Question about a Grand National

[03marauder]

I know of a 87 Grand National for sale that seems like a good deal. Unfortunately I don't know a lot about these cars and need some advice.
It has 43k miles on it, and looks to be in fairly decent condidtion, I checked it out today. Only thing that I could see wrong with the body is some paint chips here and there. It is not totally stock, some mods have been done. I was told it has a bigger turbo, heads, headers, the front and rear suspension has been upgraded, and an aftermarket chip. I was told the way it is set up it should, taken with a grain of salt, run 12 or lower in the quarter. That I'm not sure about.
He is selling it for 10k, and I think is trying to get what he has into it. I looked some Grand Nationals up online for sale and saw them going for over 15k. Just not sure if they are actually selling. I would like to buy this, maybe clean it up and give it a really good detail, and see if I can make some money on it. I'm not sure if he has tried to sell it for higher, or if he's just not putting out ads. Any idea if this could be worth more than 10k. I know cars are not good investments, but it seems like some money could be made on this.

[Eric91Z]

With those mods and if it is tuned right it could easily be an 11 second car.

Here are some links for you in case you haven't checked them out yet:

http://www.turbobuick.com/
http://www.gnttype.org/
http://www.gnregistry.org/
http://www.buickgn.com/


Good sites for information and probably find some classifieds to compare prices.

Just another in a long line of cars that I would love to own some day (specifically the very rare GNX).

[03marauder]

I meant to say 12 flat or high 11's. I would love to own one too. That and the Marauder would be sweet. But there is now way I could keep both. And I'm not gonna give up the Marauder. Thanks for the sites I'll have to check them out.


With those mods and if it is tuned right it could easily be an 11 second car.

Here are some links for you in case you haven't checked them out yet:

http://www.turbobuick.com/
http://www.gnttype.org/
http://www.gnregistry.org/
http://www.buickgn.com/


Good sites for information and probably find some classifieds to compare prices.

Just another in a long line of cars that I would love to own some day (specifically the very rare GNX).

[Breadfan]

Haggis and Ladyhawke may have some input as they have a Grand National now as well.

Some of the more expensive ones may be GNX Grand Nationals which were extra rare.

GN's are cool cars, and plenty of parts to make them very quick. From what I recall, 10K sounds reasonable, but be sure the mods are done well. I'm nervous of buying pre-modded cars for the fear the jobs weren't done right.

I've seen GN's from $3000 onward, but most of the cheaper ones were very high mileage or had other issues. A well maintained low mileage version would probably fetch around 10k.

But I could be way off... :)

[Mike M]

Check out my car on the buick registry site. Look for registry BTR01138A
I am the original owner and went 12.87 with just a chip and drag radials. EVERYTHING is stock including the air filter/exhaust etc. Mine is garage kept and I love it.
Check the bottom of the doors for rust...they seem to all get some at varying degrees but should be no biggy.

[ex00p71]

Be Careful, I think those cars only have 5 digit odometers, so it might really be 143,000.

[1 Bad Merc]

Double check the brake system. If the brakes feel funny or dont seem to work right the controller might be going bad. This is a problem as GM doesnt make the electronic brake controller anymore for this car. A replacement one is around $500 to $600. If this car has been raced also check the tranny fluid and see if it smells burnt. These tranny's are quircky and often need to be rebuilt. Again, another pita as this car was the only GM product to use that type of tranny. Also if the car rides real hard look up underneath and check the body mount rubber. Alot of them go bad from wear & tear and just plain old age. These can be replaced but it's time consuming. GN's with bigger turbos tend to blow the head gaskets out alot and you should look around the heads/exhaust for any white steam after you have been driving it for awhile.

My father still owns his' 87 GN and these are some of the issues that we have faced on this car. It is a great car but alot of people raced them and the modified cars dont go for the big money that the stock cars go for as people presume they were beaten on hard.

[Mike M]

The THM200-4R was also used in Caprice, Oilds Custome Cruiser station wagons and Cadillacs.