Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

[Foot Performance]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

For everyone wanting a SyTy to be in a movie so they can gain some exposure, I see that as the absolute worst thing that could happen.

We all know how quickly SyTys can blow up on a new, inexperienced owner. I can see it now, SyTy in a Movie and over 1/2 the trucks for sale blown up 1 week later. No thanks :tdown:

I'm not saying I want their value to be in the pits; it would be nice to see them maintain some value as a collector vehicle. But I'd rather not have trucks blowing up left and right. I want to be able to buy one again down the road. :lol:

I am with you I would like value to stay up but I dotn want people with no passion owning them and then junking them :tdown:

My truck is the biggest pain in the ass I have ever owned and I cant wait to own a second one these trucks just have a cool fastory that you cant get anywhere else :tup:

 

[Baythan]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

I am with you I would like value to stay up but I dotn want people with no passion owning them and then junking them :tdown:
:

Or as I said earlier, stealing them.

 

[Foot Performance]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

Or as I said earlier, stealing them.

Yeah that is all we need a truck that probably isnt that hard to steel in the first place to be on the hot list :tdown:

 

[92 Ty 1173]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

I agree with some of your points. The word was out years ago, about SyTy's being stop light warriors, but it came apparent they were unreliable and not easy to tune. In my local racing scene, a older guy bought a Syclone and ran low 13's. Another local racer bought one and started modifying it, it never ran much better than high 12's and he blew 3 motors and got a reputation as a unreliable POS. GN got their reputation (and demand) from racing (track and street)

IMO if SyTy were plug and play modifyable, they would be worth more than they are now, it would help it they were a little more reliable (forged piston's like PAS requested from GM would have helped) but the head gasket issue don't deter GN's either.

If most anyone could just throw in a chip and run mid 12's or stick in a bigger turbo/chip injectors and run 11's they would be far more popular. Yes Tooky has done as have others but their are ton SyTy's that should be running that fast but don't. It is far from plug and play. They need to be easy to tune are aren't. The cars with legendary reputations pretty much have this all in common.

First off I believe the value is in the eye of the beholder. I understand what you are saying and somewhat agree but what makes these trucks, the owners, and this site so special and fun is the level of enthusiasum we all have. I've heard Captian say a few times that he hates his Ty and it's a POS but won't get rid of it and he's not the only one. My friend loves mitsi's but has a huge respect for the SyTy's because he is a motor heard and knows what these truck are capable of. He never goes on mitsi sites or goes to and meets because the people there are very clicky also. He went with me to NATS 06 and could not believe the way the people in the community could come together and get along the way we do from all over the country and there is never a pissing match of mine is better than yours or mines faster. He would love to join the site with a truck of his own someday.I could care less what the value is to some collector and would hate to see some punk ass fast and furious kid buy one cause he saw it in a movie. You have to be a motor head and mechanically inclined to make our trucks fast. Who cares I think that is the fun of it. Besides yeah you can plug n play some cars, but really what is the fun there. I'm sure anyone who has a fast GN has a good deal of time and money wrapped up in it. It is 17 year old technology, It is flawed. There are guys like Renz and Mike Lee and others who are producing great parts to help the reliablity and performance of our truck just like the GN aftermarket. It was never there from the start, ATR, not so much. The technology of today is amazing, code59, the new drivetrains that are being used, 80le trans. Again the eye of the beholder, and if you bought one of these trucks as an investment and not a hobby you barked up the wrong tree. Just my $.02.

 

[Sy777]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

Most of the time I get" Its a truck its not supposed to be fast. Look at 454ss trucks and the lightnings. They are only getting any king of big money on the low mile stock ones. Cars will hold better value and have more of a market than a performance truck will. Not that that is a bad thing, it keeps the "sleeper" aspect of our awd wonders.

 

[EcSy#2671]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

I think you have hit the nail on the head. The people that have the millions of dollar to go after the Challengers and Rare cars,are the same kids that saw them in the show room in the 70's and dream about them for the next 30 years, and now have the big money to buy there dream car. As the generation on millionaires change and little the idea of the "dream car from their childhood" will change.

I feel that GN are more popular the sy/ty has a lot to do with the year too. If you hear 1987 it seems a lot older the 1991. For many the 90s was not that long ago. As time passes I feel we may have a great investment on our hands. Like you said, having a muscle cars in the late 70s early 80s was consider to stupid and could have been social suicide.

Shoot my Dad had a 57 chevy in 1975, and he has told me he sold it for $500 dollars witch was the most money anybody would even think to pay for that car back then. Sold it to buy a used VW bug, because it was the cool car to have.

end of rant......

its really like anything else...
watch barrett jacksons and you will get a good idea
last year and the year before 70's Plymouth and dodge cars were sexiest cars, the best
fetching 3/4 of a million i believe, yet rare camaros and vets barely broke 200 grand
the year doe have some bearing but i believe the generation that bought cars, and
not the current trend to buy pickups... will dictate whats desirable and whats not.
If we wait about 5 to 10 years i think the current crop of pickup buyers will be have
some disposable income or be inheriting from an aging population of baby boomers
now in their 70s or 80s. Most ppl by what they lusted for as a kid. For me it was the
70's muscle cars and the exotics. For my daughters 25 yr old bf.... its pickups (he btw
is all over my project car... he was pretty much the first one to recognize the engine)

Ive probably got it all wrong lol but Its fun to dream of finding a 70's Pantara that is
unmolested. Imagine an exotic with a muscle car engine.

 

[JSM]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

Own both, its fun.

 

[JAY]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

I would like to own a TY to add to my collection. Initially I was interested in a TY that got sold out from under me, so I bought the SY. I dont feel the Buick community is as accepting as this one. A few years ago while I lived in TX I attended the FullThrottleV6 event @ Seally (http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26276&page=3) All cars there modded GNs & V6 Camaros & T/As doing 10s & 11s all day long. I drove the SY there & had very few actually check out the SY or even talk to me & I was a member of their forum.

 

[warmpancakes]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

I had a GN for 8-9 years never drove it once (dont ask) decided to sell it and it was gone in 4-5 hours didnt even have to write a for sale add, Perople remember them they were the car to beat on the streets, those and 5.0 mustangs are the 57 chevys and 69 camaros of my generation they will be the big $$$$ cars in the future sadly for money wise sys and tys will be lumped into the "everything else" category. But im ok with that It keeps the prices down so I can buy another one, after I find a SGT in white

 

[LIL QIK]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

I had a GN for 8-9 years never drove it once (dont ask) decided to sell it and it was gone in 4-5 hours didnt even have to write a for sale add, Perople remember them they were the car to beat on the streets, those and 5.0 mustangs are the 57 chevys and 69 camaros of my generation they will be the big $$$$ cars in the future sadly for money wise sys and tys will be lumped into the "everything else" category. But im ok with that It keeps the prices down so I can buy another one, after I find a SGT in white

I agree. Me personally.....I like the prices being down a little. I know that I would like to buy another Ty after the Syclone is finished.

 

[b00n]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

:2cents: but it doesn't help that SY/TY/SGT parts are so expensive (well established older or bankrupt credit cards maxed out guys) buy these things & fix them to Niiice trucks/suvs. Nor does it help that everyone who owns them call their trucks jackstand friendly lol. I've owned S10s, S15s, Jimmy, & Blazers but truth be told they're ultimately a piece of poor man's junk .... until you make them Niiice!!! Look @ how everyone wants Camaro, Trans Am, & those typical "muscle" cars but IMHO they're overrated because everyone & their grandpa has'em. I don't own a Sy or Ty but I wouldn't sell or trade my Rusty Assed SGT for Anything other than a Stock Rusted Ass Sy for the simple fact I love Trucks & Tryin' My damn Best to make Them Look Niiice & The rare time somebody randomly says "that's a nice truck you have man" or it could be :rant:

BTW I had a guy @ the gas station when I was pulling the SGT home & stopped to air up a spare say "there's not much left of that S10 but @least it's still got some useable parts" he actually listened though as I told him all excited about my new toy & told me "good find on a rarer truck"

 

[GangBang Malloy]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

i wanna know just how "bulletproof" are GNs? because this is the first i've heard of this

i mean are we talking forged setups here or what?

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

i wanna know just how "bulletproof" are GNs? because this is the first i've heard of this

i mean are we talking forged setups here or what?

They are bullet proof when compared to Syclone or Typhoon

 

[blk00z28]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

i wanna know just how "bulletproof" are GNs? because this is the first i've heard of this

i mean are we talking forged setups here or what?

There just like any other motor, if not tuned or built correctly they won't last.

There are a lot of stock 109 blocked Buick's going 9's. Some with main girdles some without.

 

[UR50SLO]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

There just like any other motor, if not tuned or built correctly they won't last.

There are a lot of stock 109 blocked Buick's going 9's. Some with main girdles some without.

There sure are.. The "TSM" class in Buick world is a low 9sec field. Very competitive.. Most of the cars running that class which is a stock block are no longer street cars. If they do go out it's small trips to local cruse in. I know there is several guys that have made a completely stock engine go 10s.

It's all in the tune and getting enough air through the motor. If Sy/Ty's had a better crankshaft (that was affordable) and abilty to not have the mains walk we'd have a good shot at making some power on the cheap with out bottom end work. Some decent heads .. bla bla.. less weight to haul.. ect.
I love buick's alot but there's nothing like a AWD boost launch..
~Scott

 

[syclone3]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

I remember in 87 going to the local Buick dealer and they had over 35 GN's on the lot. This was in Michigan nearing the end of the production run. I still have pictures of the rows of cars and one with the hood open. What an original should look like today. With my uncles discount I could have got a semi loaded GN for about $14,500. Sticker was in the $16,000 plus range. Funny how some of the cars option sheets showed no positraction and others did!! T-Types were rare even then. Really didn't see too many on the lots. Missed out on an original owner Brandywine 87 with 40,000 miles. Think I had just got Syclone #3 back in 2002. The widow wanted to sell the car Buick worker husband had bought new. I later got a white 87 T-Type. Ca car. Had been traded to a collector in MN then Ohio. A friend of mine traded a TTA for it. Had it to bare metal and replainted. Decided to sell both of his Buicks and I brought it out to Vegas. Then sold it a year later to a collector in FLA. I didn't make a penny on that car. Wanted to keep it. But once it was gone bought the Teal Typhoon and another all original Syclone ten VINs after my low mileage truck. Built on the same day. Its nice having vehicles others don't see much. With 40,000 plus Buicks or close to that having being built. Its a little easier to see why the Sy Ty market is so small. All the mechanical problems known to afflict these trucks doesn't help. Think the biggest problem was octane or lack thereof. Trucks got hammered from day one for their fun effect. Some lived. Many didn't.

 

[turbodig]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

There sure are.. The "TSM" class in Buick world is a low 9sec field. Very competitive.. Most of the cars running that class which is a stock block are no longer street cars. If they do go out it's small trips to local cruse in. I know there is several guys that have made a completely stock engine go 10s.

It's all in the tune and getting enough air through the motor. If Sy/Ty's had a better crankshaft (that was affordable) and abilty to not have the mains walk we'd have a good shot at making some power on the cheap with out bottom end work. Some decent heads .. bla bla.. less weight to haul.. ect.
I love buick's alot but there's nothing like a AWD boost launch..
~Scott

I don't think the block is the issue.. GNs have been known to break main caps too.

The big thing, is that if the GN pings, it'll likely take out the head gaskets first. If we ping, it takes out a piston, rod or crank.

The other part is that the MAF systems aren't as "tweaky" when it comes to mods... they tolerate people pfutzing with things.

I love the fact that the GN runs when I want to go racing. Drive to the track, make passes, drive home, repeat. No constant messing with things.

SyTys can be tuned to that reliability level, but it takes a fair amount of expertise and lots of patience, and most people buying these things are into instant gratification. A bad combination.

10-sec stock blocks are possible, but not in the manner most people approach it.

 

[UR50SLO]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

I love the fact that the GN runs when I want to go racing. Drive to the track, make passes, drive home, repeat. No constant messing with things.

SyTys can be tuned to that reliability level, but it takes a fair amount of expertise and lots of patience, and most people buying these things are into instant gratification. A bad combination.

10-sec stock blocks are possible, but not in the manner most people approach it.

I agree 100%... Very well put.

When the Sy/Ty's broke we can always take the Buicks out Lol.

 

[The Devils Own Chariot]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

I dont think they will ever be worth much. People look at you funny when you say Typhoon or Syclone. Even some real big car guys. They cant want what they dont know about.

 

[Baythan]

Re: Grand Nationals vs the SyTy's....why is the value so different?

T-Types were rare even then. Really didn't see too many on the lots. Missed out on an original owner Brandywine 87 with 40,000 miles.

I would say so! Especially because they did not produce a regal called "T-Type" in 1987. They were referred to as "Turbo T" because there was also a "T" package on n/a Regals.

Sorry to be such a stickler. It was beaten into me during my Buick days. :lol: