01-04-2012 Inner Circle

Greetings Turbo Regal Inner Circle Members - 01-04-2012

WELCOME TO 2012 -

We are living in a time where electronics are moving faster than any other product I can think of. Many electronic gadgets become obsolete in a short time. Just look at how often you have upgraded your cell phone! In my day, it was several years before 45 records went to the 8-track format then cassettes and then CDs.

Today the music format can be listened to on many different devices and downloaded instantly. Song titles and artists names scroll across the screen on your satellite radio eliminating the guessing game of who the artist is and the name of the song. The Owners Manual in your Turbo Buick is extremely small in size compared to any of the current car Owners Manuals you get with the car you buy today.

Over the holidays I have started to sort the files I have related to the Turbo Buicks.

PHOTO 1 - This shows a postcard that a Philadelphia Buick dealership used featuring the 1986 Grand National. The top photo shows the front of the postcard and the lower photo shows the back of the postcard. I'm assuming they sent this promotional postcard to prospective buyers. Remember, this was before the internet and emails!

PHOTO 2 - These photos show the front and back of a factory Buick flyer spotlighting the limited edition 1987 WE4 Turbo-T. This flyer does not have any holes hole punched, so it probably wasn't for the Dealer Album. It may have been a promotional handout for prospective buyers at Buick dealerships. The top photo shows the front of this 8-1/2" x 11" flyer, and the lower photo shows the back, which has descriptions and specifications for the WE4 model.

Over the years you have heard me mention HEMMINGS MOTOR NEWS, which is the largest collector car magazine. It is considered "the Bible of the hobby since 1954." We advertised in this magazine back in 1979 when we first started in the automotive mail-order business and through most of the early 1980s when we were selling GTOs and parts for them.

PHOTO 3 - Shows a 1969 issue of Hemmings Motor News on the left and a current January 2012 issue on the right. You can see the vast difference between the two issues. Hemmings Motor News still runs over 500 pages long, even in the computer age!

PHOTO 4 - Years ago I owned this old blue 1950 Ford. I found this old picture of the car next to my old Corvette parked on my parent's driveway shown in the top. Over this past summer I purchased a vintage 1949-1950 Ford instrument cluster and horn ring at a swap meet. I bought it with the idea that I wanted to have them made into a display for my home office. John Hall (who works for us) and my son Darrell made a unique display for me as a Christmas gift. The lower right photo shows this neat display, the photo on the lower right shows it lit up with blue led lights.

John made the display box and my son covered it with material and wired it up so the gauges light up.

As a teenager I had both a 1949 Ford business coupe and a 1950 Ford sedan. This now serves as a neat reminder of the memories of those two Fords I owned in high school. I hope to some day own another 1949-1950 Ford business coupe. In the meantime, this is as good as it gets!



FRED MILANO DIED SUNDAY AT AGE 72 -

Although his name, Fred Milano, may not be familiar to any of you that grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, the group he was part of is very well known - "The Belmonts." At one point, the group was called "Dion and the Belmonts" and it later split up. Dion made it as a solo act, and the Belmonts also had several hits on their own. As time goes on, the ranks of the Rock 'n Roll artists from our youth keep thinning out.



1984-1987 Buick Regal (All Models) -
BRAND NEW MINI STARTER

This starter fits all the standard 153 tooth flywheels found in 1984-1987 Buick V6 Regals, including the turbo models.

These mini high-torque starters are 100% brand new and come with a manufacturer's 2-year warranty. They have 50% more torque over the stock full-size starter.

This new mini starter weighs under 8-1/2 lbs. It's another easy method to save some weight on your Regal. Another advantage of this smaller starter is you have more clearance in the engine compartment for any style header and down pipe you may be using.

Because of the size difference, this mini starter requires different bolts to secure it to the engine block. Both of these new special Grade 8 bolts are included in the kit.

Another excellent upgrade, which not only provides more torque over the factory starter to crank the engine, but saves weight too.

7371 - 1984-1987 Buick Regal (All Models) - Brand New Mini Starter - $112.95

Here is the link to the new mini starter on our website.
http://www.kirbanperformance.com/product/43914/BRAND+NEW+MINI+STARTER+%237371.html



CARS FOR SALE UPDATE -

The same owner of the Mustang still has the 400-mile Firehawk. That price has been dropped to $20,900. This car will find a home eventually.

Here is another unusual car for sale near our office. This car currently sits in a small used car showroom. I used to do all the towing for this dealership when it was a Dodge agency. The car is a 1967 Jaguar XKE Type 4.2 coupe. Car is an Opalescent Silver Blue with a black leather interior. Both front seats appear to have been redone. It is an automatic with just 56,000 miles. A recent tune up and all new brakes have been done. The transmission does have a leak. At best, this is a driver quality car. The dealer was asking $34,000, but the car can be bought for $25,000 or possible trades may be considered.

I have more information and photos on all of the above vehicles for interested buyers.

From time to time I will spotlight cars that we do not own, but I think may interest some of our readers. These will be unique cars or a good deal.



SLP FIREBIRD FORMULA NEW LOWER PRICE -

The seller now is dropped the asking price to $20,900. This is for the 400-mile red 2002 SLP Formula Firebird we pictured in the 11-16-2011 Inner Circle. This car will be finding a new home at some point.



URGENT REQUESTS FOR CORES -

We need stock original 1986-1987 AC Delco mass air flow sensors. They are worth a $25 Letter of Credit.

We do not pay cash. You must pay the shipping to us and pack the item well. Using the postal system is probably the cheapest method to ship.

Remember, cores help us help others keep their Turbo Regals on the road using factory parts. Without cores, a valuable portion of what customers need get discontinued.



ALWAYS IN A BUYING POSITION WORKS -

Got any turbo parts you are not using? Why not cash them in for parts you need with a Letter of Credit. Simply email me a list - [email protected].

Also, we are still buying dead or partially dead 1984-1987 Turbo Regals under $4,000 that are within 250 to 350 miles of our location.



NOTE ABOUT PHOTOS ON THE WEBSITE - We have heard from a couple people that have viewed the photos on the website. Because these have to be low-resolution photos to work on the Inner Circle segments on the website, any photos of text don't appear clear when enlarged. This is a problem when you are trying to see numbers, such as those on the VIN labels or pages from Options booklet. Also, because of photo reproduction and computer screen variations, the colors may not be true to the actual product or photo.

If you would like to have us email you any photo at the higher resolution for viewing, just email us and we will email them to you. Be sure to be specific on which pictures you want to see - Reference Inner Circle date and photo number 1, 2, 3 or 4 - [email protected].



2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS -


TURBOBUICK.COM NATIONALS 2012 - MAY 2 - MAY 5, 2012 - Burlington, NC

For the latest information, go to - www.turbobuick.com/forums or - [email protected]
Event will feature free food, dyno, tech sessions, drag racing, and Auto-X. This is one of the first Turbo Buick events for the year 2012.


22ND ANNUAL BUICK RACEDAY
June 15th, 16th and 17th, 2012 - Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk, Ohio.

Hotels - Best Western Norwalk 419-663-3501 or All American Inn Norwalk 419-663-1922.
For more info, contact Roberta Vasilow 810-655-8277 email - [email protected] or Bill Wills 330-747-1029 email [email protected]


2012 BUICK PERFORMANCE GROUP "CLASS OF 1987" and "BIG BOAT BASH"
August 3rd and 4th, 2012 - National Trail Raceway, Hebron, Ohio
The theme this year is the "Class of 1987" Open to all Buick models built in 1987.


2012 GS NATIONALS - OCTOBER 10-13, 2012 - Beach Bend Raceway, Bowling Green, Kentucky

The Gallina/Duttweiler 6-second 200 mph doorslammer is already confirmed for this event.



EBAY LISTINGS -

If you would like to see any of the Kirban Performance Products items listed on eBay, here is a link to our store and auctions - http://stores.ebay.com/Kirban-Performance-Products-Inc_W0QQssPageNameZl2QQtZ%20km



ABOUT OUR EMAILS -

Any inquiries concerning used parts, you must email me direct - [email protected] - I will answer you. However, if I fail to answer you within 24 hours, please email us again. Since expanding into used parts, I get a lot of emails and sometimes I may forget your request or may not remember who requested the item.



IN CLOSING - I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year. We're hoping for an early Spring! Remember, we are always interested in trades for any new GM parts you may have to trade for parts you want or need.


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