Buick Grand National

The Buick Grand National debuted in 1982 and named for the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National Series (the “Buick Grand National ” part of the term nomenclature Cup series until 1986). The Buick Manufacturers Cup was won in 1981 and 1982, and was keen to capitalize on its success  “What wins on Sunday sells on Monday “. The 1,982 cars were painted black, which may confuse those who are not familiar with. It all began as the charcoal gray Regals that were whisked away to a subcontractor for finishing.

Originally planned for a series of 100 units of cars and concepts of Brighton, Michigan retrofitted 215 Regals with GN package. The most obvious was the light silver gray paint foremost added to each side. Red pinstripes and the billboard shadow lettering declaring ” Buick ” applied. The opening moldings and rocker panel moldings wheel are black with black vinyl tape. Finally the Buick Grand National front air dam and rear spoiler will be installed. On the inside, the seats “Lear-Siegler” special will be installed. The Buick Grand National  seats are fully adjustable and are covered with silver branding cloth with black vinyl inserts. The front seat had a ” 6 ” emblem embroidered on them in a Buick. To finish off, a special clock delete plate was added to the instrument panel, which contained the yellow and orange logo ” 6 ” and the words ” GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION OF MOTOR Buick. ”

The ’82 Buick Grand National came with a naturally aspirated 4.1 L V6 engine with 125 HP (93 kW) at 4000 RPM and 205 pounds · ft (278 N · m) of torque at 2000 RPM. Of the 215 Regal Grand National produced in 1982, at least 35 are based on the Buick Regal Sport Coupe package with the turbocharged 3.8 V6 engine with 175 HP (130 kW) at 4000 RPM and 275 pounds · ft (373 N · m) of torque at 2600 RPM. Only 2,022 coupes Sport produced in 1982, and is estimated to be less than 50 the number of cars with GN and Sport Coupe packages is.

In 1983, there was no Buick Grand National . The Sport Coupe model was renamed T-Type 3732 are produced (190 HP (140 kW) at 1600 RPM and 280 pounds  (380 N·m) of torque at 2400 RPM). The T-Type had been used on the other Buicks starting with the Buick Riviera in 1981 (in 1979 and 1980 it was the S Type). 1983 Regal T-Type includes tube headers Hydro Boost II brakes, 200-4R 4-speed overdrive trans and 3.42 rear axles (7.5 “).

In 1984 the Buick Grand National returned in all black paint. The turbo-charged 3.8 L became the standard and was refined with sequential fuel injection, computer controlled ignition distributor-less, and there was a 200 HP (150 kW) at 4400 RPM and 300 pounds · ft (407 N · m) of torque at 2,400 RPM. Only 5,204 Turbo Regals were produced in that year, of which only 2000 Buick Grand National . Since this is the first year of production a computer-controlled Sequential Fuel Injection and Distributor-less ignition, this is often considered the model that started the development of the legendary inter-cooled Grand National. The performance of this package well ahead of its time and the ” Little V6 ” easily matched that of the larger V8. Quarter mile (400 m) Performance is listed at 15.9 seconds at the stock boost levels of 10 psi (0.69 bar), while in the same year, the Chevrolet Camaro and Chevrolet Corvette listed in 17.0 and in 15.1 seconds. Soon, performance enthusiasts determined the changes that worked and the Grand National easily broke into the 13 second territory. All had Grand Nationals for this year inside a cloth/leather Lear Siegler-and was only made? Available for this year. An estimated 425 of the 1984 Buick Grand National produced by option T-Top making this the rarest of the Grand National.

In 1986, modified engine design with interlocking boosted the performance even further; 1987 reached 245 HP (183 kW) and 355 pounds · ft (481 N · m) of torque. Dropping the pack Buick T-Type for Regal in 1987. Only 7,896 Turbo Regals produced in 1986. In 1987 when the Turbo Regals reached their peak in popularity, there is a total of 27,590 Turbo Regals were produced through December with those models produced between September and December that year window stickers as ” 1987 ½ Buick Grand National ” vehicles.

In 1987, Light WE4 option (Turbo T) offers. Only 1,547 of this variant were produced. They were painted black and treated to the same blackout package at the Grand National including the bumpers, grille, headlight and LED taillight trim. The differences between the WE4 and the Grand National were the interior trim package, wheels, badges outside, aluminum bumper supports, and aluminum rear brake drums cast iron rather than the Grand National, making the car lighter and faster WE4. The rear spoiler was only available as a dealer installed option. 1987 was the only year that the LC2 Turbo option available on any Buick Regal making it possible to even see a Limited with a vinyl landau roof and a power bulge turbo hood. Turbo Regal Limiteds was one of the rarest models of Turbo Regals second only to produce about 1,035 GNX Turbo Limiteds. Turbo Regal Limiteds could be ordered with a number of options with most being outside edge chrome but for $35 that could have been built with the option next to black-fill out making them extremely rare. Limiteds are treated to a very luxurious interior with plush carpets and pillow bench seats and optional column shift. The model 1987 will end the manufacture of the RWD ” G-Body ” Regal, but GM had to extend the construction of the Grand National to meet customer’s demand in November.

For the final year, 1987, introduced a Buick GNX Limited Production “Grand National Trial ” at $29,900. Produced by McLaren Performance Technologies/ASC, produced with 547 Buick Grand National interior edge Package. Then, they are sent off to McLaren Performance Technologies and upgraded into the Buick GNX. Buick underrated the GNX at 245 HP (183 kW) and a very substantial 360 pounds · ft (488 N · m) of torque. This was created to be a ” Grand National to end all Grand National. ” Changes made? Included Garrett T-3 turbocharger with special ceramic-impeller blowing through a more efficient and significantly larger capacity inter-cooler with ” CERMATEL (Ceramic/Aluminum) coated ” pipe connecting the intercooler to the engine. A GNX specific E-EPROM, exhaust restriction-Low with dual mufflers, reprogrammed Turbo Hydramatic 200 transmission-4R with a custom torque converter and transmission cooler, and unique differential cover bar/Panhard include more of the performance modifications. The Buick Grand National exterior styling changes include vents located on each front Offenders, 16 inch black mesh style wheels with VR rated tires-speed, and elimination of the hood and the Offender emblems.

Buick Regal Turbo 1987

The internal changes of the Buick Grand National included a serial number on the dash plaque and a revised instrument cluster gauges provide Stewart-Warner analog, including analog turbo boost gauge. Performance will be measured with a quarter mile time of 13.2 seconds at 104 mph (167 km/h) and 0-60 mph (97 km/h) time of 4.3 seconds. GNX# 001 in 1986 prototype currently owned by Buick and sometimes will appear at car shows around the United States. He used the GNX unique torque arm, which is mounted to a special, GNX only, rear differential cover, for more traction. The torque arm rear suspension changes the suspension geometry, making the Buick Grand National body lift when planting the rear tires down.