If I owned the car I drove last night, I'd be in a lot of trouble

[rwsmith]

Well, I took my......

...old Dodge van out today and got my blood a percolatin'.

 

[jaykellogg]

I pulled a 200 4R out of my Cadillac when I put in a 425 with 400 turbo. I was advised the 200 4R was a good streetrod transmission and I kept it for a while, but others convinced me the 700R4 is a much better transmission to start with and the only downside is it is heavier.

The 200 4R used in the GN is a "special beast"

 

[jag312]

There were two milestones in my life of which I have particularly fond memories; the first time I was "with a girl" and the first time I drove a Ferrari. I hate to say it, but I think the Ferrari put a bigger smile on my face.

 

[CW Spook]

I've got a few of those kind of things committed to my lifelong memory; a 1956 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, a '64 XKE Roadster, and a full-race Triumph TR-4.

 

[Abbynormal]

Drove a buddy's 85 or 86' GN back in the day. I was doing 65 or 70 when he told me to floor it. That was the first time I ever had both rears break traction at that speed in a straight line!

 

[timn8er]

About 1974 I think, I was working at a Ford dealership in Texas. I was a make ready mechanic assistant. I was helping this older tech, & he was showing me the ropes. Back then, if Ford had anything to do with it, you could lease it. This meant any passenger car, RV, and even Panteras. Up to this point the hottest car I had a chance to drive was a Boss 302 Maverick, with a special close ratio four speed. That thing screamed! One day the tech gave me the lot number of our next vehicle, & I went looking for it. Imagine my surprise when I matched numbers with a brand new DeTomaso Pantera! It was a horrible lime green dayglo color, but you could still appreciate the beautiful lines of the bodywork. I pulled it into the stall & we checked it out. SOP was to put it on the Sun machine(anybody remember those?)check it over & then drive it to make sure there weren't any drivability issues. After the tech looked it over he told me to put it back on the lot. I asked him "Aren't we going to drive it & you know, check it for wind leaks?" He said " I don't want to drive that slingshot!" Then he smirked & said "You want to drive it?" I guess the look on my face was enough, because then he told me "Wait till you get off of the lot before you smoke the tires!" I was in gear head heaven! I broke so many laws in that half hour jaunt that if I had got caught I'd probably just now be getting out of jail. I still want a Pantera, just not in lime green dayglo!

 

[mr.jbk79]

Back in the 90's, a friend had a '87 T-type. That was a sleeper, and would set you back in the seats when that turbo came alive. He did a few things to it to get it in the high 13s in the 1/4. I do remember stress cracks forming in the body above the b pillar near the roofline from flex/twisting from hard launches.

 

[Road Rat]

The Buick Grand National Turbo was one of the baddest of the bad in its day!!!!!!!

Glad you got to play with it!!!

 

[RonJ]

I have a 2003 Merc Sable. It starts good.

 

[S&WForty]

Last speeding ticket I got was driving my brothers 87 Grand National....

BTW: He also owns the 1989 Indy 500 Pace Car Turbo Firebird Trans Am. And that has less than 1000 miles on it.

They are so deceptively quick. I rode in a friend's TTA years ago. At the time it was the quickest car I had ridden in. 110 mph came up extremely fast. Pontiac was wise to put the 1LE brakes on them.

If I didn't have my Trans Am GTA, I'd seek out a TTA. It's Flame Red, but everyone's first question is always, "Is that the turbo model???" Nope, they were all white, and contrary to popular belief, those were Trans Ams. They were not "Turbo GTAs."

 

[Duster340]

The Buick Grand National Turbo was one of the baddest of the bad in its day!!!!!!!

Yep...They were spanking the then new Vettes & Mustangs. Us old school V-8 guys kinda laughed when we heard about the "new V-6 GN's". But quickly learned to respect their performance. Very neat cars that have become quite collectable.

 

[charlie sherrill]

And...how old is this lovely lady?

 

[BillyMagg]

About 1974 I think, I was working at a Ford dealership in Texas. I was a make ready mechanic assistant. I was helping this older tech, & he was showing me the ropes. Back then, if Ford had anything to do with it, you could lease it. This meant any passenger car, RV, and even Panteras. Up to this point the hottest car I had a chance to drive was a Boss 302 Maverick, with a special close ratio four speed. That thing screamed! One day the tech gave me the lot number of our next vehicle, & I went looking for it. Imagine my surprise when I matched numbers with a brand new DeTomaso Pantera! It was a horrible lime green dayglo color, but you could still appreciate the beautiful lines of the bodywork. I pulled it into the stall & we checked it out. SOP was to put it on the Sun machine(anybody remember those?)check it over & then drive it to make sure there weren't any drivability issues. After the tech looked it over he told me to put it back on the lot. I asked him "Aren't we going to drive it & you know, check it for wind leaks?" He said " I don't want to drive that slingshot!" Then he smirked & said "You want to drive it?" I guess the look on my face was enough, because then he told me "Wait till you get off of the lot before you smoke the tires!" I was in gear head heaven! I broke so many laws in that half hour jaunt that if I had got caught I'd probably just now be getting out of jail. I still want a Pantera, just not in lime green dayglo!

There was an add in Road and Track where you could lease/own a new Pantera for about 215.00 a month, if I hadn't been so po, I would have done that in a heartbeat. Now I just have an 01 GSXR=1000, the electronic limiter is factory set on all new US certified super-bikes at 186mph or 312kph, it is fun, gets 45mpg and and is an absolute *****-cat to ride, but airplanes are way better, I mean really.

When I was in College my Dad started a flying club with a beautifull Cessna 172, it wasn't fast, but it was so cool. When I worked at Klem's, one of our customers was flying a Mitsubishi Mu-2, the long one, and I would give him a hot cart start, as he flew well over 1000 miles every evening, I went with him on some of his last trips before he was killed at Midway in Chicago. It was so cool to run through the check list and push that little yellow button, those garrets had gear driven props and they ran about 96% rpm plus all the time, as the starter would begin to turn the turbine those gear driven props would start a funny low growl, at a certain percentage of rpm you would move the fuel selector out of idle cut off and set fire to that whole she-bang, and if you didn't over-temp, then Katie bar the door, that growl would turn into a screaming banshee, wait to get loose, we would stay below 250 knots until we reached 10,000 ft, so slightly over 300 mph, and talk about squirelly, it had wing tanks and NO ailerons, but spoilers for roll control, it would fly sideways if it was out of trim, but keep the fuel burn symmetrical, yes it had crossfeed, and trim out the rudder and spoilers, and it was a dream to fly, and very fast for the money. It always reminded me of my Dad's C-130, high wing, landing gear in large fairing on the lower fuselage, with dual mains, and it looked fast too! I was just sick when I drove in to the airport one day and it was gone, as soon as I walked into Klem's on of my best friends asked if I had heard about Ted, he was killed at Midway last night... I cried like a baby.....billy

 

[LouisianaJoe]

Many years ago, I drove a Pantera. One of the best experiences of my life. I have always liked small cars that handle well even if they were not the fastest. in the early 70's, I had a 1962 Porsche 356B. I burned a cylinder in the engine and I then sent it to a race engine specialist who turned it into a Stage I racer. The top end went from 105 to 140+. I watched some guys drag racing on a country road and they asked me to race. I told them that it was a road car not a dragster. I told one of them that I would follow him into a curve as fast as he could go and then I would pass him and I did.

I now drive a 2011 Subaru Outback. It has a 4 cyllinder engine, a CVT transmission, and all wheel drive that gets 29-31 mpg on the highway and I can go 40mph thru a right angle corner and also travel though the mud! This is about as much fun as some of the faster cars that I owned in the past. It is fast enough off the line that I see no need for the 6 cylinder engine.

 

[4011]

Keep some fuel conditioner in a the ladies car. Also check the brake fluid to make sure it's not getting fouled with moisture. Turns a gummy blackish. Non use is tough on the these great cars. How old did you say?

 

[krautski]

I had a '74 Pinto.....never did find out a 0 to 60 time. About 58 mph was the best it would do.

 

[P&R Fan]

And...how old is this lovely lady?

Now, Charlie, I'm a Gentleman. I know, but I'll never tell on pain of death.
Lets just say she has a child who is older than I am and leave it at that.

This Grand National is very nearly 100% perfect. Not a scratch on it. I remember when they came out and I read a lot of articles about them being the hot 1/4 mile drag racing setup. Don't know if that was the GNX or not. This one isn't, but it's plenty fast.
I'll never forget the first time I saw it. She showed it to me and asked if I wanted to go for a drive? Sure. She looked at me and said "do you want to drive?" Hmmmm, let me think......."YES!!!!!".
I backed it out of the garage and noticed the fuel tank was on empty. She advised that thing never worked right and I shouldn't worry about it. OK, off we go. Got out on a back road and I kicked in the Turbo. WOW!! Slowed down and all of a sudden it's not running as smooth, starting to sputter. After a few seconds the engine died. Tried to start it, nothing. I looked at her and said "gas gauge doesn't work, huh?" Had to call Missus P&R Fan to come get us, bring a can and take us to the station. She LOVED that. We got the gauge fixed.

This Woman has some amazing cars. I'm just glad she likes me enough to let me help her keep 'em running. Sometimes my business has nice benefits.
Jim