idea what it was besides my mom owning a 78 regal forever, I just thought it looked nice. Well after work everyone was asking him to light em up etc. and figured they where just yanking his crank being a spoiled rich kid. He commenced to create the LARGEST smoke cloud I have ever witnessed which engulfed the car, road and barn where we kept the equipment. Needless to say I was impressed and had to get a ride which he gave me. Fell in love ever since.

Graduated HS and joined the army. Purchased a 85 GN not knowing at the time all GN's where not created equal. Picked it up in Austin, TX. and drove the living crap out of it for 2-3 years before selling it to an older gentlemen for 4,500 bucks.

After selling it I went to the local used car dealer for my next purchase and low and behold a 87 GN was sitting in the lot. I could not resist a test drive and took it out for a spin. Immediately leaving the lot the salesman said, "Hit It". I punched it, spun the wheels a bit and pretty much felt like my old car till about 25mph when all hell broke loose. It was all I could do to keep it straight, but for some reason I never took my foot out of it till about 70mph.

The rest I really don't remember besides saying to myself some day I will own that car. Fast forward to February 2006 after 2 marriages, 2 kids, 2 houses and numerous other crap everyone else has dealt with here I am the proud owner of my GN. She isn't the prettiest by any scope of the imagination, but she is mine. Part of the reason for the purchase was something my son and I could work on together and ofcourse the selfish ones as well

 

[Royal-T-Ltd]

TORQUE

i've always loved cars but my first experience with a turbo Buick was about 9-10 years ago... My little brother was buying an '84 T from a used car dealership.... it was rough around the edges... but when you're in high school - who cares.... well we got it and drove home... i remember a friend of his "supposedly" had a suped up MC and wanted to "WOOP" us. So we raced by the middle school - the STOCK '84 T, with me and my 2 brothers, left this MC like it was standing still..... well that was that.... i was sold forever

Now the story on how i got my car..... My younger brother found it in the paper. it was in a small town in Illinois about 2.5 - 3 hours away and he called to make an appointment to schedule to look at it with the older gentleman.... [good ol' Mr. Potter ]- i road with him and when i saw the car I was in love.... My brother was VERY interested in it and told Mr. Potter we would be back in a week to purchase it. I pulled Mr. Potter aside and told him dont worry if my brother didnt buy it I surely will. Well little did we know but you had to be at least 18 to get a loan so my brother had to call Mr. Potter and tell him the news. Mr. Potter said he was sorry to hear it but not to worry because he had another person that wanted to buy it. Well long story short the other guy never made it on time [by Gods grace] and Mr. Potter still had my phone number i slipped him [by Gods grace] - he called me and told me if i still wanted to come y and get it but i needed to hurry before this other guy called back.... well i ran straight to the bank got a loan and went that weekend to pickup my baby...... that was 8 years ago...b:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: i still cant stop smiling LOL

 

[littlebuick8]

back in 86 i was 17 and my father was a big antique car guy here on cape cod. he had a bunch of buick skylark's and gran sport's. i had my first gs a 69 400 car with a factory 4 speed . he had gone of the cape as the norm in search of salvage title cars to repair and sell. about 3 oclock came and he walked threw the door and said he bought a car that would kick the snot out of my big block buick i laughed at him and said yeah right. i went out side and took a look at a brand new 86 gn he bought at smiley buick. the car had about 85 miles on it. he said take it for a spin. i went down the parkway and beat it up a bit and wasn't all that impressed. so he took me for a ride stoped built up a bit of boost and put the tires away for a while now im hooked. later on as we all know the car's started to hit the junk yard salvaged stolen smashed and dunked. sure did get sick of them in a hurry! i bet i fixed 25 or 30 gn's and t type's. he also bought a used gnx and a new turbo TA in 89 i drove all of them. but i still had gran sports. i sold the last gs 3 years ago and bought my gn and love this car. it will be a while before i get tired of it.

 

[madhat]

Three years ago, I had decided it wasnt worth the money/time/effort to twin turbo my 93 5.0. So, the search was on for a new car! I looked at stingrays because I could easilty fit 295's at all four corners! And, I had a 327 pushing almost 400 hp w/ a 2 barrel carb siting in the garage(was a 305 out of an 93 Berlinetta Camaro that my dad built). But, I decided that between insurance and entry costs for a decent body that I would find another car. My friend had an 02 WRX at the time and I feel inlove w/ turbos! My other friend, a G-body and El Camino nut, introduced my to the GNs. Ofcourse, he thought that GN's were black and T-Types were white! I thought they were ugly at first, but they began to grow on me - so, I decided I would buy this really good condition Regal a few blocks away(pretty cheaply too) and build a GN! Well, turns out that would have not been such a good plan - after seeing all the threads about it, I think a) I would have been disapointed b) would have run out of money
Well, my dad was trying to sell teh 66 GTO I drove through high school and his 72 SS Camaro at the time - a used car salesman, who specializes in sports/rods contacts dad and asks to trade. He offered corvettes etc...well, he happened to have a GN! MInd you, the prev owner bought every thing from teh poston catalog and put some 225-50's on the stock wheels along w/ a 2" drop.
Well, the main reason that I wanted the car was that it was a factory turbo car! I find that the GTO was MUCH easier to work on...but, now that I have survived the learning curve, its not so bad I have always had a problem w/ the auto trans part(yes, I know the arguments for/against it blah blah blah)...I love shifting and the control I get(I hate the way this car shifts!), especially in the snow! It snowed for the first tiem tonight and I need new tires, I have BFG radial T/As and they have done great, but the tread is low and I have lost traction because of it
I probably will keep this car for atleast several more years...it 2 years it will be pulled from DD duty and taken under the blade to be properly rebuilt. Eventually, I will get my 87 BMW up and running again and daily drive it (manual + 30mpg ftw!)

 

[troGNman]

I graduated H.S. in 1981 and remember seeing the restyled '81 Regals. I wanted to order a new '82 Sport Coupe just like the ones that I had seen driving around......two-tone Black/Silver with t-tops. I was attending Junior College at the time and couldn't swing new car payments so I continued to drive my '77 Mint Green Regal.

Fast forward to 1984 and I need a new car. I test drove a local Buick dealer's '84 GN that belonged to the owner's son (it was his demo car). It had some corny purple and silver pinstripes along the side with t-tops. It felt pretty good once you overcame the turbo lag. I was set to order a car and then realized that with the options I wanted, it came out to $15,800. Serious money back in 1984!
I mulled it over with my parents and it was suggested that I look at something that was just as sporty but a little cheaper. In the Spring of '84, my kid sister and I went to Reedman Chevrolet in Langhorne, PA (the largest Chevy store on the East Coast) and walked in determined to come home with two new cars. I wanted a Blue MCSS w/ buckets and and she liked the 4-door Chevette. Needless to say, only one of us drove home that night with a new car. For a dealer that large to not have a Monte SS on their lot really got me mad. I almost came home with a car that I'm sure I would have regretted later.......a Citation X-11. The salesman was really pushing me towards the X-11. I held my ground and placed an order for the car that I wanted. Blue MCSS, buckets came w/ the console that year, posi, tilt, pw, am/fm cassette........$12,800 out the door, same as the Citation. I finally got the Arlington, Texas-assembled car in late July of that year. Granted it was a great car that had some pep and handled well, but it wasn't a Buick.

November 1985.......Dearden Buick also in Langhorne, PA has an ad in the local newspaper. "10 1986 GNs in stock now!" I bring my dad along for a ride across the river to check it out. What a site to see! 10 Black Buicks parked all in a row! Every car was optioned identically.....hardtop, Concert Sound II, pw, pl, ps, cruise, tilt and that's it. I went for a test drive with an elderly salesman and my dad in the back seat. I couldn't believe how easy it was to light-up the rear tire. Remember I said they were all identical? Well they were all "peg-legs!" My dad remarked that for a car with this much power, it should have a posi rear. "Can you drive this thing through your first winter with an open rear?" He said. "Let's wait till Spring and we'll look again" Yes, my MCSS was merely a year-and-a-half old and I lusted after a Buick.

February 1986........Fedor Buick in Bordentown, NJ has a few GNs in stock (another local newspaper ad). I drive down there to find 2 GN's.....hardtop, t-top, and a black T-Type w/ red gut in the showroom. I purchased the t-top car that day and had to wait another day before the car was prepped. It was $17,500 with most power options and raised white outline tires. It was sweet!
What was not so sweet was the night that I picked it up, we had a horrible downpour and most of the roads were covered with standing water. Not a good way to start off with a new car.

Over the years of ownership I got to meet a lot of great people and convert a lot of "non-believers" who couldn't get over the fact that a little V6 could run so well. I used the GN as a daily driver until 1991 and bought a new Nissan Sentra SE-R (also black) to give the old girl a rest. Sad to say my GN was stolen in the Spring of 1993 with 240,000 miles on the clock. I miss that car.:frown:

 

[RobsIron]

I was 18 in 1986. I was a muscle car fan and wanted a Skylark or Cutlass (60's). My friend had a 68 Road Runner 383 that was impressivley fast. I certainly couldn't afford a new Buick, but I knew what they were. One night at the street races, that Road Runner got smoked by a GN, and I was hooked even more. To me they were the re-birth of muscle cars and the baddest car made for over a decade. Unfortunately, I never serious considered buying one until 2001. I bought my T, and now they'll have to bury me in this car.

Scotty, Did you live in Jax in '86. I raced my blue '69 SS Chevelle daily..

Raced a guy in 383 RR back then on San Pablo road.

 

[alittlev6]

i sure was lucky too!

thats how i met my first girlfriend and SHE was the one driving her dads 86 buick GN back in early 93 talk about lucky.!!!!

I felt in love with those turbo regals when i first laid my eyes on one at the age of 13 back in 84,fell in love ever since.

 

[alittlev6]

hows does your wife/girl feel about your GN/t-type?

disregard this reply

 

[wikked6]

Just love the look. Blacked out, sinister, almost criminal--in a good way.

 

[pontiac6269]

I just remeber in the late 80s when the NMCA had the musclecar races held at differnt locations and seeing all the GNs and T-Types there. Then in the inthe 90s I worked at body shop for a while and got to drive a GN from a customers house to the shop to have the front end fixed. Even with the damage I was very impressed with the ride and handling of the car. In 2002 I was looking for a differne car and seen a 84 T-Type advertised for $2500 obo, looked and test drove, offered $1700 and the guy got mad, was pretty rusty and the trans didn't shift very good. Guy called me a week later and asked if I was interested and I said no. Bought a 96 Caprice instead. Got the itch to buy a GN or T-Type in the last year and started looking and found the one I have now.

Eric

 

[GNTIM]

I was working at a Goodyear shop in the late eighties and driving a well built 69 Super Bee 440. I had heard about these cars and loved the way they looked but being a big block guy with blinders on I could not believe that they were fast since they powered by a 6 popper and also working on so many n/a 231 motors that were powerless and needed work all the time, not to mention the oil leaks. Well this airline pilot dropped an 87 GN off and I made a bee line for the service manager and pestered him into giving me the work order and keys. So I get in this car, leave the parking lot and mash the gas on a short stretch of road and again being a big block guy I was not impressed. I pull on the main road, nail it again and suddenly the boost kicks in and it's laying rubber like my Bee! I had to have one after that.

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

Good stuff, good stuff. I love it. Keep it coming, if you can...

 

[rpk250]

Got to drive one to prom when I was in high school. I think it was 1994 ish. It was my date's, uncle's car. It had 7000 miles on it, and it was bone stock. I had never heard of a Grand National because I had always been a Chevy guy. I could not believe how fast that thing was, and how comfortable, and I loved the sounds that it made. I was hooked.

 

[Brocks GN]

When I got my driver's license I had a 86 turbo 300 zx that was handed down to me, it was sporty and I thought it was quick . After about 1-1/2 years the price list to fix everything on the car was adding up fast. Back then I was all into the rice burners and such. My cousin had a 96 WS6 Trans am and I loved that car. I went to my dad and told him I wanted a better car (faster) I looked at rx-7 and newer 300ZX's, I told him I wanted a newer style camaro/trans am. He laughed in my face and said when you turn 18...I went to my cousin upset and he said well get a grand national those can be fast cars. I had no clue what one looked like so I looked one up on the internet and hated it!! Looked like an old persons car all boxy I thought to my self yea right that’s not fast....I ended up getting a 95 Z28 my dad caved in. I was racing it one time and saw a GN, my cousin said try to get a race...So we make it through traffic and come up beside him, old bald man (of course) . So I floored it and 2 sec later he was 1-2 car lengths ahead of me! I was like ...Since then I have always wanted one. The look finally grew on me after I saw the performance. About a year ago I finally purchased my first, but not my last GN. I wish I would have listened to my cousin way back then, I could have gotten one a little cheaper :tongue: . Also My grilfriend 23 did really like the car when I first got it, thought it was for old people or red necks. After we went to a few car shows she really appricates the car and loves it! Hell she just bought carpet for it "just because". She always ask to drive it....thats a different story

 

[NASSTY]

Back in March of 1990 I was in search of a black 83/84 Hurst Olds.I wasn't having any luck finding one.One day I saw a GN at a dealership so I stopped to look at it and the salesman asked if I wanted to try it out"I said sure".Need less to say once I got on the highway and mashed the pedal the salesman got this scared look on his face. I said "I'll take it".The rest is history.
I have owned 5 different GNs and currently have 2.

Thank God I never found the Hurst Olds I was in search of.

 

[Roc87]

I was 7 when I first read about the '84 GN's (Yes, I was strange then too, reading Road&Track, HotRod, CarCraft, rather than kids books). About a year later my Dad sold his '79 Vette, first car I remember seeing 100mph in, and got an '84 Crossfire Vette. He put in a hypertech chip, gutted the cat and it seemed like a very fast car. I had put the next to last page of a Road&Track in the glovebox, it had all the specs for the cars they had tested. We'd line up next to someone and I could look at this page and tell him whether he could take 'em or not. When I was 9 we were on the freeway and this black box comes speeding past us, slows down and sees if we take the bait. I got all excited and tell my Dad not to bother, but he does anyways. That GN walked away up to 110mph, guess he had the stock chip because around that speed it nosed over and we went by. I had wanted one since. Got my drivers license but couldn't find a GN in my price range, ended up getting an '87 Iroc (gutless carbed 5 liter). Would always drool at any GN I saw and said I'd have one eventually. After 5-6 engine swaps in the Iroc to make it fast (Dad said my friends were giving me bad ideas to swap engines and go fast, yeah, he "never" drag raced on the street with me standing in the back of a '57 Chevy , it was all my friends fault for wanting more power). About the time of giving up on my Iroc which had a 385 w/ a weiand 177 blower on it, and a daily driver 5sp Fiero (Hey it was a GT, and faster than the Iroc was stock ), I had a motorcycle accident which put my clutch leg in a cast for 12 weeks. Right after surgery I picked up an Autotrader and found an '87 Astroroof. Managed to drive the Fiero 40 miles to go check out this GN. It was stock with 107k miles except for a drop in K&N and a hypertech chip. It was the first time I had ever even ridden in a GN, much less drive one. Even before the test drive, I knew I had to have it. The guys dad was the owner of the Buick dealer, which is where is was sold new to him. Went almost 6 months before finding Turbobuick.com and found out most everything I had bought I shouldn't have . I was lucky that I never blew the headgaskets

A few years later I found a wrecked WH1 for a donor for the Iroc. Did the entire swap, got it running good and then sold it

 

[race_angel]

my story

The first time I ever seen our car I thought" holy cow what a piece of junk". for the first year, it seemed that all Bryan wanted to do was work on the car, all of our money went into that car. I just didn't understand what was so special about this car. I thought" ewwww its old" !!! "and how in the world would this car ever make it down the dragstrip in one piece". Well then he was finally tired of hearing me gripe about the car. So he said" love me, love my car". then bryan told me "just drive the car once and u will love it, I promise". So one day he had me out in the garage teaching me everything he possibly could about this car so i would understand exactly what the car did and how it worked . After some time later I sat down in the drivers seat at a dragstrip with bryan by my side telling me exactly what to do ,... and every since that day I now refer to that car as "my car" ... even though its both of ours.so far my fastest time is 11.17 @124 ... hopefully i will beat his time of 10.86 @125. but hopefully i will have my own one day.... :tongue: