My Son stopped over today with a big smile on his face. Sez 5 liter Mustang ate my smoke yesterday. He was at a stoplight and a Mustang was making a lot of noise next to him. He was driving the '03 Regal GS we sold him a few years ago. It used to be my Wife's car so it was stock. (She wouldn't let me touch it). So anyway, he nodded to the stang to go ahead. Light changed and he just walked at least 2 car lengths to 80. He slowed down to 55, the stang pulled in back of him and started to pull back and forth then finally passed him. My son waved at him, but this guy looked pissed and screamed off. What ever happened to losing with grace and style? A simple thumbs up would have been nice. My Wife just stood there shaking her head. "The apple sure doesn't fall far from the tree around here does it?" High Fives were had between the Two of us. When the car was mine, I ate up a few posuers myself. Nice sneaky car. Who's that old fart with the gray hair and Four door Buick eating up my Rod?? LOVED IT!! PONCH:laugh:
Hi Ponch, You're a great dad! We really need to pass on our wisdom to the next generation that Buicks are not to be taken lightly! Love the late model Regal GS. Talk about an understated and unsuspecting Stang killer. I test drove a new '05, and surprised an early model Porshe 924 driver during the drive. My wife knew what to expect when I was at the stop light with the Porshe, beside me, but the salesman wasn't. That Regal GS languished on the dealer lot for another year, but we couldn't afford it at the time. Very difficult to find a used one, since most owners won't part with them. In our town, there's a black Regal GS, with veteran plates on it, that I'm keeping my eye on. It's been pampered, and I don't think the retired couple bought it for it's acceleration. Take care, Nando.
We bought a Green one in '97 when they first came out. One of the baddest production cars at the time. I remember wandering around the experimental factory and seeing them in the dyno rooms. "I gotta have one of these!!" I really liked it, so we traded it in on the '03. My wife sez, do we really need one with the supercharged engine? Are you kidding woman?? But she really liked the expressway on ramps, especially when a semi was next to her. Pedal to the metal, GONE!! PONCH
Hi Ponch, So you had the inside scoop about these s.c. cars, while you worked at Flint? That's much better than reading about them in some press release or automotive magazine. Too bad the model didn't survive, but at least the engine did in the Pontiac GP. I'm not too hot about the idea of corporate sharing of engineering between makes, but then we wouldn't have some remarkable collectibles such as the Pontiac Turbo Trans Am in 1989, would we. Talk later, Nando.
Hi Nando; First, thanks for the kudos on being a great Dad. But sometimes I gotta wonder!! I retired from Buick on Oct 1, '03. Tinsnith. I covered the whole complex. My boss called me the Fireman, i'd run around and take care of the "Hot" jobs. I worked in and on the Exp. building for a Year or so. Saw a lot of diffeent things that didn't fly. The GNX was supposed to be a twin turbo car. A friend was trying to fit a 3" exaust to a proto. cussing like hell when Lloyd Ruess walked by. He asked him if all of that cussing was making that pipe go in any better. "Hell Yes!!". So he just walked on. That's the trouble with GM right now, no car guys to develop cars. Lloyd was a big proponent of the GN. It it's heyday, the Motorsports Div. made a batch of heads called Trident. Two intake and One exaust valve. They didn't fly either and were all scrapped out. Can you imagine those heads on a GNX? Saw GN Engines in Skyhawks. One car that I got to drive was a Reatta with a GN Engine in it. RWD with the Turbo mounted right in back of the intercooler. There was a blister on the hood like an Opel GT for the pressure pipe. 50 series tires and 4:10 posi rear. Would that thing fly!! I was asked if I wanted plates on it to take it out on the street. I declined. I'd have half of the Flint Police force following me back through the gate. A week later it was about a foot high in the scrap yard. Just an "Engineering exercise". Shame. Saw a lot of different stuff. It was fun wandering around there. It's all gone now. Just an empty field of weeds. I try to avoid driving past there, remembering all of the things I made and installed. It was a good job while it lasted. I liked using my hands to make something and if it didn't work find out why and make another. Back to my Son. He was in Seattle for a Year. Most un-friendly city in the States. He'd call and tell me about eating up Hondas, Toyotas and such with the Fart cans on them. After they were lunch, they'd pull up with a WTF look on thier faces! He loved it. I also loved hearing about it. Hey, Take it easy and enjoy some fun kills of your own. I'd also like to hear about them. My car has been sitting for a few Months. I have been working on a 350 for it but just cant get myself going. Depression from Vietnam. I feel myself falling back into my Black Hole. I'm going to have to get more shock treatments. Lotsa fun. Later PONCH
Hi Ponch, Is this the 1st time you've revealed, on the forum, what went on in Buick's "skunkworks" programme? If so, you could start a whole new thread on your work experiences, while working in Flint. It's not often you hear of X-files type of Buick engineering from someone who directly witnessed what was being developed. I find it totally fascinating, and quite unexpected from a division more suited to building luxuriously appointed cruisers. I don't think that same type of wide-eyed, " let's notch it up a bit" excitment-engineering exists today at Buick Motor Division... or am I wrong? Do you know of anything in the design stage that might have me out test driving a new Buick? You know, tinsmithing has become almost a lost art. Not too many kids taking it up as a trade. I think you've got many other experiences to share with us. Take care, Nando.
I know for a fact that Buick engineers purchased a nitrous kit and had there bottles refilled at Boyles Speed Shop (RIP Denny Tabor) in Flint. This was in the early 80's.
Hi Doug, Another ol'timer from Flint. I love it! Seems we have similar interests: I have a '69 California Sidewinder with 1250 Merc'. Had it out last Sunday in Howe Sound. Boating and fishing are my favorite hobbies. Also own an original 30k mile 1986 GN. Let me guess... you also have some original hi-fi gear from the 60s-70s. I collect alot of the ol' stuff, and I'm listening to some P. Floyd D.S.M., while typing this message to you. Talk later, Nando.
87GN; Thank's. Right back at ya. I didn't get a medical, mine took a while to creep up on me. It's been there all along but I just didn't realize it till I went to the hospital. Now i'm a wreck. Nando; This isn't the First time i've written about my walk throughs at experimental (Plant#78). There are guy's on this board who have spent a lot more time there than I have. I spent most of my time sitting and BSing with the donations guy.(RIP Al Spear). He would get the cars that were used to try out different things on. When they were done with them he would donate them to a school to use as a teardown and put back together car,or send them to the scrap yard. He's the one that had the stolen and recovered GNX that was scrapped. I had an '88 Riv, and he kept Two of them that were supposed to be scrapped and I took parts off of as needed. He was scrapping a '91 Reatta, NICE. Black, Black convert top Black interior. Had the 7 spoke wheels. The wheels ended up on my '90 Reatta. He got in an Allante with a Blue Rag top. No keys to get into it. So he just took out his knife, stabbed it into the top and cut till he could un-lock it. I almost died. He got in a Station Wagon that a car magazine borrowed to do a build up on. They put a vette engine, beefed up trans and 4.11 posi rear. I drove that around for a day or so. Got me and my parts around pretty quick. He ended up giving it to the engine plant Maint. crew. They blew it up in a week. Had a nice Vette Convert. Red with a white top for a few weeks. It wasn't very good for much, just pissed everyone off cuz I had it and they didn't. Snuck my 16 Year old Son it to drive it. He had a good time. We went in back of a plant with a huge loading pad. I told him to crank the wheel all the way over and floor it. Did a few donuts. Taught him burn outs, and a few other things. Drivers Training 101. I had a gate pass, so it was easy to get in and out. On Bring Your Daughter To Work day, We snuck away from the hoards and Al had a line of cars that She could choose from to take out for a ride. I also took her through #78 to look at some of the other stuff. She was attractive, so I got lotsa waves. She had a good time and a good tour guide. There wetre a lot of other things too that I wont get into. You get the drift. This post is long enough. Also Chuck, it's OK to talk about this stuff now isn't it? Just PM me so you don't blow your cover. That's all for now. Remember what That old car show said: Don't crush 'em, restore 'em. I'm quite sure they only were referring to Buicks! PONCH
Hello Ponch, Thanks for the follow-up! I have a 1989 Buick Electra Estate Wagon. Only 14k kilometers on the odometer, and show-room new, when I bought it for my wife in 2000. With 4 children, it certainly filled the ticket, as we weren't impressed with any vans. Buick actually stuffed ... no, substituted a GNX drivetrain into an '88 wagon, and that car appeared at one of the GSCA Nationals. Do you know of that car? I think I'd almost want to duplicate what Buick had done back then- it's a great power combo. When did you first begin working at that plant? I enjoyed all the details, so far, of your past experiences, while working at Flint. My kids know full well how Buicks can run, and I've got plenty of street encounters to speak of. Check out the thread titled " When is 585 horsepower..." in this section of the forum. Take care, Nando.
