A car enthusiast recently showed off a restoration project involving a 1987 Buick Grand National with a particularly personal connection to them, and it looks stunning.
The project was shared on the r/projectcar subreddit and on their YouTube channel. The Reddit post explains that this is the same Buick they rode home in after they were born in December 1988. Their parents bought the car new, but it developed multiple problems and sat for years.
After sharing the project’s progress roughly two months ago, they now say it’s finally finished. They spent more than 35 hours bringing the Grand National back to life after it hadn’t been running properly for nearly 15 years.
In the post, they say the results were better than expected, and after so many years without driving it, it felt like getting a brand-new car, to a certain extent.
A Personal Project
When they first shared the project two months ago, they explained that the Grand National had been sitting in a garage for roughly six years because its factory PowerMaster brake system had failed. The vehicle also had a serious overboost issue, a failing fuel pump, and several seals and gaskets that had started leaking.
According to the post, the family put off the project partly because it was hard to find someone they trusted to work on the vehicle. Eventually, the poster said they found two people who were best friends from high school and had decades of experience with Buicks to help complete the project.
In the first post, they said the project had already taken around 18 to 20 hours, with plans to replace fluids, seals, gaskets, and several other components. They also planned to upgrade the timing chain, valve springs, water pump, and fuel system.
Another major part of the project was replacing the expensive factory brake setup with a vacuum-based system. According to the post, replacing it would have cost more than $3,000.
The Buick Finally Gets Back on the Road
In the latest update, they revealed the project was finally finished after more than 35 hours of work. They also added upgrades, including a TurboTweak tune, to make the Buick more reliable and faster than when their parents first bought it.
The poster admitted they had done so much work that it was hard to remember everything, but they were clearly happy with how the car turned out. They said the car had never felt this fast or solid after driving it again following nearly 15 years of problems.
The finished project also received plenty of attention from other Reddit users, many of whom congratulated the poster and praised the car’s appearance. One commenter even gave the build a 10/10 with no notes.
Another commenter shared a story about restoring a Ford Galaxie 500, but it was stolen and wrecked just 20 minutes later, despite the owner spending $25,000 to fix it. They suggested the poster install a kill switch, and the poster replied, revealing that they had already invested in an anti-theft device that cost $160.
For the owner, the Grand National is clearly more than just a family project. They hope to make it the last car they ride in before passing away, completing a full-circle journey in the same model that brought them home from the hospital as a newborn.