Before we name our 9th Top 10 Muscle Car of All Time, we’re going to take some time to answer questions and comments in our overflowing mailbox. Several deal with the Top 10 list; so let’s get started.
Classic 1969 Olds Cutlass Supreme
Q: Greg I read your “Cars We Remember” article on the ’68/’69 Hurst Olds in the Citizen Standard from Valley View, Pa., and thought I’d share my ride with you.
Attached are photos of my 1969 Cutlass S that I purchased on June 16, 1973, between my Junior and Senior years in high school. Yes, I still have it! I took it off the road as an everyday driver in 1976 and preserved it.
The car started life with a 350-V8 with a two-barrel carb, bench seat, 4-speed with 3:08 rear. I swapped engines in 1975 to a ’73 350-V8 with a four-barrel, then “played” with things. I put in a 455 W-30 cam that I swapped for a ’70 automatic transmission (yes, Olds cams swap between big blocks and small blocks), and then added pre-1970 cylinder heads to increase the compression ratio, put 3:55 gears in the rear, along with many other updates to the suspension and creature comforts over the years.
All this was done WAY before the “numbers matching / keep it all-original” thinking. I was conservative though, as all changes were made in the manner of “this is how it would look if it came from the factory with this.”
Most recent update was done in 2017. The 350 from 1975 was very tired (I drive my cars, no garage queens), so I had a 455 V8 professionally built. The heads are “C” heads with oversized intake valves, exhaust “bumps” milled out (cast in the exhaust ports in 1965 for the smog pump nozzles and never deleted (very restrictive on the exhaust side), the cam is an aftermarket version made by Comp Cams of the 455 W-30 automatic transmission cam, and I even kept it correct with the 1969 cast iron intake, Q-jet four-barrel, and air cleaner.
The 455 produced 385 horses and 530 lb. ft. of torque on Andy Jensen’s dyno and engine shop in Macungie, Pa. My Olds is lots of fun with an M20 wide ratio Muncie 4 speed and the 3:55 gears.
However, the Jensen 455 engine is painted and “badged” as a 400 due to the “nothing bigger than 400 inches” corporate mandate you mention in your articles that was still in effect in 1969.
The car has been repainted twice, last in 1979, and color changed from original Trophy Blue to current Black. The front seat was redone in 1975 at Klem’s Auto Trim Shop in Ashland, Pa. with the last (per Klem) of the original upholstery left in the country. The rest of the interior is all-original.
My Cutlass was an N66 option car, which included the Super Stock II wheels.
Appreciated your Top 10 Olds article. Thank You, Jack Umholtz, Valley View, Pa.
A: Jack, Thanks for your letter and excellent photos of your Olds Cutlass beauty! My uncle had a ’69 Olds Cutlass S 350-V8 four-barrel. It was a great car that I polished for him probably 50 times. The people you had working on your car, like Andy Jensen (big name drag racer) and Klem’s in Ashland, are known for their outstanding work.
GTOs and Turbo Regals
Q: Hi Greg! I have enjoyed your articles very much and I sent your article about the GTO to a friend in Pennsylvania. He was a GTO specialist in the 1960`s, early 1970`s, and his name is Dennis Kirban. Maybe you have heard of him.
Dennis had many different cars and sells privately for a local dealership. In the mid 1980`s he started selling the Turbo Regals, and to date has sold over 300 of them including several GNXs. I met him about 30 years ago, as I have a Grand National, which as you may know was voted in 1987 one of the top 10 muscle cars of the last 20 years.
I am hoping the 1986 and 1987 turbo Regals make your personal Top 10 of All-Time list. I don’t know if you have a cutoff date for the year, but the 0-60 times of 5 seconds and better is in the ballpark of a real muscle car.
Thanks, Greg, for your great in-depth coverage of early muscle cars. By the way, the 1949 Olds coupe was possibly the first factory muscle car in my opinion. Your articles appear in the Westerly Sun newspaper. Mike Brankert, Westerly, Rhode Island.
A rear view of the Umholtz 1969 Olds Cutlass, which arrived with optional Super Stock II wheels. Under the hood now sits an Andy Jensen built 455-inch Rocket V8 with over 520 lb. ft. of torque. (Umholtz collection)
A: Mike, Thanks much for your letter. As you know by now I had a challenging time selecting which Buick made my Top 10 list and settled on the 1970 Buick GSX 455 over the 1987/1987 Buick Grand National.
You are correct that the Grand Nationals were highly respected, and the fact that Buick produced such a great car in that 1980 period makes it even more historic. Back in the 1980s horsepower was down and muscle cars were gone, except for the Grand National.
Additionally, I wanted to expand on Buick’s outstanding Indy Car V-6 stock block engine program, which turned out to be quite the research and development program for those street worthy Grand Nationals. As for performance, even the strictly stock Buick Grand National accelerated to 60 mph in just 6.1 seconds and ran the quarter mile in 13.8 seconds. With a little hop up turbo tuning, low 5-second zero to 60 times were easy.
Another reason I considered this Buick V-6 Turbo for inclusion is because of legendary racing efforts by John Menard, who took under his wing the entire Buick V-6 IndyCar program when corporate backed out. Menard is the man behind Menard’s Home Centers and his son, Paul, drove on the NASCAR circuit for many years, winning the Indy Brickyard 400 in 2011.
Menard’s Buick IndyCar efforts included a 1996 Indy 500 pole position by the late Scott Brayton, who sadly was killed in a practice run prior to the race. Danny Ongais substituted for Brayton, started 31st and finished 7th in his final Indy 500 effort. Team Menard’s best Indy 500 finish was third in 1992 with Al Unser aboard. For drag racing fans, you can’t forget Buddy Ingersoll, who drove his Buick Twin Turbo, 230-inch V-6 Pro Stock to a final round appearance against Bob Glidden back in 1986 at the IHRA Fall Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. After the race, the major sanctioning bodies declared any further Buick V-6 twin turbos illegal.
Scott Brayton won the pole position for the 1996 Indy 500 in a Team John Menard Buick V6 stock block engine Indy Car. Sadly, Brayton died when he crashed his back-up car in practice before the race and replacement driver Danny Ongais started 31st and finished 7th in the race. (Indy 500 photo)
Thanks again for your interesting letter and thanks for sending Dennis Kirban the article. Along the way, I have heard of him and his GTO, and his Buick Grand National affiliations.
1964 Chevelle ragtop
Q: Greg I really enjoyed this article on the Chevy Chevelles. I bought my brand new 1964 Chevelle SS convertible with a 4-speed and a 283-V8. I had the time of my life with this car, and it was finished in Daytona blue and I paid $2,900 for it.
Here’s a photo of a 1964 Chevelle convertible requested by reader Frank Bedosky, from Berwick, Pa. Frank bought a brand new one in 1964 for $2,900. (Mecum Auctions)
I bought it at Bill Johnson Chevrolet in Berwick, Pa., and I wish I had it now. It was an awesome car. I am now 77 years old, but I would like to take it for another spin. It had the same hubcaps that are featured on the two-door white coupe featured in your article. Keep up the fine work and would love to see a 1964 convertible one day in your columns. Thanks again, Frank Bedosky, Berwick, Pa.
A: Frank, I found a photo of a 1964 Chevelle ragtop, and hopefully the editors will run it with this week’s column. Thanks very much for your kind words. You made my day.
(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader input. Write him at greg@gregzyla.com or Greg Zyla, Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840.)
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