I never heard of these. From the RockAuto Oct Newsletter Andrew's 1986 Buick LeSabre Grand National This is my 1986 Buick LeSabre Grand National. Not to be confused with the Regal Grand National, this car was solely built to qualify the LeSabre body for use in NASCAR. Only 117 were built in late 1985. This particular car was one of the last built and converted according to the VIN. LeSabre Grand National models were outfitted with a special front spoiler for aerodynamics, as well as unique NASCAR rear quarter windows. They featured the naturally aspirated 3.8 liter V6 in front wheel drive configuration and of course had Grand National badging on the fenders with a solid red Power 6 logo instead of the typical yellow and orange variant found on the turbo Regals of the era. I obtained this car from a friend and it was in sort of rough shape, but it was a rust free example originally from Tennessee. Every part of the car was touched -- anything that needed replaced, got replaced, and anything that needed refinished, got refinished or freshened up. This is also the first car I ever did a complete paint job on rather than just one or two panels. Almost all of the parts I got were from RockAuto; specifically engine and suspension parts, engine and trans mounts, belts, hoses, gaskets, spark plugs and wires, struts, sway bar links and bushings, exhaust hangers, carpet, lug nuts -- the list goes on! Thank you very much! Andrew in Pennsylvania (RockAuto customer for over 10 years)
I had an 86 t-type in college, had the 3.0l.....gutless turd wouldn't spin a tire on ice hardly.....but got like 700+ miles to tge tank which for a kid driving a few hubdred miles a week to college it was perfect.....had floor shifter looked faster than it was by a long ass shot
Yep, they are legit. only about 117, if I recall correctly. Just an appearance package, not any kind of performance. I've never seen an example of said creature, but haveseen the T-types of that generation; much the same as the LeSabre Grand National, they weren't significant performers, acceleration wise, but better handling vehicles than the 'base' cars...
There was one for sale for $ 1,500, here's a thread from last January: Needs Restoring, call for details , vehicle is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. $ 1,500.00 Attached Files: a"> 1986 Buick 1.jpeg File size: 44.6 KB Views: 402 1986 Buick 2.jpeg File size: 46.2 KB Views: 410 1986 Buick 3.jpeg File size: 38.7 KB Views: 395 1986 Buick 4.jpeg File size: 39 KB Views: 396 http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/1986-buick-lesabre-grand-national.353083/
I feel you on the mileage part. 700+ would have been a money saver back when i was driving all over the place for college.
Nice article: 1986 Buick LeSabre Grand National – the Rarest Performance Buick Ever Produced Back in 1986 the idea of a front-wheel drive performance car was something buyers were just starting to warm up to. The release of the successful front-wheel drive 1983 Pontiac 6000 STE had other GM divisions and American automakers scrambling to bring to market their own front-wheel drive performance car offerings. Buick was no different in that respect – it had offered the a more sporty T-Type model of its front-wheel drive Century model starting in 1983. Even Carroll Shelby during this time had a few factory built front-wheel drive (performance oriented) Dodge models using his name. It was certainly a dawn of a new era. On the 1986 LeSabre Grand National to compliment the black exterior paint scheme Buick added black trim pieces in some places where the other LeSabres used chrome. The only chrome used on the LeSabre Grand National were the front and rear chrome bumpers, a chrome strip just above the rear taillights, a chrome front grille, a chrome door handle, chrome headlight bezels, a chrome strip above the side windows, and chrome strips around each wheel well. Buick also made standard a large front chin spoiler for the Grand National along with a few "Grand National" emblems on the exterior. The LeSabre’s hood ornament on the Grand National was replaced with a decorative plaque that laid flat on the hood. As mentioned previously Buick produced the Grand National to qualify the 2-door 1986 LeSabre for NASCAR duty however a normal 2-door LeSabre would have been enough for this task. However Buick had a big trick up its sleeve, it gave the Grand National an aerodynamic advantage by purposely using smaller rear side windows which improved aerodynamics on the race car version. The smaller rear side windows would have never been certified for NASCAR use if the production Grand National did not use them. And most 2-door LeSabre buyers who were more traditional Buick loyalists more than likely would not have liked these smaller windows which is the whole reason the LeSabre Grand National was produced. The rear window frame on the Grand National was the same on the 2-door LeSabre however Buick put a large black insert where each window normally resided and inside the insert was a small vertical window and black horizontal louvers. More at: https://oldcarmemories.com/1986-bui...l-the-rarest-performance-buick-ever-produced/
