Don’t Call It a Grand National! Dave Erdmann’s 1986 Regal T Type Was Buick’s Other Turbo Threat
Back in early 1986, Marine Corporal Dave Erdmann was standing in the Chevrolet dealer lot looking over a maroon ’86 Monte Carlo SS he just finished test driving. As he looked past the salesman and over the roof of the Monte, Dave noticed a light blue fender with a Vector wheel across the street at the Rock County Buick dealer. Intrigued, he figured it was worth investigating. Besides, his brother Jeff worked as a mechanic there.
He discovered three light blue Buick Regal T Types parked on the lot and really liked the looks of the cars, but he was a bit skeptical about the two missing cylinders on the 3.8-liter V6 under the hood.
“I’d always been a V8 guy and had a couple GTOs,” Dave says. “I didn’t know anything about these intercooled 3.8L turbo Buicks.”
He decided to take a test drive and when the boost ramped in for the first time, the kick in the pants took him right back to high school in his ’70 GTO. He asked his brother which car he recommended and was told to go with the bench seat, column shift car with the factory pinstripe.
Not the first time, or the last, that a T Type would beat a Monte Carlo SS. The big question is why the T Type instead of the more lauded and menacing Grand National?
“I simply didn’t want a black car,” Dave says.
Actually, the T Types are considerably more rare than Grand Nationals when it comes to production numbers. In 1986, Buick produced more than 5,500 Grand Nationals while there were less than 2,000 T Types available in a multitude of colors (there were also 463 WH1 Regals). GNs were all black with limited options such as analog or digital gauges, sunroof or T-tops, while T Types were available in different colors and with a variety of interior options. All the cars were rated at 235-horsepower with 330 lb-ft of torque, so it basically boiled down to wanting the Batman-black GN or something with color and a bit more sleeper style, which is exactly what sold Dave on his light blue T.
At the time, the T Type was Dave’s only car and served as his daily driver, including trips to visit family in Wisconsin while on leave from Camp Lejeune. Today the car shows 110,000 miles, which after 40 years is still low. Dave eventually got a more pedestrian daily driver, but the Buick is still driven regularly. In fact, during the Griot’s Garage North Carolina Nationals, Dave made the two-plus hour drive home and back both days.
The T Type was driven, enjoyed, and always well maintained, but it was about 10 years ago when Dave was wrapping up a Jeep YJ build when he paused and looked over at his T and thought it would be more fun making the Buick faster. The Jeep was sold in short order, and Dave started to look into performance modifications.
The first step was a stop at Lorenz Racing and Performance, where they swapped in a 63mm TA60 turbo from Limit Engineering, a GNI air charge cooler, larger injectors, and an alcohol injection system. They also pulled the 200-4R transmission and sent it Janis Transmissions for a Stage 1 rebuild by including a 3,000-rpm 10-inch converter.
“First, I had the car running an alcohol injection system, but the alcohol was brutal on alky pumps and maintenance,” Dave says. “Eventually I took the car to Richard Clark’s Garage to convert to E85 and flex-fuel performance. It’s safer and makes more power.”
Thanks to retirement, and the help of Anderson Performance East, there have now been even more performance upgrades to the 3.8-liter V6, though it is worth noting that the short block is all original and has never been out of the car. In fact, the only mods to the factory heads are stiffer Comp Cams valve springs to improve higher rpm operation.
Under the hood shows a carefully detailed engine compartment with every aluminum tube polished to a show shine, including the Spoolfool valve covers, cold air intake, and even the A/C lines. Sharp eyes will also notice a line lock solenoid, a modified coil pack, and detailed wiring/relay locations. There is also a TR6 ignition module in place for not only a hotter spark, but also for a two-step rev controller that helps build boost while the line lock is activated for a firmer launch. The extra spark output and timing control come in handy when Dave fills up with E85 fuel for a weekend of serious performance thanks to the Turbo Tweek ECU GN standalone computer and 120-pound injectors. All told, the engine now boasts over 450 rear-wheel horsepower!
To handle the extra power, the 8.5-inch rear axle was beefed up with Richmond 3.42 gears, a Yukon Duragrip, and Moser 30-spline axles. Dave also upgraded the suspension with StreetGrip components from Ridetech, Metco solid rear lower control arms, and adjustable uppers from Currie. The factory 15-inch wheels were replaced by a set of 17-inch U.S. Mags.
The plush blue interior is mostly original with the factory material still looking like new thanks to Dave’s care and detail regimen. The few upgrades include a custom instrument cluster using SpeedHut gauges influenced by the dash of the rare 1987 GNX. Sharp eyes will notice the two-step switch recessed into the brake pedal along with the Scanmaster Controller, which shows the oxygen sensor values and timing retard control mounted over factory the OEM digital stereo. Note the built-in EQ to dial-in the right tone for Dave’s cassette collection, which comes along on road trips.
Similar to the interior, the exterior remains mostly stock save for one repaint in the factory light blue. Blackout headlight and taillamp covers are in place to complement the tinted glass, bumper trim, and body trim. Dave added the inconspicuous Corn Fed emblems under the factory Intercooled emblems.
Forty years on, Dave’s enjoying his Buick T Type more than ever. The car looks better, has more power, and is even more of a kick to drive than when he first rolled out of the lot in 1986!
Photos: Terry Lysak, Todd Ryden
