quote:

Originally posted by Boss1:

quote:

Originally posted by wildheartedson0105:

Pretty cool car that weighs almost 4k pounds, with a V6!

That's how they were able to hand-push/muscle it up on the trailer... everything isn't a plastic covered facia.

$.02 worth
Boss

Boss, aint that the truth! I towed cars for several years, and had many cringe worthy moments
winching cars onto a flatbed.

Worse was slinging a car with a broken ball joint, or a wheel that came off (it happens!).
Rigging the sling and trying to place 2×4s between the sweet spots on the bumper cover
and subframes on a FWD car is nerve racking. Especially when the vehicle owner is watching.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by wildheartedson0105:

Pretty cool car that weighs almost 4k pounds, with a V6!

I would be surprised if they weighed almost 4000lbs since the safety standards and tech is what has made current cars so heavy

Definitely cool cars for the times but just shows how far cars have come. These where thought to have crazy power at the time and an average midsize sedan has more now. The did make some great torque because of the turbo for sure.

They are actually a bit over 3800 pounds, so I'm wrong. But, add the weight of the driver, and a tank of gas...

Impressive HP to weight ratio for a car of that weight, and only a V6.

Granted it is a turboed V6...

quote:

Originally posted by wildheartedson0105:

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by wildheartedson0105:

Pretty cool car that weighs almost 4k pounds, with a V6!

I would be surprised if they weighed almost 4000lbs since the safety standards and tech is what has made current cars so heavy

Definitely cool cars for the times but just shows how far cars have come. These where thought to have crazy power at the time and an average midsize sedan has more now. The did make some great torque because of the turbo for sure.

They are actually a bit over 3800 pounds, so I'm wrong. But, add the weight of the driver, and a tank of gas...

Impressive HP to weight ratio for a car of that weight, and only a V6.

Granted it is a turboed V6...

Still closer to 4000lbs than I would have guessed.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by wildheartedson0105:

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by wildheartedson0105:

Pretty cool car that weighs almost 4k pounds, with a V6!

I would be surprised if they weighed almost 4000lbs since the safety standards and tech is what has made current cars so heavy

Definitely cool cars for the times but just shows how far cars have come. These where thought to have crazy power at the time and an average midsize sedan has more now. The did make some great torque because of the turbo for sure.

They are actually a bit over 3800 pounds, so I'm wrong. But, add the weight of the driver, and a tank of gas...

Impressive HP to weight ratio for a car of that weight, and only a V6.

Granted it is a turboed V6...

Still closer to 4000lbs than I would have guessed.

They have a full steel frame. Cars from that era that weren't unibody were heavy. They weren't built to be fast cars originally so light weight wasn't a concern, they were built/designed to be mom's grocery getter (buick regal) so weight savings weren't a big concern in the original design.

Typical of GM's engineering prowess all the money went into the motor, which was then coupled with a very regular automatic transmission. One of the car magazines of the day noted that their tranny started weeping after only a handful of full power runs at the dragstrip.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by wildheartedson0105:

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by wildheartedson0105:

Pretty cool car that weighs almost 4k pounds, with a V6!

I would be surprised if they weighed almost 4000lbs since the safety standards and tech is what has made current cars so heavy

Definitely cool cars for the times but just shows how far cars have come. These where thought to have crazy power at the time and an average midsize sedan has more now. The did make some great torque because of the turbo for sure.

They are actually a bit over 3800 pounds, so I'm wrong. But, add the weight of the driver, and a tank of gas...

Impressive HP to weight ratio for a car of that weight, and only a V6.

Granted it is a turboed V6...

Still closer to 4000lbs than I would have guessed.

They have a full steel frame. Cars from that era that weren't unibody were heavy. They weren't built to be fast cars originally so light weight wasn't a concern, they were built/designed to be mom's grocery getter (buick regal) so weight savings weren't a big concern in the original design.

I checked a few GN performance websites and most show it under 3400lbs which to me sounds about right for that time frame. Safety standards, performance, big wheels/tires/brakes, emissions, options, leather, rigidity, have made cars super heavy over the years. I remember the fox body Mustang of the era was a couple hundred pounds lighter and it was like 3200lbs.

quote:

Originally posted by Boss1:

quote:

Originally posted by DaBigBR:
There are several ultra low miles GNs that have sold on Bring a Trailer:
https://bringatrailer.com/buick/grand-national/

I see:
106 miles @ $54k
924 miles @ $84k
200 miles @ $150k (reserve not met)
3,000 miles @ $83k
34 miles @ 50k (reserve not met)
500 miles @ $130k
27 miles @ $105k
8 miles at $200k

Those cars by and large were all cleaned up for sale. I didn't dig into the auctions to see conditions and options that might impact values.

27 Miles? 34 Miles? What'd they do, drive it home and put it in the garage for 30+ years? Ugh, I may not have 'drove it like I stole it,' but I couldn't NOT drive it on nice sunny weekends.

In any event, the wash/detail came out pretty nice. They really had to 'thread the needle' down that alleyway getting it out.

$.02 Worth,
Boss

quote:

Originally posted by FishOn:
Wow! Mullets with dough.

Hey, I don't disagree. There are some crazy things on BaT. I pretty routinely see extremely low mileage cars that are much less interesting than a GN.

Here's a 1987 Corolla with 13k Miles:
https://bringatrailer.com/list...87-toyota-corolla-4/

A 2,800 mile 1985 Ford Ranger:
https://bringatrailer.com/list...-ford-ranger-xl-4x4/

1,500 mile 1990 F350
https://bringatrailer.com/list...ord-f350-xlt-lariat/

1996 4Runner with 5k miles:
https://bringatrailer.com/list...96-toyota-4runner-9/

1994 Geo Tracker with 38k:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1994-geo-tracker/

Some of my favorite cars to find on there are extremely well preserved cars that have no real significance. Who buys a Ford Ranger in 1985 and puts 2,800 miles on it in 35 years?

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
I respect this for what it is, but man, seeing that reminds me how bad 1980s American cars were.

The Grand National is a true sleeper. So many people got owned lining up next to one thinking it was an 80s piece of crap only to see its taillights in less than 10 seconds.

Yep. Got torque?



My first car was a 1964 Le Sabre coupe.

Since, I have owned 6 others, and still have 2. I drive them every chance I get.

DaBigBR, if you look closely at the listing for the 85 Ranger, in the specs/things included section
it comes with a flip phone!

Cool vid, sigmonkey! Occasionally, I like to go on utube and watch nothing but Grand National videos.
Drag runs, parking lot burnouts, even dyno runs. Love the sound of the heavily modded ones spooling up.

I have a 87 GN with 25K miles...the car is great and I always get comments from folks. My wife doesn't understand what people like about it. Always makes me laugh. They have a following for sure.

Bought one new in 1987, about 60 cars from the last one built. I've got about 106,000 miles on it now and I've been doing repairs/fixes needed to keep it in good running shape. Could use a fresh paint job but I don't know where to go for one, and I don't need a show class paint job as I love driving it and don't want t worry about stone chips and such. Still gets attention on the road. Still love it.

^^Pix or it didn't happen

Boss

Timely post! I live in a gated community and I see one of these often. Was behind it a few days ago coming through the gates and it had a very strong and healthy exhaust note.
Looked at the driver and it was a little white hair old lady driving with papaw sitting beside here.

quote:

Originally posted by Mustang-PaPa:
Timely post! I live in a gated community and I see one of these often. Was behind it a few days ago coming through the gates and it had a very strong and healthy exhaust note.
Looked at the driver and it was a little white hair old lady driving with papaw sitting beside here.

You need to talk to them. Maybe they don't have any kids to leave it to.

^^^^^^ Good idea!

quote:

Originally posted by Seayall:
I have a 87 GN with 25K miles...the car is great and I always get comments from folks. My wife doesn't understand what people like about it. Always makes me laugh. They have a following for sure.

I became a fan when my aunt's new husband, driving away from their wedding, did a brake lock burnout when they left the church.

Short, aggressive limo for them!