Specs

History
I bought this 1987 Buick GN new in May of 1988. It was from the last production run in Nov/Dec 1987. There were still a few GNs on dealer lots in the Metro Detroit area. Fisher Buick in Troy had ordered a large number from the last run. They had ~ a dozen GNs in April, whereas other dealers had between 0 and 2. At Fisher, they were selling at the rate of one per week, and I got mine with six left. The black paint on the chrome rims was already flaking off so I had the dealership remove all the paint before I took delivery.
In 1991, I started modifying it mildly and in 1993 bagan racing it. In 1994, I moved to West Texas and began bracket racing the car regularly. It ran in the 11's from 1994-1996, then plunged into the 10's in 1997. I now use it for cruises, special events, and street testing, but mainly for racing. After taking the stock block into the mid-10's, a 3.8 Stage 1 block was built with better internals and installed in late 1997. This took the car to a best of 10.39 @ 130 mph but it was mainly a consistent 10.45-10.85 (depending on weather) bracket racer. The block didn't last long though, as cylinder walls cracked through to the water jacket due to core shift in the block. A 4.1 Stage II block was installed in October of 1999. On 2/12/00 at Amarillo Dragway, it ran a 10.24 @ 131.8. The following week, I leaned it out, blew a head gasket, fire-slotted a head, cracked two pistons and bent all exhaust valves. Back together again a month later on 3/19/00, it improved to 10.17 @ 133.76 at Idalou Motorsports outside of Lubbock. The following Sunday 3/26/00 at the Buick Showdown at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, it ran 10.06 @ 135.82 on ET Streets. After suffering through a severely cracked head and seized oil pump in the Spring, the car was ready for the GS Nationals in Bowling Green, KY, 6/27-7/01/00. After a 9.99 @ 139.7 on the first pass, the car ran 9.8s and 9.7s @ 139.7-141.9 with a best ET of 9.72, which qualified #2 in Turbo Street Eliminator through the full exhaust at a weight of 3655#. (80# bag of concrete mix in the trunk and 5 extra gallons of fuel to make the 3650# weight minimum; I won the class.) At the Buick/Ford Shootout in Noble, OK in November 2000, my ET of 9.61 was good enough for #1 qualifier (hey, where were the fast cars?). At the Buick Showdown in San Antonio in April 2002, my 9.50 @ 141.9 was also good for #1 and I won the Quick 6. At the GSCA Nationals in Bowling Green, KY in May 2002, the car ran 9.50 @ 143.3 during test and tune, but broke the transmission at the line for the first Q16 Qualifying run later in the week. At the Buick/Ford Shootout in Noble, OK in October 2002, the car ran a best of 9.43 @ 143.7.

This car has 27,000 original miles on it. Below is the 7-year build-up as it was through 2001. Changes for 2002-2004 are listed next.

Shortblock: 4.1 liter Stage II, 4.00" bore
   Pistons: 8.6:1 JE
   Connecting rods: 6.5" Carillo
   Crankshaft: Buick Motorsports 3.625" stroke
   Cam: Comp Cams hydraulic roller
   BHJ balancer and JW flexplate
Heads: Ported Champion GN1 (original design), T&D 1.65 rockers
Intake: 70 mm throttle body (AccuFab), Hemco plenum, ported stock lower intake.
Intercooler: Charged Air Systems V1 front-mount.
Turbo: Limit Engineering LT88, 88 mm compressor, Q-trim turbine, PTE 0.85 A/R housing, stock actuator
Exhaust: KB headers, 3" Terry Houston downpipe, ATR 3" single-shot
Ignition: stock with Autolite or NGK plugs, MSD wires
Oiling: External wet sump, Billet Fabrication pan, Duttweiler oil pump adaptor.
Fuel Management: 83# Siemens injectors, XP doublepumper, Speed Pro bank-to-bank engine management.
Transmission: 200-4R (PMAC) (changed to Coan TH400 in May 2001), Art Carr 9" NL converter (changed to Coan in May 2001).
Rear: Ford 9" from Moser with 35-spline axles, spool, 3.55 gears.
Brakes: Powermaster with stock fronts and Wilwood rear disks.
Wheels: rear: Weld 15x10 with 28x10.5 M/T ET Drags, front: Weld 15x3.5 with 27.5x4.5 M/T.
Suspension:
Comp Eng drag shocks (front), Bilstein (rear),   Comp Eng rear lower control arms, stock uppers
Rear air bags
8-point roll cage with window net, 5-point harness
Gauges:
   AVC dash cluster with VDO gauges: Speedo, Tach, Fuel Level, Oil p, Coolant Temp, Boost.
   Console pod with VDO Tranny Temp and Voltmeter, Fluke digital thermometer for EGT.

Additions and changes made for 2002:
After the below changes: Picture
Charged Air Systems intake manifold and fuel rails.
160# Siemens injectors
Triangle Engineering 10-gal aluminum fuel cell.
Aeromotive Pro Series fuel pump and filters, -10AN fuel rail feed, -6AN return.
Meziere electric water pump
Kirkey Pro Street Drag Seats.
28x10.5W M/T ET Drags.
Adjustable rear upper control arms.
CSI Supershield (SFI tranny and flexplate shield).
Bored 0.010"-over.
0.81 and 0.96 4-bolt turbine housings, 4" dp, Tial wastegate, Remove AC/heater (Sept/02)
NHRA chassis certification and NHRA license

2003:
The crank broke at the Clash of the Titans race in San Antonio in March. Cam, rods and block were ruined. With another car project in the works, I took the rest of the year off from racing while a new shortblock was built for the GN. It was built from a virgin off-center Stage II block with a Crankshaft Specialty 3.625 narrow-journal billet crank, and narrowed Oliver rods that had been used in my old 3.8 Stage I engine (another story). I installed it in December.

2004:
A couple of shakedown runs were made in March and I again took the car to the GS Nationals in Bowling Green, KY. After driving right "off the trailer" to a 9.63 @ 142 on Tuesday, the front of the engine developed a problem on Wednesday. After repairs, the car seemed fine on Friday morning but ran a few tenths off so I decided against running it in eliminations. After returning home and finding all was well with the engine, a large downpipe leak was discovered. In July, the car ran as it should in the 6000'-plus density altitude of Lubbock. In September, still in 6000'-plus West Texas air, the car ran a string of 9.6s, its best local performance.