SC vs Grand National

Last night after work I took a cruise down by the beach and after making about 2 laps the car behind me turns off and what do I see in the mirror? A black G-Body with a bulge in the hood. Turns out it was the guy I raced last summer in my 90 SC. I told him I had a black one and he has seen my car on display at a local show. So I pull off in an alley and he pulls up and we start talking. His is an 87 Regal WE4 (GN motor, all black trim, grille, but doesn't have the GN logo on the seats, and doesn't have the GN wheels). The car has an awesome paint job. He told me he was recently at a Buick track event and went 11.70@112mph I was like WHOA. He has a bigger turbo, boost control, scanmaster tuner, exhaust, and a built tranny. He said the internals have never been touched, stock heads, stock cam, it idled smooth as hell. I was surprised. He said to run 11.70 it took slicks, and some race fuel (higher than 110) and 25 psi. He said last night he was running 110 octane and had the turbo set at 17 psi and was on fat street tires. I still didn't want to race him.

As we took off he turned off on a side road and I nailed it in 2nd to let him hear the blower whine, chirped third, and then slowed back down. He would still destroy me in a race but for an SC my car is pretty quick.

I will have a GN one day, mark my words.
 
Nice. I really like the WE4's. The interior color seems less dated with all gray and not the black carpet and black on the seats.
 
It surprised me to find out that there is an 11 second street car in my town. I know of a guy who lives in the area w/ a 10 Sec. N20 equipped Mustang. For young adults my age I have one of the fastest cars in my town, but there are a few Vettes, a S-281 Saleen, an F-355, and a Viper that I see from time to time. Now if I had myself a GN w/ some mods, I'd be out looking for them!
 
Depends on what you're looking for.

Since I'm more into running the twisties and cruising high speed for long distances (with a bad back), all I have to do is look at the seats in the GN to know it's not the car for me. ;)

To me, a safe (read performance) car is one that accellerates, brakes and maneuvers away from emergency situations. IMO the SC does 2 of out 3 of these better than the GN. And with the leather fold down rear seat interior, with much greater comfort and utility. :p

Granted, with the $$ I put in my mod's a GN would be turning low 11's or better. But my SC chops a good 2 sec out of the 1/4, generates about .5G more lateral and cuts my stopping distance down by a huge amount. All without really compromising the comfort and utility. :cool:

If I took on a GN in the moutains, I'd eat his lunch AND dinner. :D

Lee
 
i ran a fairly stock gn with my mustang 87 5.0 gt fairly stock 273 gears 5 spd i thought they seemed about even up to 80 or so mph then i lifted it was in front of a tech school everyone came out to watch it was awesome and i think my sc 5 spd 273 gears feels much quicker than my stang did
 
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i still have to go with a gnx over any car but a 03 cobra. somthin about runnin 10's with just bolt ons is so damn cool.
later , matt
 
Ive had both cars(still have the sc) and with the exception of straight line acceleration the sc is a vastly superior car.the GN had handling and breaking capabilities about on par with my Windstar van.The interior ergonomics were inferior.Turbo lag from a stop was very noticeable if I didnt load up on the brake.If I hammered it from a stop (without brake torqing) it would slowly accel lerate to 20-25 mph until full boost hit,then it would start to spin the tires and go.on a roll,turbo lag was non existent.It was hard to modulate the throttle since the response at 2/3 throttle was the same as wot.Ihad the car new and kept it stock.I clocked 0-60 in 6.8s with brake torqing,and 7.3 sec just punching it(here in calgary at a 3500ft elevation.)At the time it was afast car,but in stock form they arent the rockets they were made out to be.Personally,Ive been there,done that and wouldnt want another one(way to crude for my tastes).
 
P.S> When I had the car any time I was at a light someone wanted to run .5.0 mustangs were always game and were no problem to beat.1988-89 corvettes would run even up to 30 mph then the buick would pull away.On the highway I ran even with a jag xjs from 60 mph up.The only time I got beat at a light was by a modified 70-71 mustang with a played with 428.If i punched it first at a 25mph roll we would run even up to 55mph then he would pull away.If he hit it first he would pull right away.During test drives at the time (1987-1990),stock 5.0 mustangs and 350 tpi Z28 camaros felt really slow.The elevation here(3500ft) seems to really sap N/A engines.I think the enhanced part throttle torque from the m-90 makes the sc a lot of fun to drive.My lightly modded 95 sc auto feels way more responsive than my 2000 gt stang 5spd and doesnt feel noticeably less responsive than my c5 6spd., in normal driving.
 
Very interesting perspective. Nice to hear from an actual owner.

Welcome, by the way! Calgary is a cool town, used to live not too far from there.
 
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Looks dangerous.

On a side note.......while driving around yesterday I ran across a new Saleen. Couldn't tell what model it was, but it was legit in the 5 seconds I had to really scan it. Car was red w/ grey factory 5 spoke 18's and the saleen calipers, etc....

I couldn't help but think again about a car that looked like that, yet had a 3.8L w/ the Magnum goodies. That would be a tough all around car. 450HP V6 Saleen........handling, braking, mid 12's on street tires............V6.

Micah
 
Depends.....I think you can get the 281, S281, and S351. A friend has a 281 which is just a 4.6L. With Magnaflow cat back and intake he gets 240RWHP.......seems like he runs mid-low 14's depending on traction.

I think the S281 is mid 13's out of the box and the S351 is mid 12's out of the box. Of course traction really swings the numbers all over the place.

Micah
 
well read all your post now for my 2 cents.Ive had a 1987 944 turbo, still have my 90 mustang gt,and a new svt focus as a get around car,this is my second super coupe something about the car has svt all over it.my cat is a blue 91 i bought from the original owner .2 set of keys with id tags service manual from ford and wiring schematics,and touch up paint from ford. the reason im saying this i only paid 600 dollars for a car that saids it all.The performance is great its no gnx as of speed but 4 a 4000 plus car its like a hippo on speed skates and can manuever close to my porsche on the twisties that alone is good .the sc was never made to rival an gnx anyway ive seen an 87 ,88 turbo coupe tbird that would pull high 10 and even older svo mustangs. say if i put 3000 to 4000 into it then it would be a hell of lot faster compared to a 6to 10 thousand dollar gnx then u have to put all your upgrades in .if i pay say 10 grand for a older car i would get a true super car that would be a lotus
 
I love my S/C but i'd trade it in a heartbeat for a equal condition GN! I'd be dumb not to! Always wanted one hope to own one before i die.. Could have bought a pair of so so GN"s both drivable in need of body/interior work for $2500 probably should have... I was under the impresion that some of the GN's actually were supercharged??? True or false?? every GN i've ever looked under the hood at was a turbo.. As for the Gn motor vs Sc motor on durrability i couldn't tell you but i will state one thing from experiance the N/A 3.8 buick is not as powerful as the N/A 3.8 ford BUT they are a million times more durrable! I've owned several with over 250k that ran like new and my mother in law has a 3.8 cutlass with 550k+ never been rebuilt!! Still runs descent uses some oil smokes a bit when you get on it/first start it... Never seen an n/a ford 3.8 last that long.....
 
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