1:18 Scale GMP 8004 1985 Buick Regal T Type

Details about this Model:

Car Name: 1985 Buick Regal T Type

GMP Part Number: 8004

Vehicle Color: dark red metallic (read below)

Interior Color: gray

Production Run: 3312

Release Date: May 2000

Window Sticker Included: yes

Envelope For Window Sticker: yes

Lithograph Made: yes

Lithograph Production Quantity: 300

Litho Autographed by: Ken Duttweiler

COA Included: no

Outer Box: yes

Part of a Set/Group: no

THIS is the 4th car in the series.

People call this color many different shades. Burgundy, Purple, Maroon, etc.
GMP called it Autumn Maple (which is incorrect for a Buick paint code, but see explanation below as to why they did this).
The actual (correct) color (for a 1985 Buick) is Dark Red Metallic.
Now, the window sticker (included with this model) says “74L – Red”, which if you look at the GM paint color chart it lists it as “74 8237 Autumn Maple FM” for code 74 (even though the window sticker says “red” – which it technically is).
However, the actual paint codes used for Buick in 1985, state that the paint color & code is “dark red metallic (79)”.
So obviously this was an error somewhere down the production line. (a proof reader / car fact checker not doing his job!).

The lithograph that came with this model was of Ken Duttweiler and his red Buick Regal.
The lithos came inside a cardboard sleeve, which was blue ink stamped with the EE logo and production number (as was the envelope that the window sticker came in).
The 300 copies produced were hand signed by Ken Duttweiler, using a purple marker!

This was the second (but last) car that had a sticker on the chassis, it stated “ee 1985 T-Type 032” meaning: Epitome Exclusives, T-Type (the model), and 032 (the limited edition car number).
(the other car to have a sticker like this was the Buick GNX, #8003)
{stickers like this were not needed past this issue since the (soon to be standard) numbered license plates would be used on all of the future cars in this series}.
As such, this would also be the last car to receive a license plate with the name/year of the car on it!

This is the first car to receive a white outer box (what would soon become a normal expectation whenever you bought a model car from this series).
“Peachstate Collectibles” would be a brand new term that was implemented & printed on the end side of the box. (and lasted only until issue #8006 – in other words, only used on 3 model boxes)
www.peachgmp.com is also printed on the bottom side of these new white boxes (and would stay there until issue #8008).
EE hand wrote on each of these boxes, indicating the car number inside.

More interesting info from Ted Hirsch:
Only the t-type cars that came with lithographs from Epitome Exclusives had a special tamper proof decal on the underside on the spare tire well. They are too thin to be removed and placed on another car. This helps sort out if a diecast car was originally sold with the lithograph from Epitome Exclusives.

(you can see this decal above)

The Lithograph says:

Turbo Buick Drag Racing Icon Ken Duttweiler And The Car That Started It All

The 1984/1985 Non-Intercooled Buick Turbo Regal hybrid depicted above was Ken Duttweilers first Turbo Buick racecar. At Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona in January 1985, Duttweiler used it to set the national P-stock automatic class record with a 12.73 second blast at 105 MPH. Unfortunately, the record was overturned the following week when the car was torn down by the NHRA at the Winternationals in Pomona, California. Buick had accidentally sent a 1983 head casting number to the NHRA, making the 1984 casting numbers on Duttweiler’s cylinder heads seem wrong even though they proved to be proper. Since then, Duttweiler has gone on to set numerous drag racing records and his name has become synonymous with Turbo Buick V-6 performance. Duttweiler’s dominance in drag racing over the last 15 years culminated in the fastest Turbo Buick V-6 powered quarter mile pass ever (6.89 seconds at 204.53 MPH), at the “Buicks at Bristol” event in October 1999. Ken Duttweiler has pushed the Buick V-6 far beyond what many skeptics thought was possible and it all started back in 1985 with a Non-Intercooled, Buick Turbo Regal that critics gave little chance of future success………. boy, were they wrong!

The below shows a letter that Epitome included with this model.
(I would assume this was sent out with ALL the issues of this model, {and possibly even with future issues} as this was EE’s reminder to people who ordered, that they could continue on within the 300 club to receive the same numbered vehicle of the next car being offered).

If you missed the descriptive overview on these 1:18 scale models:
GMP Turbo Buick Series

NEXT car in the series: 1986 Buick Grand National.
Be SURE to check back tomorrow to see it!

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BEHIND THE SCENES STORY FROM
TED HIRSCH, EPITOME EXCLUSIVES:

2nd Installment Epitome Exclusives.
Following the huge success of GMP’s 3rd Turbo Buick release, the 1987 GNX, the next model in the series would be a 1985 Burgundy T Type.

As I said in the previous post, we didn’t expect so many collectors to contact us to try and order the same serial number as the GNX set they had received from us.
After securing serial numbers 1-300 from GMP as a continuous order, we decided to continue with pairing the diecast car with a signed, museum quality lithograph of Kenny Duttweiler and his record setting 1985 Buick stock class race car.

I first saw Kenny at the Buick’s at Bristol event in 1999. He won his match race against Lawrence Conley in what I think was a pro mod (?) chassis car, running a stage 2 V6 Buick powered 6.89@204mph.
I got to spend an incredible weekend with Kenny and his wife at his shop in California in 2000 for the lithograph signing.
He is very humble and one of the nicest, most knowledgeable people you will meet.
Here are a few memorable highlights.

The best memory of this weekend was spending the day in the pits with Kenny at Pomona Raceway and being treated to that inside view that Kenny experienced every weekend.
He had me right with him the whole day.

Another thing I remember is him tuning a motor in his shop with a Vortech Supercharger.
I believe the person tuning with him was the owner of Vortech.

Lastly, while talking with him in his shop before I left, I mentioned that I was considering building a Stage 2 motor for my Grand National.
He quickly pointed to 3 brand new BMS forged cranks leaning against the wall and said “well then you’d better get one of those from me before you go, because they aren’t so easy to get anymore.”
I recall he was asking $1700 each.
I should have bought all three lol.

A quick comment. I’m pretty sure I remember this story that Kenny told me correctly.
When Kenny got the red turbo car in the lithograph, Buick had actually given him two cars for the weekend to try out.
The red one and a brown one and he had to choose one.
He much preferred the the motor in the brown one, but liked the look of the red one.
He obviously chose the red one, but before he gave the brown one back, it’s motor had been swapped into the red one! lol!

One of the other things that happened 20 years ago when I was there.
Kenny brought me outside to show me a car that was there from a Ford race team.
It was 4 cylinder, maybe a rally car.
He opened the hood and was showing where he thought he was going to put the turbo and rearrange a few things.
Was just interesting to see the way he thought things through.

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