Buicks

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 3:52 pm

I am not sure if this will interest many, or any, of you.

I bought a 1970 Buick GS455 convertible back in 1986, and joined the Buick GS Club of America. Back in those days, everything was done by post or phone call. I got a lot of help from the GSCA for the GS and in 1990 bought a 1987 Buick Grand National.

In 1990 I also went to my first Buick GS Nationals at Bowling Green, Kentucky.

I missed 1992 due to a divorce, but went every year from 1990-91, then 1993 to 2001.

I was lucky enough to make friends with a guy called Tom Chou from Kokomo Indiana. I had posted on the Buick GNT-type forum that I was coming over to the 96 Nats and could anyone loan me a turbo Buick for the week. Tom emailed me back and said no, but he could loan me a 1979 Pontiac TransAm with the Buick 3.8SFI turbo V6 in it.

I took this car to two subsequent GS Nats and raced it hard there. It was a good car, if a bit stiff, and getting out of these old Third Gen F-bodies involved something akin to an inelegant paratrooper roll. The car went very well, low 13s with just a chip in it and nothing else. This particluar car caused some excitement at the Buick Nats, where, despite being a Pontiac, it was welcomed because it was Buick powered. Only 50 or so of the 1800 or so 1989 TTA's (Turbo TransAms) came with cloth interiors, all the rest had leather. Tom's car, and he had another the same, was bought from a GM employee who had bought the car at an employees discount after the 1989 Indy 500 where the TTA was the pace car. The cloth interior cars were used as courtesy cars by GM during the Indy speed week and also given to some of the Indy 500 drivers. After the race, GM sold them to employees.

Tom worked for AC Dleco doing engine management and he started a company called Thrasher Engineering. As I spent quite a bit of time over in indiana, I helped him as much as I could, doing some driving, some testing and designing and building some stuff he did when he moved away from the older turbo Buick V6's to the later supercharged V6's.

I had a great time fiddling with Buicks and racing at Bowling Green with the TTA and the subsequent 87 Regal that I bought.

Just in case anyone is interested, here are some photos of the times I had at BG, plus, maybe, lots of photos of turbo Buicks, showing that they weren't just all black GN's.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:01 pm

Some more, hopefully the picture headings are self explantory.

We used to travel down for Kokomo with Bob Ross and his 87 Regal T and Brad and Shelley McLellan in Brad's 87 Grand National which was numberplated '2awsum2'. Shelley also had an 87 GN that she bought new when she was originally dating Brad. It was registered '1awsum1'

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:08 pm

The 86 WH1 Regal was Tom's original development car (the WH1 refers to the paint scheme code, black over grey over black) but he had a 1986 GN that he built as a race car. As he worked for GM he was out at their testtrack in Phoenix a lot and built the car there, he then drove it back to Kokomo for us to take racing.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way too much boost and not enough octane toasted a cylinder.

Never ones to say die, we took it to Bowling Green and raced it, but it was like a crop duster, so we pulled a cylinder head off (on the turbo V6's, you can pull the head and leave the inlet manifold on), and pulled a piston. The piston looked like it had been shot blasted and the head and valves were covered in aluminium.

We went back in to Bowling Green town and went to an Autozone and ordered one 3.8 piston, plus one set of rings. Autozne couriered in the piston over night and broke a set of rings to give us the three we needed, and we fitted it all back together and raced the car some more.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:12 pm

While we were in BG we used to stay at the Motel 6 where most of the Canadians came down to stay at. They were keen on their Buicks and drove a fair way to race their cars.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:30 pm

As I mentioned in my post regarding Steve's GN for sale, while the GN's have the 'mystique' in many ways the plain, multi coloured Regals and Regal Limiteds were more interesting cars.

There were variety of colours offered, and a variety of interior trims, both bucket and bench seat in cloth material.

The Limiteds could also have leather bench seat with what they called a three quarter console in tan or grey leather.

Plus, quarter vinyl roofs were also available.

And four versions of two tone paint jobs.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:44 pm

Here are some photos of the two tone cars.

The first is an 86 WH1 car.

Then three of the four 87 two tone schemes. I have picture of the one two tone brown car I have ever seen (but can't lay my hands on it for now), and included here is the only two tone red car I have ever seen.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:46 pm

The buick folk were nothing if not inventive and stuck the 3.8SFI turbo engines into quite a few different cars ....

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:47 pm

Transplants 2

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:49 pm

Trans plants 3

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:52 pm

Getting usable Buick GM A-bodies from the sixties was proving difficult for a while (and presumably still is) so folk started dropping 400/430/455s into late model regals, and even late model TransAms where it dropped in to the stock mounts, and even allowed you to use the air con.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:55 pm

This is the only green turbo Regal Limited, with green interior and green quarter vinly roof.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 4:58 pm

And this is the car I covetted more than any other Buick I ever saw, and have ever seen.

1987 Buick Regal Limited, chestnut with tan leather interior and sunroof.

I missed buying this car by three days.

It was superb and gorgeous in every single way.

Adam · Post by **Adam** » Sat Jun 06, 09 5:03 pm

Great stuff Sandy

I've always liked these cars.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jun 06, 09 5:10 pm

The old car.

bananaskin · Post by **bananaskin** » Sat Jun 06, 09 5:14 pm

Great write up and pictures