Your insite needed

[70Mach1]

Good evening guys. From my name you could probably tell I own a 70 Mach. I am a big fan of Mustangs and know quite a bit about them.

I am wanting to a GN or TTA to park next to my Mustangs. My questions are on the 86 and 87 GN along with the 89 TTA.

Lets say I am looking at an 86 or 87 with 10,000 miles and both are 90-95 point cars. Other than the obvious, the 87 being the last year of the GN why are the 87's bringing in some cases 15-20% more than almost an exact 86. What are the differences if any.

I know with the my Mach 1, there are no differences in value between a 69 or 70 428CJ, even though there were some changes to the sheet metal.

Lastly, since the TTA was very limited production, especially when compared to the numbers on the GN, why are they not strong value wise. TTA guys, please don't take this as a knock, just my observations so far.

I have spoken with many collector car professionals about this, and basically, unless it a car was made in the 70's or earlier, they have no clue and could not care. Like with Mustangs, I would like to hear from you guys, the true enthusiasts. I am looking forward to your insight. It will help me in my decision..

 

[DMan]

87 just happens to have higher values since its the last year. Factory quoted higher power numbers in 87 than 86 although there are no mechanical differences or chip differences that I am aware of. Besides, everybody changes the chip.

87 has a different front grill.

If you're buying for collection, buy an 87. If you're buying to drive, an 86 or 87 will be identical.

Of course there were probably different options and combos available in each year.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

You bring up a very good point.
Why wouldnt a 86 gn 1 of 5512 made vs. a 1987 gn 1 of 20,193 bring more money because its more rare? It should...

Right now i havent seen too many low mileage 86 cars for sale, i think eventually the 86s will bring more money once people get more involved into these cars.
Currently i own 4 87 turbo regals and wouldnt hesitate to buy a 86 over a 87 turbo car as long as its the right car. Mileage really doesnt matter to me on these cars, its how well it was taken care of and the quality of the car.
I heard from a buddy of mine the other day, that a 15K 87 GN sold for 31K at auction.....
If these cars get more publicity and people are sold on the fact that they truely are muscle cars from the mid 80's, i cant wait to see the prices of these cars in 10 more years.
I sold a 70 lucerne blue trans am 4 speed for my second TTA...Whoops!




http://www.gnttype.org/general/product.html

 

[Grumpy]

hey I bought a 70 Mach1 Cobra Jet new get a TTA !!! ball to drive !! faster "stock" than a Buick :biggrin:

 

[70Mach1]

hey I bought a 70 Mach1 Cobra Jet new get a TTA !!! ball to drive !! faster "stock" than a Buick :biggrin:

If you bought one new, you are even older than me. My first purchase was a used '70 Challenger. If I only knew then what I know today, I would have parked it in a barn somewhere and forgotten about it until last year.

The 15K GN went for 32K at Barrett this past week. That price has caused an immediate reaction to the prices.

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/events/scottsdale/vehicles/cardetail_list.asp?id=182597

Thanks guys. I appreciate your continued input, especially to a new member of your board

 

[VadersV6]

I tthink the 87's command more money because they simply command more money. No real justifiable reason for it. I think once a trend is started, its hard to stop.
It probably holds more value that the TTA's cause they just dont have the reputation the GN's do. Alot of people have no idea that pontiac even made such a car. GN's look evil and have such a rep for being so unpredictable. You have 2 GN's that look and sound the same, but one can run 14's and the other runs 10's. Its got a huge sleeper appeal. No offense to the TTA guys, but the firebirds have more of a reputation for being driven by gold medallion wearing geaseballs. Its not a fair or correct stigma, but its there none the less. I dont know many hot rod people who see a GN and dont get that fuzzy feeling..

 

[Terry_H]

My first car, circa 1975. 1970 Mach1 351C

 

[SHADOWII]

nice ride!

but it looks like..........naugh, couldn't be.................is that ?............sure looks like it is....................hey that's one of those war-protesting-commie-pinko-fag-hippies!!!!! JUST KIDDING!LOL! :biggrin: Really nice car, you must have been excited to own one back then.
by the way, the hp increase on the 87 was do to the static compression ratio being raised from 8 to 9-1. justifying the extra 15hp. also alot of people like the complete black out feature of the 87 grille as opposed to the 86 which has the chrome trim and looks similar to the 85. and there were a lot more options on the regals in general. I think buick was just trying to unload some of its inventory.

 

[DMan]

alright stop the music!

Shadowman, can you show me where you saw the 87 GN compression ratio is 9:1 ?

 

[83ttypecooled]

gold medallion wearing greaseballs

Hi,
Nice one there.How could we TTA owners not take offense at that slam? I don't know about you, but in my case I sweated bullets to get to the point that I could even afford a TTA. These are the cars Buick should have made, but couldn't. Handling was on a par with the 'vettes of the day, and until the zr1, it blew them off. As far as I'm concerned, you have the F bodies totally misconstrued. Sorry for my huff, but you need to have some respect. Enough said....

 

[Grumpy]

by the way, the hp increase on the 87 was do to the static compression ratio being raised from 8 to 9-1. justifying the extra 15hp. :

your wrong ... why the hell do you guys post **** like that !!!

 

[TClassic]

hey I bought a 70 Mach1 Cobra Jet new get a TTA !!! ball to drive !! faster "stock" than a Buick :biggrin:[/QUOTE
And a ****load faster when 'Slightly' modded, I'm Dam near in the 11's with only THREE Simple mods - Chip - Fuel Pump & K & N - These Cars ROCK!!!! And the fact that you can buy a Nearly NEW one for only $19 to $21K is Phenominal -

 

[Grumpy]

TTAs are easier to put in the 11s .. we did that in 89 with the wifes car .. plus they are sleeper's becuase 99% of the people don't know what they are

 

[NHRA Super Gas]

Good evening guys. From my name you could probably tell I own a 70 Mach. I am a big fan of Mustangs and know quite a bit about them.

I am wanting to a GN or TTA to park next to my Mustangs. My questions are on the 86 and 87 GN along with the 89 TTA.

Lets say I am looking at an 86 or 87 with 10,000 miles and both are 90-95 point cars. Other than the obvious, the 87 being the last year of the GN why are the 87's bringing in some cases 15-20% more than almost an exact 86. What are the differences if any.

I know with the my Mach 1, there are no differences in value between a 69 or 70 428CJ, even though there were some changes to the sheet metal.

Lastly, since the TTA was very limited production, especially when compared to the numbers on the GN, why are they not strong value wise. TTA guys, please don't take this as a knock, just my observations so far.

I have spoken with many collector car professionals about this, and basically, unless it a car was made in the 70's or earlier, they have no clue and could not care. Like with Mustangs, I would like to hear from you guys, the true enthusiasts. I am looking forward to your insight. It will help me in my decision..

Welcome aboard, it's a fun search, trust me. I just purchased a higher mile 11 sec car, and another musclecar/racer buddy of mine just picked up a 5k mile original 87. I think as the average small block/nothing special musclecar gets over 30K, (and the average M code Mach 1 and 383 plymouth have certainly done so) These cars will benefit.

FYI, my father and law and I have a 69 R code Mach, fun but a pain to change plugs

PM me if you have questions about cars/and or the buying process. I'm still tracking cars that look interesting.

EW

 

[acoen]

Good evening guys. From my name you could probably tell I own a 70 Mach. I am a big fan of Mustangs and know quite a bit about them.

I am wanting to a GN or TTA to park next to my Mustangs. My questions are on the 86 and 87 GN along with the 89 TTA.

Lets say I am looking at an 86 or 87 with 10,000 miles and both are 90-95 point cars. Other than the obvious, the 87 being the last year of the GN why are the 87's bringing in some cases 15-20% more than almost an exact 86. What are the differences if any.

I know with the my Mach 1, there are no differences in value between a 69 or 70 428CJ, even though there were some changes to the sheet metal.

Lastly, since the TTA was very limited production, especially when compared to the numbers on the GN, why are they not strong value wise. TTA guys, please don't take this as a knock, just my observations so far.

I have spoken with many collector car professionals about this, and basically, unless it a car was made in the 70's or earlier, they have no clue and could not care. Like with Mustangs, I would like to hear from you guys, the true enthusiasts. I am looking forward to your insight. It will help me in my decision..

Really no big differences between an 86'-87' Grill and door pull straps are the main differences. I have also found that there is no real performance difference between the two. I believe the difference in pricing only has to do with the gain in popularity in 1987. Although the 86' GN had some great magazine write ups, the popularity of the Grand National hit it's stride in 1987, remember ("The fastest American production car"). I remember back in 87' everyone had to have one of these cars, this is part of the reason why Buick decided to extend their production to over 20,000 units. With this fact, I believe that the ultra low mileage 87' GNs will comand more money, at least in the short term. 40-70k mileage 86'-87' GNs seem to comand similar money.

 

[acoen]

I know I just posted but I found this tidbit on the GNTTYPE website that will shed so light on the differences between the 86' and 87' GN.

Q: What is the difference between a 1986 and 1987 Grand National?

A: Even though the factory had different horsepower ratings, and Internet myths abound, the facts are there were no major mechanical differences between the two years. The HP ratings were at different points in the RPM curves and were more marketing than anything else, since they were both pretty underrated to begin with.

Some of the differences:
1. '86 GNs could be ordered with Electronic Climate control. Not available in 87.

2. '86 grill has a chrome strip at the top, while '87 is all black

3. Oil cooler lines were rubber for 86 and braided cloth covered for 87

4. Door pulls were black on 86s and grey on 87s

5. Chip designations were different and 87s had a bit better cold start in them ... not really important, since most people don't use the stock chips anyway!

6. 87s were built in two distinct production runs ... the "regular" build cars could have a lot of "ala carte" options and combinations (such as the posi G80 was an option). "Extended build" cars were made after about March of '87 to fill the demand created for the car and as a "last hoorah" for the G Body production plant. These cars had a lot of things (such as posi) lumped into packages that came standard.

7. Fuel pump wiring was slightly improved for 87

8. Front coil springs on the 86 were slightly different (softer)

9. Power Steering reservoir was revised in '87 to solve a foaming problem (and is often seen on the '86s due to a recall)

10. Cruise control servo is slightly different

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

your wrong ... why the hell do you guys post **** like that !!!

Rumors like that spread to everyone, probably why 9 out of 10 guys who approach me about my car actually think the 87s were twin turbo from the factory... Which they werent, both were single turbo :biggrin:

 

[70Mach1]

Guys, I want to thank you for your posts. I always find it best to come to the enthusiasts like yourselves.

NHRA, I just might take you up on your offer. You aren't kidding about having a time of it changing plugs. No room around the big ol block . . .

 

[Grumpy]

after having a lot of big block Fords I use a long 3/8th extension with a swivel spark plug sock .. worked fine for years ... and now Buick guy's complain about #6 being hard to get at you can even see it

 

[Renthorin]

Personally, I like the all-black grill on the 87's over the chrome stripe on the 86's.

I think the 86's also had a different color radio but not sure and THAT really doesn't matter in the grand scheme.

I went back and forth between TTA and GN for a while before deciding to get the GN. I think I did it for the 'crowd' factor. Lots of people know what a GN is (or think they do) but most see a TTA as just a TA, even with the decals.

What do you want to do with the car? If you want a low milleage one you probably are not looking at drag racing it.