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İyun 18, 2009
10-second, Pump Gas, Big-Block Chevy Powered 1970 Buick Skylark
By Brian Lohnes
BANGshift.com
Throw your nitrous away and leave your turbo at the door. Tom Spinella’s 1970 Buick, powered by a 489ci big-block Chevy, cruises at 65 mph and nearly runs 9s on 93 octane straight out of the pump. Every week, this car gets driven to the track on the freeway, hammered on, and driven home. Spinella racks up a few thousand miles per year driving it to shows and the strip.
Get over the lack of a Buick motor. Tom’s brother Jay is a racer as well, and long ago, Jay took the big-block Chevy out of his bracket car and gave it to Tom, while Tom took the Buick out of the Skylark and put it in Jay’s car. In terms of power per cubic dollars, it’s impossible to beat a well built Rat, and this one certainly is.
To take a 3,750-pound fatty (and we say that with a smile) and hurtle it down the track without any outside assistance from a bottle or a blower in just hundredths over the nine-second zone means that this little big block has some snot. Coming in at only 489ci, it’s on the small end of the big-block food chain, but it will sing to more than 6,500 rpm in the lights.
We certainly had some fun during the photo shoot and filming the awesome video on the car. It was the first time Tom had the car out and about after swapping the cam. He was dealing with valvespring breakage issues, and after consulting cam legend Harold Brookshire on what the problem was, Brookshire told him that the ramps on his previous cam were about as gradual as a cliff face. A custom stick went in and now all is right with the world.
Pay close attention at some of the “fly by” shots in the video. This brute is baking a pretty used up set of big 295/65-15 MT drag radials at about a 30-mph roll. Torque is your friend.
Go here to see the photo gallery and learn all the gory details about this broad shouldered street bruiser. The video below kicks some serious ass as well (even though there is a little typo in there).
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alexisonfire_50
Jun 22, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Just Listen– http://www.myspace.com/whitewain
saintmatthew
Jun 22, 2009 at 2:43 pm
NOW THATS A BUICK WITH SOME BALLS!!!!
Turbo_d225cimike
Jun 22, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Thats a feat. No juice. No boost. Just motor. Props man.
garys1971buick
Jun 21, 2009 at 3:16 pm
buicks are great, we got a skylark too.had it for many years.
PureBusiness
Jun 20, 2009 at 7:05 pm
LAUNCH!!!!!!!!
codeman_92
Jun 20, 2009 at 3:40 pm
hey man that is a bad ass car i plan on gettin another 1969 camaro ss, or a 1973 chevelle ss. i’m still working on another job, damn i wish they would hurry up and hire…… LOL.
1_eyed_bob
Jun 20, 2009 at 1:01 pm
thats just plain awsome..
albania_fier
Jun 20, 2009 at 11:54 am
magnificent!
NewOrleansBoy
Jun 20, 2009 at 8:13 am
Nothing less than spectacular ,intercourse buckled in a seat belt ,quite impressive ,
LTAZIP
Jun 20, 2009 at 7:56 am
NICE!!! When I took my SBC powered Buick Regal to Bradenton Raceway the track guy gave my flack for not havin a Buick mill. I asked him if he had any Buick engines and he said 5. I said “Wow” any of them run? He said no, not right now. I said, “Now you know why I run Chevy in my Buick. BBC is in my future now that you make my tongue hit the tarmac watching your demo runs. Keep it running dude, great job, and a nice car!!! Carl in Florida
palefacetsw
Jun 20, 2009 at 6:46 am
That is pretty badass…..I would ride with him on a 1/4 mile run….
ILLY-Sase
Jun 19, 2009 at 9:32 pm
1968Olds98 ….wheres the shame? I mustve missed it…
XTZTwinTurbo
Jun 19, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Crazy
retroman
Jun 19, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Nice!!! Wonder what it’d do if it had a blower or NOS…
1968Olds98
Jun 19, 2009 at 5:43 pm
shame its a bbc.. well different strokes, different folks
LedZeppelin
Jun 19, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Hot Damn! I love how she rises up to burn the meats. And smokes them a damn country mile! Leave twin rubber stips at a boil, What a ride! Doesn’t matter the power source….This sounds good moves with majesty, and cooks the radials…..This puts things into perspective….I drive a Saturn………….
KingBoss06
Jun 19, 2009 at 4:26 pm
beautiful. i would trade my mustang for that haha.