05-09-2012 Inner Circle

Greetings Turbo Regal Inner Circle Members - 05-09-2012

NOTE - We are sending out TWO Inner Circles today.

This is the first Inner Circle. The second one is about the 2nd ANNUAL RIDE ON MOLLY last weekend. Scott Abrahamsen sent us a nice email about the event.


THE TurboBuick.com NATIONALS -

As the saying goes, the weather was picture perfect. Actually it was like a typical summer day every day in Burlington, North Carolina with temperatures hitting 85 or better every day.

As usual, several Turbo Regals broke down and Richard Clark was kept busy. He not only got them picked up on his rollback truck, but was fixing them as well.

Pete Hoffman who arrived Saturday night and I arrived late Monday night in order to pitch in with the set up at Richard's shop.

At the Thursday luncheon I played MC and fired questions related to Turbo Regals to the crowd to test their knowledge.

I was surprised at amount when I asked by a show of hands how many were first-time participants to the TurboBuick.com Nationals and Richard Clark's “Toy Room.”

Many of the big name Turbo Buick vendors had set up Thursday at Richard's.

GBodyparts.com had his new all aluminum Grand National style wheels in various sizes on display. Of interest to many owners, he had samples of the new front and rear body fillers. These are made just like GM, with the proper metal and as flexible as the originals were when they were new. This has been the one major drawback with the various reproductions of bumper fillers that have been reproduced over the years by several other companies.

As one might expect, both projects require a huge investment and costs run high.

The Turbo Buick community is fortunate to have companies invest in aftermarket and reproduction items. Gbodyparts.com has invested in these projects, as well as World Of Motorworks, who took on the grilles and headlight bezels a few years back.

The production run on the new front and rear fillers is still several weeks away. We will be offering them as soon as they are available. As you might expect materials used to make them are far superior to what GM used over 25 years ago. At of this writing, we do not have a price break down for front or rears, but a projected price for the front and rear set combined is around $650.

PHOTO 1 - The top photo shows the new aluminum reproduction Grand National wheel in the 15" x 10" size. Even the center cap is all new and secured firmly using a different method than what GM used. The wheels are clear coated. The lower photo shows the 15" x 7" stock size rim with a tire mounted. The weight saving over the stock 28 pound steel wheel is substantial when you go to aluminum. We will have them available as well.

There must have been having an antique car show in Burlington on Saturday because there were some interesting cars at the host hotel Best Western on Friday night. There were over 35-40 early 1920s cars in the parking lot. It was quite a contrast to see them parked next to what is known as the fastest U.S. production car in 1987.

PHOTO 2 - I took the top left photo on Friday night. It shows one of the 1920s cars next to a mint 1987 Grand National. I took the top right photo at racetrack Friday afternoon. This owner had a very neat paint scheme on his 1987 Turbo-T, black and grey with a bold red stripe that divided the colors against the black-out trim. The lower left photo show a pair of fiberglass doors and the lower right photo shows some aluminum heads that were for sale.

PHOTO 3 - Richard has various ways to test parts, including mass air flow sensors. The top left photo shows just one of the many special hoists Richard has to move transmissions around. The top right photo shows Richard (to the far right) as he lends advice on fixing this particular race car. The lower photo shows five of the seminars speakers as they fielded questions during the seminar. From left to right - Nick Micale, Brian Bissonette, Cal Hartline, Paul Ferry and Bob Bailey.

PHOTO 4 - The top left photo shows one of the unique turbo powered cars at the racetrack Friday, was this 1970’s style Skylark powered by twin turbos. The top right photo shows the powerplant of one of the quicker Turbo Regals at the track. The lower left photo shows one where the plumbing is larger than the duct work on our dryer at home! Note the tool mat sitting in front of the engine. That was the tool mat we sold for a number of years. The lower right photo was taken looking across one of the rows of race cars at the Piedmont track on Friday.

Special thanks to Richard Clark and ZDDPlus™ for sponsoring this event again this year. The amount of work and time he devotes to the Turbo Buick community is admirable and greatly appreciated. Thanks too, to his staff.

Special thanks to Clint Atkins and Shane Grimsley for all their work for this event. There is a lot of "behind the scenes" planning that goes into a successful event. Thanks to everyone who helped throughout the week, including Pete Hoffman and John Follweiler.

Special thanks to all the vendors and speakers that came to support Turbo Buick owners. Thanks to those who donated items to the raffle.

Special thanks to Russ for the homemade cookies and goodies for dessert for the Thursday luncheon.

Thanks, too, to all the attendees. It's always great to meet people from all over that share the same interest in these cars.

To see more photos and race results, check out the TurboBuick.com forums. Here's a link -
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/forums/2012-turbobuick-com-nationals-may-2nd-5th-sponsore.168/


We will show more photos from the event next week.



ADD NEW PARTS & NEW LINKS -

GM LICENSED GRAND NATIONAL MAGNETIC DECALS -
All of the magnetic decals are now on the website. Here is the link:
http://www.kirbanperformance.com/products.php?search_text=7277&submit_button=


SafestRustRemover #7322 and Ultra One Heavy Duty Degreaser #7323
These are great additions to your garage arsenal of cleaning products. We have used them both and are totally satisfied with the results. Here is the link to these products on our website:
http://www.kirbanperformance.com/products.php?search_text=7322&submit_button=



SALE PENDING - SLP FIREBIRD FORMULA - FOR SALE -

This car is priced at $19,500. 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.



REPRODUCTION GNX SUSPENSION - NOW AVAILABLE -

Pete Hoffman has a limited number of the reproduction GNX Suspension Systems available. These are the Richard Clark systems that he has had made locally.

They are nearly exact to the originals, down to the welds and material used. They come with complete detailed instructions.

Limited availability! Call or email Pete 215-778-1036
[email protected]



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 -



3RD ANNUAL BUICK RACE DAY -
MAY 26th, 2012 - Saturday
Lebanon Valley Dragway, Lebanon, New York.

For more info, phone number for the racetrack is 518-794-7130. To reach John Csordas - 845-528-GSGN or his cell is 914-447-6068.



PERFORMANCE YEARS CAR SHOW -
JUNE 15th and 16th, 2012 - Friday & Saturday
Friday afternoon World's Record attempt at muffler box dominoes.
Cruise through Lansdale, PA Friday night.
Saturday event is held at Performance Years headquarters, 2705 Clemens Road, Hatfield, PA 19440. They should have 150+ Pontiacs, 150+ musclecars and 150+ Mustangs. They even have 2 bands playing back to back on Saturday.

Lansdale Under the Lights is that evening. Lansdale/Hatfield area should be crawling with cool cars!

All monies collected for registration, minus the costs of the trophies, goes to the ALS Foundation (Lou Gehrig's disease) in Philadelphia, PA.

Here is the link with for more details -
http://performanceyears.com/openhouse.asp



22ND ANNUAL BUICK RACEDAY -
JUNE 15th, 16th and 17th, 2012 - Friday, Saturday & Sunday -
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 - Friday & Saturday
National Trail Raceway, Hebron, Ohio
The theme this year is the "Class of 1987." Open to all Buick models built in 1987.



2012 EAST COAST BUICK REGIONALS and FAST EVENT -
SEPTEMBER 21st and 22nd, 2012 - Friday & Saturday
Cecil County Dragway, Maryland
Event is open to all models of Buicks

Featuring the 2nd Annual MAGNA (Mid-Atlantic Grand National Association) All Buick powered judged Car Show! All Buick's! All years! All makes!

Goodie bags for the first 50 Buicks in the show. Door prizes all day and 50/50 to win some cash. The ONLY ALL-Buick car show on the east coast!

For more information, contact Doug Dougherty - 302-653-2201 or John Csordas - 914-447-6068 or email questions to - [email protected] or [email protected] Visit their website -http://tristategsclub.com



2012 GS NATIONALS -
OCTOBER 17-20, 2012 - Wednesday-Saturday
Beach Bend Raceway, Bowling Green, Kentucky

Racing is FREE on Wednesday, October 17th. The correct dates are October 17-20, 2012. Because of the reschedule, they have negotiated FREE racing on Wednesday, October 17th. This includes "everyone" who comes thru the gate and pays the usual nominal entrance fee. There is NO usual additional charge to race your Buick powered cars on Wednesday.

The BCA (Buick Club of America) will be joining the GSCA event. This combination will make for a well-rounded event featuring all kinds of Buicks. This is one fall event you do not want to miss!



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 km



IN CLOSING -

It was a busy week for us being in Burlington, North Carolina.

We have more ideas and products and, of course, will be offering some of the new items we saw at the event as well.

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