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Buick Grand National

18K views 48 replies 28 participants last post by  Nukedog 
#1 ·
A friend has a 1987 Buick grand national and swears it is just a fast as my srt. Made me laugh but I did some research (Musclecarclub.com) It puts out 245HP @4000 rpm, I know sounds dumb; but it will hit 60 in 5 s and the 1/4 mile in the low 13's. Which does not make alot of sense to me, is any one familiar with this car ?
 
#3 ·
Must agree...I have a friend who collects high-po GM cars (which is his problem not mine) and his 87 GN does high 10's in the 1/4 and it really did not take much modification.
 
#4 ·
well the Grand National in STOCK form made a crazy amount of torque, like 360ftlb.
it also weighs like 3300lbs i think, so power to weight is decent.
not sure about 0-60 or 1/4 times stock, but a lot say the power was underrated so you never know til you run it.
however, its less refined and probably louder so it may FEEL or SOUND faster.

RUN HIM!
now, if he is modified, it may not fare well for ya
 
#7 ·
I won't run him untill summer as he only takes it out in nice weather. Yes it will be friendly. Interesting a stock car from the 80's would be so fast. As far as I know it is still all stock, when it happens I'll be sure and post the results.
 
#8 ·
The Buick Grand National is pretty quick right from the factory. I think it would be an interesting race, so go for it. Stock vs. stock, it will probably be pretty close. It's easy to make the Grand National fast though. Check out these ETs from dragtimes.com:

Buick Grand National 1/4 Mile Drag Racing Timeslips - DragTimes.com

Buick should bring back the Grand National!
 
#10 ·
I've run a stock one and had no problem. The GNX might be a different story. I know some around here that aren't modified and can run high 12's(less of them all the time). An SRT will have no problem unless the GN is modified.
 
#13 ·
Like everyone else seems to state, a stock grand national shouldn't beat an srt, but by turning the boost up a couple pounds, it should. Intercooler upgrades, hard pipes, no backpressure exhaust systems...Like it was stated before, it doesn't take much to mod those things. Take it from a previous twin turbo owner..they can shock you.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Well I had one that I (stupidly!) traded at my local GM dealer for a GTP.... With raised boost a set of injectors and a cat-back (that lost power) I made a sliver over 385 RWHP, now.... that being said a stock car is under 280hp at the crank, but don't let it deceive you, GM rated that car all wrong (on purpose was the general thought!) and it pulled like a mid 300's car. I truthfully don't remember stock times but I had a struggle with breaking below 13.8's as I remember, 60mph came up in higher 5's with no boost load. Now after $800 in mods... a 1800rpm turbo load would put me at a 5 second 60mph pull... a 2000rpm load would put me up in smoke! So hard to get it right.... The car ran a 12.8 on slicks with a flat down turbo load soon as the tree lit up, I'll see what I can dig out for timeslips as I keep most of them. All that being said...

If your racing a stock car in an SRT you should have no worries even with a bad launch... the GN feels fast as the boost is savage and the 3.8's TQ is low before it comes in (so it kicks you in the pants!). If he has any mod's and know's how to drive then the story will change. If he's altered boost then you'd better get your foot into the rug and DON'T let off, off the line the GN with no Tq load will appear slow, when it gets into boost it's going to suprise you. Once my car was mod'd some of my best times on street tires were with slower 60 foots, the boost will do some damage. On a roll on race if he's mod'd, don't play around as if he's running from higher in the rev range he's going to pull you unless your in the 'sweet spot'.... get caught in the wrong gear and it could work out badly.

A driver will make or break any race, so get out there and make us proud.... I think you'll do just fine! ;)

EDIT... Look at the trap speeds! 12.853 @ 116.5 and 12.984 @ 118.76 I would have hoped for low 12's with traps like that but it wouldn't launch, but that's why I say she's quick on a roll.
 
#16 ·
Like has been stated, you will beat a GN, but a GNX could give you fits. How good are you at getting the most out of your SRT8?

Also - what elevation are you at? His turbo will not feel the affects like your N/A engine will, you lose 3% for every 1000(edit) feet above sea level whereas a turbo loses 1%.
 
#17 ·
Yeah I should be clear.... I had an '87 Grand National WE4 Turbo T... Not the later built GNX. Mine had 245hp stock and 355Lb/ft, I thik the GNX bumped up to 275hp and 360lb/ft or so factory...... I always wanted a GNX as they had a different interior to mine.... :(
 
#18 ·
The GNs were TITS cars btw, the GNX is one of those special cars that come along. They were really expensive when they came out, but I remember seeing a few run when they were pretty new and I think they went low 13s, some were modded and in the 12s.
 
#19 ·
Exactly. Man Eric,you're old buddy! The Jiffy lube cars. If you can(and I'm sure you do) remember,when they terminated they kept that engine. It showed up in the Cyclone and Typhoon. They were reported to be 0-60 in about 4.6. Quick indeed for what they were
 
#26 ·
Lol yeah, my dad first took me to the drags when I was about 13 so right around '88-'89 or so. The GMCs were there too. It's funny, this guy who has a condo in the same building as my wife's parents do down in Florida is a retired GM engineer and he was telling me about testing those musclecars back in the 80s when we were drinking beers in the hottub one afternoon. He had some great stories about how surprised everyone was that they were so fast.:biggrin:
 
#20 ·
those grand nationals were monsters for their day.. rare to find now and rarer to own but most guys who own them through a bigger turbo,do a tune and a mild cam and when they go your mouth will hit the floor. They are quick as snot but a stock with no mods, u should take with no worries. As stated before their hp was under rated for insurance purposes, small displacement v6=low insurance premiums. The gnx on the other hand..holy hanna that thing was a monstrosity for its day.
 
#21 ·
Yeah and I traded mine for $8000 on my GTP.... Young and dumb. Then I found out it was one of 1500 cars built in that year! The owners son kept it and frequently beat me at the track with my own car.. :( I think it's what spurred me to turn my GTP into a monster! He wrapped it around a tree a few years after and rumour has it he got $14k on insurance... :( so much for an 8 grand trade... eeek! Still everything happens for a reason and it did lead me to my 300c! :)
 
#22 ·
Your "Still waiting to have a Cam installed" 300. Tell the whole story. Geesh
 
#23 ·
I had an '87 T-Type which is a Grand National in a color. Mine was light blue. I ran a 9.78 at 138 back in 1994 at Englishtown. This car was scary fast once the Giant Single Turbo kicked in. I had a "Built" Buick Race Block 4.1 liter made by Kenney Duttweiler, Aluminum Big Valve Heads, 4" exhaust that exited just behind the Drivers side front tire, Turbo 400 w/Reverse shift and a Ford 9" w/35 sline axles and a spool. My car was in GMHTP Magazine. If I can find the article, I will post it...pretty funny. Stupidly, I had sold it to some guy from Iowa over the Internet back in 1999 for $30,000. The car was in mint condition and I wasn't using it at all after I had gotten married and had kids. Oh well...I wish I had that car back. Those cars are easily made fast but they are few and far apart. Be careful racing one as you may get your a** handed to you. :biggrin:
 
#28 ·
Yes, a stock Grand National would be very rare. Out of all the 1/4 mile run listings on dragtimes.com there were NO stock Grand Nationals, and the average 1/4 ET was in the neighborhood of 8 seconds. The slowest Grand National I've ever seen at the track was running low 11s, but it definitely was not stock.
 
#29 ·
the typhoon's and cyclone's were sweet rides as well...also rare to see. Youll see the trucks still running around every once ina while but the typhoon's are almost impossible to find. They were also very easily modded and stupid fast with transmission rear end upgrades and a bigger snail shell..
 
#30 ·
the typhoon's and cyclone's were sweet rides as well...also rare to see. Youll see the trucks still running around every once ina while but the typhoon's are almost impossible to find. They were also very easily modded and stupid fast with transmission rear end upgrades and a bigger snail shell..
i always liked those, twin turbo 6 cylinders.
i would still have one today, if i could find one.
 
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