10/12/92 

My next vehicle, which was purchased in October of 1992, was a mint condition 1985 Monte Carlo. The car came equipped with a 4.3 liter V-6 that put out a whopping 140 horsepower. I didn't really care much because it was a very nice looking car and it was also a step up from my former vehicle. I tinkered a little with the performance of the car by adding headers and a stouter camshaft, but it was never a pavement shredder due to the mileage oriented rear end and my lack of funds to do anything about it. I had planned on replacing the V-6 with a more muscular 383 stroker or something similar when I saw an ad in the paper that I just couldn't resist. The ad read, "1986 Monte Carlo SS, white, T-tops, mint condition." I had dreamed of owning an SS since I was a youngster in the big 80's, so I decided to go take a look and see what this car was going for. When I arrived at the guys house and saw the car, I was instantly in love with the thing. It was painted an arctic white and had gray 1987 decals on the body.  It was in mint condition inside and out and had been serviced very regularly. At this point, I was out of high school and in my sophomore year in college, so I figured I could treat myself to my dream car. After all, you only live once. I drove the car home that evening and I owned it up until I spotted my next ride nestled calmly in the lot of a small town dealership.

 

10-7-1995
A lot of people ask what attracted me to this old car in the first place.  I have always liked the Buick Grand National since I was a kid, and that hadn't changed as the years went on.  I always thought a GN was going to be out of my reach so I would have to settle for a normally aspirated G-body until I got out of college and got the proverbial real job.

It wasn't until I read the article in Car Craft from June, 1995, that I learned just how powerful and intimidating a turbo Regal can be.  I also learned that a Regal T-Type was identical to the GN and is every bit as fast.  I decided to look around for a T-Type after reading this article and perusing web sites on Buick powered vehicles.  After much research, my decision was made to part with my 1986 Monte Carlo SS so that I could get something with more mystique, not to mention tire shredding torque at just a touch of the gas.  Reading John Kiewicz's article in Car Craft sealed the deal, as it compared the TR to a Mustang to prove which could go faster in a series of modifications.

This brings us to my next vehicle, a 1986 Buick Regal T-Type. I actually stumbled upon this car quite by accident. I was driving by a local dealer when I spied a GMC Syclone that looked very sharp. Nestled in between the truck and a 1971 Monte Carlo was a dark gray Regal T-Type. I had heard some things about these cars, but I didn't know how brutal they actually were. I looked at the truck briefly, but I was more intrigued by the Regal. While the salesmen eyed my SS like buzzards, I looked the car over really good and decided that it was well worth a test drive. Boy was I in for it! This was like no car I had ever driven before.  

The T-Type had the characteristics of a stout big block while maintaining the look and mannerisms of a "normal" car. At first they wanted too much for it so I decided to wait it out since I live in a fairly small town and I didn't think anyone would pay a lot for this car unless they actually knew what it was. I waited ... and waited ... and the car sat from May 1995 to October 1995. I knew they wouldn't sell it before winter so I just stopped in and offered them a ridiculous price, at least to me. They took it and I drove the car home the next day, October 7, 1995.  I snapped the picture above a week later after I went through the car with a fine tooth comb.  

After I got the car home I began realizing how good the previous owner had been with his maintenance. He had a log book of all work done plus receipts. This was looking better all the time. I decided to take it to the local strip to get a baseline before I started my modifications, so on October 15, 1995, I headed for Cedar Falls Raceway to get some baseline times.  A friend of a friend named Brian didn't think a Regal could be fast, so he challenged me to a showdown with his stock '89 Mustang GT. I said sure, so we packed up the camcorder, a few friends, and headed over to the track.

It was a cool 60 degrees out that day, beautiful for racing. We got there a little late so I could only get in a few practice runs before the bracket racing started. I rolled up to the staging lanes with all of the other hot rodders. To my surprise, I was the only person who was running regular street tires. I was a little intimidated by the lopey idles and fat tires of the cars around me but I was just out for a baseline time anyway. My first run, I lined up against a 1977 Malibu, which was all primered up and running some big slicks out back. I sighed and just told myself I was out for a time. The tree lit up and I got a very bad start and didn't launch with any boost at all. The Malibu beat me off the line, but to my surprise the Regal pressed me back into the leather seats and I flew past the car before the 1/8th mile marker. On my first terrible run, at least I thought, I ran a 14.4 @ 94 mph. That car surprised the heck out of me for a bone stocker.

The next practice run, I actually got to line up against Brian and his Mustang. I can say that my heart has never beaten faster with excitement then at that time. I was actually worried that he would show me up in his mighty Ford, but it was a test this car had to take. This time I drove around the water, heeding the advice of another TR driver. I did a quick burnout to heat the meats up a little and then we both pulled up to stage. With one foot on the brake and one foot lightly on the gas, I waited for the tree to count down. Green! I didn't get a real good start again since I was still learning how to launch a turbo car. We hit the light and took off down the track. Much to my surprise I shot right past him even before the 60' mark and blew the doors off his blue oval car. When I stopped to pick up my time slip I was happy to find that my stock Regal ran a 13.99 @ 98 mph in pure stock form on 215/65 street tires. How I cut a 2.1 60' time on those, I'll never know. Embarrassed, Brian blushed as he said, "That's only a six?"

 

2/24/97

My next vehicle was a 1993 Ford F-150 Lightning, purchased 2/24/97.  It was quite a nice truck, and I drove it for a few months, but nothing else had the appeal of the Buick I once had.  I never should have sold that car.  Anyway, the Lighting was really a good truck, but I ended up selling it to my dad in November of 1997, who still owns the vehicle to this day.

UPDATE: 4/26/2000

My dad traded in the Ford Lightning on a 2000 Chevy Silverado extended cab.  The truck he purchased is really nice since it has 4 doors and a nice roomy extended cab.  He chose not to spend the money on a 4x4 since we really don't have winters anymore thanks to global warming.  I am happy that he got the truck he has wanted for a long time, but I am also sad to see the Lightning go since it was a unique truck.  If I ever strike it rich, I'll probably look at getting one of the new supercharged Lightnings.

 

3/25/97

In trying to pacify my need for speed, I purchased a 1995 Mustang GTS from a dealer in my hometown. The car is not a typo. In 1995, Ford manufactured Mustang GTS cars, which was basically a Mustang GT with an option package that deleted the fog lights, rear wing, power options and leather interior. Option 248a could be slightly customized, but for the most part they appeared as described. The car was fast enough, but that was probably due to the fact that it had been over two years since I had driven a "real" fast car, that being my old T-Type.  I ended up selling the car one year later to rid myself of the high payments and high insurance.  It just didn't end up being the car for me at the time.  I still do like Mustangs, which is odd for a Buick lover to say.  What really turned me off about the car was the money I would have to spend to make it as fast as a stock F-body.  With the release of the LS1 V-8, I knew it was time to get back to a car that could hang with them right out of the box.  My return to the Turbo Regal camp began when I sold the Mustang on March 13, 1998. 

 

7/11/98

The Mustang is sold and I now own a beautiful 1987 Turbo Regal, which this page is dedicated to.  Going fast with class is the name of the game now.  The car is a Canadian model with few options.   I actually wanted it that way because there is less to go wrong with the car as it gets older.  The car has 40,300 miles on it right now, or 65000km if you prefer.   It is a totally restored car from the ground up and needs absolutely nothing.   It is hard to see, but the car is actually a Garnet red, but it looks different at various stages of daylight.  Now all I have to do is recover a bit from buying this car and find myself a winter beater because this car is just too pretty to drive in winter.

The Buick is not a daily driver and it spends most days under cover in my garage.  I usually can be seen on sunny weekends cruising around town with the car set to "kill" mode, meaning a tad more boost, higher octane, and my Weld Pro-Stars.  The car is really great because it is pretty non-descript.  Other drivers have to really know what they are looking at to tell it from just any other G-body car.  Usually, the Welds are a little bit of a tip off. :)

 

1/4/00

I have now purchased a 1996 GMC Sonoma Highrider 4X4 to use as a daily driver.  The truck is red with gray striping and a gray ZR2 decal on the rear quarter panels.  It is the off-road edition of this pickup and it really does get around extremely well in the snow, which is nice in these Iowa winters.  The first day I bought the truck we had a snow storm, so I did get to use the four wheel drive.  The truck was a little more than I wanted to spend, but I couldn't pass it up and it really did meet my needs.  I wanted a Chevrolet Silverado Z71, but they were very pricey and bad on gas with the big V8.   The Sonoma fit the bill because it was nice looking, it was an extended cab, it had the off road package, and most importantly to me, it was a 4x4 with a nice 4.3L 190hp Vortec V6.

 

6/15/02

After a few years, I figured it was time to add to the stable once again.  I still own the 1987 Regal and the 1996 Sonoma pictured above.  I recently married, so a 2002 Buick Regal GS joins the stable.  But wait ... there's more.  I have now acquired a 1996 laser red Mustang Cobra. 

I know it is kind of unique to own a Buick and a Ford, but I really do enjoy it.  The Buick is the powerful car with gobs of horsepower and torque, while the Cobra makes a fun driver being a powerful 5-speed with good handling characteristics.  The Cobra and the truck stay at the house while the Buick sits in a nice storage facility.  I drive the Cobra in nice weather and the truck sees duty at various times in the summer and full time duty in the winter.  Yes, car insurance is kind of high for four cars, but you only live once.

 

7/7/2004
I traded the 96 Sonoma in on a 2004 Toyota Tundra double cab.