There’s a Buick-Cadillac-GMC dealership within walking distance of my house, and while I’m a dyed-in-the-wool fan of 1950s and ’60s Buicks, nothing currently on the lot makes me turn around to take another look, as pleasant as those SUVs seem to be. It all makes me wistful for a time when I might have found a Grand National on the lot, or maybe parked in the center of the showroom. Think about how wild this blacked-out Regal must have looked sitting among X-Body Skylarks and LeSabre sedans. In 1984, the Grand National was a $1,282 package one could order on top of the already special Regal T-Type, and one look tells you that it was money well spent. This example is being sold on eBay in Traverse City, Michigan, with an asking price of $21,000 or best offer. It’s not the cheapest Buick on the internet, but it costs less than a new Envista, and I know which one I’d rather drive.

While the Grand National was definitely among the hottest of hot rods in its day, it’s important to not let nostalgia get in the way of facts; by today’s standards, the GN is not going to make the hair on your neck stand up. With 200 horsepower and 300 lb.-ft. of torque, these “hot-air” (non-intercooled) GNs would accelerate from zero to sixty in 7.5 seconds and cover the quarter-mile in 15.88 seconds at 87.7 miles per hour, according to a December 1983 road test in Motor Trend magazine. That’s faster than the new Envista on the lot, but the bigger Enclave would probably nip the GN by the stripe. But it doesn’t matter, because the Grand National will always get by on its sinister looks and bad-boy reputation. There’s no need to show off anyway, and if you’re so inclined, the GN was always popular with those who wanted to modify them for more speed.

This GN has the $825 “hatch roof,” aka T-tops, in addition to a reupholstered pair of special Lear Siegler seats with leather inserts, and Buick earned extra points for the proud “6” logo on the seat backs. All T-Types came standard with air conditioning, but it’s not working on this car, and the speedometer also needs some work; it squeaks. Other minor issues include a broken power antenna and “plastic drive sprocket” on the driver’s side power seat (a $215 option when the car was new).

There’s a lot of good news to go with those small disappointments, however, as the car has recently had a new turbo, new tires, new brakes, and a full tune up. Given the seller’s claim that the car is rust-free and seems to have had one repaint that “presents well,” it doesn’t seem like a bad bargain (and there’s always that best offer option, too). The days of cheap Grand Nationals are gone, and while the ’86 and ’87 models are more popular, the ’84 still looks and feels like, well, a Grand National. And just try to find one on a Buick lot today.