The Goodguys 2025 PPG Street Machine of the Year goes to Angelo Vespi’s 1987 Grand National built by Dutchboys Hotrods

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Congratulations to Angelo Vespi and his menacing 1987 Grand National for being named Goodguys 2025 PPG Street Machine of the Year during the 27th Summit Racing Nationals!

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First impressions, especially when you’re a young teenager, often will last a lifetime – especially when it comes to cars. Angelo Vespi vividly remembers going with his father to the Buick dealer and setting his eyes on a brand new 1987 Grand National parked in the middle of the dealership. Black paint, black trim, black grille with only the 3.8L SFI Turbo on the hood bulge in chrome to match the wheels.

Impression made.

 

Alas, not for lack of trying, he and his dad left in a pedestrian brown Regal with a flat hood and sans the turbo of course. Then again, if his dad would have stepped up to the Grand National or even a T-Type, Angelo may never have had reached out to Dutchboys Hotrods about building his ultimate version of the classic ‘80s muscle car – the one that was just named the Goodguys 2025 PPG Street Machine of the Year!

 

For the crew at Dutchboys, based in Vicksburg, Michigan, this build was to become their most ambitious to date and Angelo let them really strut their vision and talents over four-year build. One of the biggest challenges when working on a vehicle built in the mid ‘80s is the form and fitment of the steel body panels combined with a plethora of plastic pieces that warp, crack and fit poorly in the first place.

The answer was to “simply” replace any plastic panel with hand fabricated and machined metal pieces.  Throughout the body, every gap has been tightened precisely, GNX influenced fender flares were formed, and even the bumper strips were formed in aluminum. The hood received a larger bulge that still looks factory and machined vents were formed to relieve the engine compartment of hot air. The final touch was a menacing Black Glasurit finish to continue the GN heritage.

 

The factory chassis was pushed aside in favor of a Dutchboys design that allowed the body to be channeled to achieve an intimidating, lower stance and fitment for the Rushforth designed 19/20-inch wheels machined by Greening Auto Company. A front subframe and rear Quadralink suspension setup from Detroit Speed were incorporated to the new frame providing performance handling with 6-piston Baer calipers pulling the GN to a stop.

 

 

From the factory, Grand Nationals were powered by Buick’s prized high performance, turbocharged 3.8L V-6 Buick with sequential fuel injection, but Vespi wanted to double the fun with twin turbos feeding into a Mast Motorsports 7.0L LS engine. The fuel delivery, boost and ignition are all managed by a Holley Dominator EFI system with the engine easily producing over 1,000 horsepower which is handled by a Bowler Performance built 4L80-E trans and GearFX 9-inch rearend.

 

 

The interior pays homage to the original 1987 Grand National design, though there is not an original piece to be found. Avant Garde Design 3D scanned the entire interior and set about 3D printing and machining all new panels, seats, trim, pedals, and handles. Once complete, everything was wrapped and stitched in leather and suede materials with a Holley flat screen display monitoring the drivetrain and controls.

 

While the build took longer than anticipated, the Dutchboys and their partners created the ultimate 1987 Grand National as per Angelo’s wishes. The car, dubbed the GNXS, after the uber rare GNX offered in ’87 only, showcases not only the talents of the Dutchboys team, but also sets the bar extremely high on just what can be accomplished with a mid ‘80s muscle car platform. We can’t wait to see what comes next!

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Author: Todd Ryden

Photos: Street Machine Central