Factory Lightweight - A Rare Family Hauling Factory Lightweight 87 GN

By Evan Griffey - Turbo Magazine Febuary 1998

When it came time to find a new, family-friendly mode of transportation, Doug Cummings lusted for the sound of a spooling turbo and hit a grand slam home run in a low-mileage (29,000 miles) 1987 Buick Grand National. The car had room for six-footers front and rear and a trunk "the size of a hot tub" so it made great sense for a family that was coming of age with a second child on the way. Doug's daughter, Makayla, was serenaded to sleep by the Buick's soothing V6 rumble on her first ride. She asked why the car made that "whoosh" sound and often asked Doug to "Make it do it again." The license plate reads "R General" because Makayla, now 3-1/2 years old, calls the car General when she asks for rides. Of course, Doug is happy to oblige and make it go whoosh as often as he is asked.

The Buick is a factory lightweight, one of 50 '87 GNs build to tour the Busch Grand National racing series in 1987. Doug contacted Dennis Kirban of Kirban Performance Products, a walking encyclopedia of Turbo Regal information, who verified the existence of the lightweights and added that as the model year drew to a close the parts bins were raided and some of the last GNs received unusual parts combinations. Doug bought the car from the son of a factory Buick dealer rep who owned two GNXs and an additional lightweight further confirming the rarity of the car. Doug's Regal got its lightweight status with aluminum rear brake drums, aluminum bumper braces, aluminum transmission housing and a few other factory tricks. The car has no power seats, or posi rear-end and other deletions were made to whittle 200 pounds off the Buick.

Taking the Buick's rarity into accounts, Doug has kept modifications simple. Magecor plug wires were swapped in place of the factory units, a K&N filter was installed in the factory air canister, an adjustable fuel pressure regulator was added and a Z-Industries chip was put in charge of the ECU.

Modifications are few on the car because of its rarity. Doug has installed a K&N air filter in the stock canister, Magnecor plug wires, an ATR exhaust system and an adjustable fuel pressure regulator dialed in to 41 psi by MechTech Motorsports of Escondido, California. The ECU is under the command of a Z-Industries chip, which regulates boost to 16.5 psi. On MechTech's Dynojet the 3.8-liter Turbo 6 generated 248 horsepower and 270 lbs-ft of torque at the wheels.

At Carlsbad the Grand National was clicking off consistent 13.78 to 13.80 etc. at 98 mph. While in the staging line, a Buick Grand National Racing Association member gave Doug a "Racing tip" Ð remove the driver's side floor mat. Thinking "How much could this weigh?" Doug lined up and punched it at the flash of the green-result, 13.63 at 99.80 and 13.58 at 99.83. Taking out the floor mat allowed more travel for the accelerator pedal and dropped e.t. by .2 and added one mph. Later with slicks the Buick posted at 13.31 at 101.20 mphÑquick fast considering the moderate mods on the car.

The turbo, heat shield and inter-cooler pipe are all factory issue. However, the Z-Industries chip pushes boost from 12 psi to 16.5 psi. The Buick runs 13.6 on street tires and 13.31 on slicks.





Turbo Regals are famous for being hard on plug wires so Doug opted for Magnecor R-100 racing wires because of their excellent heat resistance and EMI suppression.

The suspension is stock save for a one-inch ATR rear sway bar. However, rolling stock has been upgraded to 275/50-15 BFGoodrich Comp T/A Euro tires for more bite on the street.

At the 1997 Buicks At Deer Park Car Show 5, the first show that the car ever attended, Doug's GN nabbed first place honors in the Stock Class. The Buick cruises to 13.6-second timeslips as easily as it cruises to the market, is reliable, and according to Doug, is the ultimate family hauler. The Buick earns its keep too, with more than 41,000 miles now on the odometer. And as long as Makayla asks for "whoosh" the odometer will continue to roll.

For the street, Doug has upgraded rolling stock to 275/50-15 BFGoodrich Comp T/A Euro tires and retained the GN wheels. An ATR rear sway bar is the only suspension mod.

The interior of Doug's GN is factory fresh. The car was purchased with 29,000 miles on the clock and the odometer now reads 41,000.

On MechTech's Dynojet chassis dynamometer the Turbo 6 rang up 248.5 horsepower and 270.7 lbs-ft of torque.  Torque is the key to the Turbo 6's potency and Doug's motor put out more that 200 lbs-ft from 2900 rpm to redline.

Doug Cummings' 1987 Buick Grand National is a factory lightweight built to tour the Busch Grand National racing circuit in '87. It is one of 50 lightweights to be produced using aluminum rear brake drums, aluminum bumper braces, aluminum transmission housing and a few other factory tricks including option deletions to take 200 pounds out of the car. The R General license plate refers to the name given the car by Doug's daughter Makayla.

Doug's Buick is super clean. In fact, at the Buicks At Deer Park 5 car show, the Grand National took home first place in the Stock Class.

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