1995 buick regal gran sport, 3.8, 60k miles, minor front end damage. runs like a top, paint is in very good shape, just needs a lil elbow grease. luckily not only am i a mechanic, but i do body work, too!
taken with camera phone, so bare with me...

ok, so first thigns first, its got 60k miles and a 1995. so i did a 60k service. did have one little issue..... dam spark plug snapped.


interior shot


front end shot(why i got it so cheap)

should cost me about 500 bucks in parts/paint.

soon there will be an eaton m60 on top of that motor.


trunk rack was faded, so i took it off and decided to start painting


i had some color change chamealon paint left over from when i painted my last bike(i do pro paint work)

all the gran sport emblems looked faded, so i took care of them. pulled them all off


and painted them this way. sprayed paint in a cap, and cut a brush to fit in the emblem, then put clear over them.


the clear cost on the bumper is starting to fade, but the red is still good, so im gonna wet sand and reclear it. also the chrome on the "BUICK" is very faded, so i paineted that the same as the torch red on the emblems.


the purple/red/small hint of green chamealon painted trunk rack installed.


also repainted the b pillars on the door. the black was very faded. and touched up parts here and there. need to get a new grill, bumper, brace, and drivers front fender, and paint them and put them on. then it will be finished. car runs like a champ, and has more torque then my 98 bonneville with the series 2 3.8 did. i did a 12 second motor on tht car(then someone ****ing stole it, not knowing what it was, crashed it into a tree.....) so i cant wait to see what i can do with the better block and lighter car.

 

Looks like a money winner right there.

 

ive got a total investment cost of under $500, and have a perfect running car with new tires and 60k miles.
even if i have to put a grand into it, ill still be happy. but since ill be doing all the work myslef after hours and on the weekends, i dont think ill have more than another $400 in parts.

 

what kind of goals for the track do you have in mind? how you tuning that f-er? Looks fun to me!

 

theres a guy on another car forum who has built countless 3.8's. he had a tune and sent it to a guy i know who tuned it for me. im not that inclined as to do any tuning unless its a carb.
on this car, ill be shooting for high 13's. just something to have some fun with and turn a few heads. the trouble is that this motor bever came availible with a supercharger. there were three 3.8's, this one, another n/a model, and the series 2. the series 2 and the other n/a model had s/c's available. the alternator location is gonna be giving me some trouble. i may have to have a custom intake fabbed up and bring the eaton up and more towards tha rear so the nose can clear the alternator. but then i may have hood clearence issues.
or i may just custom fab a t3/t4 50 trim for it.....
its gonna be tough, but im up for it.

 

I was saying you should be able to win some money with that sleeper if you get it in the 12s.

 

Go with a turbo. It looks like there's a bit of room right in front of the engine.

 

step one-prep surface and mask off lip

step two-paint red to match Gran Sport Emblems

step three(after three coats of red and drying)-mask off centerholes

this part took over an hour

step four-prep surface and paint three coats semi gloss black
step five-remove masking tape when dry

step six-prep surface and clear with four coats of acrylic

with center cap

shitty picture of it on car(was dark by this time)

 

dont know if i like it just yet. i think im gonna paint one black and leave the lip polished and see how that looks.

 

I think the black with polished lip will look better, I don't care for the color matched wheels.