1987 Buick Grand National with T-tops

Description

1987 Buick Grand National with T-tops

The epitome of 1980s American performance cars has arrived at MotoeXotica Classic Cars. It went faster than a Corvette in a straight line and has attracted legions of followers since it debuted. We are proud to present this extremely clean 1987 Buick Grand National with T-tops, the final model year for Buick’s G-body. It remains one of the most sought-after American classic cars, particularly by Gen-Xers much like the previous owner, who is a Grand National enthusiast who cared for this car for the past five years and recently upgraded the block to a 4.1L and tuned the car for higher boost with upgraded injectors and runs on E85 fuel.

Made in General Motor’s factory in Pontiac, Michigan, this is one of 20,193 Grand Nationals made in 1987. Dressed in correct black (code 19), the car’s paint and blacked-out trim are in overall excellent order. The bodywork is solid and straight, the engine bay is extremely tidy and the T-top panels and bumpers look excellent.

This Grand National rolls on radial tires, 205/60R15 in front and 275/55R16 in rear. Each tire surrounds the correct black basketweave factory wheels. The tires and wheels are in very good order.

Buick partnered with Bosch to create the sequential fuel injection (SFI) used on the turbocharged and intercooled version of Buick’s venerable 231 CID V-6 engine. The SFI precisely timed and metered the amount of fuel directly into the engine’s cylinders. The intercooler the pressurized air charge from the turbocharger to the engine. The turbocharger increased power output by 122 percent over that of the non-aspirated 231 engine. Backing up this blown six is a Turbo Hydramatic 200-4R four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive and a 3.42:1 rear end. Driver convenience features include air-conditioning, power steering, power brakes, power windows and power locks. Note: this GN has been calibrated to run on E85 fuel.

Inside, car’s original but very clean two-tone medium and dark gray interior has held up well over the past 30 years. The car is fitted with a roll bar from the Body Shop Technology. The front bucket seats are in great condition, as is the carpeting. The factory three-spoke steering wheel is present, the instrument panel, with its ribbon-style speedometer, is in very good condition, as are the inner door panels. The center console looks great, with ancillary boost and oil pressure gauges mounted near the driver’s right knee. Completing the interior is a Pioneer AM/FM stereo with a CD player but the tachometer and the A/C blower are inoperable.

A major facelift for 1981 gave the Regal a much more aerodynamic profile, helping make it possible for the car to compete on the NASCAR racing circuit. The sloping hood and nose made it the favorite of several NASCAR teams. Richard Petty drove one to victory in the 1981 Daytona 500 and the car won a majority of the 1981 and 1982 seasons races and won the NASCAR manufacturers title in 1981 and 1982.

In February 1982, the Regal Grand National debuted, which was named for the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National Series (the “Grand National” term was part of the Cup series nomenclature until 1986). Buick won the Manufacturers Cup in 1981 and 1982 and was eager to capitalize on its success: “What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday.” These ‘82 cars were not painted black, which may confuse those unfamiliar with them.

Originally intended for a run of 100 units, Cars and Concepts of Brighton, Michigan, retrofitted 215 Regals with the GN package. Most obvious was the Light Silver Gray Firemist paint added to each side. Red pinstripes and billboard shadow lettering proclaiming “Buick” were applied. The wheel opening moldings and rocker panel moldings were blacked out using black vinyl tape. Finally, a front air dam and rear spoiler were installed. On the inside, special “Lear-Siegler” seats were installed. These seats are fully adjustable and were covered with silver Brandon cloth with black vinyl inserts. The front seat had Buick’s “6” emblem embroidered onto them. Also, a special clock delete plate was added to the instrument panel, which contained the yellow and orange “6” logo and the words “Grand National Buick Motor Division.”) There was no 1983 Grand National.

For 1984, the Grand National returned in all black paint. The turbocharged 231 CID V-6 became standard and was refined with sequential fuel injection, distributor-less, computer-controlled ignition, and boasted 200 hp at 4,400 rpm and 300 lbs⋅ft of torque at 2,400 rpm. Only 5,204 turbo Regals were produced that year, only 2,000 of which were Grand Nationals. Because this was the first-year production of the computer controlled sequential fuel injection and distributor-less ignition, this is often considered the year and model that started the development of the legendary intercooled Grand Nationals. The performance of this package was well ahead of its time and the “little V-6” easily kept up with the bigger V-8s. Quarter-mile performance was listed at 15.9 seconds at stock boost levels of 10 psi, while for the same year, the Chevrolet Camaro was listed at 17.0 and the Chevrolet Corvette at 15.2 seconds.

Soon, performance enthusiasts determined the modifications that worked and the Grand Nationals easily broke into the 13-second territory. All Grand Nationals had the Lear Siegler-made cloth/leather interior which was only available for this year. An estimated 200 of the 1984 Grand Nationals were produced with the T-Top option which makes these the rarest of the Grand Nationals.

Competition to this Buick in 1987 included Chevrolet’s Camaro Z-28 and Corvette, Ford’s Mustang GT, Mercury’s Capri RS, Nissan’s 300ZX Turbo, Pontiac’s Trans Am and Toyota’s Celica Supra.

While it’s not as rare as other turbocharged Buick models, if you’ve coveted the Grand National since you were in high school or college, you owe it to yourself to drop by MotoeXotica Classic Cars and check this one out for yourself before someone else does and takes it home.

VIN: 1G4GJ1176HP441613

This car is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 35,450 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, mileage exempt title. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!

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