1986 3.8 liter SFI turbocharged Buick Regal Grand
National. 25 lbs boost on pump gas and Methanol injection.
Sixteen inch American Racing Equipment GNX style wheels wrapped in
255/50 V rated rubber at the rear and 225/55 V rated tires at the
front. New Dupont black base coat clear coat paint, wet sanded and
buffed. New motor bored .040" with LT1 MAF , Translator + and Extender
chip with fuel and timing adjustments. 3" single shot exhaust with
Walker Dynomax Ultraflow muffler. Front seats are Lear Siegler from a
1985 Grand national (much more comfortable) and the rear seat was
recovered to match the front by Dom Corey Upholstery in
Fairhaven, Ma. Custom aluminum alcohol tank, intercooler scoop, and
other critical welding by Ron Frates of Acushnet. Ma. Spray painting by
Bill Collins. Restoration process supervised by Dennis Frates at Old
Colony Regional Vocational School with plenty of hands on throughout
the process. Hey, all I wanted was a stinking paint job but he talked
me into a body off restoration. Thanks to all the Old Colony kids that
worked so hard on this project especially Russell Michaud who spent
many, many hours disassembling, sanding, cleaning, prepping, and
reinstalling parts- basically building the car from the ground up. That
left me with mostly the electrical wiring ,stripping the paint off the
body, straightening the body work, spraying the etching primer, wet
sanding and buffing the filler primer, and wet sanding and buffing out
the clear coat, installing doors,hood,trunk lid, bumpers and trim.
Thanks to the welding department and to the machine technology
department (notice the wheel center caps) for there help as well.
Thanks to my wife for putting up with me.
The last two pics were taken after I decided to paint the center
caps black. The engraving still shows in the centers although they
don't show to well in these pics.
