FAST FRIDAY- The 1966 Gran Sport

1966 Buick Gran Sport

 If the mid-year 1965 Skylark Gran Sport got Buick way from the starting gate in the muscle car race, the 1966 was a solid shift into second gear. Now it's own series and not just an option package, the Gran Sport entered 1966 with a series of enhancements in both appearance and performance.

1966 Gran Sport grille badge

 All of the mid size Buicks were restyled for 1966, and Buick took the opportunity to give the Gran Sport visual distinction with a blacked out grille and prominent GS badge, twin hood scoops and special front fender simulated air scoops. The V2 chrome plated wheels were technically a $74 option, but almost all Gran Sports wore them. The optional red line tires reinforced the sporty nature of the car.

LA Buick Training Manager Bill Trevor's 1966 Gran Sport

 The standard engine was the 401 cubic inch "Wildcat 445" V8 (engine code MR) rated at 325 horsepower and mated to a three speed manual transmission. Both 4 speed manual and Super Turbine Automatics were available, as well as Positraction and a choice of six different rear axle ratios.

1966 Gran Sport in  the Buick Brochure

 New for 1966 was a higher output version of the 401 cubic inch engine, which shared the 10.25:1 compression ratio of the base engine but utilized a Rochester carburetor instead and produced 340 HP- 15 more than the standard 325. The engine code is MU and only 132 were produced.

There have also surfaced a very small number of 11.0:1 compression engines bearing engine code MS and having L76 Pilot designation on the build sheet. They are rated at 332 HP and are sometimes nicknamed "Flint Flyers."   It worth noting that this option does not appear on the 1966 Gran Sport order guide and maybe have been an extremely small run of cars- some say as many as 50, but no concrete figure is known.

Original ad for the 1966 Gran Sport

What is known, is that Buick saw the performance car as a way to further enhance their image with youthful buyers and used the 1966 Gran Sport as a way to spread the word. While only 13, 816 Gran Sport were sold in 1966, total Skylark sales were 106,217 and there is no way of telling how many Skylark buyers were influenced by the presence  of the powerful Gran Sport. 

Jim Lane raced this 1966 Gran Sport

Smyly Buick of Malden, Mass raced this 1966 Gran Sport

1966 Gran Sport Pillared Coupe

Factory photo of a 1966 Gran Sport

1966 Gran Sport convertible

Century Caballero- Buick's Sexy Hardtop Hauler

Ever since the first Buick production station wagons of 1940, Buick wagons were invariably referred to as "Estate Wagons." But there's a facet of Buick history in the late 1950's when the catalog offered a Buick wagon with a very exciting name- the Century Caballero. 

Now to be perfectly clear, we're talking about the Century Caballero Estate Wagon, model 69, which was introduced for 1957 flaunting its brand new looks and Buick Riviera four door hardtop styling. The focal point was a sweep spear which served as a color break for the optional two tone paint, an option which the vast majority of purchasers preferred. Several two tone combinations were popular, including the Bitterweet and Antique Ivory, Garnet Red and Dover White, and Dresden Blue with Dover White. The Century Caballero was Buick's top of the line wagon offering for 1957- the Roadmaster and Super Estate Wagons were discontinued when Buick transitioned to the all steel wagon bodies in 1954.

But solid color or two tone, the Caballero was a looker. It's interesting to note that the Caballero Estate Wagon was the only Century wagon for 1957, and was offered in both six and nine passenger versions. The lower priced Special series had both a pillared Special Estate Wagon (Model 49) and a Special Riviera Estate Wagon (Model 49-D) which had the hardtop styling but lacked the 300 HP Century engine and the luxurious interior of the Caballero.  

Not surprisingly, the handsome new Caballero was a success- despite it's healthy $3706 base price, the Caballero was Buick's best selling wagon model for 1957 with 10,196 units produced. The lower priced  Special Riviera Estate Wagon ($3167) sold 6,816 units and the base Special Estate Wagon ($3047) accounted for 7,014 orders.

All of the Buicks were extensively facelifted for 1958 and the Caballero was no exception. We'll visit the 1958 edition another time. But for today, enjoy Buick's dashing hardtop hauler- the 1957 Century Caballero:    

Lennie "Pop" Kennedy and the Buicks

Editor's Note- This article was written by Jim Bell for the Kenne-Bell Newsletter in September, 1980. We are presenting it as written -we thought it important to hear from Jim in his own words- 

Lennie "Pop" Kennedy and the 1968 GS 400

The Oldtimers say Lennie "Pop" Kennedy was the first man to run down the Pomona Drag Strip. His first Buick was a 100% pure stock 1955 Century that turned a best of 86.97 at 15.60. In those days everyone ran their cars stock before they started cheating, so I was able to witness first hand which car was really the fastest off the showroom. The Dynaflow, coupled with the old man's tremendous reflexes made it a real mystery car.

How could a Dynaflow, of all things consistently beat those '55 Chevy sticks? In 1961 I bought a '55, blueprinted (the) motor, and installed the hot gear set up for that year car- 4.44 gears from a Buick ambulance. It turned a best of 14.73 at 93 mph which was enough to handle the trick 1957 Powerglide cars from Marv Ripes A-1 Transmission and Bill's Service. There was no question that the 1955-56 Buick trans had the first high stall converter.

Next, "Pop" bought himself a '56 Century. It ran a best of 87 at 15.60- not much better than the '55. Again, in those days, the only modification was to remove the air cleaner and install duals. Headers, cheater cams, blueprinting, etc., were considered unfair by "Pops". He enjoyed beating the Chevies, Olds, Pontiacs, etc. with a stock Buick and would have no part in cheating.

The first time out with the '57, at the old San Gabriel Drag Strip, the Dynaflow laid down a 14.90 at 90 mph. The Century was a 364 cu in. 4 bbl with 3.90 gears.

The only color picture of the 1959 Invicta

Next came one of the most exciting cars in California Stock drag racing- the (1959) 401 Invicta. The stock converter had a 3500 (rpm) stall. The beast weighed 4600 lbs. yet turned 90 mph at 15.0 first time out. The 4.44 gears and shaving .030 off the heads brought it down to 14.70 and 93 mph. The Dodges of Bill "Maverick" Golden and The Flying Dutchman and Tom Ritchey's Pontiac were a few notables who fell to the big finned Buick.

The only other modification to the Invicta was Bucron tires. They replaced the Vogues as the hot tire setup in the late 50s. We didn't know what a cheater click was in those days. The '59 accumulated over 100 trophies. I purchased the car was a street cruiser when the '61 Invicta came in. I had more fun with the '59 than any car I ever owned.

Pop Kennedy, his trophies,  and the '61 Invicta in our old Showroom

The '61 got the same treatment for drag racing- 4.44 gears, ,030" off the heads and a new set of Caslers. Pete Reynolds, a local Buick dealer, was so impressed with the way the car ran that he sponsored the gas for 2 trips to Indy. "Popsy" rewarded Pete with class wins for both trip in 1961 and 1962. The Pontiacs could hardly believe the Old Man from California. The '62 turned a best of 97.70 at 14.21 with headers and 2 Speed Switch Pitch Converter and Trans.

Pop Kennedy at the 1962 Winternationals in Indy

In 1964 Buick came out with a little 300" 4 bbl motor in a 3200 lb. Skylark 2 door coupe. First time out - 14.21 at 97.8 mph. 4.44 gears (ambulances were getting rare by this time), headers, .025" off the aluminum heads and Casler cheater slicks. The new TH300 2 speed was absolutely amazing. This was our first Turbo Switch Pitch Converter. It had (a) 3000 stall with the 300 incher. 

Pete Reynolds gives Pop Kennedy the keys to the '65 Gran Sport

In 1965, Buick introduced a 400 incher (the 401" de-rated by one cubic inch to meet GM's limit of 400 inches in a small car.) The 1964 had to go. Pop bought the first one to hit California. 12.70s at 107 mph with our Switch Pitch Converter, 2 Speed Trans, Mark 3 cam kit and 11:1 pistons. The 3 Speed TH 400 picked up exactly .1 and 1 mph to 108 at 12.60 One of these cars lightened to 3300 pounds with ram air ran a best of 111 at 12.30 back in 1966. The '65 was run mostly in brackets until 1967, when Buick came out with a completely new 400 inch engine design. A GS 400 was soon getting the treatment in our garage for NHRA Super Stock. 13 years ago we ran a best of 111 at 12.10. It put out another 75 hp over the 401, but we were paying a heavy price for the horsepower. We were blowing up the 400s as fast as we could build them.

Pop Kennedy with the '65, '67 and '68 Reynolds Racers

Between burned crankshafts, we were desperately trying to test new cam profiles, manifolds, headers, and other components for an engine no one had played with before. We finally discovered the problem was insufficient oil pressure. By this time, the '68s were out. Pop discovered that the '68 had more rear fender well (width) for wider tires so he bought one.

After successfully racing the 400 inches for a year and a half we began testing 455s for the upcoming 1970 models. Standard, Stage 1, and Stage 2 heads were all evaluated on the flow bench and drag strip. I can still see the smile on Pop's face when he came back from the first run with the prototype set of Stage 2 heads. .3 and 3 mph with no other changes and it pulled strong all the way to 7000. The 455? Good for .32 and 3.3 mph over a 400.

The iconic Reynolds Buick '70 GS 455 Stage 2

The new Stage 1 was a beautiful sight. Quite a derivation from the '65, '67 and '68 gold cars. It was picked up at Reynolds Buick on Monday and driven around until Saturday nite where it proceeded to dazzle the boys with a 101- 13.9 blast just as it came off the street (plugged up, air cleaner, stock tires, etc) The primary objective was to be successful in NHRA Stock Class, where no other Buick had ever been successful. The factory was always too honest about their horsepower ratings so the cars could never be class contenders.

However, 1970 was different. We had a legal GS car running 12.0s on a 12.55 record. Furthermore, Bill Trevor and the other '70 Buicks were no where close to these times.   The Winter(nationals) were in the bag- until (the) NHRA factored the cars to 400 hp! Discouraged, and with no way to win in Super Stock, we bolted on the Stage 2s, an Edelbrock, a 1000 cfm Thermo Quad, 11" tires and our factory Stage 2 hood scoop. The MKC 113 cam came out and in went the Mark 4. 123 mph at 10.7s in 1970 was getting with it in anyone's book.

Old Popsy was 62 by then but could still handle the wheelstanding 3600 lb. 455. A couple of heart attacks and 2 or 3 strokes didn't slow him down at all. I vividly recall the Hot Rod Meet at Riverside in '69. Only one foot was working after a stroke. I thought we'd have to hook up a hand brake but he got by with "low-stalling" the converter the whole day.

Then there was the time we were running a new motor combination in the Riviera oval car. Pop's entire left side went totally numb. Not wanting to miss the race, he drank a pint of Jack Daniels to get some feeling so he could drive. We were at the races when Pop limped up through the stands. The next day he drove to the hospital in the '65. The doctor thought the story was some kind of joke. Pop spent 2 weeks in the hospital. One day after being released he was back to Orange County trying out a new manifold. At 72 he's finally retired from Kenne-Bell and talking about making a comeback. Running gas mileage tests for us is becoming a bore he says. if he returns, It'll be in the 104. 127 mph Stage 2 bracket car. I guess those fast runs are needed to keep the heart pumping.

I've watched the old man drive for 20 years and he was unquestionably one of the best. Always first out of the hole with those uncanny reaction times. I've often wondered how good he would have been at 20-  or even 40.

I think I made all of the winning and going fast sound easy. There was, of course, another side. The experimenting with the various engine components and combinations, transmissions, converters, suspensions, tires, etc. was laborious, expensive, and at times very frustrating but I wouldn't have traded those years with "Pops" for the world. Is there anything more enjoyable than racing and beating the Fords, Chevies, Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs, Dodges, Plymouths, and Chryslers for 25 years with cars that "don't run?" And we all know Buicks don't run- particularly the old "nailheads."

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For more of the Reynolds Buick racing legend, visit our Reynolds Buick Racing site.

'Tis The Season

 With the Holiday Season upon us, we're taking a day to look back at the season through historic photographs of Southern California, Los Angeles and our own hometown of Covina. We may not be dreaming of a White Christmas, indeed that's why many of us live here, but It's always fun to reminisce about simpler times and admire the decor and the customs of days gone by.

So come along as we look back at the Holidays in Southern California:

LA Mayor Fletcher Bowron and his wide ride in a new Buick Roadmaster in the 1949 Hollywood Christmas Parade

Hollywood Boulevard, 1950

A Christmas Seals Billboard at Hollywood and Vine, 1950

Holiday Issue of Buick Magazine, 1936

A 1936 Buick decked for the season

Mayor and Mrs. Bowron pass the Frolic Room in the 1949 Hollywood Christmas Parade

Another view of the 1949 Hollywood Christmas Parade

1958 Buick Dealer Greeting Card

1959 Buick wagon in a blanket of white

Snow in Downtown Covina, 1940s

Covina in Holiday Decor, 1962

Reynolds Buick Hosts Their 95th Hi-Perfromance Anniversary

As seen in The GSX-TRA, National Publication of the GS Club of America:

From the late 50's through the mid-seventies, Reynolds Buick-GMC of West Covina, CA was literally the "Fastest Buick Dealer on Earth." In the early postwar years in Southern California, the drag strip was the place to be. Young men with octane in their veins broke away from their weekday jobs to race on the weekends.  As it happened, a chance conversation with a Buick Factory Representative inspired what ultimately became a very successful partnership between Buick dealer Pete Reynolds, engine builder James Bell, and legendary racing driver Lennie "Pop" Kennedy. 

Together, and with the cooperation of the factory, they created a series of Buick drag racing cars that won many races, set records, and not only became part of the racing lore of Southern California, but also helped Buick to create some of its finest cars of all time. 

Irven Reynolds Jr, known to all as "Pete" joined the family dealership in 1950 upon graduation from the University of California-Berkeley. Pete assumed the helm as dealer in 1958 and steered the course of guiding the dealership through the postwar era. It was Pete whose friendship with Buick's Bill Trevor led to an association with Lennie "Pop" Kennedy and legendary engine builder Jim Bell that created some of the finest Buick racing cars of all time. Bill knew "Pop" from racing against him and told Pete that if we wanted to sponsor a car, that he knew just the man to drive it.

Starting with a virtually stock bright red 1959 Invicta, known in lore as the "winningest Buick of all time", the Reynolds-Kenne-Bell association was instrumental in establishing the reputation of the Buick nailhead engine as a performance powerplant and were so influential that Buick Headquarters not only touted their successes, they supplied prototype parts to Reynolds for evaluation. This partnership fielded several cars- the 1959 Invicta, a nearly identical 1961 Invicta, a very early 1965 Gran Sport (which was rolled and replaced with second '65), 1967 and 1968 GS 400 coupes, and the most famous Reynolds Buick racer of all, a white 1970 Gran Sport 455 Stage 2 which survives to this day in the collection of Guy Parquette. 

In the fall of 2010. Reynolds Buick-GMC-Isuzu celebrated its 95th Anniversary with a very special Open House featuring entertainment, prizes, burgers, and two legendary Reynolds Buick race cars which traveled across the country for the event. It was an opportunity for our employees and our customers to come together with their families and share food, fellowship, and some rare glimpses into Reynolds Racing lore.

We won't pretend that we didn't have our doubts early in the day. It drizzled. It rained. It poured at times. And then, in the early afternoon, it stopped. The skies cleared and our hearts lifted. It was going to be a beautiful evening for the Open House. As the parking lot dried, an army descended to set up the event. By early evening, guests were arriving and everything was exactly as we had hoped it would be.

As has become a Reynolds tradition, guests were serenaded by the Michael Peters combo. Some even got up and danced under the moonlight sky. Dinner  was provided by the legendary In-n-Out truck, whose annual visit is always eagerly welcomed. After dinner, door prizes were awarded. The showroom and lot were full of employees, customers, their families, and guests.

Some very special guests this year arrived by trailer- two very special Buick drag racing cars that were very successful for Reynolds Buick were remembered this year with a very special display.
Jack Mancini of North Kingstown, Rhode Island brought his specially prepared 1965 Reynolds Buick Gran Sport Tribute Car. This beautiful racer is a recreation of our second 1965 Gran Sport that Pop Kennedy raced so successfully, and is an exact replica in every way of the actual car - right down to the correct vintage tachometer on the steering column. It was created by Mancini's shop, American Muscle Car Restorations, and stands as a three dimensional tribute to Reynolds Buick and their rich racing legend. Jack and his wife Karen attended the event along with renowned Buick GS expert Jimmy Shiels who assisted in the restoration of the car.

Another very special guest was the actual 1970 Reynolds Buick GS 455 Stage 2 race car that was well known all over Southern California dragstrips. We were fortunate to have not a recreation, but the actual car, which has been restored by owner Guy Parquette of Mosinee, Wisconsin to the exact specifications of when Pop Kennedy ran 10.89 at 126.85 MPH. There were more than a few goosebumps when the car was unloaded from the trailer and fired up in our back lot, almost 40 years from the day since it first arrived here. We were thrilled to have the car home for a visit and would like to sincerely thank Guy and his wife Colleen for bringing it.

As our 100th Anniversary approaches in 2015, we're looking forward to hosting an even grander event for Gran Sport and Buick performance fans. You can follow us on Facebook  or visit Reynolds Buick Racing  for the latest information.

Deane and the World's Record

Deane Salter is now a Guiness World Record Holder

When you've been in business for Ninety Seven years, a few of things hold true- that you get to know your customers and your employees pretty well, and that if you treat people right, customers will come back and employees will stick around, too. In fact, we're pretty much known for having familiar faces when you come through our door, in both our sales and service departments.

Take Deane Salter for example. Deane had been working in the construction business when the economy took a turndown. Those things happen, of course, but the kids have to be fed, so Deane took a part time job selling Buicks for a young fellow named Pete Reynolds in Covina. That was January of 1958.

Well, Deane's a pretty personable fellow and people liked the straightforward way that he dealt with them, so it wasn't too long before he started building a client base. Pretty soon he was doing better selling Buicks than he was inspecting concrete footings, so when a choice had to be made, Deane stayed with Reynolds Buick. 

In fact, he's been here ever since, and still sells new Buicks and GMCs to not only his long time customers, but their children and grandchildren. One day recently, someone made a comment to Chuck Rhodes about how long Deane has been here, and they asked themselves whether his longevity with us was some kind of record. So Chuck and Don Reynolds contacted the Guinness World Record folks and submitted all kinds of documents and as it turns out, it is some kind of record- the longest continous employment by an Automobile Salesperson with a single Employer at Fifty Four years and Four Months.

So when Deane Salter showed up for work at Reynolds recently and saw his wife Lorraine, son John, daughters Mary Jo, Victoria and Mary Beth, their spouses, and all his grandchildren there, I think it gave him quite a start. But when Chuck Rhodes presented him with the Guinness World Record for his lifetime achievement at Reynolds, he was proud as punch. And we're just as proud of Deane Salter and his family, and pleased to be the kind of dealership where an employee comes and stays for Fifty-five years.

In this world of conglomerates and multinational companies, Reynolds is pleased to be a family owned business that's been part the Covina area for almost 100 years now. So stop by next time you're in the area and ask Deane to show you his world record. He'll be pretty pleased to show it off.  

Chuck Rhodes presents the plaque to Deane Salter

Deane Salter and his wife surrounded by their children and grandchildren. From L, Lee and Christina Watkins, John and Sara Beemer, John and Carol Salter, Victoria, Deane, Lorraine and Mary Beth Salter, Mary Jo, Dominic and Russell Caveness, Jake Salter and Jennifer Salter Vasquez

Don and Pete Reynolds with Deane and Lorraine Salter

Deane and Lorraine with daughters Victoria and Mary Beth

Deane Salter and Pete Reynolds

Not all of our employees are World Record Holders, but they all do a mighty fine job.