Some 1984 GS Nationals, gas, tolls, lodging & dining expenses! (& who can forget Jerry's fine dining, along with staying at The Topper Motel -lol)
1984 Nationals Road Trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky, from Massachusetts. (1,ooo plus miles each way) Thanks to fellow Northeast Chapter members Rick Martinez & Johnny Csordas for the pictures!
There were a couple of Jerry's Restaurants in BG. The picture that I had taken , in 1984, was the Jerry's that was located across from The Holidome, & that one closed a long time ago. There was no Jerry's at that location in 2018, just a strip mall building.
What is the gauge on the hood? It can't be the tach or it would be buried with those 4:30" out back. Loving that 300"er the more and more I see it
I was young and stupid on top of it.. Who was the president of the GS club around 1980 to 1983 or 84. Or was there GS club as early as 1980? I wrote a letter to the GS club around that time with a "Itty Bitty Tiny bit of lying" Wrote about my 66 GS which yes I did have and drove frequent.. I did get a letter back welcoming me and hoping I would join.. I mentioned I had a 425 in it "which I had" but in my basement with lots of new TRW bearings, rings, oil pump, steel timing chain etc.. and not knowing where to begin on a rebuilt. Again I wrote it had a ST400, again "sitting in my basement.". A Offy Dual quad with 2 625 AFB, which again I had one and did put it on and the carbs on once but ran ALOT slower but again it was always in the "basement". Now i'm more ashamed of myself because I didn't know back then just how bad the offy's were, plus I didn't run the switch/pitch as the brackets were different. I also had a factory dual quad which I should of put on and a Q-jet manifold and carb from the 425 I should got rebuilt.. I wrote it had headers..Again I had headers in the "basement" that were sold to me that came off a 65 GS. I said it had Chevy 12 bolt with 4:10's.. Can you guys guess?? it was in my "basement" actually on the side of the house covered with a tarp off the same 65GS with the headers. I know I said it had a drive shaft loop but i'm not sure if I said it had ladder bars.. I'm 100% sure there was more BS on my part.. I was welcomed back with a nice letter telling me to please join. Never did and now I wonder if it was Richard Lassitter? At that young age of 18 or 19 "Im a adult" but still thought I needed some thing cool to get in.
Rewinding to the importance of breakfast... My favorite was Judy's Castle, just off the intersection of Scottsville Rd, and 31W. Sadly, just checked the Inter Web, and it is recently no more...
PGSS Absolutely LOVE your reply!!! Yes, it was Richard. (Should you have the reply, his handwriting is quite recognizable—see above…) May I say, I’m tickled that you had such a perception… Back then, entrance to the “Buick Clubhouse,” (collective protection against “Brand-X owners…”) required only a Buick with a Buick engine… (…acknowledging that some folks had already earned what we now call “cred…” A different story for those of us buying a first Buick in the 80's as a “yout…”) That maybe leads me to start another thread…??? “How was your first Buick purchase seen by your family or peers???” (Dare I go there…???) Nick
Revisiting breakfast (in humor…) We Southerners may be losing a “secret weapon.” On more than one occasion, I and my co-conspirators have lured folks from above the Mason-Dixon line to enjoy a proper Southern breakfast. Maybe, after over-indulging in the irresistible joys of biscuits and gravy, or grits with excess butter, consuming 2-3 times the RDA of fat and carbohydrates, they staggered back to their vehicles. Being so conditioned, and possibly knowing better than to “over indulge,” some advantage has been seen in reaction times for “our team,” possibly due to opponents simply burping in satisfaction, at the wrong time… LOL!!!
Hi Nick, That letter is long gone with a bunch of other Buick related Magazines, Brochure's, pictures etc. probably 3 big boxes full that a not so nice girlfriend threw out because she knew just how much they meant to me. Forgot to put down on that post that I also was running a solid lifter cam and adjustable rockers, I forgot who made the cam but had it in my "basement" I'm sure Richard was laughing because on top of my GS's story I have a essential tremor that comes and goes and my hand writing looks like a 5 year old wrote it.. So I could of joined before buying the GS as I had a 73 Riv.. The Buick love was typical, my Father bought a brand new 66 Wildcat, just a 4 dr sedan. I remember at 4 or 5 years old seeing it pull into the driveway. Bragged about it's 445 "CI" till I learned it was a 401. When I got my license around 1979 the Wildcat had only 48,000 miles. I did 2 really stupid things and one of them ended up cracking the block right down the front to the crank. Always looked at magazines and finally knew or read rumors there was a Skylark GS with the 401. I never had seen a 66 GS in person and knowing a 401 was available in the smaller body was pretty exciting to me. Walking to High school with friends every morning we would pass a parking lot about 2 blocks from my house. Out of the blue one day I saw this first ever 66 GS by person and remember seeing the GS emblems on it for the first time with that blacked out rear. It was wicked cool and still gives the same warm fuzzy feeling I felt back then when I think about it today and I wanted it so bad as corny as it sounds. After a couple days or so I put a letter on the window asking if it was maby for sale and put my friends number on the note. My Father didn't think we needed another car and was always on me to save my money. Turns out the GS owner thought I wanted to steal it. There we were 2 or 3 kids walking to school everyday with books and he thought we wanted to steal it. He was a very paranoid man and had locks all over this GS, A alarm with a chapman key on the front fender, a refrigerator lock going down the middle of the grill and he drilled a hole through the console shifter detent knob and put a key lock through it so you couldn't push the knob down and take it out of park. He ended up calling my friend to where I found out he thought we wanted to steal it. He wanted $400 and my Father finally agreed to look at it. Right off the bat you could feel the left rear bearing or axle shaft thumping. He was a painter or some type of house worker and I believe he loaded the trunk heavy on good occasion. My Pops felt the thumping and said he would give $200 only.. I talked to the guy secretly and he agreed to tell my Father $200 and I gave him the other $200 secretly. He said he bought it new off the lot?? Never cared to check but I kinda believed it. It had 86,000 miles. The rear was a 2:93 posi and I didn't bother looking it over. My friend was in the process of putting his built 389 Pontiac from his 66 GTO into a 67 GTO so I got the 3:23 posi from the 66 GTO he junked. The stuff we threw away back then is kinda priceless today. Everything just seemed to line up with the car and the replacement rear end.. I mean are Parents bought the house in 1963 and this rarish 66GS was parked a block or 2 away 18 years later. This guy was on a job for maby a week and if it wasn't a school season I would of maby never seem him park at that lot. I think there was only 5 or 6 options it didn't have, No A/C, PW, PL, Rally wheels, rear defogger and vinyl top which I wouldn't want.. It even had a rear sway bar. Let me post this before I erase it by mistake cause I want to mention a couple more things.. If I bored you so sorry. I'm also Guessing Richard has no records of my BS letter
Before the GS I wrote another letter to "Buick Motor Division" No lie. Telling them my corny love of Buicks and if they had anything about the good all days in their files. I found someone who actually cared as week later I got a big manila envelope with a 66 Dealer Brochure, pic's of magazine article's, one was copies of the HotRod issue with Denny Manner and the Buick prototype engines, some Buick refrigerator magnets and a really nice taken 9 x 11? black and white glossy of the back of a 67 GS on GM's proving grounds with a model leaning on the passenger side. I could see the column shifter through the rear window.. More that I can't remember.. Seems they kinda cared back then or got a nice worker or gave it to a intern. I found a 425 from a 66 Riv from a junkyard for $100 with the SP400. I took the trunk lid off my GS drove to the yard and had them load it in the trunk. Maby 10 or 15 mile drive home. Used some 2x4's and 4 of us pulled it out. The guy at the junkyard said it ran good when taking it apart come to see it was loaded everywhere with carbon!! I never have seen so much in a engine, plus a warped pushrod. Saw a add in the paper Want Ads they had in the day with 2 Buick 401's and performance parts. My friend was going to College up where the parts were at and we took my friends LTD wagon and made a day out of it. For $100 I got one complete 401 short block that was rebuilt. How well I didn't know but it spun nice by hand and was super clean. The heads were off but they also were suppose to be overhauled. Got another 401 all together, a brand new dual quad offy intake, and 2 brand new 625 AFB's linkage and all. They were never on any motor till I tried them, also a factory dual quad intake but no factory carbs or air cleaner. The 425 had the Q-jet intake and the Q-jet carb that came with it. A brand new in the box solid lifter cam with the lifters and adjustable rockers.. Like I mentioned I cant remember the name but I think?? part of the rocker adjusting nut setup was green colored. Pushrods also. I had a friend that worked at a place called New England Speed in Allston/Brighton MA. I bought just about everything needed for a rebuild minus new pistons at their cost. Everything was from TRW, all bearings, rings, oil pump, factory spec lifters, steeling timing set, all gasket kit. I went in blind though and mostly bought the rings and bearings .005 over. We measured the crank and the bores the best we could and thought a hone and crank polish we could get away with a .005 over. If anything I could of returned these parts to TRW.
Meant to say, this is one nice pic! Maby because it does have the Apocalypse look It has that Road Warrior Movie look
That looks to be right down the road from Clark's Drive-In on the 31-W By-Pass. If you look closely, you can see the waving clown at Clark's in the distance. If Jim had entered the By-Pass to the left after leaving his parking spot, he would have been heading directly toward Beech Bend. Great photo, Jim! A better picture of the clown is included.
