1987 Buick TurboRegal
Jacob M. Dykstra
Back in the spring of 1987 we owned a beautiful 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. One Saturday morning we decided to go visit the Dykstra grave plot in Mount Emblem Cemetery in Elmhurst, Illinois. Many relatives are buried there, and every so often we like to visit. On our way there, we passed a Buick dealership, and parked out in front on a turntable display, with balloons attached to the T-Top bar and swaying in the wind, was a new white,1987 Turbo Buick Regal. It was equipped with the Turbocharged 3.8 V6 engine (The same engine that was in the Buick Grand National) and as we passed by my wife hollered out, “WOW, LOOK AT THAT CAR!” I immediately turned the Monte Carlo around on Grand Ave, and quickly went back to the dealership. I asked if I was able to drive the car, and the salesman said, “We are negotiating a deal right now with another person.” He asked how serious I was, and if I wanted to drive it before the other person committed to the deal. I said, “Yes, let’s go.” I drove it about 10 miles in various situations, and fell in love with the power of that turbocharged engine. The salesman took my name, and said he would call if the other person didn’t buy the car. As I walked back to our Monte Carlo, there was a young man trying to buy it from another salesman. When I got there, the salesman said, “I can give you top dollar for this car, I think I have a buyer for it,” I said to him, “I want to buy that white Turbo Regal, but someone is negotiating to buy it now.” He said, “Did you leave your name and phone number with the salesman?” I said, “Yes I did, but the other people have first shot at it.” So we went home, and waited for a call from the dealer. We called our oldest son, who was working at a Jiffy Lube, and told him of our find, and he said, “Go right back there and buy that car.” About 3:00 in the afternoon, the salesman called and asked if we could return to the dealer and discuss the purchase of that white Regal that I drove that morning. Evidently the couple who was trying to buy the car was trying to lease it, and the deal fell through. I said, “I’m not going to drive all that way, unless you tell me what this car is going to cost me.” We negotiated a deal over the phone, and drove up there. When we arrived, the young man who wanted to buy our trade-in was waiting for us to arrive. I think there was a deal made on our trade before we arrived. The offer on our trade was more than I thought it was worth, and the price of the new car was even better than we had discussed. We settled the deal, and both parties were leaving that dealership happy.
We owned that car ever since, and there are many stories to tell. I drove it every day during the week as my company car, and our two sons raced it at night and on the weekends. They would meet their buddies at the mall parking lot and race their cars all night. If they lost a race, they would come home and return with the Regal and race again. Apparently the transmission was the weak point, and the dealer replaced the first one under warranty. As the years passed I would drive up to the Union Grove drag strip with our youngest son. He would race his ’68 Camaro, and I would race the Regal. We did this every summer for three years. We would race on Tuesday, Wednesday and some Friday nights. It was a 74 mile ride up there and a 74 mile ride back home. I estimate that there is 300+ drag strip runs on that car, plus all the races that our son’s had on the street. It became affectionately know as "Regal Balls."
Two videos just came into our possession thanks to Joe Cirlincioni from around 1991 of Jake racing the Regal at Great Lakes Dragway or Union Grove, WI and even one of him racing our son Dave in his 1968 Camaro.
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The second transmission was put in at a shop that specialized in Turbo Regals. It was built to race car specifications, and lasted about 6 months. When I returned to the shop the second time six months later, the owner told me he would build me a transmission that I could not break! That was the third time the original transmission was rebuilt, and this one was a good one! It has lasted all these years, and is still operating perfectly, as it was intended to do. He was right—I could not break it!
As the years rolled on, so did the mileage. The last reading on the odometer was 130,000+ miles, and the
old girl will still break the tires loose in second and third gear. The car still looked good, despite being
outside in all the Chicago winters. For the first 10 years of it’s life, it never saw the inside of a garage.
As the years rolled on, so did the mileage. The last reading on the odometer was 130,000+ miles, and the
old girl will still break the tires loose in second and third gear. The car still looked good, despite being
outside in all the Chicago winters. For the first 10 years of it’s life, it never saw the inside of a garage.
Now, in 2006, it is owned by our grandson Jacob and is tucked away in a nice warm garage.
The saga continues written by our son Jake, who's son Jacob just turned 16:
So, yes - the newest Jake has expressed an interest in driving a muscle car this summer. A little back ground on the car - a 1987 Regal Turbo T-Type. Dad bought it brand new in 1987 and was his daily driver for around 10 years. Like all of his daily drivers it was very well maintained. It also saw regular duty at the drag strip over the years, clicking off consistent mid 13 second passes with very minor mods (chip and trans kit). When my brother and I were in High School we regularly enjoyed driving it and both have many fond memories of fun evenings on the street with it. Fast forward a few more years and Dad relegated the car to sitting in the garage with only occasional drives. My brother and I said the car had too many memories to sell it and Dad did not want to store it any longer so it ended up in my garage with the stipulation that my son could drive it when the time was right. All the time it was in our garage we made it a point to drive it every summer and put enough miles on it to burn through a tank of gas. In addition it was still maintained with regular cleanings and fluid maintenance. Last summer he was able to drive it for the first time with his learners permit and immediately was hooked. He turned 16 last fall and over the winter asked about the possibility of driving the Regal next summer when the weather was nicer (he has a daily driver of his own). He has been taking auto shop class this semester and it has piqued his interest in cars beyond attending shows with Dad and Grandpa. Needless to say I was excited that he was interested.
The Regal had 25+ year old tires on it, so the first order of business was to take care of those.
After a quick call to Rusty (Smallhurst) we had a set of the reproduction Eagle GT's. Rusty was great to deal with and we had the tires in short order.
The saga continues written by our son Jake, who's son Jacob just turned 16:
So, yes - the newest Jake has expressed an interest in driving a muscle car this summer. A little back ground on the car - a 1987 Regal Turbo T-Type. Dad bought it brand new in 1987 and was his daily driver for around 10 years. Like all of his daily drivers it was very well maintained. It also saw regular duty at the drag strip over the years, clicking off consistent mid 13 second passes with very minor mods (chip and trans kit). When my brother and I were in High School we regularly enjoyed driving it and both have many fond memories of fun evenings on the street with it. Fast forward a few more years and Dad relegated the car to sitting in the garage with only occasional drives. My brother and I said the car had too many memories to sell it and Dad did not want to store it any longer so it ended up in my garage with the stipulation that my son could drive it when the time was right. All the time it was in our garage we made it a point to drive it every summer and put enough miles on it to burn through a tank of gas. In addition it was still maintained with regular cleanings and fluid maintenance. Last summer he was able to drive it for the first time with his learners permit and immediately was hooked. He turned 16 last fall and over the winter asked about the possibility of driving the Regal next summer when the weather was nicer (he has a daily driver of his own). He has been taking auto shop class this semester and it has piqued his interest in cars beyond attending shows with Dad and Grandpa. Needless to say I was excited that he was interested.
The Regal had 25+ year old tires on it, so the first order of business was to take care of those.
After a quick call to Rusty (Smallhurst) we had a set of the reproduction Eagle GT's. Rusty was great to deal with and we had the tires in short order.
Jacob drove down to go fishing with Grandpa Jake last week and he drove the Regal.
