I wish you the best of luck, but you have a LOT to consider when investing in a GNX or a Grand National.

1) It would be very difficult to find one that has not been beaten on. Because of how low the resale value went on the GN many kids began buying them over the last 10 years, and they trash them.

2) A GNX in excellent condition (and not modified to the specs you're looking for) will run you about $30k minumum. The GNX is very rare and holds high value. Add another $20-$30k to modify it to 800-1,000hp.

3) The cost to keep a turbo Buick on the road is extremely high. It requires a lot of maintenance, and it will be diffucult to find a local mechanic that actually knows how to PROPERLY tune these cars. They are tricky.

I searched for over 10 years to find either a Grand National (87) or GMC Typhoon (93) that was not trashed and would be in the best possible condition. I finally found the Typhoon and bought it. After owning that I would never again consider a GN because the Ty was in every way superior... but I still greatly admire the Buicks. Nothing could compete with my Ty. AWD traction for flawless launches, and she was a solid mid 11 second truck after my mods were done.

Once I finally found the Ty and bought it, it cost me roughly $2500 a year in routine maintenance to keep it road reliable. Fact of life, and you can visit the many Turbo Buick and Sy/Ty owners forums to see I am telling the truth. Added to that you're driving a very old car that will need replacement parts due to age. I had to replace items such as heater core ($1,000), suspension bushings, transfer case, tires, and other odds and ends. Pray the A/C doesn't die because you'll have to convert to a system that accepts today's "freon substitute" which'll run you anywhere from $800-$1800 depending.

Not trying to discourage you because you're looking at a great car, just want you to be aware that you are not looking at a car that you can buy, fuel up, and drive all day long.

I have eaten my fair share of Mustangs (mid 80's to brand new 06's), new GTO's, and a slew of other cars in my 3600 pound Magnum SRT... in many cases it comes down to how good each driver is.

 

well, naturally the charger is faster b/c it is a lighter vehicle than the magnum.

 

An ecellent condition GN-X would be closer to 70k. One sold at Barrett-Jackson for around 80k.

3600 pound Magnum SRT??? Shipping weight is 4200 lbs.

 

Well, if you buy a pristine condition GNX you're right, but one in excellent condition can be had for around $30k.

My bad on the weight, but I was just generalizing anyway.

 

The charger is a little lighter but from watching time slips and general posting "faster " does not hold true. I personally have driven all 3 srt8 versions and feel that the magnum will hold its own against the charger.

 

2 Ton 44 Magnum,
4,000 lbs, 440+ real crank Horspower.

 

There's always going to be somebody out there who's faster than you. 800hp-1000 will beat most anybody on the street but not everyone. There are some seven second street cars out there if you go to the right places...

 

I just finished the SRT track experience. We raced all the SRT line up. I saw the charger get a slightly better time than the Magnum and vise versa, maybe depending on who drove what. The 300 SRT seemed every bit as fast, maybe even a litter quicker. It did seem to have traction problems. It also had different tires. All in all, as for me, at the end of it all, I like the MAGNUM best. It handled the road race course awesome. When I came into the pit, the tires were smoldering.
The experience is not to be forgotten, but remembered, probably with exageration, over the years.

 

ford fan here. my stepdad just bought a srt-8 charger last week. wicked fast car. we weighed it and it came in at 4221 pounds.

 

I dragged with them all at the SRT track exp. In the 1/8th mile they were all pretty close with the exception of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Its the fastest in the 1/8th mile. The Crossfire is also as fast as the rest in the 1/8th. Thats practical experience.