I am pleased to offer this 2 owner 1987 Buick Grand National. This 1987 Buick Grand National is an example of the last (and best) year of the Grand National model run and represents a bygone era of Buick muscle cars that will never be seen again… VIN # 1G4GJ1176HP439778.

The condition of this car is highly original and very well preserved. The car shows very few signs of age and shows only 23,000 original miles</font color> on the odometer! The current owner is only the second owner from new. It was originally a Texas car prior to finding it’s way to Illinois. This is an unmolested, unraced, well maintained Grand National. If you are looking for one, then look no further.

BODY:

This Grand National still wears its original factory applied black paint. All of the body panels are ripple, dent, and rust free and have never had any sort of body or accident damage.

The paint is in very good overall condition and retains its original shine, obviously the result of the car being garage kept all of its life. There is no checking, fading, or cracking evident in the finish.

The car also comes equipped with factory T-Tops, a rare and desirable option on a 1987 Grand National. The glass and seals are in excellent condition and there are no leaks evident.

Please note: You will notice that the owner removed the two hood badges that say “3.8 SFI Turbo”. he thought the hood looked better without them, but he did keep them and they are in good condition and ready to put back on the car, if you’d like.

INTERIOR:

The interior is trimmed in the standard grey and black fabric, as all Grand Nationals were. The seating areas are in perfect original condition, as are the door panels, dashboard and console. The carpet is also in excellent original condition.

All of the accessories including the climate control, cruise control, AM/FM stereo tape deck with equalizer (factory installed), are in perfect working order. The dashboard includes the desirable analog instrument cluster.

All of the windows as well as the automatic door locks work. The trunk appears as new, the trunk carpet is in excellent condition with no rips, tears, or missing pieces, and the original space saver tire and wheel (which has never been out of the trunk) is in perfect condition.

UNDERCARRIAGE:

The underside of the car is commensurate with a 23,000 mile car. It is rust-free and very well preserved.

ENGINE COMPARTMENT:

The engine bay is completely original, with all components in operational condition. The brake booster assembly has been replaced with the correct OEM parts. The need for brake booster replacement was a common problem with these cars, and almost any one of this age should be replaced if it is original. There were no short cuts taken when the new booster was installed (as many owners take), so the new owner of this Grand National will not have to go through the expense and time of replacing it, as many do.

Every detail of the engine compartment is “Buick Correct” and well preserved. There is some very minor wear to certain painted surfaces due to age, but overall, it is very presentable.

TIRES AND WHEELS:

The tires are brand new and are the correct style and size: Goodyear Eagle GT-HR, P215/65R15 95H.

The wheels are the original Grand National wheels, and are in excellent condition, with very minimal wear evident. All of the center caps are original with great graphics and are also in very nice condition.

OVERALL DRIVING IMPRESSIONS:

This Grand National runs and drives as any 23,000 mile car should – It’s barely broken in! The 3.8 Liter V6 powerplant runs and accelerates smoothly and very quickly (thanks in large part to the turbo charger and intercooler) and the transmission shifts as it should.

The car drives around town and on the open road with no squeaks, creaks, or rattles. It has had all of the necessary service recently performed including oil change, tune up, installation of new battery, and transmission and differential service, and needs absolutely nothing to drive, show, and enjoy. All of the mechanical aspects of the car work as they should.

PLEASE NOTE:

This 1987 Buick Grand National still retains all of its original components! This means the engine, transmission, rear end, etc. are original to the car. All of the numbers, markings, etc., are correct. Owner also has included a photo of the option sticker, located on the underside of the trunk lid. This Grand National has never been modified in any way!! It is an original and very special car that, as evidenced by the low mileage, has been driven very sparingly during the last 20 years…

The owner reports that this Grand National is the most rust-free, unmolested, and original example that he has ever seen! If you’ve never driven a Grand National of this period, you are in for a treat with this one!

Why is it that we love stories about the underdog beating all the odds and obtaining ultimate victory? Buick knew what it was like to beat all the odds and produce the fastest American muscle car for the 1987 model year. Looking back now it seems natural the 1987 Buick Grand National has taken on the status of a legend. However back in 1977 it seemed Buick would never repeat its muscle car pinnacle of the early 1970s, when its legendary stage 1 455 (CID) V8 beat most stock muscle cars with ease.

The Buick Grand National started out very modestly in 1982 as a very low production two-tone silver/charcoal painted Regal with sporty decals and spoilers. The name was derived from NASCAR, and only 215 1982 Grand Nationals were produced, making it one very rare car. Unfortunately most Grand Nationals for 1982 came equipped with a Buick 4.1 liter carbureted V6 producing only 125 horsepower. However it was possible to order a 1982 Grand National equipped with the 175 horsepower turbo 4bbl 3.8 liter V6. It is not known exactly how many 1982 Grand Nationals were ordered with the turbo motor but what is known is the number is extremely low (the October 2007 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines magazine did a writeup on one of these ultra rare 1982 turbo 3.8 liter Grand Nationals). Most buyers who wanted a 1982 Regal with a turbo opted for the ’82 Regal T-Type. After 1982, the Grand National did not return again until the 1984 model year. Upon its return it had a new mandatory black exterior paint scheme with black exterior trim that looked as stealthy as a SR-71 blackbird. The stealth black look would become a Grand National staple and the only exterior color scheme used for its remaining production years.

Fast forward to 1987, Buick was riding the wave its new performance image had created. There were five separate factory offered Regal based models/packages available with Buick’s red hot (LC2) turbo SFI 3.8 liter V6 for 1987. Adding to that, there was even a Mclaren modified Grand National called the GNX (only 547 produced) available for purchase at some Buick dealers. The GNX had a price tag of $11,000 more than the price of a Grand National. The GNX was rated at 276 horsepower but its ¼ mile times were consistently in the mid 13 second range, which told a story of a motor that made well over 300 horsepower if not close to 400 horsepower. The GNX has become very sought after by collectors

today, and the hefty price tag they now command continues to skyrocket.

The Regal that got most of the attention for 1987 was the Grand National. Buick sold 20,193 Grand Nationals during the 1987 model year, making it a smash success. In 1985 the Buick Grand National sold only 2,102 units, so in just two years GN sales had increased tenfold. And the sales figures are even more astounding when you consider that only one exterior color was available. The GN came from the factory with a $16,154 base retail price. Only a few power and convenience options were available on the GN, a very heavily optioned GN was still under $18,000. Back in 1987 that was a lot of performance bang for the buck. The 1987 GN design was a carryover from the 1986 GN. The only real change was a slightly redesigned front grille. The all black exterior was as stealthy as the previous three GN model years. The interior was gray and included such goodies as (gray and black) Lear Siegler front seats and a leather

wrapped steering wheel.

The 1987 Buick LC2 turbo SFI 3.8 liter V6 produced 245 horsepower at 4400 rpm and 355 lbs/ft of torque at 2800 rpm. The LC2 had a bore of 3.80”, a stroke of 3.40”, and an 8.0:1 compression ratio. Though the LC2 was a pushrod motor with only 2 valves per cylinder every other aspect of the turbo motor was state of the art for 1987. Buick stated in the 1987 GN product literature that – “many innovative features have been incorporated into this engine”. They went on to say “the Electronic Control Module (ECM) precisely matches the fuel delivery to engine requirements”. In other words air and fuel are carefully metered to

provide optimum performance. The source of the LC2’s monster power is the Garrett AiResearch turbo charger, aided by an intercooler. The GN’s intercooler cools the air coming from the turbo as it travels to the engine. Cooler air is less dense (it takes up less space) so by using an intercooler, more air can be rammed by the turbo into the motor. More air to the engine equals – more power. Aiding engine performance for the GN is its free-flow dual (from the cat back) exhaust system. Topping off this package was a performance oriented 3.42 limited slip solid rear axle which was standard equipment for the ’87 GN.

Every aspect of the LC2 motor was computerized, so it is no surprise that even the high performance 200R4 (4 speed with overdrive) automatic transmission had its shift points computer controlled to get optimum power from the engine to the pavement. The upside was lightening quick acceleration times with the high performance computer controlled 200R4. The downside was this transmission worked so well, that Buick never saw the need for offering a manual transmission. This also applied to every turbo Regal ever produced, there was never an optional manual transmission.

So just how fast was the 1987 Grand National? It consistently obtained 14 second ¼ mile times in auto magazine tests back in the day, beating its competition with ease. Motor Trend magazine (August 1987 issue), did speed and performance tests of the seven fastest new American cars. The test included the 1987 Chevrolet Corvette, 1987 Ford Mustang GT, 1987 Chevrolet Camaro Iroc-Z, 1987 Pontiac Trans Am GTA, 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, 1987 Dodge Daytona Z, and 1987 Buick Grand National. The end result was the GN beat its 6 rivals with ease in the acceleration tests. The GN went 0-60 mph in 6.07 seconds and completed the ¼ mile in 14.73 seconds @ 95.1 mph. The closest competitor to the GN was the Mustang GT (0-60 mph in 6.54 seconds and the ¼ mile in 15.13 seconds @ 94.1 mph). The braking (60-0 mph in 149 ft) and the skidpad (0.79 g) numbers in the Motor Trend test for the GN were pretty good, but not enough to beat its competition. Part of the problem was the GN’s P215/65VR15 tires were the narrowest in the seven car test. And the rear drum brakes were no match for the five cars in the test that had rear disc brakes. Where the GN fell far behind its competitors was with its dismal 122.72 mph top speed Motor Trend obtained. Motor Trend asked the question – “how can the strongest-engined best-in-acceleration vehicle be the slowest top-speed car?” Motor Trend figured since the 1987 GN had new VR speed rated tires, the speed-limiting chip from the 1986 GN should no longer be needed. Motor Trend after a little research discovered – “the [Buick] engineers were concerned with front-end lift at high speeds, and determined that 125 mph was a good limit to maintain the stability they felt necessary, so the chip stayed for this year.” The GN was using a 10 year old Regal body style which had been only slightly updated since its 1978 model year debut, so the problem with front end lift at speeds over 125 mph was no surprise. Motor Trend mentioned – “the Grand National has the power to go faster-how much faster is a question we can’t answer unless we find someone who’ll give us a trick prom for the computer.” Motor Trend did get their chance to test the top speed of the LC2 with no speed-limiting chip, but it was not in a GN but rather the 1989 20th Anniversary Trans Am. The end result was a top speed well over 160 mph.

It’s now twenty years after the GN has departed, and looking back now the Buick claimed 245 horsepower figure (measured at the flywheel) of the 1987 GN was certainly underrated. Some experts claim the figure to be between 275 to 300 horsepower. Owners of stock 1987 GNs who have dyno tested them have proved this claim to be true.

The 1987 Grand National was a great shining moment in Buick performance history, a virtual comeback from the previous Buick performance low-point of 1977. Buick again had regained the glory it had back in 1970 with the mighty Stage 1 455 V8. Unfortunately the comeback was brief. In 1988 an all-new Regal platform was released, and the LC2 was laid to rest because it was deemed (by Buick) too difficult to put in the new Regal front-wheel drive architecture. The LC2 did return two years later in the low production 20th Anniversary Trans Am, and after that it suffered the same fate as the Grand National. Buick is still going strong twenty years after the Grand National departed, and it has managed to find a new life without high performance. The likelihood of another Buick muscle car in the future seems at this time extremely unlikely, so in retrospect the 1987 Buick Grand National was Buick’s last muscle car, and what a great muscle car it is.