Someone in the Turbo Buick community posted this on Facebook, so we’re sharing it for those who aren’t on that platform.
The guy said he saw this car at a car show in Pinellas Park, Florida recently.
There were a lot of mixed comments about the vehicle, some good, most not.
It’s definitely different!
Obviously it’s not a real GNX, but does have some GNX-looking parts on it (emblems, seat covers, dash gauges).
The Buick Grand National convertible that was previously made back in the day looks ok with the top down, but not so much with the top up. They look like generic 1980s product convertible tops.
[ we’ve also shown other convertibles on here before: 1981 version ; 1982 version ; assorted versions ; various versions ]
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* UPDATE!
After we published this post, we got a hold of the owner (Win Campbell) of this cool Gbody Regal.
He also posted the below info about the car on facebook, to which we’re reprinting it here for you.
I’ve owned this Buick Grand National convertible for 31 years now, so there’s a lot of history behind it.
For clarification, I’m not the original owner who had the car converted—I’ve just added my own touches over the years.
Before owning this car, I had already owned two Grand Nationals with T-Tops. One of them actually won the World of Wheels indoor car show in St. Louis in 1995 in the modified division (some of my St Louis Turbo buddies in this group attended the event). While I was at that show, the owner of this convertible at the time (not the original owner) approached me because he knew how much I loved Turbo Regals and asked if I’d be interested in buying it. I went to see the car the very next night and bought it.
At the time, I was just a guy in my early twenties who thought the car was different, unique, and fun. I always wanted a convertible and never really thought about whether it would hurt the car’s value—I just wanted something fun to cruise around in. To me, that’s what owning cars is all about.
Ironically, I actually knew of this car before the owner approached me because I entered my bone-stock 1987 Grand National with only 36k miles and T-Tops at a car show at Westport Plaza in St. Louis… and I actually lost to this convertible when the original owner had it. The original owner who is in this group probably remembers that car show so they can keep me honest on the story.
The car was converted when it was still brand new by Coachbuilders Ltd. out of High Springs, Florida, which is now Drop Top Customs. They were one of the top coachbuilders at the time and still do high-end work today. They converted two turbo regals (1 T-type and 1 GN). The conversion cost more than half of what original owner paid for the car when it was brand new.
They also converted high-end luxury and exotic vehicles as well—including Ferrari Testarossa convertibles in the early 1990s. I attached an article photo showing one of their Testarossa builds because I wanted people to understand this company had a real reputation in the coachbuilding world. This wasn’t some fly-by-night operation cutting up cars in a garage.
This Grand National wasn’t rusted or damaged when it was converted—it was brand new and the process required significant engineering. To compensate for removing the roof, structural bracing was added throughout the car, including braces along both sides and across the rear.
The car has no wind noise, the top has a headliner, retains glass side windows, power top (Hydro Electric motor)and the rear window is plastic. A lot of thought went into making it right. The original owner wanted to make theirs into a GNX clone, so he sent this car to Quality Engineering in the 1980’s to make it faster than a GNX and add GNX modifications. He spent serious money on engine work and performance upgrades—and accomplished exactly what he set out to do. Not the first GNX clone and probably not the last.
As far as value goes, it actually hasn’t hurt the car. I’ve had multiple appraisals over the years, and the appraisers have even spoke directly with the owner of Coachbuilders Ltd., who remembered the car and explained everything that was done. Being professionally built and rare has helped its value and Kendrick Lamar probably didn’t hurt Grand National values after the Super Bowl either.
At the end of the day, every car is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it that day—and that applies to all of our cars. I’ve had several collectors approach me because they wanted something nobody else has.
And let’s be honest—most people have modified their own cars in some way from how they left the factory.
My view is simple: you bought it with your own money, build it how you want and enjoy it.
The GN convertible may not be everyone’s cup of tea—and that’s okay. That’s what makes the car world great. We all have different tastes.
At the end of the day, I’ve been enjoying the car in Tampa Florida where I can have the top down pretty much the majority of the year. Picking up kids from school, dropping them off and attending local car shows and driving it ..that’s what’s it all about..
[ Thanks Win, for sharing the background story of this Buick GNX Convertible ]
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Have you seen these awesome cords? WOW!
Those could come in handy for sure!
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