Thinking outside the box here! Our retired friend from the Model Motoring revival of the early 2000’s (who is on ePay as “ratherboring”) has introduced an irresistible new body that I had to try out! It’s a little small, being made for the short wheelbase, but I knew I had to have it, and last Sunday I took this “kit” out of the box it was shipped in and began to customize, detail, and build it. What you see here is the end result of a very successful Sunday morning at the workbench, where I added the car’s single touch of chrome (the grille surround), the yellow, red and silver for the lights, and the brand new Ultra G chassis with Vincent “Hurricane” wheels that look an awful lot like the wheels on the original real thing! I had to top it off with that miniscule license plate decal, too.
Because the world of my track and diorama are set in the mid-‘80’s California of my childhood, there are no Dodge Vipers, Charger or Challenger Hellcats, or Shelby GT500 Mustangs on the track. Thus, all the muscle cars that race at the track are the classics from the late 60’s and early ‘70’s, because there were no real muscle cars built in the 80’s…right?
But… what if there were?
Muscle fans like yours truly have always been divided on whether or not the 1984-87 Buick Grand National is really a muscle car; after all, real muscle cars aren’t turbocharged. That’s a good argument, but the counter argument is just as good: that Buick didn’t just make the highest performing mid-sized American 4-passenger car of the 80’s, they made the ONLY high performing mid-sized American 4-passenger car of the 80’s! The turbo V6 may not have been the classic muscle formula, but the use of a more ordinary “standard” 2-door sedan as a platform for a performance model most certainly was! For that very good reason, as well as for the generally awesome looks and attitude, I call the Grand National a muscle car! Argue if you must, but that’s the position I’m taking!
Buick was starting from a strong place with their use of the Regal 2-door as a basis for the GN, which, along with it’s linemate the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, was one of the best looking cars of the decade. They were well made too, with the kind of solidity that this oft neglected GM division had always been known for. Its easy to the forget that, although the Grand National was not available until 1984, the concept for the car began in 1982 with the introduction of the Regal T-Type; a true sleeper if ever there was one, the T-Type offered almost the same performance setup as the GN without the blacked out trim and black-only paint, a tire smoking turbo disguised as Gramma’s “going to church” car! But it’s the GN that everyone remembers, and why not? I mean, just look at the thing, and if you get chance, hear one! It may not be a V8, but that black trim, those wheels and tires, and that exhaust note make it clear that no one is going to church in this baby!
But did any Grand Nationals race? Well, considering that they were available only with automatic transmissions, they may have made great drag cars, but I doubt you’ll ever seen one on a road course; no one would race an automatic on a road course, that would be crazy, right? Well, that must be how San Diego resident Tommy Tillis got his nickname “Crazy Tommy T,” because racing this Grand National at Drag City is exactly what he intends to do! (Well, actually, “Crazy Tommy T” really got his nickname from an episode of The A-Team…did you catch that, fellow 80’s fans?) This would give you the idea that Tillis’ Grand National isn’t completely stock despite his pains to make it appear that way; he replaced the original 200R4 4-speed automatic with a beefier 700R4 which has been rebuilt for racing with a custom converter and valve body to allow for full manual operation, but the real trick was his re-engineering of a B&M shifter adapted to an original lever, in order to keep the stock shift quadrant but still allowing for “slap shifting”, making the car seem completely stock to anyone looking inside. Under the hood a bigger, more powerful Garret turbo charger has been installed, an intercooler has been added along with the exhaust mods required for it, and the radiator improved for better cooling. He also installed bigger front disc brakes, but they still fit well behind the stock original wheels. In short, this is about as stock of a car as one ever sees at Drag City!
Some fans may turn up their noses at a car only a year old, and without a thundering V8, showing up to do battle in the muscle car series. However, due the car’s pedigree, the race judges have agreed to allow Buick Grand Nationals (and Regal T-Types, as well as Olds Cutlass 442’s and Monte Carlo SS’s, if any were to show up!) into the fray. Thus, into the fray comes “Crazy Tommy T” and “Master Blaster.” This is definitely something new and different for Drag City: for or against, race fans are anxious to see how a V6 turbo automatic works out on the track !
I have also always accepted the GN as a true muscle car. Things were different in the 1980s, we were crawling out of the terrible oil crisis of the 1970s, and the GN helped to keep the muscle car movement alive.
Your “little” GN looks great. Congratulations.
Thx for your observations! The “classic” muscle car formula was definitely dead by the 80’s, but if the GN wasn’t exactly a “revival” it was a great “homage,” and probably the first successful example (from both an engineering and marketing perspective) of Detroit exploring the possibilities of smaller, more efficient engines to give us the kind of “seat of your pants” excitement that muscle cars offered. A lot of cars of the era promised this, but for my money the GN and GNX were among the few that delivered.
Gramma’s going to church car made me laugh Bud. This car is a great addition and admittedly was one that I didn’t know much about, now I definitely look at it in a new light!