For those that don’t know, the second-generation Buick Regal G-body doesn’t really look like a ground-pounding performance monster, but for those that do know, these machines have exactly what’s needed to snap some necks. Growing up in Southern California’s Huntington Park, Ralph was most definitely in the know, and now, he’s the proud owner of this street terror 1987 Buick Regal Turbo T Limited.
At first blush, there isn’t much to suggest just how much of a punch this Buick Regal is packing. Sure, there’s a set of polished Weld racing wheels, with skinnies up front and fatter tires in back, as well as some beefy Wilwood brakes with slotted and drilled rotors, but that’s about it with regard to exterior cues. The rest of it is the familiar boxy lines and polished chrome trim, plus a deep layer of black paint.
Inside the cabin, we find some pillow seats for the driver and front passenger, which look plush enough to fit an ‘80s-era lounge room. The vulour upholstery is done in a purple, plum color. Look closely, though, and you’ll notice that this Buick Regal sports a partial roll cage in back, which provides an interesting contrast to the old-school luxury treatment. There’s also a set ancillary gauges under the dash.
All told, this Buick Regal definitely looks upgraded, but it’s still understated compared to what’s lying in wait under the hood.
Pop the hood, and we find a massive 6870 turbocharger feeding a 274-cubic-inch engine with a stage two block and aluminum heads. The snail takes a prime spot in the engine bay, pumping out 25 pounds of boost through a black-painted front-mount intercooler hidden behind the grille. Spent gasses are routed through a two-and-a-half inch exhaust.
Factory spec for this Buick Regal is set at 245 horsepower, but now it’s making 770 horsepower at the rear wheels.
Between the blow-off valve and spooling, this Buick Regal also makes some excellent turbo noises, plus all the smokey burnouts to match. Hit play and see for yourself.
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Comments
I’m 56 years old and remember these well. You could buy used ones not Grand National for around $500 and they made great project cars.
For the young guys who haven’t had any experience with these, they have a full frame like a smaller version of what you see on a pickup truck so they handle a lot of horsepower. And it’s not hard to beef it up some more.
There were also Chevy, Oldsmobile and I think Pontiac versions of it and a V8 would go right in. Plenty of room and easy to work on.
They made these for probably about ten years so there were a lot of them out there which is why you could get used beaters for so cheap. These things dominated NASCAR for quite awhile too. The Grand National was always very sought-after and it wasn’t so cheap. But you could easily mod a base model. The Monte Carlo version was also very popular.
These are cool cars the last of the real GM models with Character, my mother had a brown 85 Buick Regal Limited, the Grand National was all the talk but the model was GNX. You could also buy a Chevy Monte Carlo, Malibu, Oldsmobile Cutlass and Pontiac Grand Prix
Love it
Back when GM had a real design team and a person at the top with the vision to use them.
Don’t forget the El Camino.
Yes the El Camino and GMC Caballero are also a G Body Ute doing this time period
I have one of these cars in 1993 . It also had gobs and gobs of power I wrecked it drag racing at what used to be Pecan Park raceway .
I have a 87 and had it mechanically restored. Not as fast as the dude in this video but faster than most new vehicles except the higher end chevys, dodges, and fords. My rotating assembly and heads are factory. What changed is fuel pump, exhaust, bigger injectors, 3inch down pipe, fuel pressure regulator, bigger turbo, built transmission with extra gears, turbo tweak chip, and i run methonal at the higher boot range. Very fast car.
Cars of today and really the last ten years are a lot faster than what they were making in the 80s and even the 90s.
My 2008 Silverado 5.3 litre is 310 horsepower. My wife’s 2012 Nissan Murano base model is 260 horsepower.
The 1987 turbo charged Grand National was only 245 horsepower and that was considered a really hot motor back then.
In fact my 2008 Chevy is literally 80 horsepower more than a 1987 454 big block Chevy truck. The 80s and much of the 1970s were really the dark ages for performance engines.
In fact my wife’s base model 2012 Nissan Murano grocery getter is 30 horsepower more than my buddies 1985 Corvette. His vette also only 230 horsepower, which is pretty pathetic for a Corvette.
You can work with those 80s engines and get more out of them but stock configuration is some really sad numbers and performance.
Cars of today and really the last ten years are a lot faster than what they were making in the 80s and even the 90s.
My 2008 Silverado 5.3 litre is 310 horsepower. My wife’s 2012 Nissan Murano base model is 260 horsepower.
The 1987 turbo charged Grand National was only 245 horsepower and that was considered a really hot motor back then.
In fact my 2008 Chevy is literally 80 horsepower more than a 1987 454 big block Chevy truck. The 80s and much of the 1970s were really the dark ages for performance engines.
In fact my wife’s base model 2012 Nissan Murano grocery getter is 30 horsepower more than my buddies 1985 Corvette. His vette also only 230 horsepower, which is pretty pathetic for a Corvette.
You can work with those 80s engines and get more out of them but stock configuration is some really sad numbers and performance.
Yeah with my configuration I’m about 450 wheel horsepower. The car does the quater mile in 11.5 seconds. The ford GT 350 and dodge 392 scat packs last time i checked were 12 second cars. The GT 500 on the other hand is a completely different animal. The stage 2 buicks or indy V6 there is barely a V8 available that can run with it. They are good up to 1600hp with no issues. My builder did a car for a guy with one and it is a consistent 8 second car with no problem. He nicknamed it the demon slayer. The stock 3.8 is good to about 600whp before you have lot of issues. Even the 3800 blocks are one of the best engines ever made.
GM ruined this line of vehicles when they went fwd. Been a steady decline since.
Looking for a/c module for my 84 buick T turbo , would love to find the reconditioned/ upgrade. I’m left in the heat of Phoenix with no help in sight.