We’ve seen quite a few different types of Typhoons here at Barn Finds, including a 1948 Armstrong Siddeley Typhoon and, my favorite, a 1964 Rambler Typhoon. But, we’re here to see this 1992 GMC Typhoon. This budget storm chaser can be found here on eBay in Belledune, New Brunswick, Canada, a full 3,250 miles from Barn Finds HQ. Talk about a fun vehicle to fly in and drive home. The seller has a buy-it-now price of $16,900 in Canadian funds or $11,941 US funds listed, or you can make an offer.
The brother/sister vehicle to the Typhoon, the GMC Syclone, is the current golden child. They’re like Chrysler Sno Runners, did they even make as many of them as have been showing up for sale lately? It seems like a Typhoon would be a more useful vehicle, not that usefulness is the point of either a Typhoon or Syclone, come to think of it. Wait a minute, having fun is useful! The Syclone was really only made for one model year, 1991, although three of them were reportedly made in 1992 but GMC had canceled them by then. Just under 3,000 Syclones were made so they are rarer than the Typhoon is, hence being more valuable.
The Typhoon was made for the 1991, 1992, and 1993 model years, but 1991 was pre-production and only six of them were reportedly built that year. For 1992 and 1993, the official model years, the company made just under 4,700 of them. The seller mentions that the exterior color has been changed from what was the original factory color but they don’t say what that color was – black I’m guessing as it was by far the most popular color.
The seller is very short on the description and also short on photos, very, very short. A portion of them are close-up photos so we don’t get to see too much of the interior, including the dash at all really other than a close-up of a couple of gauges – including one showing the odometer with 87,413 miles on it – or the back seat or cargo area or underside, etc. They mention that it needs an exhaust and the sunroof isn’t a factory piece. That’s always a major bummer when a gaping hole is cut into the roof of a rare vehicle.
The engine is a 4.3L V6 which with a Mitsubishi turbo would have had 280 hp and it was good for a 0-60 time of around 5.4 seconds. That was very fast for 1992 and is fast even for 2020. Hagerty is at $10,100 US dollars for a Typhoon in #4 fair condition and $18,800 for a #3 good condition Typhoon. I’d knock off points (i.e. value) for the sunroof and non-original paint, but that’s just my opinion. How much do you think this rare ride is worth? Have any of you owned or ridden in a GMC Typhoon?
I agree the sunroof and repaint are red flags. I have had the pleasure of driving these and I would love to have one. The price seems about right except ,the modifications would make me hesitant.
I had a test drive in a new one and was impressed with the performance and the price. I think they were around $28k if I remember correctly.
You’d really want to see this in person based on the location where snow is on the ground non-stop Nov-Apr…with the salt and dirt on the roads into June.
The 0-60 time sounds optimistic to me, considering the HP to weight ration.
I looked it up on Automobile Catalog, and it states a time of 6.4 seconds to 60.
That sounds a bit better.
https://www.automobile-catalog.com/performance/1992/467435/gmc_typhoon.html
Mine ran 0-60 in 4.6 and 1/4 mile in 13.4 stock. 280 was published hp because that was the rating of the transmission. They were closer to 330.
Oh it was a play on words. When you said “storm- chaser” I was picturing Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt stylishly blasting down a two-lane road after a tornado in it, with their tripod mounted 30 pound VHS camera sticking out of that aftermarket hole in the roof. My bad.
At that price, they must be hard to get rid of. There is one for sale in Craigs for months. He keeps reposting it. It’s a 92 GMC Typhoon with 95k on odometer. He states:
$12,500, Cash_Firm–Don’t ask!
$18k min if trade. I’m 22k into this rig.
No cheap clunkers, junk.
The Typhoons are becoming valuable & selling in these days for $25k-$40k +++