After Buick won the 1981 and 1982 Manufacturers Cup in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, they wanted to become more successful. So, in 1982, the Buick Grand National debuted onto the scene..
I must tell all of you, that when I started doing more research on this beast,, I was in for a surprise.... I was unaware that the Grand National was a Regal, (Regal Grand National). I thought they were just called Grand Nationals growing up.. Huh!!!
The Grand National was produced from 1982- 1987. Didn't know that either. I thought they were just 1987's.. Wow, was I wrong.. Surprise!!! LOL...
What little I knew about these cars, I should had a lot to learn..
In 1982, this 4.1L V-6 only boosted out 205lb - ft. of torque and 125hp. There were 215 units produced.. I also thought that, the only color they came in were black... Wrong again.. Ha
These cars even had T-Tops in them, how cool was that?
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In 1983, no Grand Nationals were produced.. They took some time off to rethink some things, and came back stronger..
In 1984, only 2000 Grand Nationals were produced, and is estimated to have around 200 Grand Nationals produced with T-Top option, which makes these the rarest.. This car had a 3.8L Turbocharged V-6 that pumped out 300lb - ft. of torque and 200hp.. Now we talking..
It was pretty fast, only 0.8 seconds slower than the 1984 Corvette that had 290lb - ft. of torque and 205hp..
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Now with just a V-6, these cars sure could burn some rubber...
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I thought this video was interesting!!!!
What do you think??
1985 Grand National... This is a great looking car.. Love the color scheme too..
Enough said!!!!!!... All that power from there???
In 1986, Grand National added an air to air intercooler and tweaked the boost output to give it 330lb - ft. of torque and 235hp for the base model..
There were 5,512 Grand Nationals and 2,384 T-Types produced that year.
1987 was the last year of production for the Grand National, but not without a bang...
They came out with a GNX model that produced 360lb - ft. of torque and 276hp..
According to Buick's official specs...But,,, the actual output was 420lb - ft. of torque and 300hp(GNX model)
The base produced 355lb - ft. of torque and 245hp.
This shows the technology that Buick had back then.. Imagine what they could do today, if they wanted too..
Both, the 1987 base and GNX models were a wee bit quicker than the 1987 Corvette, by clearing the 1/4 mile in a faster time.
The base model, time was: 13.7 seconds
GNX model, time was: 13.5 seconds
The Vette's time was: 14.2 seconds (Driver must have had a bad takeoff...) Hmmm..
No matter the case,, I sure would love to have one of these some day..
Even the Corvette.. Ha, I'm not picky...
Last but not least, a short video clip of the turbo gauge working, when he gets ready to floor it. The video is a little shaky, but worth it, IMO...
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Thanks for viewing...
Hope you all enjoy, I know I did...
Classic car 👍
My best friend's dad had a GN back in 1986. And his step dad had a 930 Turbo. Those sure were funs days. That GNX was a beast.
But the regular GN could beat Corvette and 'Stang GT in 0-60 mph.
Quite impressive.
Yes, they are some nice rides and I would love to have one some day.. I remember being a kid, and one of my uncles had one, took me for a ride in it and I was hooked.. LOL.. Very impressive..
cool !!!
almost looks like a car in the movie "back to future"
Awesome post. I have an 87 Turbo T. Thanks!