Buick has two modes of production, as far as we are concerned: off and on. When they are off, they are the quintessential old man’s car company, producing cars that are comfortable bordering on coddling, with large-print gauge lettering for those with bad eyesight and performance that won’t impress anyone. These LeSabres and Roadmasters are designed to be as warm and inviting as a mattress with a ton of pillows and they act like it. Then there is the Buick we know and love, which is a rare but welcome sight: old Grandad has been hitting the Old Grand-Dad pretty hard and realized that he missed the power. This brings us Electra 225s that could lay rubber as long as you were brave enough to keep your foot in the throttle, the badass with class GSX, supercharged front-drivers that could blow the tires off on boost and the biggest surprise in the 1980s, the turbocharged Buick V6. In stock form it was impressive enough, but put into the hands of hotrodders who knew how to work a turbocharger and suddenly the most feared car on the street was a Buick Regal with a slightly loud exhaust note.
Now, take the basic concept of the 231ci V6, fix the issues the original block had (like the complicated and restrictive oiling system), strengthen up the weak points and cast it in aluminum, and you end up with a Stage II V6. Slap two turbochargers on the engine, tune it right, and stuff it into a properly set up car, and you will have the automotive equivalent of David, killing Goliaths on the strip. This third-generation Firebird is David, and was captured at Streetcar Takeover’s Phoenix meet up at Wild Horse Pass Raceway. The class requirements are simple: headlights, taillights, and a $100 buy-in per car, and Phoenix is hiding a lot of good cars in and around the city. Does this ‘Bird have the guts to run? Watch and see…
Good driving by the opponent at 2:40.
yeah I was just gonna say the same thing! that’s a smart and quick driver, popped the chutes just as it got out of shape… You see so many idiots who stay in it too long creating wrecks that could have so easily been avoided if they just got off the loud pedal and used their heads… Great to see a good driver for once
oh and that’s a nice clean looking engine bay with that V6, props to that driver for quality design and fabrication….