Bought my dad's old Buick Funny Car...

[buickfunnycar.com]

Constructed by my dad in late 1966,only 2 of these bodies were ever built although there is rumor of a 3rd one,it has never been found.

Only two ever made it downtrack,Ron Pellegrini's Chrysler-powered "Super Bird" and this one which is still the world's only Buick-powered Buick Funny Car ever constructed.

Constructed of chromemoly tubing and basically a copy of the wildly popular Logghe Stamping Co chassis,it features a 8:71 blown & injected 430 Buick Wildcat motor on gas backed by a TH400 trans prepped by Vitar and a Wildcat rear axle w/3:90 gears.
Car ran a best of 7.79 @ 191mph.

Here's some period pictures including some action shots,I'll have more original stuff coming with the car which I'll receive in hopefully a few weeks.
Car is currently residing in the Gilmore museum in MI and will be on display until Nov 1st then it's off to California to reunite it with my dad so he can work a little more magic on it...just like he did 42 years ago.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07803-1.jpg

Freshly completed in front of the shop in Brooklyn:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07806-1.jpg

Magazine shots taken by famous east coast photog Bob Beattie:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07807-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07808-1.jpg

Scary-ass cockpit for a sub-8 second run @ 190+ mph!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07809-1.jpg

Magazine articles:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07810-1.jpg

All-Buick baby!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07811-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07812-1.jpg

Display still:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07813-1.jpg

[buickfunnycar.com]

My favorite from Englishtown,dig the chassis twist...:smoke:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07814-1.jpg

Running Malcom Durham in his stretched Camaro "Strip Blazer" @ NY National Speedway:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07815-1.jpg

Great match racing action @ Englishtown versus Dyno Don,Mr Norm and Doug Nash among others.I remember this day like it was yesterday though I just turned 10.
Car took out Nash's "Bronco Buster" Bronco II in the 1st round (he broke):
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07816-1.jpg

Later on in its racing days with "Rapid Red" Lang handling the driving chores:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07817-1.jpg

Stay tuned for more pics when I reunite dad with the car and yeah...I have a VERY understanding wife.:1st:

[ponchopwr70]

That is very cool! Nice to see it has been saved.

[blown9746]

awesome to see a piece of your dad's history and being able to reunite him with it

[BA.]

Wicked cool!!

[Tony@AirRideTech]

Thats super cool !

[NOT A TA]

Thats WAAAAAAY cool!!!!!

[JEFFTATE]

That is GREAT !!!
What a good history lesson..
I love that nostalgia.
I love the old Buicks .
Your dad had some guts to drive that thing !!
I've been around a bunch of nostalgia Funny-Cars and late model Funny cars.
Those guys are a rare breed.

My brother-in-law is re-building a '69 Skylark that his Dad bought new in '69.
It's gonna' be a pro-touring/restomod ...

Thanks for posting.

[68Formula]

Awesome! You're keeping the original engine, right?

[6'9"Witha69]

OK, we need current state pics.
:postpics:

[Bow Tie 67]

Way way way way cool, current pics?

[Van B]

I could have sworn I saw a Buick funny car on ebay a couple of weeks ago. Is this a different one?

[moreHP]

I love old drag racing stuff! Thank you very much for posting that up!:twothumbs

[James OLC]

Awesome John - I'm glad you were able to pull it together. I know I owe you a PM but until then ... WOOO HOOO!

[killer69]

VERY COOL
i'll put 5 bucks down and say it will SUCK big time when you get to your first corner tho!!!!

:enguard:

[JohnUlaszek]

That's is a stunningly beautiful piece of art and engineering. Can't imagine the guts it would take to pilot that car.

[Ron S]

That thing is pure sex

[CRCRFT78]

Very cool. Does your dad know that its back in the family or will this be a huge surprise for him? Make sure you get his reaction on film or video. VERY VERY COOL!!!!

[buickfunnycar.com]

I could have sworn I saw a Buick funny car on ebay a couple of weeks ago. Is this a different one?

Same car...like there were many Buick funny cars huh,lol.

I talked with the seller many times before,during and after the auction,I was hoping it wouldn't go wild in price to someone overseas so I was keeping it on the downlow...no sleep for a week.
Made my offer before the sale started and we worked something out afterwards.

Original engine is long gone,remember it went to Chrysler power later in life and the chassis was updated with more tubing to homologate it,current owner removed all that and returned the car to how ir ran in the day.

Dad still would need to re-create the front timing cover with the mag drive like he did 42 years ago,that part is missing and is a biggie to get it to run.

Here's a couple of current pics that were published in Hot Rod magazine a few months ago showing the car in the Gilmore Museum in MI where it is on display as part of a vintage drag racing exhibition that runs through Nov 1st:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07363-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/DSC07362-1.jpg

And some owner-supplied photos in it's current state:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/04/HPIM68381-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/04/IMG_25071-1.jpg

[buickfunnycar.com]

Very cool. Does your dad know that its back in the family or will this be a huge surprise for him? Make sure you get his reaction on film or video. VERY VERY COOL!!!!

Oh he knows alright...he even offered to drive to MI and pick it up but I think at this time of year I'll have it transported.

[Motown 454]

Thats Awesome John ! You can never have too many things to do with your father. Sweet!

[pimtina]

That is f'in awesome! Best bit of car porn I've seen in quite a while!

[86Cutlass383SR]

It's amazing how stock those bodies look compared to the funny cars that run today.

Very cool story John...thanks for sharing with us!

Just curious what future plans for it are? Muesuem life or hopefully on the Nostalgia Drag circuit?

[CRead01]

I saw it in the Grand Rapids Autorama. very cool car. Congrats on getting it back.

[buickfunnycar.com]

I saw it in the Grand Rapids Autorama. very cool car. Congrats on getting it back.


Cool Chad,glad you were able to see it,there is a TON of Buick interest,you wouldn't believe how loyal those guys are!

Doug,
The body is an exact mold that was made from a '67 Skylark off the showroom floor so it is exact in size,owner says you can read the guide number & year on the taillights...amazing work for the day!

I do plan on getting it running then cackelfest it and hopedfully,it'll make it's day down the 1/4 mile one day.
Would like to get it to Bakersfield reunion in '11 and show it off if all goes well,that's our goal.

[JohnUlaszek]

This and cars like it need to be preserved so that future generations will know Buick used to be cool.

[The Stickman]

Awesome, just awesome.

[David Sloan]

That is so frigging Cool!!
Congrats on getting it back!

[buickfunnycar.com]

Many have asked how it looks in it's current condition so here are some resto shots:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

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Very accurate,great detail:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[shmoov69]

Awesome man! Congrats. You better post some vids when it's ready for cacklefest!

That is one serious "funny car cage"!!! Lol.

[buickfunnycar.com]

...for all the nice comments.:yum:

Man,I received many calls and emails from the east coast this wknd from people who remember the car and wanted to share some stories.
I was also invited by the chairman of BPG (Buick Performance Group) to attend their annual all-Buick meet next year in Columbus,OH for my dad & I to display the car in their main ballroom but we are still unsure what direction we'll be taking with this car but the interest has been nothing short of amazing!

I found this picture of the only other '67 Buick Skylark body ever constructed by Fiberglass Limited in Chicago,this car was campaigned by Ron Pelegrini,owner of Fiberglass Limited and was always Chrysler Hemi-powered and was destroyed in an on-track incident:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/Pel67BuickFunny-1.jpg

Ron also ran this 1968 Buick Skylark under the Chicagoland Buick Dealers banner which featured a innovative chassis design by Romeo Palamides but this car was very ill-handling and soon found itself on it's roof and was destroyed:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/Pel67Beware-1.jpg

[Derek69SS]

John, that is AWESOME! I think you and your Dad should both go to pick it up... that would be an incredible road-trip. :cool:

[buickfunnycar.com]

John, that is AWESOME! I think you and your Dad should both go to pick it up... that would be an incredible road-trip. :cool:

Yes it would Derek and we are considering it even if the car is only a static display at this point.
I am hearing from Buick guys the world over...this is really quite amazing and overwhelming to me at this point.

[speedshftr]

a dream come true/

[Neil B]

Awesome! It doesn't get any cooler than that.

[Kenova]

Too cool! Wish my dad had a funny car I could buy back.

Ken

[buickfunnycar.com]

Ingenue being loaded up in MI last Sat,if all goes well I should see her on Sun...here's some pics:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07847-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07846-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07845-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07848-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07849-1.jpg

I also received this picture of the front of the motor showing the mag drive/timing cover/crank girdle my dad created back in 1967...and after seeing this pic,I'm pretty sure he won't want to tackle it again,lol...
I think the first two words out of his mouth will be "crank trigger".
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07850-1.jpg

Chassis detail...basically dad's version of a Logghe:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07851-1.jpg

[shortrack]

the whole story is so cool I dont know what to say.........!!!!

[buickfunnycar.com]

...car will be here Monday morning @ 8am...pics to follow shortly thereafter.:yum:

[tony byram]

That is WAY COOL John!

[buickfunnycar.com]

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07859-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07862-1.jpg

Wifey was the only one who'd fit,lol:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07865-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07869-1.jpg

Looks pretty happy considering she's married to a crazy person...
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07866-1.jpg

Dad on the right,gentleman on the left picked up the body in the dead of winter in Chicago in 1967:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07871-1.jpg

More pics to follow...got a cruise I gotta pack for.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC07875-1.jpg

[BRIAN]

Did you fire it up???


Nevermind just saw the engine pic. Cool as hell!!!

[buickfunnycar.com]

Did you fire it up???


Nevermind just saw the engine pic. Cool as hell!!!

Yeah...did a couple of dry hops in the front yard too.

[OldMechanik]

That is more than cool...especially since you AND your dad get to be involved together.
Have fun getting it going again!
Thanks for sharing with us!

[spaghettio]

awsome i love those old funny cars. i think i saw it at the gilmore car museum drag racing exhibit?