Indy 500 Time Trials & the Buick Stage 2

[hemi8]

Take a look at the Indy time trials for the upcoming 500 and all the articles touting the speeds of this years race cars. And then soak it in people:
"The Menard racing team kept racing the V-6s through 1996, though without Buick’s official sanction. Driver Eddie Cheever set an Indy 500 lap record speed of 236.103 mph."
27 years ago the Buick stage 2 was just as fast as today's race cars..............Come on Buick, do it again.

 

[hemi8]

Cracking 250mph, as 1998 Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever managed to do with Buick’s brute a few years earlier, felt as dangerous as it looked.

“We just started creeping up on the speeds,” said Cheever, who raced Buick-powered Lolas owned and built by billionaire John Menard’s team (LEFT) through 1996. “Before you knew it, we were doing top speeds of 250 miles per hour on the track almost the whole way around. It was astonishing. There was no Turn 1 and Turn 2 in the traditional sense; it was just a blur. You took a deep breath turning into 1 and then you had to hold it all the way around, because if you didn’t you’d get dizzy. You had a whole breathing pattern. I think it was way – there were no SAFER walls, it was just way too fast and couldn’t be sustained – you were lucky if you got away with any mistakes.”

Amazing power.

 

[jlat]

hello peoples: the Buick engines use to fail a lot if I remember right.
IBBY

 

[1986 Buick GX1]

From the Indy 500 Motor Speedway Museum in 1988.
The destroked 3.4L Buick V6 made 800hp @ 8800rpm. I believe the Chevy Ilmor V8 only made 720hp.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

neat stuff!
Jim Ruggles had a274 with that ft drive on it, that was going in a boat...SICK!

 

[outatime86]

Good stuff!

 

[hemi8]

I have to believe with the advances in valvetrain and oiling technology Buick could make another run at it, with a modern version of something up their sleeve. Back in the 80s and early 90s they were like the Apollo mission in the 60s trying to get to the moon with the computing power of less than a simple calculator. What they accomplished with that little V6 was really something and the new generation of engineers ought to pick up the mantle and go for it.
Mike

 

[Chuck Leeper]

A bit of added comment...
The boat had so much power, so quickly, that it was hard to control.
Having a prop instead of a torque converter made it much more difficult to control.
The engine wound up in the owners basement, and a 500" BBC took its place.
I tried to buy the engine. No luck. It may still be in a basement.

 

[X Ray]

Jim Crawford in 1986....He came into our facility and we updated his fire suit with ASC Logo in or trim shop.
The engine had head gasket issues......who would of thought...lol

 

[outatime86]

Jim Crawford in 1986....He came into our facility and we updated his fire suit with ASC Logo in or trim shop.
The engine had head gasket issues......who would of thought...lol

Nice!

 

[BEATAV8]

Like music but better

 

[outatime86]

That's perfect meditation music

 

[GTP_ARGO]

Non turbo and no reason to go past 7500. People still love the exhaust tone.