Uncles 87 Grand National

[Hydrant]

This was from a write up about him on a Turbo Buick site.


"I would hazard a guess that there are not many original owner Grand Nationals (or Turbo T/ T-Types) around 20+ years after they were new. And probably fewer still that are driven the way Buick intended them to be. That, to me, makes Mike’s car that much more special. I asked him home he got into Buicks and this is his story. “I was originally a Chevy guy. I bought a LS-6 Chevelle new in 1970 and raced it every week in 71 before I got married in 72. It ran low 12's and I won a lot of races in 71.” (Isn’t this how Red got started?!?) “After I got married we sold the Chevelle. In 1987 a friend at work took me a ride in his T-Type and that started the fire again for performance. I worked in engineering for GM and drove company cars so I immediately entered a request for a GN to drive as my company car. There were some screw ups in the order system and I almost missed out but I got one of the last ones built in Oct 87. It was one of five GN's that were going to Harrison Radiator Div. in Lockport, NY but had not been assigned. I drove the car until March 88 and then bought it at a very good price. My wife and I agreed that the LS-6 Chevelle had gotten away from us but we would keep the GN and I've been a Buick guy ever since.”

“I didn't take the GN to the track until I think 91 where I met , AKA ‘XCESSIV’” (another original GN owner I believe, who also ran THS in Columbus in 2009), “and a group of Turbo Buick guys at TriState (Dragway in Hamilton, Ohio). I took it to the track in 92 and ran a 13.90 with a Kenny-Bell chip. I've been running it ever since. I was running mid 12's still stock when I blew a head gasket in 96. I then upgraded with Champion heads, a 210-205 cam, and a TE-44 turbo with blue tops and ran this until 2005 when an intake runner cracked at BG spraying water into the # 3 bore leaving a hair line crack. The best I ran with this combo was 11.08 @ 123. I then talked to my very good friend Lee Thompson about helping me build a new combination with the goal of mid 10s.”

“Here is my current combination.

Motor - NA 109 bored to 3.820 with a Weber 3.55" stroker rotating assembly, internal balanced and a girdle installed. The rods and mains have .0015 max clearance. The cam is a 218-224 billet hydraulic roller. The Champion iron heads have T&D 1.5 roller rockers installed. The injectors are 60 lb Motechs and I have a dual M 10 nozzle Razor alky system. The turbo is a Limit TE-45a with a stock location Mark Jackson 20 row intercooler for the stock look. I use the stock computer with a TurboTweak chip.
Transmission - 200 4-R set up to shift at 6000 rpm with Alto Red clutches and intermediate band, with billet servo, input shaft, forward drum & overdrive carrier. The converter is a Precision 5 disc with a 0 pump.
Rear end - Stock with Mosier axles, air bags and HR Parts lower arms.
Front suspension - 90/10s with the sway bar removed.
Exhaust - stock headers with a 3" TH down pipe and an Applied Technologies 2 1/2" dual exhaust.
Tires - M/T 9.0/15-28 ET drags with stock fronts all on Convo Pros.
The car weighs 3750 with me and 1/2 tank of gas and has 39,000 miles.
Best ET 10.54 Best MPH 128.5 @ 25 lbs - still tuning.”


Still has the A/C hooked up, and blows as cold as it did in 87, radio with power antenna, completely stock interior, stock drive shaft, stock rear end gearing.



“The below picture of Mike and his car was taken in Norwalk, Ohio in 2009 on its way to a 10.57 ET.”

[Captain Morgan]

very nice, but I'd rather see it in street trim and running 11's or 12's. What's the point of having a GN if you aren't going to drive it on the street?

[Adeptus_Minor]

Originally Posted by Captain Morgan

very nice, but I'd rather see it in street trim and running 11's or 12's. What's the point of having a GN if you aren't going to drive it on the street?

I've had friends with GN's who track them quite a bit, but I tend to agree with you.
They're great street cars, more than capable of laying down the whoop-ass when needed.

[Hydrant]

The car is very much streetable. If he's going to a track close to home, he'll just put on the DOT ET street/slicks and a air jug and drive it to the track with the A/C blasting, or just throw slicks in the back. Get to the track air the tires down, run a mid to high 11 all day long, air the tires up and drive home. Nothing on the car has been removed, and everything works perfectly. He is starting to trailer it to events out of town, due to the fact he's 65 yrs old, and doesn't feel like loading the car down to go to the track when you can just throw all the tools and junk in the Tahoe.

He doesn't really have it set up for twisties. With the suspension in those cars, and not a lot of aftermarket stuff out there, its tough to have it both ways. You can have the best of both worlds, but tough to get your best results for either. He likes drag racing, been doing it since the early 70's when he had a 70 Chevelle SS LS-6 454.

Originally Posted by Captain Morgan

very nice, but I'd rather see it in street trim and running 11's or 12's. What's the point of having a GN if you aren't going to drive it on the street?

[Homeslice]

Awesome. Still the best GM ever made, along with C5&6 Vettes.

[Riceaholic]

GN's have always been my favorite...

[Captain Morgan]

Originally Posted by Hydrant

The car is very much streetable. If he's going to a track close to home, he'll just put on the DOT ET street/slicks and a air jug and drive it to the track with the A/C blasting, or just throw slicks in the back. Get to the track air the tires down, run a mid to high 11 all day long, air the tires up and drive home. Nothing on the car has been removed, and everything works perfectly. He is starting to trailer it to events out of town, due to the fact he's 65 yrs old, and doesn't feel like loading the car down to go to the track when you can just throw all the tools and junk in the Tahoe.

He doesn't really have it set up for twisties. With the suspension in those cars, and not a lot of aftermarket stuff out there, its tough to have it both ways. You can have the best of both worlds, but tough to get your best results for either. He likes drag racing, been doing it since the early 70's when he had a 70 Chevelle SS LS-6 454.

Ok, this makes sense. Glad to hear it. And I wouldn't expect it to be set up for twisties. I like the way he's using it.

[Dave]

just once i want to see one with a six speed

[Speedracer42]

I would bet money Ive seen that car race. From '90-'97 I raced Kil-Kare, Tri State, Norwalk and many others. And a whole bunch of city streets in between. GN's and T Types are super popular back there. And Im sure he has been to the Buick Nats with that car too

[Cutty72]

I was at a drag a few years back where a 70ish y/o guy was dragging a GN. He also trailered it to the track, but his tow rig was... ANOTHER GN!!
Old guy loved his Buicks.