Turbocharged V6: 1985 Buick Grand National
The Grand National was a turbocharged performance version of the Buick Regal. Various iterations were offered between 1978 and 1987, sometimes lumped in with the Turbo-T and T-Type models. At the heart of the Grand National was a 3.8-liter V6 with a turbocharger that was rated at 200 hp. Black was the color of choice and in pristine condition, these things can fetch some serious coin. The seller’s 1985 edition gets high marks from the seller, but it needs bodywork at a minimum.
Buick’s 1985 Grand National was pretty much the same car as it had been the year before. 2,102 copies were produced and they gained sequential fuel injection and a computer-controlled ignition. By the standards of the day, these GNs were fast, capable of breaking 16 seconds in the quarter mile which was close to the Chevy Corvette which had a V8 engine. The Grand National was retired in 1987 when the rear-wheel-drive platform the Regal used was mothballed.
Any history of this Buick will come from the AutoCheck Report provided by the seller. A registration from 2006 lists the odometer reading at a well-used 171,000 miles, the same as it reads today. That implies that the automobile has been dormant for the past 18 years. The condition of the body and paint backs that theory up as rust is developing in some of the body panels, and an undercarriage photo shows what appears to be a large hole in the floorboard.
On the other hand, the two-tone interior looks quite nice, and a power-assisted Astro Roof was one of the options (working status not mentioned, nor is anything said about it leaking). We’re told the Buick runs and drives but will need some brake work. Located in Forked River, New Jersey, this once-hot Regal is available here on eBay where the current bid is $5,951. Where were you in ’85?
Comments
In 1985 .. I was out of college and wanting this model vehicle. I drove a V6 two door 1978 Cutlas Supreme and thought this was the beast of my dreams. The interior looks decent, and the engine will need a full rebuild and so will the turbo unit. The cost will be getting the drivetrain running. The miles on this car is a testament to a decent produced automobile.
Good luck with the sale…
in 1985 I was living in Pittsburgh, at school. Some kid got killed by the owner of one of these in his eighth attempt to steel it. I don’t think anything happened to the owner, whose argument was that the kid had been warned seven times prior (documented by police reports of when the owner had caught the kid the prior times) and made a stand-your-ground argument for the use of lethal force (the car was in a locked, attached garage). Made for some interesting conversations around the house about a life over property and when one gets to say “enough.”
Roland, That is one heck of a story, Wow.
Good stuff. Sometimes you just can’t fix stupid. As I always say when people get killed doing stupid or illegal things, “he won’t do that again”. Kudos to that home/vehicle owner.
I was born in 1985 and the first car I was ever in after leaving the hospital was my fathers Delta 88 2 door who he happened to buy it used from a Buick Dealer in 1983 that was next door to my great grandfathers house. Im not sure what year the car was he thought it was a 78 but it was probably newer. I felt very bad because He bought it after his 77 mint condition Monte Carlo was stolen and stripped and then in 1987 a car ran into the back of us forcing us also to crash into a telephone pole totaling the Delta. He was debating to either get Regal or Monte Carlo but my mother wanted a FWD car instead they got a Celebrity brand new for $10k. I really miss the 80s GM cars they don’t make them like that anymore.
The 84 and 85 sometimes get a bad rap because of no intercooler. They were decent runners, especially when you consider what was available then. I miss the one I had. Very dependable with SFI and a crank triggered ignition. I still have a 1985 Riv T-type with essentially the same powertrain. These are definitely fun to drive.
In 1985 I had just bought a brand new Dodge Daytona turbo. 4 months later I was trading it in on an off lease Trans am as the Dodge was plagued with
problems. The Pontiac / Buick sales man was pleading with me to reconsider buying the Grand National instead of the Trans am. But 50 K was a lot for me
to finance, so I got the Trans am which was an absolute blast to drive.
$50k for a new ‘85 GN?? Try about $14k…
I caught that as well. The ’87 GN was just over 14K and the GNX was 29K. I would also like to correct something in the article. The quarter mile time for the GN was 15.6, and the GNX was 13.04. Not bad for a factory 6 cylinder.
Grand Nationals and GNXs were hard to find. Not uncommon for the dealer to sell them way over list.
I have always been enamored with the GN and the GNX. I clearly remember when they came out because the high-performance car was pretty much dead a partially buried at that time. I would love to own one as a toy, and this price doesn’t seem unreasonable, but I would be really leery of this one because of the milage and the apparent lack of care. Cool car, nonetheless.
Due to its condition I’d hold out for an 86 or 87 with the SFI, that’s what the market values and always will.
Steve R
In ’85? I was driving my Ford Escort, supplemented by my ’75 Spitfire. Living in my one and only apartment that I ever had, and planning to get married. I also had my eye on a new T-Bird. Fast foreward to ’86. I was single, buying my first house, and the proud owner of an ’86 Mustang GT. What a difference a year made.
1985 the year I was born. The 1st car I ever rode in was my father’s Oldsmobile Delta 88 2 door that he happened to buy used for a Buick dealer that was next door to his grandfather’s house in 1983. Not sure the year he thought it was a 78 but then thought it was newer like an 80-81 maybe. I felt very bad because he got it when his mint condition 77 Monte Carlo was stolen and stripped. Then in 1987 someone ran into the back of us forcing us to also crash into a pole totaling the Delta but thankfully my parents and me at the age of not even 2 years old walk away without a scratch. My dad was debating either a Monte Carlo or regal but my mother wanted a fwd so they went for a new 87 Celebrity which back then was only $10k brand new.
1985.
Working at a Chevrolet dealer and looking at the cooler stuff Buick was selling.
Later worked at a Buick dealer right up the street from there and saw all the cool stuff Buick was doing then, the GN, the Quad 4 (Olds engine, I know), then the new Park Avenues that reminded everyone of Jaguars.
Man, how mighty Buick has leveled off. I don’t want to say they’ve fallen, because they’re doing really well overseas, but nothing but SUVs and some with 3-cylinder Korean motors? In a Buick?
It just ain’t the same any more, man.
It kinda seemed in the ’80s that GM was turning a corner, making good looking relatively well-built cars. Chevy had the Z-24, the Celebrity V6, and the Beretta/Corsica twins up to snuff for a few years, and Buick, Olds, and Pontiac were making some cool stuff, until malaise seemed to set in again on build quality going into the ’90s. Jelly bean designs and breaking parts ran ’em down again. That’s about when I decided to get out of the car biz once and for all.
Just when it seemed GM got their mojo back they seemingly pi$$ed it all back away.
And they killed pontiac for Buick because of over seas sales. That’s why I’ll never own a buick.
I looked at Buicks while searching for something to buy and when I saw where they were built and what motors they had I almost got sick.
I had joined the army in March of ’85 and was at what was then Ft. Benning in Georgia, going through infantry basic and AIT. I had owned a ‘ 67 Chevelle SS and a ’72 GTO 455 HO, but at that time I had a ’74 Datsun 260Z stored in my mother’s garage. Man, the good old days. Always really liked these Buick GN’s. My 2 cents
Over 7K with 3 days left.
I can think of so many better ways to spend that money.
I caught that as well. The ’87 GN was just over 14K and the GNX was 29K. I would also like to correct something in the article. The quarter mile time for the GN was 15.6, and the GNX was 13.04. Not bad for a factory 6 cylinder.