At one point we had four 1987 Buick Regal Grand Nationals. Having so many required naming to keep them straight.

The first GN ("mine") was called "Later" and had the tag "LATERRR". The tag it had when we got it was LTRV8TR...al la "Later V8'er". So we referred to it as Later for short. UPDATE: That car is broke and tagless right now. The input shaft to the transmission snapped. The "LATERRR" tag is on my Corvette.

The next GN was purchased in boxes. It was a theft recovery with only 27,000 miles on it. It took me 8 months to put it back together. It's name and tag was "PIECES" for obvious reasons. UPDATE: This car is gone.

The third GN was bought because of concern about parts for the other two. We also didn't want to put a lot of miles on Pieces. Since we bought it for a "parts" car and we had one named "Pieces" the name "Parts" was a natural. That is apparently a popular tag so we ended up with "87PARTS". Don't worry, I don't think it will be parted out any time in the next 10 years. We keep finding "deals" that fix this and that. New bumper fillers, swapped the transmission... Fixed the big dents and scratches. It's actually a pretty nice car now. UPDATE: Over the years this car has seen hard times. A can of paint remover exploded and sprayed all over the hood and a tree limb fell denting the roof. Currently the passenger door is torn apart due to the window motor dying. Also, the powermaster was donated to Pieces.

The fourth GN is new to us. It's an old friend though. We got it from my father-in-law who parted with it due to illness. This one is famous! It was featured in the 1996 GSCA Nationals video. This was when Cal Hartline, Lance Ward, Brad ???, and I rebuilt it in the evenings after Fred broke a crankshaft. This was apparently the most interesting activity in Bowling Green KY in the evenings. The video crew kept coming by and made a record of the progress. Of course, we had a lot of kibitzers standing around and assisting. There really isn't a whole lot to do in Bowling Green in the evenings. OnlyA6 also made it into GM High Tech Performance (Nov 2003) in the Readers Rides. One of the few that they show with the hood open. So far it's best has been 10.12 at the track. We found the intercooler pump had malfunctioned and we expect it to make the 9's next time out. UPDATE: This car is gone. We kept the tag though. It's on the parts car now.

The pictures with blue borders can be clicked for a larger image.

Modifications 118,000 miles BGC cold air kit MM 4" MAF pipe TE60-1 Turbo with 4" inlet and 2.5" outlet Precision Front Mount Intercooler Champion IAC Relocator Ported (gasket matched) Intake Manifold Jason Cramer Power Plate Champion Iron Heads ported, polished     w/1.77" & 1.5" Manley valves     w/Comp Cams springs 210-210 Billet Roller Cam T&D 1.55 Roller Rocker Arms Hartline Performance Valve Covers TRW .030" Forged Pistons     w/Pontiac lightweight pins Jason Cramer Engine Girdle #2 and #3 Billet Main Bearing Caps Delco Mini Starter Motor ATR SS Headers Terry Houston 3" Down Pipe GSCA 2-1/4" Dual Exhaust w/dump Walbro In-tank Fuel Pump 72 Pound Siemens Fuel Injectors Accel DFI Fuel Management Computer Quad-Air Volt Booster SPAL Dual Fans PMAC THM-200-4R transmission Art Carr 9" 3000 RPM Stall Torque Convertor Stock 3.42:1 Rear End S10 Rear Brake Cylinders ATR Rear Sway Bar Air-Lift Air bags Hurst Line Lock Weld Pro-Stars 15" alloy wheels Drive shaft loop 5-pt Roll bar by Hartline Performance Rear Seat Frame Braces Front Frame Braces Aluminum Core Support Fiberglass Hood Fiberglass Front Bumper AVC Aftermarket Dash Westech EGT Gauge Autometer Electric Fuel Pressure Gauge Oil Leaks courtesy the General	Modifications 42,000 miles Kenne Bell cold air kit 3" MAF pipe Turbonetics Cheetah IV Turbo Spearco Big Stock Location Intercooler Ported (gasket matched) Intake Manifold Jason Cramer Power Plate Champion GN1 Aluminum Heads     w/Comp Cams springs 216-216 Billet Roller Cam T&D 1.65 Roller Rocker Arms Hartline Performance Valve Covers J&E Forged .020 Pistons #2 and #3 Billet Main Bearing Caps Stock Headers ATR 2.5" Down Pipe Walbro in-tank fuel pump 50 pound MSD Fuel Injectors Stock ECM     Hartline Performance chip Stock Exhaust Manifolds ATR 2-3/4" Down Pipe ATR 2-1/2" Dual Exhaust w/dump Stock Transmission 3.73:1 rear end ATR sway bar Air-Lift Air bags Hurst Line Lock Kirban GNX-style 16" mesh wheels Drive shaft loop 5-pt Roll bar by Hartline Performance Rear Seat Frame Braces Front Frame Braces AVC Aftermarket Dash Oil Leaks courtesy the General	Modifications 167,000 miles (motor only 42,000mi) Jason Cramer Power Plate Custom Chip K/N Air Cleaner 3" MAF pipe TBO-348 Turbo Stock Intercooler (ported) Stock Iron Heads never been off motor     w/Crower valve springs Stock Cam Stock Headers Stock Down Pipe Walbro in-tank fuel pump 36 pound Ford Blue-top Fuel Injectors Stock ECM     Hartline Performance chip 2-1/4" Dual Exhaust Stock 3.42:1 rear end ATR Sway Bar Stock Steel Wheels Oil Leaks courtesy the General	Modifications 145,000 miles (motor less than 10,000mi) Buick Stage II short block built by Duttweiler ATR cold air kit MM 4" MAF pipe PT74Q Turbo ATR Water-to-air Intercooler Champion IAC Relocator Ported (gasket matched) Intake Manifold 70mm Throttle Body BGC Upper Plenum Jason Cramer Power Plate Champion Aluminum Heads Full race port     w/Comp Cams springs Lock Ring Head Gasket 214-214 Billet Roller Cam T&D 1.65 Roller Rocker Arms Buick Motorsports Magnesium Valve Covers J&E Forged Pistons     w/6.300" Cunningham Rods Forged Crankshaft 3.625" Stroke Duttweiler Custom Oil Pan Meizere Electric Water Pump Delco Mini Starter Motor ATR SS Headers Custom 3.5" Down Pipe External Waste Gate ATR 3" Crossflow Dual Exhaust w/dump Weldon External Fuel Pump Weldon Fuel Pump PWM Controller 160 Pound Fuel Injectors FAST Fuel Management Computer SPAL Dual Fans PTE THM-200-4R transmission PTE 9-11 3800 RPM Stall Torque Convertor Aluminum Drive Shaft Stock 3.42:1 Rear End TA Rear End Cover Moser Axels    w/C-Clip Eliminators Extended Wheel Studs Aluminum Rear Brake Drums S10 Rear Brake Cylinders 1.5" Drop Variable Rate Rear Springs Wolf Rear Sway Bar Mepco Rear upper and lower trailing arms Bell Tech 2" Drop Spindles Air-Lift Air bags Hurst Line Lock Kirban GNX-style 16" mesh wheels Drive shaft loop 5-pt Roll bar by Hartline Performance Rear Seat Frame Braces Front Frame Braces Aluminum Core Support Fiberglass Hood Fiberglass Front Bumper AVC Aftermarket Dash Autometer Electric Fuel Pressure Gauge VDO Transmission Temperature Gauge Assembly and Tuning by Hartline Performance Alpine CD Reciever 3 Stereo Coustic Amplifiers Boston Acoustics Speakers CX3 CX6 CX9 Powered Sub Woofer Oil Leaks courtesy the General

I finally got around to taking a few pictures of the cars. Some of the old ones are still here. A while back, Later spent too much time (8 1/2 months) in two body shops. Sometime in the past Later had been painted with one of those $150 paint jobs. When I decided to get it repainted, I had problems. It needed to be taken down to the bare metal. A lot of work $$. The first shop had it for almost six months and really just messed things up. I missed the Nationals for the second time in a row. I pulled it out of there in pieces. After that, most of the shops I talked to wouldn't even give me an estimate. It looked bad. I finally got it back. Real nice paint job. Don Whalen of Custom Touch Auto Body did better that I expected. It's not perfect, but I got my money's worth. He will probably do Parts when we get it painted next year.

Two weeks after I got Later out of the body shop, at a Buick event in Reynolds GA, a vacuum/boost hose popped off while running 22 PSI of boost at the 1000' foot mark. This line was tee'd off the line going to the 3-BAR MAP sensor (DFI car) and the computer suddenly saw 10 PSI. Being a good computer, it promptly cut the fuel in half and advanced the timing 6-8 degrees. Both head gaskets blew and so much water got in the engine the lubrication of the cam lobes was affected. Three cam lobes were wiped; #1 intake, #3 exhaust, and #4 exhaust. Lost about 20-30 thousandths of lift. All in less than 45 seconds. The car ran 12.29s at 79 MPH. I really hated pulling the motor in a car that I just got out of the body shop. It turned out okay though, no scratches.

UPDATE Later runs again. I haven't borrowed a good camera yet so you'll have to be satisfied with some frame grabbing from a video camera. Some of the Florida Buick folks rented the Moroso track (organized by Mark Pona, thanks Mark) for a Thursday night. I got Later's motor rebuilt six days beforehand. It ran great. 11.571s @114.31mph w/1.646s 60'. I'm happy.
UPDATE Well, I was happy. As detailed elsewhere on this site, that cam failed and I put in a new billet roller. I have also added a front mount intercooler. Unfortunately, I haven't made it back to the track since the changes. I don't get to the racetrack more than two or three times a year. I'm not much of a racer I guess. I expect good things however. The old stock intercooler was by far the major weakness in my combination.
UPDATE We have put a new motor in Pieces. See the pics below. The modifications give details of the motor. I am freshening up Pieces old motor and putting it in Parts. Mostly, I'm changing the front and rear seals along with the valve springs. A leakdown shows all the cylinders above 95% which is as good as anybody can ask for in a cold stock motor that hasn't had the heads off. I also rebuilt the suspension. That's easier to do without the engine in the way. It has new bushing, ball joints, springs, shocks, wheel bearings, and brake pads. It ought to drive like a new car when I get the motor back in. With all the cleaning and painting I've done, it will look like a new car, at least when you open the hood.
UPDATE Calamity. I was driving home in Later and a car pulled out in front of me at an intersection. I was unable to avoid it. The other driver was at fault and received a ticket but now I will have to deal with her insurance company. It will probably take some doing to educate an insurance company that Grand Nationals are not your grandmother's Buick Regal.
UPDATE Later drives again. After 2 1/2 months in the body shop, Later is finally fixed. Getting parts for these cars is a problem. I ended up finding a lot of them myself. Later now has an aluminum core support and a fiberglass hood. I got the core support from Joe Lopez in CA and the hood from Cal Hartline here in Melbourne. Fred Borthwick picked up several parts for me at the GSCA Nationals also. I had to replace the CAS intercooler with a Precision front mount. The bigger pipes required shifting the SPAL fans to one side for clearance. This meant manufacturing a new bracket to mount the fans.
UPDATE Pieces old motor is in Parts and as the photos show, the parts car looks more like a show car under the hood. I don't think it'll be parted out any time soon.
UPDATE As mentioned above, we have a 4th GN now.

Here are some pictures of the damage to Laterrr. Well, they start with how it used to look. Wasn't it pretty? All straight, no ripples or dings. The bandaid on the intercooler didn't make it all better. :-(

Here are some pictures of Later at Moroso. This was a long time ago. I can't believe how rarely I have had a chance to play with my car. :-( Between two bodyshops and rebuilding the motor twice, I don't think I've driven Later more than four months in the last three years. I'm glad we have other GNs around here.

The excitement of the evening was Cal Hartline doing wheelstands. He kinda overdid it and hurt his car a little (pictures below). It is back running now. This is why he takes his car to the track on a trailer. I give him grief about having a "trailer queen" but he does drive this on the street around town. He has put over 200,000 miles on the car and it still has the full interior. He wasn't showing any times that night but I know his car has run nines in the past and he was happy that night too. No, I'm not going to tell you. Ask him yourself.

Notice the sparks? On the way up, Cal wore down the air bag valves that stick through his bumper. He also kinked shut the 3/4" gas line at the back/bottom of his modified fuel tank. When the car came down, all kinds of things came loose. The molding above the doors fell down, the visors swung straight back. The air pipes and tubes on his front mount intercooler were crushed. His fancy Duttweiler oil pan is dented. The front cross member scraped the ground. Both lower control arms were bent. The front springs actually came out of their retainers. At least one wire (boost sensor signal) in the wiring harness was pinched and shorted. That took an hour to find. His backache only lasted a day.

UPDATE Cal has been running in the 8's for a while now. Here's a more recent picture when he came to visit...

You'll note he added the wheelie bars. He has since done more suspension tuning and removed the bars.

I think I'll be adding pictures of other visitors in the future. It appears that garages are like mousetraps. Build a better one, and cars will come visit. Adding the hydraulic lift has given folks reasons to come visit. Below is a picture of Jorge Perez-Gurris's 96 Impala SS. It is the fastest naturally aspirated and fastest overall Impala SS in the country. It stopped by for some electronics work.

BTW, Cal is the guy who beat the Mustang below:

Click on the picture for the full story. The Mustang owner had enough class to follow through on the bet and actually put the sign on his car. I saw the double or nothing follow-up race where Cal lifted his front wheels (on the street!). The Mustang had slicks that time. Cal won that one by several car lengths.

Here's an old picture of Cals car on the street.