Mean87SS

iTrader: (21)

My do fine... but I wouldnt daily it.

ErikElvis

iTrader: (1)

I think the turbo sounds more like a souped up air powered nail gun that quickly loses steam after huckin a few rounds out. But hey if it doesnt hurt it its all good.

My dads car has the original dukes of hazzard style wheels. I like em. And I always try to get him to lower it just an inch. But he's not having it. I need to get that car.

Oh and what do you guys do about the electric brake set-up? My dad randomly loses pressure in the brakes. Could be bad... Is there conversions?

ErikElvis

iTrader: (1)

Oh and as a bonus you dont get the rearend issues of the 10 bolt......Buuut you gotta worry about the tranny.

Mean87SS

iTrader: (21)

People do use vacumm brakes as a conversion.

The accumulater ***** go bad on the Powermasters.


BTW, the rear IS a ten bolt... but its a 8.5"

sidewayz28

iTrader: (24)

if you had the option of trading straight across for that GN and you didn't... youd deserve to get slapped in the face. Unlike your SS which is FALLING in price, that GN is rising.

flintwrench69

iTrader: (11)

So do you know if that 8.5 will fit in our 10 bolts?

Mean87SS

iTrader: (21)

Will not.

its turbo time

iTrader: (3)

like a couple other guys on here i've had both and thought i'd add my two cents. btw still driving TA

I think all around performance goes to the f-body for sure (braking handling similar power). But there is just something about the GN that just sucks you in and makes you feel like a criminal for driving one. The car is so classy yet soo bad ***. Every where i went people's jaws would drop, and mine wasn't even that clean. I remember pulling up next to an SS at a stoplight and the guy saying "get that thing away from me! i know what that is!" Also whoever said the interior look cheap is smokin meth. Mine got complimented by everyone that rode in it. pictures of them don't really do them justice either cuz their cloth. Super easy to get in and out of too. The backseat "work bench" is huge too. Something i miss as well. I still have dreams about driving that car.

However, when it comes to daily driveablility the f-bod is a better candidate, better mileage, more reliable, less likely to get stolen(what happened to mine) less of a collectors item. etc

its turbo time

iTrader: (3)

ideally i think a well taken care of hot air GN 84-85 would make a decent DD, and then have an ICed GN 86-87 as your weekend warrior. I actually know a guy who does this and loves it.

ls1psycho

iTrader: (7)

i have both(gn and camaro) as well as two mustangs and a 65 shelby cobra.



the gn is by far one of the most amazing cars i have owned to date. the car gets unbelievable respect. you should see the look on some of these guys faces when i blow their big block chevelle/camaro away on the street. they can't believe it. the car is simply amazing when it comes to perfomance.


now,on to the bad....the car is insanely expensive. no comparison to the f-body. i have probably 30-35k into the car(with purchase.) to be honest i am actually scared to look at the receipts.lol.

406malibu

yup, got a 8.5 ten bolt under the malibu. got it out of a totaled GN, and those ten bolts will take just about what ever ya throw at them. Got a friend with one and he's cuttin 1.4 or 1.3 60's off the transbrake and pulling out 6.0's in the 1/8th with a 8.5 ten bolt.

Grand National 5-0

I dont know what your spending your money on but i dont think the GN is any better or worse than any other car when it comes to modifying it. I dont think that the performance parts for the TR are any more expensive than ones for the camaro...whats a supercharging kit cost for a fbody? $6,249.99 is what i found for the D1SC. For that much you can get a good sized turbo, intercooler, Alchohol, Down pipe upgrade and all the supporting mods for the fuel system, including Injectors, fuel pressure regulator, 340 walbro, and hotwire kit. You might even be able to get a stall too. Just saying that they arent all that bad comparitively.

Teakwo23

GNs are badass.

allbaugh_04

iTrader: (6)

Wow, i love a grand national and it sounds like you could take care of it since it's not a daily. I say if you can keep it garaged and drive it on the weekends, by all means go for it, it looks killer in those pics. wow, i just love a grand national, something about them....

All i would do to change it's looks, would be to widen the rear wheels and put some big meats on the back...

ls1psycho

iTrader: (7)

dude,i'm not talking about a mid ten second car here. i am talking about low,low 9's on a stock block car built by dan strezo. the best in the business. my car has the best of everything.


lets put it this way. lets say he does go through with this and decides hes going to mod it. hes going to have 15-18k just in the car before he ever puts a dollar into it. its not going to take long to make it add up to the dollar amount i am talking about. engine, built trans, turbo/intercooler mods, fuel system mods, not to mention your only going so far with the stock computer(those gn computers are a far stretch from an lsx computer w/hp tuners) and the list keeps going and going.

also,gns love to flex. i know guys that are going mid nines in f-bodys with no cage. not going to happen in a gn. you will be shopping for a body man three passes into it.

WS6 MIAMI

iTrader: (2)

I have both a 87 GN modded and a 2001 WS6. I had a 2001 SS which I sold last year. If I had to have 1 toy it would be the GN. If i were to have an every day car it would be the SS/WS6. The GN was always needing something and there is a high theft rate. I was always concerned when I took the GN out that it would be stolen. I am at ease when I drive the WS6 because I have cofidence that it wont break down. I understand that it will be a toy so go with the GN. You can find low mile GN's in this market for less than 15k with super low miles. I would look for a GN with less than 40k on the clock. They are there so be pacient. Be careful also as these cars only have a 5 diget odometer, hence they roll over and people re-paint and put new interior in. They then sell the car as a low mile car and get the bigger $$$$. BE CAREFUL..The GN alway got respect on the street. The F body not as much so!

3.8SFITURBO

iTrader: (10)

Ok well for an example my 87' when I bought it it was bone stock... This is what I have done since then and the approx. power gains very by the setup you are running (how hard you push the car is how much you can get from your mods)
I opened the car up with a 3.5" aluminum intake pipe of the turbo to a 4" intake pipe to a 9" K&N open filter. This replaces the old stock hose duct and restrictive air box. The results for this mod are HUGE ona stock to a 10 sec. car as it feeds the turbo (any size) to spool and breath much faster and better. I would say it is worth a good 20-30HP gain depneding on your setup. When I did my intake I went with a 3.5 LS1 MAF sensor and translator box the allows for self tunning. This all feeds my PTE GT32 turbo I have set for 18/19 PSI that is the next step up above stock. You can run this turbo with a mild stock application but the turbo is good deep into the 11's. The stock turbo is no joke as guys have had a stock turbo into the high 11's with upping the boost via an adjustable wastegate (twist rod) also with supporting mods. The stock intercooler is a good one but room for improvement is always better, The neck on the stocker is a bit restrictive and is only a 10 row cooler. I upgarded to a stock location 17 row stretch with a dut. neck on it. It flows much better and can handle more boost. Some people like to run a front mount, each have pros and cons to them but I like the stock hidden look better. From the turbo I run a 3" down pipe with a test pipe/cutout (no cat) to a hooker exhaust. The downpipe back (full exhaust) swap is another huge part of making big power gains even on a bone stock car. Next most important or what is even the MOST important is the FUEL even on a bone stock car. Upgarding to a Walbro 340 pump with a hotwire kit is a must do. The stock pump is OK but is hardley strong enough for a stock car I would never trust a stock pump. The hotwire kit helps boost the volts to the pump to keep her pushing strong. From that an adjustable fuel pressure regulator is a good idea if you are going to do even the lightest bit of self tuning or upgrading injectors. I set mine at 38LBS of fuel higher then stock. I also swaped out fuel injectors to larger 42LB injectors. When doing that you MUST change the computer chip. I have had three chips in the car since I have owned it the last one being the one for the MAF translator to support it but also the injectors etc.. and other small tweaks. A chip upgarde even on a stock car will help it run much better and give you some power gains. Once you do any upgrades you must have a scan tool, several are on the market but the good old scanmaster seems to be the best one. It connects to the ECM and lets you know everything thats going on and is a must if you self tune. Cooling is also a big plus to helping the car run better and reduce heat under the hood. You can get away with just doing a cooler thermostat but I like the idea of upgarding the stock single fan to a double. I got a ramchargers dual fan setup that is plug and play with an adaptor from Caspers. As far as the trannie you will pay at least $1,500 for a decent rebuild and up to $3K for a tough build. These are 200R4's in the turbo Buick so if you find a car with a good solid trannie and you don't beat the **** out of it all the time it should last you. You can upgrade to a higher stall 2,800 to 3,500 seems to be most popular. It's a must when you talk bigger turbos to spool them. A stocker or mild upgarde will still work just fine with the D5 but a 2,800 will help wake them up even more also. And going to a 9" converter from the stock 12" size helps out to. The stock 8.5 rear G80 (posi) (3:42 gears) is GREAT many 9 second cars run that rear stock as the day it was put in with the exception of swaping axels out. For any 11 second or stock car that rear is fine and will give you no problem at all. Now if only the 4th gen FBodys got that rear they would have been just fine! many other GBody owners swap out their 7.5 rears for the GN 8.5 because it is such a tough awesome rear so no worrys... The 442s Cutlass GBody also had the 8.5 rear. Now I can go on and on with the internals and suspension but I won't these are just the good basic stock to mild upgrades that most turbo buick owners do. As far as cost it has been a few years since I bough all this stuff but as I can figure in my head.....

-3.5" / 4" Hard intake pipe basic aluminum with 9" K&N $250
-MAF translator & MAF sensor $280
-Chip set for any application $100
-3" Downpipe with test $400 (good ones, you can get cheep china pipes for less but you pay for what you get)
-Cat back Hooker exhaust $260
-Walbro 340 Pump, adj. FP reg & Hotwire kit $280
-Adjustable wastegate for stock turbo $100
-Scanmaster $250 (MUST HAVE)
Total - Approx. $2,000 worth of upgrades and with some good rubber can get you into the high 11's.
Off the top of my head this would be a rough basic upgrade list for a stock TB, I'm sure I might be missing a small thing or two but this is the basics.

A second more "mild" build up with out opening the motor would include all of the above with the addition of
-Fuel injectors 38#, 42's,50's,60's etc... you can get good deals on them used I paid $250 for my 42.5's so say between $200-$400 depends on size
-Intercooler $800's for a FM $700's for a SL, I got my SLIC for $500 used
-Turbo upgarde a step or two up from stock (TA49, GT32 etc.. good for 11's and 500+HP) I have $900 in mine new you can get them for less used.

So another $2,100 *rough* for those upgrades.... Hope this all helped!!!

Martin HD-28

iTrader: (16)

Everybodies talking about the fact that the GN's are going up in value and the SS's are going down. Are you planning on selling the car? If so, get the GN. But if you want the better All Around Car, get the SS. How is this even debatable?

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

my ss does that, (auto) all the way up to about 50mph actually and on a 275 tire as opposed to what size does the GN run?? to the OP that is a fine example of a beautiful car that i would be proud to own and drive. it has a kind of character that a camaro doesn't have but its not for everyone. it would be a blast to drive for sure but i would like it if it was a corner carver too. so whats your decision?

AiDRocks

iTrader: (13)

GN hands down!