b4black
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
- Messages
- 3,775
Interesting article. Gale Banks was involved with the Turbo Buicks early on. The Buick developed knock sensor is a significant milestone in modern engines.
http://www.hotrod.com/feature_stories/1405_take_five_with_gale_banks/
HRM] Why has it taken so long for turbos to become mainstream?
GB] GM tried turbochargers with the Olds F-85, with its complex and troubled setup, and the Corvair--and they were expensive. And that was it for a while. But around 1977 Buick picked up the pace car for Indy. They were so invested for fuel economy they had scrapped their V8s and went to the V6. They got a V6 they had designed in the mid ’50s they were using in South America or somewhere. Lloyd Reuss (Mark Reuss’s father) was chief engineer at Buick and we got into a turbo project--C.J. Baker at HOT ROD got a Buick and we ended up doing a magazine project that was a thinly veiled Buick Grand National. Anyway, GM engineer Jim Curry developed the detonation sensor he was experimenting with. There would never have been a Buick Turbo-anything without Curry’s detonation sensor. But the perception in Detroit was that cubic inches were cheaper than turbocharging, and that’s held up progress.
http://www.hotrod.com/feature_stories/1405_take_five_with_gale_banks/
HRM] Why has it taken so long for turbos to become mainstream?
GB] GM tried turbochargers with the Olds F-85, with its complex and troubled setup, and the Corvair--and they were expensive. And that was it for a while. But around 1977 Buick picked up the pace car for Indy. They were so invested for fuel economy they had scrapped their V8s and went to the V6. They got a V6 they had designed in the mid ’50s they were using in South America or somewhere. Lloyd Reuss (Mark Reuss’s father) was chief engineer at Buick and we got into a turbo project--C.J. Baker at HOT ROD got a Buick and we ended up doing a magazine project that was a thinly veiled Buick Grand National. Anyway, GM engineer Jim Curry developed the detonation sensor he was experimenting with. There would never have been a Buick Turbo-anything without Curry’s detonation sensor. But the perception in Detroit was that cubic inches were cheaper than turbocharging, and that’s held up progress.
