Buick Grand Nationals?

Not exactly what you would expect to whoop your average 5.0, eh??

Local GN with a little itty bitty turbo.

I love GN's...

Local guy was wanting to trade his GN for a Sn95. I was interested....very interested...

It was a hot air car...if it was intercooled it might have put me over the edge.

I would love to have a GNX...I think it would match the father-in-laws 70 buick GSX well .

The GN and GNX are definately cool cars. The GNX is definately the one to get though. Chevy only made very few of them untill they found out that it would dust a vett on the 1/4 mile. They couldn't have a grandma grocery getter that seats more than two do that so they immediately discontinued the GNX and stuck with the GN. Still there is plenty of power potential to be had with those. I knew a guy with the indy pase car trans am do a 12. His motor was loosing compression too which is amazing. Beauty of turbos... Anyways, they will always have a special place in American muscle history as the muscle car that seemed ill conceived but ran like no other. That is one of the few GM's I would love to have... along with the typhoon.
Kevin

The cops in Hawaii used to drive them, I was scared in my measly 83 GT.

randyp83 said:

What are the diff of the T-type, a Reg Grand national and then a GNX?

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The T-type (also known as the T-Turbo in '87) and the grand national were very similar. The t-type had a different interior trim and wheels if I recall. They were both rated at 245hp/355 ft. lbs of torque in '87.

The GNX had an increased power to 275/276?hp and 360 ft. lbs of torque, but actual outputs were closer to 300 horsepower according to a Car & Driver episode, as spoke by a GNX 'expert.'

Nice video on Car and Driver - Watch it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G6wtnmdZhE

0-60 in 4.6 seconds according to the video above.

547 would made in total.

The Grand National Regals were shipped to ASC/McLaren in '87 for their special mods including: Special ceramic turbined turbo, special intercooler, special GNX Turbo Shield, Special prom programming, special transmission valve body mods, torque arm, panhard bar, fender vents, wheel flares, 16" black mesh alloy wheels wearing 245/50VR16 Gatorback's, special badging, full analog instrumentation, and a personalized serial number.

Top speeds were in the lower 140 mph mark, 0-60 in the 5.4 second area, and mid-13's in the lower 100 mph mark.

They are easily modified.

The GNX came in any color, as long as it was black Some very early regular grand nationals came in some two tone silver/black paint. The black paint was a standard option.

Here is a copy and paste of the performance difference for the '87 Grand National/GNX line:

1987 was the last year for the Regal and the Grand National, but Buick decided to go out with a bang (although the rear wheel drive G-body platform would last one more year until 1988). A whooping 26,555 Turbo Regals were sold, of which 20,193 were Grand Nationals. Buick made some changes to the powertrain and power increased to 245 bhp and 355 lb-ft. The grille was slightly revised, with the teeth set further apart and the Buick emblem siting on the left side. Chrome wheels also were new.

But the big news for 1987 was the introduction of the limited edition GNX. Only available for 1987, the Buick GNX represents the height of Grand National performance. In a nod to the famous Buick GSXs of 1970-1972, the GNX logo featured a larger "X" than the other letters, just like the GSX logo. All GNXs began life as fully optioned Grand Nationals that immediately left the factory and were sent to ASC/McLaren Specialty Products in order to be extensively modified. The modifications included a more efficient Garrett air-to-air intercooler and a special pipe that connected the intercooler to the engine coated with CERMATEL (Ceramic/aluminum) for increased heat rejection and heat disipation. Front fender vents were installed to pull heat away from the engine while driving. The GNX also received a special Garrett "hybrid" T-s turbocharger that used a very lightweight ceramic impeller (as opposed to metal in standard Grand Nationals). The decreased weight allows the turbo charger to spin up much faster, thereby decreasing the turbo lag time inherent in turbo charged engines. Maximum boost was set at 15 psi and the turbo used an electric wastegate. The turbo also incorporated special low drag, dynamic turbine shaft seals, and a built in contamination trap. All of these modifications added up to 275 bhp and a whooping 360 lb-ft. To handle this extra power, the transmission was beefed up with firmer shifts and the rear axle received a longitudinal torque ladder bar with a panhard rod to help prevent wheel hop and torque twist. It also received a special rear axle housing cover made of aluminum (with GNX embossed on it) that serves as an additional strengthening element and point for the torque bar. For even more strengthening, the car body received special structural reinforcements in the form of "behind the back seat bracing" and special chassis (steel cross member between the chassis rails) bracing. The GNX was the only Regal to ever receive 16 inch wheels. The wheels were made of a lightweight alloy and the rear wheels were wider than the front. The GNX came with P245/50VR16 tires in front and P255/50VR16 tires in the rear. Special welded in fender flares were added to the wheel wells to make room for the larger wheels and tires. The standard transmission was a reprogrammed Turbo Hydra-matic 200-4R four speed hooked up to a custom torque converter. Inside, the dash had a special Steward Warner analog gauge package. All GNXs were black in color and the only exterior identification was small "GNX" badges placed on the front radiator grille and rear deck lid. Under the hood, a special turbocharger heat shield had "GNX" stamped on it, similar to the aluminum rear axle cover. All GNXs received a special numbered plaque mounted on the passenger side dash which identified the number of that particular car (1-547). Also, the Fisher body plate has "GNX" stamped on it. Special "GNX" decals were used on the intercooler and other locations and there were several hidden I.D. stampings to prevent fakes. But all of this came at a price. The cost of the GNX option was a whopping $10,995, which resulted in a final MSRP of $29,900. All out performance doesn't come cheap.

Even more rare are the Buick Regal T-Type "Special T." These models had a Grand National exterior, but a Regal T-Type interior.

Production:

Grand Nationals: 20,193 GNX: 547

Engines:

Grand National: 3.8L V6 Turbo 245 bhp @ 4400 rpm, 355 ft-lb @ 2000 rpm.
GNX: 3.8L V6 Turbo 276 bhp @ 4400 rpm, 360 ft-lb @ 3000 rpm.

Performance:

Grand National: 1/4 mile in 14.23 seconds @ 98 mph.
GNX: 0-60 in 5.5 seconds, 1/4 mile in 13.43 seconds @ 103 mph.

Wow, i just met a guy tonight who was out cruising in his MINT Regal GNX. He was pushing 25lbs but didn't have any dyno numbers.....the car was soooo sweet.

85_SS_302_Coupe said:

Wow, i just met a guy tonight who was out cruising in his MINT Regal GNX. He was pushing 25lbs but didn't have any dyno numbers.....the car was soooo sweet.

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Lucky Remember, only 547 made...

What production number was it?

5spd GT said:

Lucky Remember, only 547 made...

What production number was it?

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He said 78 and i about fell on the ground. He said market value in this condition is around $75k....and that's what his is insured for


And then he actually went NUTS over my Merkur...i said hey man i'll trade you ANY DAY, and i'll throw in my Mustang, my Jeep, my bank account number, my first born......lol

T1 3VOM said:

Not positive, but before reading this, I would have sworn that GNs were all white and GNXs were all black. Am I worng?

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Yea your wrong sorry

Long and short, if you find a nice one, buy it, most everyone else here would, if one wants to race, be very careful, most everyone else here would, and you probably won't find a GNX (a real one, at least), and if you do, you won"t be able to afford it. Just drool, like most everyone else here.

Yeah if you really want a GNX your best bet is to settle and try to find a Regal T-Type....that's about as close as you're gonna get unless your bank account is at least 6 figures deep.

bentley429 said:

Yea your wrong sorry

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Yup. I stand corrected... three times. Unsportsmanlike conduct to you, sir, for piling on

My stang is too slow to try and race one... But I'd trade my fox for a Grand National. obviously...

ARE THE SH;T!