10-24-2012 Inner Circle

Greetings Turbo Regal Inner Circle Members - 10-24-2012

REPORT FROM THE GS NATIONALS -

I arrived in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Thursday around noon. Thursday turned out to be the nicest day with great cool weather. Friday and Saturday were mostly overcast and temperatures stayed in the low-to-mid 50s. Fortunately, it did not rain and the turnout was quite good. The extremely cool weather was great for the race classes!

We are extremely grateful for all of our customers that brought us powermaster cores, turbo cores, and mass air flow sensor cores.

Thankfully we have received adequate powermaster cores in the past 2 weeks. We got in 18 powermaster cores alone at the GS Nationals!

So, if you need a powermaster brake unit, now is the time to place your order as we have plenty in the system getting rebuilt. The waiting time has been reduced to 3-5 days.

Because we have met the current demand on powermaster cores, we have gone back down to issuing a Letter of Credit for $100 for any complete powermaster cores you may want to send in. Contact us prior to shipping us any cores.

PHOTO 1 - The top photo shows three different sizes of the new GBodyparts.com aluminum Grand National style wheels. The quality is excellent. You can contact them for more information - 252-825-3293. The middle left photo shows Gbodyparts.com new amber 1984-1987 front parking lamps. We will also be carrying them. We expect to have them by the end of the year. He also had them made in clear plastic, which can be seen in the lower left photo. The clear ones look really nice.

If you have attended the GS Nationals in the past, you have probably seen Richard Lasseter and his faithful companion. This lower right photo shows Richard’s dog under our parts table. He recently had to have his right hind leg removed due to cancer. It was amazing to see how well he gets around on just three legs.

PHOTO 2 - The top photos show two trophies which one of the GS clubs had custom made for some of their individual classes. These one-of-a-kind trophies made from various engine parts, etc. and were really well done.

The lower left photo shows one Corvair in the show field that was powered with a V8 in what normally was the trunk in a Corvair. I doubt Ralph Nader would complain about this! The lower right photo shows the other unusual car, a 1938 Chevrolet coupe that was fitted with the 1986-1987 Turbo V6 powerplant.

PHOTO 3 - One of the prettiest Turbo Regals can be seen in the photo on the left. It is a 1986 T-Type. It is light blue, which is a very rare color that year. As many of you realize, all 1986 T-Types had the black-out package, which really stands out on this car. The photo on the right shows the unique display sign the owner had in front of his car. The main stand was mounted to a GNX-style wheel, which served as the base. More and more owners are coming up with unique ideas for displays when they show their cars.

Every show of this size will usually have one example of a car that you wonder if the owner modified it, or did it actually get built that way.

This year at the GS Nationals this 23,000 mile 1987 Turbo-T Limited was such a car. A car that made me wonder if the owner added the exterior coach lamps or did the car come equipped that way.

PHOTO 4 - This top left photo shows a close up of the quarter panel of this grey 1987 Turbo-T Limited with the coach lamp clearly visible. What makes this unusual is the fact the car does not have a half-padded roof. Also, the car has the WO2 exterior black-out package, which makes the chrome coach lamp stand out even more so. We talked to the owner, Tim Toark from Illinois. He showed us the actual window sticker, which can be seen in the top right photo.

In this lower photo we show the trunk ID label also known as the Service Parts Identification label. (We blacked out the VIN number). The car has 92 codes, which is a high number of codes. The coach lamp code is C93, which indeed is on the label. The total price was $18,893. The options alone added up to $6,380! It would appear the original owner specifically wanted a well-optioned Turbo-T Limited. Either that or the dealership wanted a well-optioned example for display. Whatever the background, Tim has a car that is quite unusual and is probably one-of-a-kind the way it is equipped.



TSA CLASS AT 2012 GS NATIONALS -

Here are the results for Turbo Stock Appearing (TSA) Class.

Red Armstrong - 11.07 - 122 mph
Bill Thompson - 11.09 - 119 mph
John Tubbs - 10.98 - 121 mph

Bill Thompson turned in the best qualifying run with a 121.55 mph at 10.914 seconds on Friday.

These are amazing times for 1986-1987 Turbo Regals that have to be stock appearing.

This class is sponsored by ZDDPlus.

Congrats to all those that participated. It was a great event.



ON THE NEWS FRONT -

MUSCLECAR REVIEW, November 2012 issue has a 3-page spread featuring the Buick Performance Group 25th Anniversary of the Last Grand Nationals. It was held this past August in Ohio that many of you attended. It's entitled, "Class of 1987."

Pick up a copy.



CORRECTING AN ERROR FROM 10-17-2012 INNER CIRCLE -

In the 10-17-2012 Turbo Regal Inner Circle under Photo 4's description, we stated that the Century T-Type only was produced for the model year 1986. Several readers brought it to my attention that the Century model was actually produced from 1983 through the 1986 model. I should have realized that, since 1983 Buick introduced the T-Type version on five different Buick models, one being the Century model.

One of our customers actually owns a 1985 Century T-Type model, which is a four door. His car has bucket seats, analog style dash, digital tachometer, and a factory sunroof. He bought it simply because he had never seen one before and realized it was probably quite rare.

Personally, I have never seen one. The Century T-Types (1983-1986) are very rare to see today. As each year passes, almost all the other T-Type models (with the exception of the Regal version, will be even tougher to find.



1987 Buick Regal Turbo-T - FOR SALE

Second Owner, purchased about 4 years ago.

Car has approximately 8300 original miles and is Gray with Maroon interior.

All original, never modified and still smells new. It’s a WO2 with low options, power locks, tilt, power antenna, map lights, posi, and aluminum bumper braces, just to name a few.

It still has the original Goodyear GT’s with excellent tread and in excellent condition. Original exhaust and plug wires. Stickers still on underside, sway bars, springs, and pitman arm. Wheels are in new condition with no curb hit or rash.

Car has always been garaged and never driven in any foul weather, including rain.

The car comes with a LOT of documentation. Original owner kept every single piece of paperwork and dealer information. Never seen so much stuff, some of which appears to be rare too.

You would be hard pressed to find a nicer/cleaner more original Turbo-T out there.

$23,000

BILL FARNHAM
MIDDLETOWN, CT
phone - 203-910-8297
email - Buicknut219@AOL



GNX FOR SALE -

A customer of ours wants to sell his GNX. Years ago I bought 3 of his Turbo Regals.

The GNX is all stock, never modified. He has changed the tires. Car has always been garaged.

Here are the issues: The headliner is starting to droop. The fillers are starting to crack, front and rear. The antenna does not work.

When my customer took ownership and the mileage reported to Carfax got messed up. Carfax shows that mileage exceeds the limits. All common problems. Car has just 10,300 miles but the Carfax shows over 99,000.

The price is $48,500. This GNX is very fairly priced, if you want one to enjoy. Car is located in Maryland near the Washington DC area. The owner does not have a computer, so I can't send photos.

GNX is #214.

If interested, email me direct - [email protected]



OBSERVATIONS FROM THE ROAD -

On the trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky this year we found gas prices as low as $3.39 per gallon for regular in parts of Ohio.

I found it odd that in one town the Sunday newspaper was $1.25 and it did not even have a comic section!



NEW PRODUCTS -

We now have new original 10 ohm Delco 4" x 10” rear speakers available for all the 1984-1987 Regals (All Models).

1984-1987 Buick Regal (All Models) -
10 ohm DELCO REAR SPEAKERS (2)

Because of the age of these cars, the original speakers may be cracked from the heat or age.

We offer these 4" by 10" correct 10 ohm Delco rear speakers, which were made by Pioneer for Delco electronics back in 1985-1986. They actually came out of Kokomo, Indiana and been in storage since that time. Supplies are limited.

We used to sell original Delco speakers years ago. Finding 10 ohm correct Delco speakers today with the correct style plug on them has been next to impossible. We recently found a source and now can offer them in pairs.

These have the correct connectors, so the original wire end will plug into each speaker. They are the correct size to seat properly in the spring-loaded cage, which secures each speaker to the back deck behind the rear seat. Just like the originals, these were made in Japan.

These are 100% brand new and have had excellent storage since they were made. These are the correct current replacement speakers for the back deck area for the 1984-1987 Regal models with the standard four-speaker system or a factory Concert Sound II system (six speakers), and are sold as a pair.

Remember, supplies are limited, so order today.

Another nice interior restoration item.

7456 - 1984-1987 Buick Regal (All Models) -
10 ohm Delco Rear Speakers (2) - $89.95 / pair

Here is a link to these speakers on our website.
http://www.kirbanperformance.com/product/44022/10+ohm+DELCO+REAR%E2%80%88SPEAKERS%E2%80%88%23+7456.html



REPRODUCTION GNX SUSPENSION - NOW AVAILABLE -

Pete Hoffman has a limited number of the reproduction GNX Suspension Systems available. These are the Richard Clark systems that he has had made locally.

They are nearly exact to the originals, down to the welds and material used. They come with complete detailed instructions.

Limited availability!
Call or email Pete 215-778-1036
[email protected]



ALWAYS IN A BUYING POSITION WORKS -

Got any turbo parts you are not using? Why not cash them in for parts you need with a Letter of Credit. Simply email me a list - [email protected].

Also, we are still buying dead or partially dead 1984-1987 Turbo Regals under $4,000 that are within 250 to 350 miles of our location.



NOTE ABOUT PHOTOS ON THE WEBSITE - We have heard from a couple people that have viewed the photos on the website. Because these have to be low-resolution photos to work on the Inner Circle segments on the website, any photos of text don't appear clear when enlarged. This is a problem when you are trying to see numbers, such as those on the VIN labels or pages from Options booklet. Also, because of photo reproduction and computer screen variations, the colors may not be true to the actual product or photo.

If you would like to have us email you any photo at the higher resolution for viewing, just email us and we will email them to you. Be sure to be specific on which pictures you want to see - Reference Inner Circle date and photo number 1, 2, 3 or 4 - [email protected].



EBAY LISTINGS -

If you would like to see any of the Kirban Performance Products items listed on eBay, here is a link to our store and auctions - http://stores.ebay.com/Kirban-Performance-Products-Inc_



ABOUT OUR EMAILS -

Any inquiries concerning used parts, you must email me direct - [email protected] - I will answer you. However, if I fail to answer you within 24 hours, please email us again. Since expanding into used parts, I get a lot of emails and sometimes I may forget your request or may not remember who requested the item.



IN CLOSING - Hard to believe another show season is winding down and winter will soon be upon us. Enjoy the fall colors!

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