So, off to look at a GN this weekend. An 87.

Here are the details so far.

2 owner vehicle
150k on the body
50k on rebuilt engine
T-top
"The car is in excellent running condition and engine is pristine,, interior is original and a little worn,,, it is worth a look,, if you're interested let me know."

Its about 8k Canadian.

I enclose the 1 picture

What should I be asking and what should I be looking for?

Make sure it really is a GN and not a clone. I think the easiest way is to look at the motor

Man, those cars are just nasty looking.

That one literally is. Needs a lot of TLC.

I've seen worse.

Getting any parts for them lately is rough. I'm glad mine doesnt have a T roof. The weatherstripping, the panels, etc.. hard to find. If the seals don't look relatively new, check for water leaks.
If the engine looks that good.. its probably been cleaned. All LC2s tend to seep a little oil.
Check the headers. The factory ones usually crack between 1 and 3, and some repairs are good, but others wont last long.
GNs have factory black carpet, and black door bottoms. Some WE4 cars have been converted, and will have gray carpet and door bottoms. Obviously it should have the black/gray interior.
Depends on what you want out of it. They are getting extremely rare, as all G bodies are. Parts are hard to find, vendors have gotten out of the business and tooled up to support the F body cars.
Common rust areas, where rear wheel wells meet the trunk floor, in front and behind rear wheels, door skin to shell seams. Especially in a T roof car.

One of the best buyer guides I've seen is at http://www.gnttype.org

Go to the resources tab, and down to buyers guide.

Wouldn't the T-bar seals be the same as a Monte? We had to redo my moms T-bar seals and we found them with ease.

Actually, that is one of the easiest pieces to clone.
Its the rare stuff, the hard to get stuff, that makes the cloning difficult. The rims, the correct trans (BRF code only) the 8.5 rear, the dash emblems, etc.
In 87, they made what is called a WE4. Now, not to get into specifics, but it is generally a turbo Regal, all black, but missing the GN emblem on the trunk and fenders, and has a light gray interior with no black.
The cloning isn't nearly as common as it used to be. Partly because of the rarity of the little things. But also because they attract so much wrong attention. They have a huge theft rate. A lot more turbo Regal owners (like myself) would rather have the same car, essentially, without it being a cop or thief magnet.

The real money is cloning the GNX'*. With auction prices starting to go nuts for the cars, people are going that extra step now. I'd be less concerned about a possible clone GN, than I would a clone GNX.

Went and look at it this morning. Hour drive. Guy wants $8000 Canadian.

Needs paint and body work, interior work, some trim. The T Top has had silicone applied :( Seals are about $200. Its a bit more money for a project car than I am willing to spend.

They gave me a big sales pitch on why I should buy it. Perhaps I should, but Im no mechanic or body repair guy. I wanted something a bit more turnkey and I thought I scored an ok deal as he was a bit out of the way.

Looks like if I want anything remotely nice I am just going to have to spend the cash.


Also couldnt find the RPO in the trunk, sure i was looking in the wrong area.

Ya, a bit to much if your not a mechanic. You'll go broke paying someone to do the work. The picture looks to be in fair shape, however the right front corner of the roof looks odd. Shame you didn't get it. Those cars simply look mean as all heck even when parked.

Prices are through the roof for anything G body lately. Especially the turbo cars.
That price isn't way out there, but then, thats without me actually seeing it.

The motor is just as good as the series 2s. Mine was a daily driver for a number of years. Even managed to get 30 mpg when I would drive down to VA to meet up with some friends. The only suspect item, which is tough to get now, is the MAF. Most guys I know, including myself, end up with a translator system and an LS1 MAF, which is built like a rock. Combine that with a scanmaster to watch your sensors, and they are more turn-key that you might think. Only other thing you have to watch, is the oil feed line to the turbo. I lost the stocker to a blocked feed line, so when I upgraded, I got a remote oil system with dedicated braided stainless turbo feed line. I've had mine since 95, going from dead stock to very not stock, to where it is now in a restoration phase.

Can't be sure about the roof seals. Its not so much that the seals can't be found, but if they are in bad shape, it really does some damage to the roof of the car, and can lead to a lot of problems in that area. I do know that it has more in common, body-wise, with the Cutlass than it does the Monte or GP. For instance, Cutlass doors will fit, but Monte doors won't line up right. A lot of the body panels and repair panels are different. Which is why my restoration is slow going. Only new restoration parts are mostly Monte only.

Yeah, the RPO should be on the trunk lid somewhere.
The important ones are WE2 (=GN), and G80 (=posi rear). Not all GNs had a G80 diff, but you would want one, trust me.