The Grand National debuted in early 1982 as Buick wanted to capitalize on their recent championships in the NASCAR Grand National Cup Series. They would be available on and off until Buick discontinued their mid-size rear-wheel-drive cars after 1987. Unlike later editions, the 1982 versions didn’t wear black paint but Charcoal Gray instead. One of only 215 copies built that year, the seller’s car comes across as a stout survivor. Located in Rutledge, Tennessee, the Buick awaits its first bid of $7,000 here on eBay.
Buick wanted to extend its performance image which the Skylark Gran Sport established in the 1960s. So, they picked 215 Regals off the assembly line in 1982 and sent them to a subcontractor to transform them into the new Grand National. Silver/Grey Firemist paint was added to the sides of each of the autos, along with pinstriping and other visual cues. The factory seats were removed and replaced with “Lear-Siegler” comforts in the front and back. The first-year GNs weren’t especially peppy using a 252 cubic inch V6 that produced 125 hp through carburetion. 35 of the 215 were treated to a turbocharger but no mention is made of whether this car is one of those.
It looks as though this Grand National has been babied over its 41 years and the mileage has been kept to under 80,000. The Buick has no rust and sports its original paint and other trim as it left the subcontractor in ‘82. This is a well-equipped automobile with goodies such as tilt steering, power window, T-Tops, and a GM-Delco stereo complete with a cassette player (got any left?).
The Grand National skipped a year in 1983 but came back strong in 1984 and sold more than 20,000 copies in its swan song year, 1987. Later vehicles would also pick up some more oomph, bringing back some of the fond muscle car memories of 15-20 years before.
It states in the eBay ad that it’s the 4.1 non Turbo version. Nice car. GLWS.
Even with no turbo, it’s nice to see one that isn’t black paint/black trim/gray cloth for a change.
The Regals looked pretty good with two-tone paint and no vinyl top. Never understood why more of the ‘designer series’ ones (those with the factory two-tone combos) weren’t made.
Like this one. Always had a soft spot for the 4.1 V-6 editions.. I remember studying one in the service bays were i worked during the mid to late 80’s. Computer Command Control GM’s were more rare here in Canada so i loved looking at the Quadrajet with the mixture solenoids. As per this one even the Lear Siegler seats are nice and preserved. The only bug-a-boos to fix would be a new A.I.R. pump and the gas guage showing either a cut wire or sender unit problem
I couldnt agree more with Keith and Robert above. Its really nice to see a 2 tone T Type, and one with a 4.1. Its a shame they didnt make more two tone ones back then. I was in Junior High school when this came out and we had a teacher who had a grey one. All of us young teenage boys used to go over and just stare at it. I really like the two tone seats too. This is very unique and you just dont see many like these anymore.
My old boss has original brochures for these early Grand Nationals. He was the manager at Cars & Concepts in Detroit. We were talking cars one day and somehow Grand National came up. I didn’t believe him and he proved me wrong, stack of pictures and the sort. Pretty neat. :) Randy Pavlovich in case any of you old timers (no offense, getting up there myself) recognize his name.
A Grand National without a turbo? Don’t make sense to me…
Shouldn’t there be a turbo in there?
Read above, original ones were outfitted by a 3rd party shop, “Cars and Concepts”, was initially just an appearance package. Pretty interesting IMO.
There were actually 10-15 that did have the 3.8 turbo, but most came with the 4.1 carburetor
These cars were nice except the engine. The 4.1 V6 came out in 1980. That year it was strong. It reminded me of a V8. I had a LeSabre T-type that year that I loved driving and it did a great job pulling my boat.
HOWEVER, in 1981, someone had the less than brilliant idea to remove about 40 pounds of cast iron out of the block to save weight. That turned this engine into an anchor! What happened was that, from then on, this engine ate head gaskets like popcorn. There were gaskets from a number of different manufacturers tried with little to no success. Finally a couple of years later someone came up with a teflon coated headgasket that worked halfway well, but by that time the engine was eliminated in production. That was a real shame to see it go away. Cadillac used it as well as Pontiac and Olds. It had good performance and economy. It’s a shame that some idiot decided to try to lighten the block and cause core shift as a result.
I would wager that this is a non turbo car as it doesn’t have the hood bump needed for turbo clearance. All Turbo Regals had the bump from 1978 to 1987.
Don’t people read the article before posting? It is clearly stated that these original Grand Nationals came without a Turbo. Fans of these cars already know this.
My brother in law’s brother had one of these. He passed away a couple of years ago, I need to check to see what happened with the car.
Um… did you read the article? It states that 35 of the ’82 GNs came with the turbo, though most sources claim “at least” 35 ’82 GNs were based on the Sport Coupe model with its turbo 3.8.
Sometimes I wonder about you guys… Anyway I’m a sucker for a nice G body. I miss my 82 Monte all the time. Love the trim.
I had always heard that there were 16 3.8L turbo & 199 naturally aspirated 4.1L built. The turbo offered a bunch more power. 140hp vs 110hp in the 4.1L.
Oops, I will insert my food into mouth.
Not afraid to admit when I screw up.
Thanks for the correction, CCFisher.
It is nice to see the predecessor of the real Grand National series of which only about 60,000 copies were produced and a handful of original GNX left the production line at that time. I am a happy owner of an original GN from ’86 with only 53 miles and still complete. All original documents of purchase, import and maintenance included. In the past, the owner stored it in her (heated) garage and left it there for years. This is for the sake of emotional meaning and memory. When she wanted to buy a new second-hand hybrid two years ago, the seller barely wanted to give anything for it. I made her a nice offer and she immediately agreed. We got the car ready to drive again without any problems and extra exaggerated costs. Correspondingly the usual full inspection, major maintenance and replacement of filters, oil, etc…
This is a first here in Belgium. It drives around with oldtimer license plates and is technically in perfect order. Proud to have such a car in my possession.
In 1988 I raced an old man in his light blue regal turbo T type I think they were called.
Non GN. I had a 4spd 72 Camaro and he kicked my a$$ but the funniest thing was looking over at his grin even though his wife in curlers was bitchin at him.
I didn’t mind losing that one.