My "real car" garage

[scr8p]

my love of the 83-88 monte ss is because of being a huge nascar fan as a youngster in the 80's, not because of what it could, or couldn't do, at the drag strip. in my case, it was a good thing they were down in horsepower. i had enough problems with local law enforcement when i was in my other cars that DID have ponies under the hood.

[Coelacanth]

That's very true, about NASCAR, scr8p. Monte Carlos were very prominent in NASCAR! I think the Buicks were never in NASCAR in those years because they didn't have V8's--but that's just a guess. Back in my Turbo Optima days, I couldn't find a 1/10 Buick Regal or GN lexan body so I ended up having to paint a Monte Carlo body to resemble a GN.

[MelvinsArmy]

That's very true, about NASCAR, scr8p. Monte Carlos were very prominent in NASCAR! I think the Buicks were never in NASCAR in those years because they didn't have V8's--but that's just a guess. Back in my Turbo Optima days, I couldn't find a 1/10 Buick Regal or GN lexan body so I ended up having to paint a Monte Carlo body to resemble a GN.

Buick wasn't in Nascar in the 80s?

[scr8p]

i think 90-91 was pretty much the end of buicks in nascar.

[MelvinsArmy]

Yeah, around that time. I'm not sure what Coelacanth was getting at with them not being active in Nascar at the same time as the Monte Carlo SS. They were very active in those years, and for a few years after the SS when the Lumina was introduced.

[scr8p]

ya, in 88, the monte ss remained. but buick, oldsmobile and pontiac too.... went to the new body style of the fwd production cars. chevy went to the lumina in 89, but some guys kept running the monte. darryl waltrip in the 89 daytona 500 comes to mind. he won in a monte aerocoupe.

[Coelacanth]

Oops...did I err?

I just figured it was unlikely that Regals were in NASCAR in the early- to mid-80's because their only (stock) V8's were limited to 4.1L and 4.3L motors--hardly what were considered powerful back in those days. Are those the blocks that were used in the NASCAR Buicks? Or did they actually use the Turbo 6's?

Color me foolish for assuming actual stock motors were the basis for stock cars.

P.S. Not a follower of NASCAR either...I could write my knowledge of NASCAR on one hand, and most of that would be related to the late 60's Superbirds whose speed records have never been broken.

[MelvinsArmy]

I think all the GM cars from that era had the same block, based on a Chevy. Olds, Pontiac, Buick and Chevy, all running the same basic block. That photo I posted above, #22 is Bobby Allison. He won the Winston Cup (still can't believe it's called Sprint Cup now ) in 1983 in that car. Regals were a very popular car in Nascar all through the 80s, and even after the body change. My dad's favorite driver was (still is) Bobby Allison, I've kind of got Buick in my blood because of dad.

On a side note, Nascar in the 80s was pretty great! It was exciting to watch. I haven't watched a race since Earnhardt died. When I do catch a race or clip on tv these days, I just think "how boring".

[David H]

[Der Kommissar]

Here is my future daily driver when all the wiring is done. It's a 72 Nova with a crate 350.

Very cool. I'll always have a special spot in my heart for 2nd gen Novas. My Dad had two very clean 70 SS cars when I was young. Lots of street and drag racing in those cars.

[David H]

Yeah eventually I plan on dragging this car but keeping it street legal (kind of )

[Coelacanth]

You guys might want to make your own car thread...it's free!

[David H]

Sorry I thought you wouldn't mind seeing other peoples cars so I deleted my post.

[Coelacanth]

Sorry I thought you wouldn't mind seeing other peoples cars so I deleted my post.

I'd be happy to see anyone's cars, ideally in their own OT threads. I just thought things were getting off-tangent...I posted this to show off my garage after seeing scr8p's handiwork, and it kinda got thread-jacked.

Cheers!