The Short but Brilliant Career of Stock No. 181

There are lots of secrets locked up in Pete Reynolds' files. Photos, momentos, newspaper clippings, letters, in short all types of interesting ephemera from nearly a century in business accumulate in Pete's desk. So we weren't entirely surprised to find this cool retro 60s calendar in an upper drawer.

And it wasn't really a stretch to find this cool Golden Anniversary Open House invitation from the spring of 1965 in the drawer. 1965 was a big year for Reynolds, marking their Golden Anniversary in business and only their second year in their new facility on Citrus Ave. Pete Reynolds was firmly at the helm, Irv. Sr was semi-retired but able to enjoy the commemoration and young Don Reynolds was born that spring, so there was much to celebrate that year.

Even the gold and white color scheme of the invitation was significant, as Pete had decided to mark the Golden Anniversary lots of gold- including special gold plated license frames, and fleet of gold painted demonstrators. Buick didn't have a bright enough gold to suit him, so he special ordered a fleet of 1965 Buicks in a Pontiac color called Tiger Gold. They represented the gamut of Buick models, including Specials, Skylarks, Le Sabres, Electras and Rivieras.

Here's the new car stock book, commonly called "The Bible." Every new car gets stocked in here, with relevant details recorded. Stock number, VIN, color, trim and ultimate disposition are noted, with customer name and purchase date or trade information for dealer trades. On January 11, 1965, there's an entry for a model 4427, which is the new mid year Gran Sport Pillared Coupe, VIN# 5Z108620. The stock number is 181 and it's noted as "Pete's Demo." It's the last entry on the page. This was our first '65 GS racing car. 

Pete had done it before, ever since Bill Trevor, the Buick instructor at the Training Center, told Pete that if he wanted to sponsor a car. that Bill knew of a driver. The driver was Lennie "Pop" Kennedy of course, and they had paired up back in 1959 and Pop had raced a '59 Invicta coupe into the record books and followed up with a '61 that won its class at Indy Winternationals in 1961 and 1962. Things had gone fallow for a couple of years but now in early '65, Buick had stuffed its 401 cubic inch engine into a mid sized body, named it the Gran Sport, and shipped one of the very first ones off the line to Reynolds. 

Above you see a young Pete and Pop Kennedy with the freshly arrived #181 Gran Sport, still looking stock except for a pair of Casler racing slicks on its V2 chrome road wheels. There's plenty of little mods afoot, but keep in mind the car is still Pete's demo, and is fully road worthy. Pity the picture is black and white as the color is the special Anniversary Gold, in reality Pontiac's Tiger Gold. 

This note is written in Pete's own handwriting and outlines the various choices for the Casler racing slicks. It's especially interesting because it shows that Pete was much more involved in the preparation of the car that we had previously believed. He's totally hands-on and is taking an active role in the car's preparation. 

Here's another of Pete's notes- quotes from Motor Trend calling the new GS one of the fastest cars that MT has tested, including the Corvette. It further goes on to note the curb weight and cubic inch displacement, plus or minus one.

Here's a draft of a letter dated Jan. 29. 1965 from Pete to a Bob Scott at Buick engineering in Buick's Flint headquarters. In the letter, Pete thanks Bob for all of the assistance he has received in getting the car from Flint, along with the Zone's help- it made it's first runs on racing slicks borrowed from Dave Loggins!

Pete expressed to Bob Scott that they just ran the car at Fontana and it gave him very high hopes for the Pomona Winternationals which will be held Feb. 5-7, 1965. He does on to talk about how fortunate he feels to have Pop Kennedy behind the wheel. It's obvious that they had a great relationship. 

Now here's the seldom seen Bill Trevor accepting a trophy on behalf of the Reynolds Gran Sport. We know that the photo was taken in Carlsbad, CA, in late January of 1965. We don't have any more exact information that that at this time, but from the trophies, our little Tiger Gold GS did pretty well there. 

And here's another shot of a smiling Bill Trevor with the victorious #181 Reynolds Gran Sport. This is still Carlsbad. It's worth noting that Pop Kennedy is never in these trophy pictures, Pete Reynolds said that's because Pop always made a beeline for the prize money. And who indeed could blame him?

Here's another great shot of Pete Reynolds and Pop Kennedy, and #181 on the patio outside the brand new Reynolds showroom. The car is a little more mature now, still with temporary California plates in the window but the racing lettering in place, including the BUICK painted on the roof. We believe this picture was taken right after "Buick Sunday", when Buick automobiles swept every class in which they were entered, at Fontana Raceway on February 21. 1965

Here's another handwritten featuring several different examples of penmanship, including Pete's. The jist of the note is that there's a special session with Hot Rod Magazine at Fontana on February 11, 1965, makes notes of the mods to have in place and also a note to have everything in it's best appearance. Bill Trevor and Pop were in attendance as well. 

Here's an undated letter to Jim Roady of the Buick Zone office in Van Nuys thanking him for his assistance in preparing the car and also advising that he also wrote to Bob Scott in Flint. Again the significance of the note is that it details how extremely hands-on Pete was with the 1965 car. The documentation has changed our thinking about Pete and how emotionally invested he was in racing. He definately had some gasoline in his veins.

We can't believe we have this- these are timing slips from San Fernando Raceway on February 21, 1965- otherwise known as "Buick Sunday," where Buick won every class it entered and our #181 Gran Sport, with Pop Kennedy at the wheel, was clearly the "Belle of the Brawl." And here are our actual timing slips. Who could fathom that they still exist? We'll do a deeper dive on Buick Sunday soon, but for now let's just say it was the day that made the Gran Sport's reputation.

And here's a pretty significant week in Pete's calendar- the first week of April, 1965. There's a note to be in Carlsbad on Monday, April 2, 1965 to meet the folks from Car Life at 11 am. No doubt this appointment was kept. April 2 also happens to be Pete's birthday. The next entry is ominous- "wreck in race car." This can't be good. 

 It wasn't good, but it could have been worse. Pete ran over to Pomona to talk to Hooker Headers (he was a dealer for them) about negotiating a bulk price to stock more sets. They had asked him to bring the race car over to look at a fit issue. It was a sunny day and he didn't give a second thought to the Casler racing slicks. While in Pomona, a sudden rain blew in and he found himself driving back on I-10 with significantly reduced traction. As Pete exited on Holt, he lost traction and the Gran Sport rolled over in the soft grass.

 Pete was pulled out by a passerby and taken to the hospital. A very expectant Caroline Reynolds met him there and was not amused. Pete's ego and shoulder were bruised, but he had come through remarkably well. The Reynolds Racing program would continue, but Caroline requested that Pete not drive the racing car anymore. The damage to the roof made #181 a total loss, and Pete gave the order to pull the engine while Sales Manager Jim Hutchison began looking for another Gran Sport in dealer stock to trade for.  The car that helped put the Gran Sport on the map was no more. It had been a short but brilliant career for #181.

In a Gran Manner- Hot Rod and Buick Sunday

This is one of the most interesting vintage articles we've seen yet. Hot Rod tested a new mid year '65 Gran Sport Coupe for their May, 1965 issue and were thoroughly smitten- with its power, its comfort, and even its fuel economy. But it didn't stop there- they describe being at San Fernando raceway with a half dozen Buicks owned by the local Buick dealers- and how they won classes B,C,D,E,F and K. Quite a day indeed.

Who did they find to show them how to set up the Gran Sport and then get the most of it? None other than our own Lennie "Pop" Kennedy. And the car he was driving? Our 1965 Gran Sport Number One- this was before Pete Reynolds' lesson in drag slick rain driving.

It had to have been "Buick Sunday"- Sunday, February 21, 1965, when Buick won every class in which it was entered. Not only did Buick tout the triumph to the press, they went so far as to have General Manager Roland S. Withers send a letter to every Buick dealer in the country talking about Buick's success.

The balance of the text we've taken verbatim for the original article, and the scans are attached for your perusal. It couldn't have praised the new Gran Sport more highly if Pop Kennedy had written it himself. And we're certainly not going to put that past him.

 All the normal driving done with the Gran Sport served to whet our appetite for a couple of shots at the quarter-mile, and just about the time our appointed drag weekend was coming up, a fantastic stroke of luck fell our' way. Various members of the L. A. County Buick Dealers Association had recently begun campaigning a number of Gran Sports at area strips, and when they heard that we were doing a test on one, offered to bring a number of cars to San Fernando Raceway for us to try. The beauty of the whole operation was these rigs were slightly set up for class competition, or about as the average buyer might design for himself. In the end, the "several" cars turned out to be six, ranging from Lennie Kennedy's B/S, which most nearly resembled our test car, to dealer Ted Baker's coupe, sporting a small 225-inch V6.

 Lennie's car was representative of the modifications performed on all the Buicks so we jotted down the information, which really didn't represent much alteration as "stock" classers go these days. The engines had all been disassembled, checked through for factory-recommended clearances, and the deck height of .030-inch attained. While the heads were still off, their combustion chambers were measured out to 123 cc's and a fresh-up valve job applied. The engine was buttoned back up and' a set of Hooker headers leading into 3-inch collectors fitted for improved scavenging. 


All the cars had Positraction rear ends to which 4.30 gears were added, as well as a set of super-bite Casler recaps. The final touch was a set of Delco air' shocks added in the back of Lennie's machine which he declared enable him to jack more weight to the right side for bite on acceleration. And that was it. All the cars had been driven in the 'Fernando front gate and remained entirely docile for street use. Up to that day Lennie's best time was, now get this, a frantic 104.46 mph in 13.42 seconds with headers open. Such performance is truly remarkable.

And that's the way the afternoon went, with the Buicks gobbling up everything in sight, copping B, C, D, E, F and K classes for a spectacular string of successes in a mixed field of sticks and automatics.

 The message from these triumphs and others like them at Southern California tracks is stamped large on the competition scene, for anyone who surveys the situation has to concede that Buick will be the car to beat in the lower classes, wherever they run.

Thinking back over the days we had the Gran Sport, and especially the drag fling, the test was a most happy experience, including the Flint price tag of $3,441.40 ($3,090.40 without air) and the gas mileage which ranged as high as 19. Of the GM Divisions, Buick was the last to introduce a sports model, but as in former days, "When better automobiles are built ... " Need we say more? -HR

Monday Mailbag: Buick Sunday

Some letters are great and glorious and deserve to be kept for a lifetime. Below is a letter on the letterhead of Roland C. Withers, Buick's General Sales Manager and reports on an outing at San Fernando Dragway from the prior weekend. It brags about a very special day, February 21, 1965, in which Buick won every class in which they were entered.

Highlight of the weekend was B-Stock, where the brand new 1965 Reynolds Buick Gran Sport (car #1) earned its place in history. With Pop Kennedy behind the wheel, the factory-fresh GS turned in a 14.04 second run at 101.81 mph. This was the fastest Buick time of the day and demonstrated the performance potential of the then brand-new Buick Gran Sport. 

But the Buicks in the other classes turned in wins as well. Boulevard Buick in Long Beach won C-Stock with their 1965 Gran Sport convertible, turning a 14.56 at 88 mph. The Reynolds-sponsored 1964 Special V8 driven by Gil Labarge won class D-Stock turning a 14.76 at 97 mph- it just barely missed breaking the 100 mph barrier! And in class E-Stock, Bill Murphy Buick of Culver City won the class with a Riviera, turning in a 14.88 second run at 92.75 mph. Class F went to a privately entered 1961 Invicta coupe (okay, we admit it- it was OUR old trophy winning Invicta), winning the class with a 14.5 second run at 95 mph- not bad for the old girl. And even in Class K, Ted Baker Buick of Fillmore won the class with a V-6 powered Skylark coupe, turning in a 16.18 second run at 86.16 mph with what essentially amounts to an economy car!

Buick celebrated with a triumphant ad in the Los Angeles Times and a press release naming the day "Buick Sunday". It was the beginning of a very successful season for Pop Kennedy and the Reynolds Buick Team. After all, it's not every weekend racer that gets a tribute letter from the General Sales Manager of Buick sent not only to him, but to every Buick dealer. It was a fine day indeed.