Always liked these cars, interesting to see the numbers from it:

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Vehicle: 1987 Buick Regal Grand National
Odometer: 5,536
Date: 10/9/2012
Driver: Chris Walton
Price: $18,514 (original price, we paid $25,000)

Specifications:
Drive Type: Longitudinal, front engine, rear-wheel drive
Transmission Type: Four-speed automatic
Engine Type: Pushrod, two valves per cylinder
Displacement (cc/cu-in): 3,800/231
Redline (rpm): 5,200
Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 245 @ 4,400
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm): 355 @ 2,800
Brake Type (front): Ventilated discs with single-piston sliding calipers
Brake Type (rear): Drums
Suspension Type (front): Independent double wishbones, coil springs
Suspension Type (rear): Live axle, coil springs
Tire Size (front): P245/60R15 (100S) M+S
Tire Size (rear): P245/60R15 (100s) M+S
Tire Brand: BF Goodrich
Tire Model: Radial T/A
Tire Type: All-season
As Tested Curb Weight (lb): 3,599

Test Results:

Acceleration
0-30 (sec): 2.3
0-45 (sec): 3.8
0-60 (sec): 6.1
0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 5.8
0-75 (sec): 9.3
1/4-Mile (sec @ mph): 14.6 @ 92.2

Braking
30-0 (ft): 34
60-0 (ft): 145

Handling
Slalom (mph): 61.3
Skid Pad Lateral Acceleration (g): 0.82
Db @ Idle: 52.3
Db @ Full Throttle: 71.2
Db @ 70-mph Cruise: 67.4
RPM @ 70: 2,750

Comments:

Acceleration: A little pokey without pedal overlap, but the upshifts are sharp. I found holding the car steady on the brakes while raising the rpm to plus-minus 3,000 and the boost to about 5 psi netted the best launch. It seems to spool up quicker now and the midrange is definitely stronger post tune-up. So, the tune-up got us about two-tenths quicker to 60 mph.

Braking: The brakes were best when they were cool. As the number of stops increased, so did the stopping distances. Pedal feel is nearly nonexistent and lock-up (skidding) grew harder and harder to avoid despite my best efforts. I miss ABS.

Handling:

Skid pad: Pretty mild steady-state understeer here. I had to get used to surging from the turbo, but eventually managed to keep the throttle steady all the way around. Steering weight is light, yet I could feel the front tires' grip ebbing. It did puke a little oil during/after the skid pad. We double-checked the level and it was fine. Also did an underhood inspection and found some oil on the right valve cover from the breather. I sopped it up with a rag and sent it on its way home.

Slalom: Obviously new shocks and new tires helped here. Hard to imagine saying this after the last '87Buick Grand National I tested, but this car is a confident and capable handler. Not sure if I'd give all the credit to the tires because there's also so little slack in the steering (comparatively speaking) and the chassis feels compliant and forgiving (shocks). I could really attack the slalom in this one, where I wanted to throw in the towel on the other one.