1987 Buick Grand National

Coupe

3.8 SFI Turbo

Automatic

1G4GJ1177HP432144

Rebuilt, Rebuildable & Reconstructed

Gasoline

1987 Buick Regal Turbo-T WE4. One of 1547 manufactured. The 1987 Buick Regal Turbo-T WE4 was a limited production Turbo Regal. Production was limited to 1547 cars so that it would not out-sell Buick's flagship, the Grand National. The WE4's had the blackout trim package, no rear trunklid spoiler, or hood ornament. The WE4 was also equipped with aluminum wheels, rear brake drums, and bumper mounts as opposed to the Grand National's steel components. These weight-saving features obviously made the WE4 lighter and faster than the Grand National. Here is my experience with the car: In November 2011 I sold my Saleen Mustang as I needed a car with a backseat for my kids. I have been into cars for the past 20 years and have a great appreciation for rare and collectible models. I was always interested in the Buick Grand Nationals, but wanted a model that was more rare (no, the GNX was never an option on my salary). I began researching the Turbo Buicks and decided that it would have be a 1987 model as they were the most refined in my opinion. The Turbo T Limited and Turbo T WE4 were my only options. I leaned toward the WE4 as it had the Grand National look at first until you noticed the lack of the rear spoiler, chrome-plated steel wheels and GN emblems. A closer look revealed the straight-gray cloth bucket seats, not the two-tone black and gray buckets found on the GN and GNX. The raised hood and chrome 3.8 SFI Turbo emblems were shared with the WE4. T-tops were a must for me, however were not a good choice if you wanted to do heavy engine mods, as the engine's amount of torque twists the body which is basically held together by the roof. The hardtop cars were the racer's choice. After deciding that I was going to buy a WE4, I began searching high and low and finally located one on Craigslist and discovered that it was located in Fredricksburg, VA, which is approximately 3.5 hrs. from where I live. I contacted the seller who advised me that it was still available and was sent several additional photographs of the car as well as the VIN number so that I could perform some checks on it before I bought it. I spoke with the seller for a while on the phone and he could not tell me one bad thing about the car except for that it needed "a little bit of detail work to make it a show car again". I was pretty excited about the car as I was ready to buy. Now the disappointing part... I ran the CARFAX which revealed that the car's odometer "exceeded mechanical limits" and that the car had a rebuilt title issued to it when it was titled in Maryland. I then ran an InstaVIN check which revealed the same. Needless to say, I was pretty burned up at my findings. These things "put me to work" on this car so I did the following: I discovered that the seller was not the actual vehicle owner. The seller was a good friend of the owner, who was an older gentleman that was not computer-savvy so his friend agreed to sell it for him. I contacted the seller and advised him that I was interested in the car before I discovered the problems indicated by the CARFAX and InstaVIN checks. The seller advised that he had no idea what I was talking about and told me that "if i saw the car, I would buy it". He then provided me with the owner's name and phone number. I then contacted the owner, who was indeed an older gentleman. I was advised that he had not owned the car that long, as he took it in trade from another gentleman. The owner advised me that he also had a white Turbo T that he was also trying to sell as well. I advised the owner that I discovered that the CARFAX and other checks revealed some issues, and he too was surprised and couldn't explain it to me but told me the same thing as the seller, "if you see this car, you will buy it". He then gave me the name and phone number of his friend that he bought the car from. I called the man, who was also older gentleman that advised me that he retired from General Motors as an engineer and currently owned three Turbo Buicks, one of which was a racecar. I spent about an hour on the phone with him and he advised me that he bought the car from a gentleman near Havre de Grace, MD. I was advised that the car had been sitting under an oak tree in the guy's yard and had acorn dents in the trunk lid and that it needed paint in a really bad way. The man bought the car then did a meticulous inspection of just about every square inch of this car then had the entire body stripped down and repainted. He advised that he traveled to North Carolina to measure the exact locations of the emblems on another Turbo T before he replaced them-he was that meticulous! I was advised that the motor was never rebuilt, but had some bolt-on modifications that gave the car a little bit more power. I was pretty confident that this guy knew what he was talking about after about 20 minutes. I sat on it for a week or so, then contacted a friend who has expertise in the area of vehicle titles, VIN's and the like and had him research the car for me. He could not find any negative information on the car. I discussed my concerns with him and he gave me the following advice: " If you like the car, and it is what you want, who cares what the checks say about it". My friend has about 50 years of expertise in the automotive field who specialized in racecars and GM performance engines, so what he said to me came from confidence. A few days later, I was recontacted by the seller who asked me if I was still interested and I told him that I still wasn't sure because of what I found on the CARFAX. He told me that he understood and hung up the phone. I was then contacted by the owner the next day who asked me if I would be interested meeting him at a halfway point between his house and my house to look at the car. I decided that I didn't have anything to lose except for some gas money and three hours of my time so I met him and the seller a few days later. I checked the car out and within 30 minutes, I gave the man a deposit to hold the car. He had the title in hand, which did not indicate that it was rebuilt. The car, especially its interior does not appear to have over 50,000 miles on it. If the CARFAX check is correct in that the car has over 100,000 miles on it, it is obvious that the car was either A-well cared for, or B-a very meticulous restoration or rebuild was conducted. Anyway, I picked it up a week later and trailered it home. The next day, I went through the car and found a few things that needed to be addressed. I then drove it to the DMV and had it titled in Delaware. Again the Delaware title and registration card did not indicate that it was rebuilt. I then ran it through the inspection lanes and it passed with flying colors. I have driven the car about 800 miles or so since December. I don't get a lot of use out of it, it is mainly there for me to look at and take up garage space. I am interested in purchasing a new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, so this toy needs to go before another one arrives. I have listed the car's starting price at what I currently owe on it. The title is at my bank, which is local. If you are the winning bidder, my bank is open Monday-Friday from 9:00am to 4:30pm and will release the title immediately upon paying off the loan balance. I am just looking to get out from underneath of it. Here are the excerpts from the CARFAX and InstaVIN: InstaVIN 11/01/1993- State of Maryland 22,654 miles Rebuilt Title Issued 08/17/2004- State of Virginia 50,979 miles CARFAX 08/22/1997-State of Maryland 101,933 miles Exceeds mechanical limits title issued 08/01/2004-State of Virginia Vehicle Purchase Reported 08/09/2004-State of Virginia 50,977 miles Passed Emissions Inspection 08/17/2004-State of Virginia 50,979 miles Title or Registration Issued, New Owner Reported 11/12/2005-State of Virginia Title or Registration Issued 06/03/2006-State of Virginia 52,253 miles Failed Emissions Inspection 07/01/2006-State of Virginia Passed Emissions Inspection 10/11/2008-State of Virginia 53,407 miles Failed Emissions Inspection Some of the things that needed attention when I bought the car were an oil leak and a coolant leak. I found that the oil leak was coming from the oil drain tube that runs from the turbo back into the engine block. The metal OEM tube had been replaced with a piece of black-braided hose that was too narrow to allow the oil to escape the turbo and drain back into the block. I located a reproduction OEM tube and gasket from Cotton's Performance in Massachusetts which solved the oil leak problem. The coolant leak initially was suspected to be coming from the water pump, so I had it replaced. When the water pump was replaced, there was still a coolant leak. The leak turned out to be a pinhole leak in the lower radiator hose. So, the car now has a brand-new GM water pump and lower radiator elbow hose (no more leaks). Another problem that I identified was that the brake warning light would flicker when the brake pedal was depressed, an indicator that the Powermaster ball needed to be replaced. These cars were not equipped with vacuum-assisted brakes as the turbo engine did not make enough vacuum pressure, so an electric brake unit called the Powermaster was used instead. The Powermaster ball is a black ball about the size of a tennis ball that is filled with some type of gas that powers the brake system. Once the ball was replaced, the light no longer flickered. Exterior: The body is straight as an arrow, no dents, dings, or rust. The previous owner had it painted. The paint is absolutely gorgeous, with the exception of a run in the paint on the front clip next to the right inner headlight. The run is about the size of a quarter. It can be color-sanded by a detail shop to have it removed. All of the emblems were meticulously replaced in the proper places. There is a scratch on the front right bumper filler that can be touched-up if necessary. The original aluminum "turbine" wheels are in fair condition. The wheels have a locking lugnut on each wheel. The Buick design on the center caps is faded, The tires are 235/60/15 all the way around. There is about 85% tread remaining on each tire. The factory size tire for this car is 215/65/15. The 235's give the car a nice stance and allow more surface contact. There are Edelbrock shocks on the front and air shocks on the back. I have never played with the air pressure as I am not a big fan of air shocks but they were on the car when I bought it. The car drives beautifully and it does not bounce you around. The original front license plate holder and allen wrench tool are still with the car. Interior: The interior is stock except for the GM CD player. The previous owner advised that it came out of a Corvette. It looks as if it came factory in the car, as it is gray and is the same size as the original AM/FM cassette player. Also, the power antenna does not work. I am not sure if it is broken, not hooked up, or if it will not work with the CD player that was installed. This was a very common problem with these cars, and it is a difficult task to replace it yourself. Some Buick enthusiasts have opted to replace the power antenna with a black "fixed mast". That is something that I would do if I were to keep the car. Also, the cruise control does not work. I am not sure what the problem is with it, but never addressed it. There are no rips or tears in the seats or cracks in the dash. Power locks and windows function properly and the tach/boost gauge work as well. I do not have the original light gray floor mats. The mats are black embroidered " T- Type" aftermarket models. The t-top bags and original spare tire/jack/tools are in the trunk. Engine: There are some light bolt-ons to the motor which include a cold-air intake, Gbodyparts aftermarket intercooler, aftermarket spark plug wires, larger turbo, adjustable fuel pressure regulator,Turbonetics plenum pipe, polished-aluminum alternator, larger fuel injectors, an assortment of Aeroquip braided hoses, and a Be Cool aluminum 4-core radiator. There is also a Hooker cat-back dual exhaust system on the car as well. The tailpipes are in the stock locations behind the rear wheels which allows the car to retain its factory appearance. The factory rubber strap that secures the catalytic converter has rotted away and needs to be replaced. The hanger assembly is no longer available from GM, however there are a few companies that produce an aftermarket model. The catalytic converter is temporarily secured with a piece of wire. Mobil-1 oil and filter are used and are highly-recommended for use with the turbo V6's. Mobil-1 has an ingredient that minimizes the wear on the camshaft lobes. To recap, these are the things that need to be addressed: Catalytic converter hanger ($100.00 to $200.00 part) Cruise control (?) Power antenna (?) Bumper filler scratch (paint touch-up) Run in paint on front clip (detail shop) I have owned this car since December 2011 and have logged about 800 miles on it. The car runs and looks excellent, and still gets over 20 MPG! I do run the car on 92 octane or higher fuel as recommended by Buick. I would not hesitate to drive this car across the country then back again. It is solid as a car can be. If you can live with the fact that the worst thing wrong with this car is a bad CARFAX, this car is for you. I am being as honest as possible, that is why I gave you the long intro above! I encourage all questions and if you are serious about buying it, you are more than welcome to inspect and test-drive the car. The easiest way to communicate with me is either through the Ebay email system or by phone at (302) 245-6755. Terms of Sale: Your bid is a contract, so if you are not serious about buying it, do not bid. A $100.00 PAYPAL deposit is due as soon as the auction ends- that means as soon as the auction is over, not a week or two later! The winning bidder must also contact me immediately acknowledging their winning bid. Communication is the key! The balance must be paid by certified bank check, cashier's check, or cash. The car will not be released until the check has cleared or the cash is received. There is no warranty on this car. Good Luck