This 1984 Buick Grand National is a project car that remains unfinished, but is close to being a runner once again, at least according to the seller. Said to be rust-free or nearly rust-free, the seller has undertaken some restoration work but is selling the car as a non-runner with what sounds like three engines included in the sale. The current mill is a built 4.1 liter engine, and the sale will include the numbers-matching unit along with a spare powerplant of unknown origins. The interior will also need restoration. It’s listed here on eBay with bidding just over $7,000 and no reserve.
The Buick is up for grabs due to a lack of space, according to the seller, which has to be maddening considering how close it is to being a runner once again. Located in Wichita, Kansas, it apparently sat outside for many years in Oklahoma before the seller got his hands on it. This led to extensive sun damage in the interior and the paint being faded all over. Hopefully, the paintjob can bounce back with a good buffing. The interior, on the other hand, will need some work if you’re looking for a near-perfect cabin. The Grand National benefits from new tires, tubular A-arms, lowering springs, rear tubular suspension, and an 8.5 inch Yukon posi unit along with 3.42 gears with new bearings and seals.
As you can see, the interior is indeed fairly rough. The bucket seats will need all new upholstery to be perfect once again, and on this year’s model, there was both cloth and leather to keep in tip-top shape. So the leather is dried out and the cloth is torn, but these seats are totally worth the effort to restore: they are the rare, for-1984-only Lear Siegler bucket seats. Said to be incredibly comfortable, these seats are extremely desirable on the used parts market today, with cores like these trading for $500 without too much effort. The seller notes that despite the sun damage, the dashboard remains in good shape.
The current engine was completely rebuilt from a Buick 4.1 liter mill that was then bored to 4.00 inch and studded. The seller also installed a Comp Cams’ turbo cam, with matching springs on ported heads, along with with Manley Pro-Flow valves. The turbocharger has also been modified and rebuilt to TA33C, while the 200 R4 transmission was overhauled with mild enhancements behind a new stall convertor. The brake system is also completely refreshed as well. There’s a lot of work already done, but I don’t blame the seller for moving this one along if space is an issue, or other projects are closer to being road-ready. What should an unfinished GN like this sell for?
68k miles? After seeing all the ones that show up on BF, I didn’t think any of them had more than 25k. lol
Odd that the torque converter is described as a “stall converter”. Is that a brand name? All converters stall at some point in the rpm range, depending on the amount of torque applied, and that rpm is stated as a descriptor.
It has some good upgrades, but will never be as desirable as the 86-87 models. I’ve always wondered how many buyers see the Grand National name and just assume they are all the same, performance wise. This car, in its unfinished state, General condition and potential title issue would be a hard pass for me.
Steve R
A lot of work done and plenty of good parts, if the price doesn’t go too much higher. I had one of these new. No, it’s not an 86 or 87, it’s not bad on it’s own. A software change and a waste gate tweak and they are a lot of fun.
Right on ACZ anyone that knows these cars realizes that that built motor is most of the money the seller is asking. Having the original and another spare, you could put this one back to original if you desire or throw in the built engine with an added intercooler and have way more potential than the later models. If the price dosen’t go up much this is a real money maker.
knew the GN wuz a bent6. Never knew it was that durable 3.8 or, as of today, later was better. The early had no inter cooler? Just air to air? Love to know more abt these. Just so much time ina day, eh?
Chrisful, lots of info on the internet if you wanted to learn about them. Biggest issues (my opinion) was low oil pressure and people trying to over rev them.
’84 & ’85 turbo regals and riviera were hot air engines. Run them on a cold winter day and they picked up a bunch of horsepower. the early cars also had a smaller turbo than the ’86 & ’87