Electra GSX Road Racer

BqUICK · December 6th, 2002

I am building a 1969 Buick Electra GSX. It is luxury grand touring car designed to cruise at 150mph. It has a Pee Gee Performance, Guadagno built 462 INTIMIDATOR, 535 Ft-LBS on the dynomometer. The chassis was built by New York Motorsports Hall of Famer, Gary Shaw. Gary died of a heart attack while racing his "Modified" at TIOGA Motorsports Park, Tioga, NY back in September of this year before the car could be finished. Fellow racer and Chassis Works owner, Dave Machuga, took the car last weekend and will complete the work Gary started and add the cage in 2003. The car uses a 4 link with a watts linkage. Versalles 9" Ford from Gary Tyler Performance, Gear Vendors Overdrive and a competition TH 375 long tail. 4 Wheel Disks. 7" ground clearance. She currently sits on Pirelli P-ZERO 335/35/17 and 235/45/17 with a 189MPH "Y" rating. The rims were custom made by PS engineering and are the Kidney Bean variety. They are polished and similar in design to the Riviera Road Wheels. They will have the inserts painted as well. The car should be completed in 2004 with testing completed for 2005 assault on the Silver State race she was designed for. The paint scheme honors the Tuskegee Airmen and the P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter Plane they flew for a short time in 1944 before they received the P-51. Her name is "Faithful Pursuit"

BuickNut · December 6th, 2002

Wow........quite a handful. Be sure to post a pic of the vehicle and all the goodies (suspension and underhood....) once you get it finished !

86 2dr.ltd · December 7th, 2002

Now that is awsome. Great to see someone doing something creative with a full size. Looking forward to hearing more.

Questions , I'm not up on

It that a Buick engine?
What kind of suspension is that. Are there any links to learn more about that type of suspension?

BqUICK · January 10th, 2003

I bought this car in 1978, the same year I met my wife and its been in the family ever since. I started saving for a car in 1968 and in 1974 settled on the 1969 Electra as my choice. The Electra was the fastest nicest sounding luxury car back in the 1970s. They were legendary street sleepers with nitrous oxide injected BUICK big blocks and quiet exhausts. Back in those days 12 seconds was faster than most rods would go. By the late 70s there was a buzz on the street about a 10 second wheel standing green 1970 Electra. I have seen many such racers and was always impressed by seeing massive metal moving fast. The Electra did it with more class than any other.

My engine is a Pee Gee Performance built Buick 455 from a 1970 Wildcat. Scotty Guadagno used STAGE 1 valves and performed all the necessary oiling modifications on the motor. She displaces 462 cubes and puts out just under 500 HP. It has 11:1 Flat top Forged Pistons. the rods are original but the beams have been cut. Most of the parts come from TA Performance. As you know BUICK puts out a fatter torque band than any other big block of the period. Now people will tell you that Cadillac had 550 compared to BUICK's 510. Well have you ever seen or heard of a Caddy outrunning a 440 GTX? Or any muscle car for that matter? Rarely, only the Electra has the reputation for taking out muscle cars. They are documented at running between 15.8 stock down to a legit 10.90 in racing trim. (Ask Roberta V.) This gives you some indication as to why the 430 and 455 are so potent in a GS or other lighter cars.

The suspension used for my Electra GSX is a tubular 4 link suspension with a Panhard rod to locate the rear and coil over shocks. It uses 4130 Chromoly tubes with spherical "Heim" joints. IT IS CUSTOM FABRICATED$$$. Simply backhalfing the car and putting a "street or race" clip would just result in a fatality, perhaps several. A full bodied Electra needs a lot more rugged setup than what is commonly available for your garden variety muscle car, especially when you are running at 160+MPH and turning at 60+mph. Road racing is a vastly different animal because now the big sedan has to handle like a Ferrari F-50. The compromise is comfort. She will have a cage, be noisy, but will be an incredible sight to see at Watkins Glen or at the Silver State Race. This car will have a ride height of 6" front and 7" rear.

Right now she is off the chassis machine and sitting on her wheels with most of the back end welding completed. The body will go back on in the next few weeks after the front suspension is completed and the driveline is installed. Everything about this car is massive because of the weight and speed. The tires have the highest weight and speed rating available, the 4 wheel disk brakes are huge 12+ inch vented units, the Gear Vendors overdrive unit is rated to 1,200 HP and is mated to the TH 375 "Long Tail" version of the TH400. Allison,truck transmission builder, made the six bolt "anti-balooning" torque converter. JW made the flywheel. There is still a lot to do but I have the best people helping me. Its been 10 years of $, mistakes$$, blood (literally), sweat, and tears. We race in 2005! Stay tuned.

Romy · January 10th, 2003

Oh, now that's spiffy!
I'd eventually like to do what you're doing to a 70 Wildcat...first I have to get one, but whatever...minor details. I'm very interested in what you're doing with the suspension. I have a 70 LeSabre 455 that handles ok (for a boat <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/image...lins/wink.gif" alt="" />) but I'd like it to handle more like a...what was it you refered to?...ah yes, a Ferrari F-50. That would be so cool. Please keep informing us all of your progress, as it's very cool that someone is doing this to a full sized car. If you have any more pics of the progress, feel free to post them or email them to me <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/image...lins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/image...ins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/image...lins/grin.gif" alt="" />...my email is gobuickgo@msn.com

Straycat · January 11th, 2003

Post deleted by BUICK RACER

86 2dr.ltd · January 12th, 2003

This is quite interesting. What classification would that be raced under? Will you be lightening up the sheet metal somehow ? You go to Watkins Glen I want to be there.

BqUICK · January 15th, 2003

Hi,

There is no web site yet. I am taking some photos that I will develop in the next month or so. The old set taken over the years are not valid as so much has changed. We are in a rapid state of change right now as the set up has been together and torn apart 4 times in 14 months! We wont really know what the best setup is until we have run it around Watkins Glen, which is about 20 minutes away. The Electra GSX will not be ready to run there until more local road trials are completed. I expect that we will have a complete shake down at Watkins in 2004, go back to the chassis shop and work on a few things or fix what broke then run again. Once we are confident that we have a winner, the serious action will be in 2005.

BqUICK · January 15th, 2003

Be advised that this is very expensive as I have more than $6K in the back end alone and I'm not done spending yet. This includes the rear suspension, 9" FORD rear end, chassis, rims and tires. This does not include spares or the fact that we may have to move to Carrera coil overs.

There are other ways to get this done for a street BUICK and still get very good handling. If I were building this for the streeti I'd look at the rear suspension in a 1969 Riviera GS. The rebuilt Electra GSX suspension is similar, only hand fabricated by a pro-racer and race car chassis shop owner, Dave Machuga.

wildcat65401 · July 1st, 2003

So how is the project going ????
I'm dieing to see some pictures ????
C'mon I've got to see this beast !!!!!!!
Please!!!!! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/image...lins/wink.gif" alt="" />