BUICKRACER, SMARTIN, & ALL,

Thanks for the information on the new Buick Block. The photos are great, especially the ones with people that are clearly pleased. The final machining looks like it has yet to be completed. I know Jim B. is taking orders but I dont know if they have actually built and run it yet.

wow!!! now THAT'S a nice block!!

New tires!!!!!

Those are F A T.

Santa never brings anything to me like that. Would we not all like to see those under (or around)the tree. Better then the Lexus or Jag wityh the red bows.

John

Yes those will look very mean on this!



The real issue though is that most people will see them from this angle...
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Merry Christmas too all of you! Thanks for all of the support and encouragement, especially the service personnel who took time to write and view.

God Speed and God Bless!

Smartin,

Thanks again for posting my pix! John, thanks for the photos from your Electra225.com archives.

Tires: What you see are the new Pirelli CORSA racing tires with the wavy tread AND the "old" P-ZERO Pirellis with more traditional tread for comparison purposes. The P-ZERO front tires were 235/45/17s and are regarded as too narrow for such a heavy car. I bought the P-ZEROS without the benefit of experienced road racers that we now have on the team. The CORSA offers a 255/40/17 wide tire with much more contact area than the Pirelli ROSSOs we tried a few weeks ago. Also, the SUPER wide 335/35/17 Pirelli P-ZEROS are staying on the rear.

We needed a tire that was capable of handling a road course as well as straight line capability in excess of 150mph with the proper load rating. At one time I did see driving the car on the street, however as the Faithful Pursuit goes faster it will be less streetable. We will use slicks for Watkins Glen to see how the car handles.

My thanks to the Langley Crew for the Pirellis! These guys just want to see what this thing will do so they send me some neat things from time to time! Cal and his friends are great sponsors!

Let there be Pictures!

Adam,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I installed the first of a set of two Talbot Racing Mirrors. They were made in Berlin in the late 50's to early 60's. There are many copies made of these mirrors found on $250,000.00 Shelby Cobras and other fine racing automobiles. Real Talbots cost nearly $300.00. each for 4" Berlins. These have the authentic stamp from the Talbot Co. in West Berlin, Germany.

Please post thanks,

Michael

PS: Ebay, ofcourse!

As we prepare for our Spring trial runs which were delayed last year, I am checking into some of the known problems we did not address. First, we know we will need sponsorship to get us to Nevada in September so we are drafting a letter to a few potential sponsors. This has been a largely privately funded activity, however I've gone really, really, far on my own. Perhaps too far!

I thank all of those like Cal and Dave Machuga, Machuga Chassis, who have helped too. Now we need to get some more help.

Our fuel system needs some work as the Holley Blue Pump flowing 70gph will not be sufficient to meet the needs of 15' or so .5" lines. I suppose we just were not thinking and now we have to spend the same money over to do it right. This is why this project costs so much. There are so many details that must be handled properly and you just cannot say, "well, so what if its not done right?". If this were a hot rod you could get away with short cuts. Since we are racing...well you know!

Looks like Faithful Pursuit driver Roy Hopkins is cleared for the September race date. We talked yesterday and will have a team meeting in another month or so. The rest of the team has to get squared away on travel, time off from work etc. This is going to be interesting!

The Buick Nationals are coming up this summer and we will be there too. It will be the first time the big Buick has ever been featured at a car show! The Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. of New York are really interested in the program and I received some nice literature from fighter pilot Harry Stewart. I will ask Smartin to post photos of the aircraft the Buick represents.

All in all I think we are on track. Its getting close and I feel butterflies from time to time. After 22 years of planning it will be exciting to see this desert dream come true.

God Speed,

All,

I love that photo Smartin posted for me. The Electra GSX is in my garage for the moment, and I took a few photos of the blacked out nose and new GSX and STAGE 1 emblems on the grille. It really looks kool . I promise better shots once she runs at Watkins Glen International this spring.

We are ready for the final push of mods the Faithful Pursuit will carry into Nevada. Here are the top 7 things out of a list of about 50!:

1. Hood Tachometer
2. Hardened Transmission input shaft
3. Harmonic Balancer
4. Roller Rockers
5. 26' Trailer
6. 1 Ton tow van or vehicle
7. Volunteers for support in Batavia, Orlando, Nevada

This is the final push to get these things together. The car goes back to Machuga Chassis for four point scale, rear sway bar, rear spoiler setup, among other things. There is still so much to do but we are still largely on schedule.

I spoke to a video expert about how to "shoot" Watkins Glen this spring. Lorey Gastel owns "Noah's Ark" video in Corning and sponsored me in front of his store for the annual race fever program last September.

He has videoed local Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Gary Shaw, our first chassis builder, at Watkins Glen international Raceway many years ago. The late Gary Shaw still holds a track record there for his B Production 1964 Corvette convertible. Lorey said there are lots of cameras and crew, even a director that video the scenes when they televise races at Watkins. He said it would be best to put cameras in cars and do a car in front, one behind and take video from a few spots on the side of the road.

If anyone out there wants to drive at Watkins to help me get video of this monster, let me know!

I spoke to Lorna, Gary's daughter two days ago. She told me that Jake, her son, looks more like his grand dad every day. He's a junior working hard to get into Cornell. Jim Cendoma, local businessman, and Faithful Pursuit racing enthusiast was present and I introduced him and his wife to Lorna. We chatted about Gary who we all knew. I showed them the latest photos and sponsorship request letters. It was good to see Lorna again.

Well, its another "O Dark Thirty" communication to you Buick lovers out there. We still have high hopes but the cold makes it tough to get motivated! When we finally get back to Machuga Chassis, currently building two race chassis, and a street rod '36 Chevy coupe, things will pick up again!

Also, keep up your prayers for our Tuskegee Airmen. Bill Wheeler was one of the Tuskegee Airmen that came to our Faithful Pursuit unveiling event back in April. We buried Minnie Wheeler, his wife of 59 years, around Christmas time . Bill is on page two of the news article posted here back in April.

I was glad that I was able to drive down and spend time with him and the rest of the Airmen and friends at the funeral. Through it all, Bill took the time to introduce me to all of his close family and ask me how I was doing.

After the service, Chapter president Col. Ed Monroe and his wife drove me to the burial site. It was a cold beautiful sunny evening in Long Island, NY, 300 or so miles from my home. Our prayers go with Bill and his children.

God Speed,

Do you have dates yet for Watkins Glen? I would be tempted to drive my car (a VW diesel Jetta, with a sunroof) for photos, but not sure what kind of car you would want to use and at what speed you would be going.

Also, what kind of help do you need in Batavia? Our plans (a few of us from CT)are to drive through southern NY stopping over night in Watkins Glen, then to the Corning Museum (to keep the ladies happy) and back up to Batavia on Wednesday after the Curtis Museum in Hammondport, ariving Wednesday afternoon in Batavia. Other then the judging meeting, I expect to have time in Batavia for whatever help you might need.

John

John,

Thanks for your offer of help. You do not need a particularly fast car to do what I have in mind. We just need to document the chassis tuning and look at how the car responds under certain conditions. Video taping will give us a good idea of how to tune and serve as a record.

I live in Corning so it would be great to meet here for the Buick meet in Batavia. You can contact me at maj2nd@aol.com

Thanks!

i check in on this thread everynow and again, and everytime there is something new...the pics of the three dueces on the grass is awsome! I think it was john from www.electra225.com who spoke about not advertising his site, just getting it out there for the diehard electra guys cuz info is so hard to come by, and i have to wholeheartedly agree! i hope this thread is backed up on a disc somewhere, if not maybe someone smarter than me can do that! i hope to be contributing the info stream too, but as my car sits right now on four jacks awaiting a rear transplant, the scene is more frankenstein's basement than mechanic's garage.......
everybody who is contributing to this is alright in my book

Thanks man!

I like your site too. There are few sites with people doing Electra work. Its nice to see yours. Thanks for putting up my conceptual drawing for the "Cobalt Man" Electra. I developed that car several years ago. There is a wilder GMC 671 Supercharged version as well.

On a side note, I have since worked for an outfit that used REAL radioactive cobalt for sterilization purposes. They keep the stuff behind shielding 50 feet deep in pool of water. When the door is open, talk about a wild blue glow, its more like neon! Scary as hell but really cool!

Check out "Dont be Pissed" its a nice Electra thread here as well.
I wish you the best of luck with your Pursuit. Let me know if I can be of help.
Perhaps you can start a fresh thread and use it to ask questions about parts availability too. There are a few people into the big rolling stock and can help.

God Speed,

Your suggestion about backing up this worthy thread piqued my interest. I clicked on "Print Thread" at the bottom of the page. It took about 5 minutes to download the whole thread as a printable version. Then I did a "Save As" and in about a minute I had the document on my desktop.

I think AACA is a pretty safe place to keep things. They probably do regular backups. But just in case, as of today, consider this thread "saved."

GS,

Good to hear from you again! Thanks for the backup. "10225" views! Wow! I was figuring about 100 when I started this about two years ago.

After 20 years of being frustrated by vendors, speed shops, and countless others telling me nobody cared about Buick Electras and what I was trying to do was impossible anyway, it was good to finally find people like Gary Shaw and Dave Machuga who wanted to fabricate the car. Gary and Dave loved it when people said they can't do stuff!!!! The "hits" lets me know that either people really care or they just like wierd stuff. Thanks all the same.

There is a lot of "business" stuff that I have been pouring man-weeks into. Its wierd to not be wrenching into the wee hours but crafting sponsorship letters till 2am! This is the stuff thats hard and we still lose the wrench time!

Now we have to convince people to support a racing effort they have never heard of and a car they never knew had a racing pedigree. The people "in the business" have been telling me a 200 mph Electra is impossible for 20 years!


OKAY...No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Chevy power!!!!! Its Buick or bust!!! No, I wont run a Corvette, Firebird, or even a Riviera body for the 100th time. It will be a 1969 Buick Electra. That's the whole point, it has to big and massive like the Tuskegee Airmen's WWII P-47 Thunderbolt or the whole point of this does not fly. The Buick Electra was the fastest of the big luxury cars including the 300 Hurst, XL-100, Caddy, etc. etc. read the "Das Boat" article. She was America's pride on the open road.

I dont care if it takes 1200 hp and four wheel drive to make it go, we'll use a twin turbo V-6 if the new V-8 cannot sustain the horses, by 2009 we will break 200! It is reassuring to know that if you dont give up, maybe dreams can still come true in America! We shall see.

Dear BqUICK,All it takes is PASSION and CUBIC DOLLAR$$$$$$$. In a lot of DREAM projects,one runs out before the other,in your case i HOPE they both last till your dream is REALITY.Take care and Godspeed.diz

Michael,

Just thought I'd "re-name" the thread back to what it was and maybe entice some new viewers.

One thing that I didn't comment on in the past and wanted to mention is the additional nod you gave to Faithful Pursuit's aircraft heritage: the "blackout" hood treatment, which was so common on aircraft to fight glare from the nose-- especially when "clean skin" polished aluminum got to be popular later in WWII.

Another nice subtle touch in a real class act.

Yes, sponsorships are a pain, and everybody has a "great idea" for where you should look. I shopped for sponsors for an ASA car years ago, and it was a painful process. I won't bother you unless I get what might be a truly great idea--if so I'll e-mail it.

GS,

Thanks for the ASA reference. There is one thing that I found out through all of this is that its ok to quit, just pick it up one more time than you do and things will be fine. I must have quit a half dozen times and taken a few months only to find out I could not live without it.

Let me have the ASA information and we can see if it fits. Also, I realized that my team has been made up of people who did not take no for an answer. Maybe we need to find a publicist who likes "impossible" projects!

Thanks!

All,

we spent a few weeks compiling pictures and video slices for a brief promotional video lasting about 1.5 minutes total. If you are interested in a copy to help us with sponsorship or for personal enjoyment, let me know. [email]maj2nd@aol.com.[/email]

We will try to put it online so it is free for everyone. If you guys are interested we let you see it first, otherwise it will be unvieled at the National Buick Meet in Batavia, NY.

God Speed,

i would host it on my site if i could freaking figure out how to get uploaded movies to play from it

We are getting closer to our target Watkins Glen International Raceway trials in April/May.

A team meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 1st but may be moved to the following week. I invited a Safety engineer, a crew member, an aerodynamics person, and an engineer. They all are interested in the project but we will see how the team shapes up. Dave Machuga and other friends are still supportive and helping out.

I ordered several parts on the list.

1. Roller Rockers and stud kit.
2. High torque light weight mini starter
3. Cast Aluminum Valve Covers, custom machined.
4. Hood Tachometer
5. Other msc. parts
6. Romac Harmonic Balancer

I need a front spoiler with ram air induction, ceramic brake pads, rear sway bar, etc., etc, there is still a lot we need including a truck and trailer!!!

Well, there goes my annual bonus (again)!

We are working on a web site to hang the video. Stay tuned!

Hi,

Most of you folks may not realize just how much work there has still yet to be done. You are not alone, neither did we!

In our quest to retain originality of the Buick we worked to maintain many of the original components where possible, namely, chassis, front suspension upper and lower control arms, spindles, floor, front firewall. Our engine is a real Buick engine and even the transmission has the Buick codes on the ID plate. We have however extensively modified all of these pieces. The suspension arms, brakes, floor, and rear firewall were not easy and Machuga Chassis did some masterful metal work. All of these modifications required an inordinate amount of man-years of labor, 1+ by my estimate. Since no parts exist in many cases, the hand fabrication of custom parts and modified parts was extensive. Thankfully Machuga Chassis fell in love with the car and Dave told me "We will charge you for what we figure out, not the development" What a guy!

Here is a simple example to give you a flavor for our issues. I finally received the specially modified ENERGY SUSPENSION bushings for the upper control arms. As they are not a stock item, I had to have an ENERGY SUSPENSION guy rummage by hand through their stock and find units that were close enough for us to modify. That took about 3 weeks of mailing samples back and forth. In the end they gave me the four units for free! They told me just tell everyone where I got them from. THANKS ENERGY SUSPENSION!!!

The hardened centers resisted our attempts to cut as you may remember. This was probably 6 months or so ago. The bushings finally came back from being modified on Friday. They have been cut down in length and their shaft hole reamed. One of them does not seem to fit and will have to be massaged a bit more.

After working to get them in with a rubber mallet, I realized that stock upper A arms, that were extensively modified, appear to have warped a bit. If I cannot get the units back together, a stress relieve step may be required. The A arms were first cut to facilitate CARRERA shock placement outside of the spring tower. This required Machuga's masterful metal working skill. I watched as he used the plasma cutter to carefully cut out a portion of the top part of the plate, retaining the structural lip, and pound the lip into place around the new contour of the part. He then used some steel tubing to reinforce the unit by welding under the arms of the unit. In the end it was a stronger lighter unit that still looked stock. I suppose we are officially car crazy. It would have been cheaper at this point to have some tubular A arms custom made for $500 - $600 bucks and be done with it.

The balance of the suspension parts have simply been painted grey. This will help us to identify trouble spots quickly. One of the powder coaters I talked to told me "If you are serious about racing, don't waste your money powder coating. Paint them Penske grey" He said Roger Penske would paint his suspension parts grey to detect trouble areas, such as cracks, early. Lots of racers still do that and for good reason. When she is ready to retire, then we can prep her for the show circuit, until then she's a working girl.

We are placing our focus on the front end. We have ordered new tie rod ends and we already had a new center link and idler arm. Some of the parts will not be here for another week. The Romac balancer is finally here and that was another story! Hood tachometer is here too finally and it is reall going to look Functionally Cool on the hood.

You'all have a happy Easter and may God Speed you safely on your way,