How much cheaper is a Turbo Regal going to be then a Grand National? I know the G-Body has a lot of aftermarket suspension parts available but would it be a waste of time trying to get it to turn? Also what transmission did they use?
How much cheaper is a Turbo Regal going to be then a Grand National? I know the G-Body has a lot of aftermarket suspension parts available but would it be a waste of time trying to get it to turn? Also what transmission did they use?
Don't know exact $ difference, but the T-Types usually go for a bit less than a GN. WAG, maybe $1500-2000 for equally clean examples of each?
Trans is 200R4. Yes they can be made to turn.
Are there any reliability or rust or wear issues to check for when looking at one?
Are the T-Types intercooled? I seem to remember that being one of the big differences.
Intercooling depends on the year. I havent looked at prices for a long time, but are GNs under $20k very often? I know I have seen other turbo regals for $5-6k.
Lugnut wrote: Are the T-Types intercooled? I seem to remember that being one of the big differences.
All '86-87 were intercooled, all before that were not.
GNs are easier to find in good shape because most people bought them with the mind that they were an '80s musclecar and thus something to be preserved. That makes for two hits for why GNs cost a lot more than T-types.
I live in rust country, I work on a lot of GNs, and I have never worked on a rusty GN.
96DXCivic wrote: Are there any reliability or rust or wear issues to check for when looking at one?
I'm just going to give a blanket "Yes" answer to these questions.
1980's GM. 'nough said.
[edit: I really should ad...that I'm not picking on GM..."80's anything" applies]
from what i hear non-stored g-bodies often have floor rot, probably worse if the t tops are leaky.
I also hart G-bodies!!!
Here is a good recent discussion...just for fun
Travis_K wrote: Intercooling depends on the year. I havent looked at prices for a long time, but are GNs under $20k very often? I know I have seen other turbo regals for $5-6k.
Plenty under $10k here, but you may be thinking of the GNX
96DXCivic wrote: Are there any reliability or rust or wear issues to check for when looking at one?
Aside from all the usual places (floors, rockers, etc), they rust at the rear of the frame, near the rear bumper mounts.
They also rust pretty viciously at the bottoms of the doors.
How hard is it to get replacement doors and if I found a rust free example are there any steps I can take to stop rust?
96DXCivic wrote: How hard is it to get replacement doors and if I found a rust free example are there any steps I can take to stop rust?
Don't drive it. EVER!
My clone rotted in the frame on the driver's side above and behind the wheel arch. They all go eventually. My 78 cutlass was so bad the rear bumper/frame fell off! 
Junkyard_Dog wrote:96DXCivic wrote: How hard is it to get replacement doors and if I found a rust free example are there any steps I can take to stop rust?Don't drive it. EVER! My clone rotted in the frame on the driver's side above and behind the wheel arch. They all go eventually. My 78 cutlass was so bad the rear bumper/frame fell off!
But I want to drive it. 
a T Type will usually be about 1/2-3/4 as much as a same year GN in similar condition.
they started throwing turbos on V6 regals in 78, but 84 is when they went to sequential fuel injection and distributorless ignition with the 200-4r transmission and 3.42 gears with the 8.5" rear axle.
84 and 85 are called "hot air" cars because they don't have an intercooler. they are rated at about 200hp or so. 86 and 87 have an intercooler, a better turbo, and a few other upgrades and were rated at (i think) 235 hp.
84 and early 85 cars had hydroboost brake boosters, which for some reason Buick engineers switched out for the dreaded powermaster boosters for the late 85-87 cars.
86 and 87 cars have electric fans, since they didn't have room in front of the engine for a mechanical fan when they put the intercooler in it. but it's easy to put an electric fan in an 84 or 85...
86 is the best year- they had slightly stiffer springs and sat a little lower than the other years.
87's are the most common since they built as many that year as in 84-87 combined, but they are also the most expensive. 84's are the rarest of the bunch, but somehow the cheapest..
How hard is it to put an intercooler in one of the "hot air" cars? What is wrong with the powermaster booster?
It's freakin' expensive if it fails.
When it is functional, it's awesome. I did install one... once. I think the part alone was $1200. Most people convert to vacuum brakes when confronted with that, or they live with scary brakes that have no assist for the first half-second of application.
Think of it like the Audi hydraulic-assist setup with the pressure bomb, but it has an ABS-style electric pressure pump and it uses brake fluid as the working fluid for the hydraulic assist.
While I am thinking of that. We've seen a rash of cars with shrunken/warped vacuum blocks - the black plastic doodad that attaches to the top of the intake. They not only make machined aluminum drop-in replacements, but they also make them with an additional port for vacuum brakes.
The last three or four I've seen also had severely out of whack TPSs. TPS voltage is much important for the idle strategy. It's adjustable, and apparently somebody is out there telling people to set it at about .3v at idle.
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