Top-5 V-6 engines according to . . . . (Re: Hagerty's enews)

[yachtsmanbill]

Being from LaGrange, Il. and having had my dad work for EMD from 1940 (18 y.o.) till 1963, Ill always consider that site as EMD. Dozens of H.S. pals worked there making real money. Now theyre probably flippin' burgers at crack-arnolds for he senior menu LOL...

This is pops at 34 YO at the front door of EMD in 1956. 3rd row second from left. Mechanical engineering testing division.  Bill

[elagache]

Dear Bill and 65GS.com faithful,

Being from LaGrange, Il. and having had my dad work for EMD from 1940 (18 y.o.) till 1963, Ill always consider that site as EMD. Dozens of H.S. pals worked there making real money. Now theyre probably flippin' burgers at crack-arnolds for he senior menu LOL...

This is pops at 34 YO at the front door of EMD in 1956. 3rd row second from left. Mechanical engineering testing division.  Bill

Thanks for sharing the story!  Certainly hard not to feel at least a bit melancholy to see how things have changed in our own lifetimes.

Cheers, Edouard

[yachtsmanbill]

I guess Im a true "melancholic" LOL...  Bill

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Hagerty's has the story of the Apollo GT on their website:

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/10/07/rare-and-inventive-apollo-gt-far-from-forgotten

These cars were developed and built in Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco - right in my backyard.   Works started in 1963 and the car's were successful, but the business wasn't able to make ends meet and they folded in 1965 after making only 88 cars.  The scheme was to combine Italian styling with American reliability and that's were Buick came in.  The power-plant started out as the 215 V-8 and was upgraded to the 300 V-8 when Buick switched to that.

Given that only 88 were built they are rare and therefore extremely collectable.  Still, there are a few local owners and one has been a frequent visitor to the Orinda Classic Car show.  I photographed This 1964 Apollo GT 5000 during the 2011 Orinda show:



Even if none of us could ever afford one, they are still pretty "eye candy."

Cheers, Edouard 

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick caregivers with an eye to automotive history,

Perhaps most of you were already aware of the story of Henry Leland, but I wasn't aware of this man's pivotal role in launching the American luxury car market.  Hagerty's has a nice write-up on their blog:

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/10/16/why-henry-leland-is-unknown-in-detroit

Henry Leland started out getting a solid foundation in machining and was successful in the Detroit area making among other things external combustion engines for marine and stationary use.  Later he started manufacturing internal combustion engines for Oldsmobile. 

Most of us know that Henry Ford's second attempt to form a car company became Cadillac, but the figure that made that happen was Henry Leland.  His meticulous devotion to precision resulted in cars of higher quality that started Cadillac on its path to the high-end market.  It was that reputation that attracted Billy Durant to buy Cadillac and make Henry Leland a high executive at GM.

It is the next phase of Henry Leland life that is less known and ultimately tragic.  During the first world war, Leland wanted to build a plant to manufacture Liberty airplane engines.  However, Durant was a pacifist and didn't want anything to do with war production.  Leland left GM to create his plant and got a 10 million dollar contract to manufacture the engines.  Based on this he started a second car company - Lincoln.

Alas, the U.S. Government didn't fully honor the contract and Lincoln ran into serious financial trouble - ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 1922.  None other than Henry Ford would snap up the assets of Lincoln for 1/2 what the assets were considered to be worth and humiliated Leland when he took over.  Hardly an appropriate fate for the man who had founded two of the best known car brands in the United States.

A interesting read if melancholy.

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. There are some additional details on Henry Leland's life in the Wikipedia article about him:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_M._Leland

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Tony isn't the only one who has a soft spot for the Buick V-6 fireball engine:

http://65gs.com/board/index.php/topic,4351.msg33655.html#msg33655

Just 6 days after his posting, Hagerty's has a story on a 1964 Buick Special:

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/10/22/bare-bones-64-buick-special-taught-me-base-model-charm

It turns out that a Hagerty employee found a 64 Special with an amazing only 17,000 miles on the odometer!  The purchaser had plans rather like our own Yacht Man Bill.  He originally planned to put a 455 into it and made a sleeper hot-rod.  However once he found out how well preserved the car was - he decided to keep it that way.

It is a nice article and there are some nice pictures.  Even a photo of the engine bay with the Fireball V-6! 

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. This article sent me back to my vintage copy of the 1965 Buick sales brochure and sure enough, even the catalog shows that the base model Special didn't have a hood ornament.  You needed to upgrade to the Deluxe Special if you wanted one of those!

P.P.S.  I know, the 1964 had the hood ornament on the grill but you know what I mean! . . . 

[cwmcobra]

If anyone is looking for a Fireball V6 engine, I know where a very nice one is available....

Chuck

[yachtsmanbill]

Nothin' spins them slicks like a Buick V6!! LOL... I as well have several V6 pieces left over, radiator (like new) shroud etc etc... all listed in the parts 4 sale section. Ill even have a CORRECT '64 gas filler neck when I desolder it off the old tank. Any offers beat scrap!   Bill

[Rollaround]

The workhorse Fireball V6 and Super Turbine 300.  Now resting comfortably on a shelf in my shop, waiting for a project.

[schlepcar]

 I have an extra chevette engine too if you really want to fry those slicks....They quit making stuff people could use and maintain a long time ago. Too bad that we consider it better to pile up mountains of scrap and debt than just keep what works. I have several 3800 buick engines that just refused to quit after a quarter million miles. I think those were among the most impressive engines to come out of the Buick research and engineering facility. It is cool to trace them right back to the old Fireball where they started and eventually became the GNX.

[elagache]

Dear Chuck, Bill, Kevin, Dan, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Clearly a number of us have a soft spot for the Fireball V-6! 

The workhorse Fireball V6 and Super Turbine 300.  Now resting comfortably on a shelf in my shop, waiting for a project.

Thanks Kevin for the pictures.  That's one sharp looking engine freshly painted in Nailhead green! 

Cheers, Edouard 

[option B9]

  Hi everyone, Back in the early 1980s  my neighbor purchased a good used  speed boat with a Inboard motor with a out drive unit. When he lifted the engine cover to show me the motor I started laughing, he did not understand why I was laughing. I told him that the motor was the marine version of the a odd fire Buick V6. The same motor that was in my Special that he always teased me about because he had a Mustang with a 351 and I had a 4dr Special with the V6. He along with the Mustang are long gone, and Me & my little V6 is still going strong. That reminds me of the story of the Turtle & the Rabbit !!!!   

  Tony

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Hagerty's has another blog entry this time on what they perceive as useful math formulas.

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/11/27/5-math-formulas-car-nuts-can-actually-use

The article is really lightweight.  I wouldn't have posted it but the commentaries are interesting and probably will take on a conversation of their own.  Perhaps it is worth watching for a few days just to see what comes of it.

Cheers, Edouard 

[yachtsmanbill]

Thats pretty interesting. Doing the carb math for my boat is way off however. A pair of carbureted 454s, making 330 HP each with 750 quadrajets. Propping is the math equation here. These motors "self govern" at 4400 rpm if propped correctly. A stock 454 will easily over rev in first gear in a car. Way back when, I had a 327 chevelle with a 2 barrel and that little guy would run out of carburetor at about 5000 rpm. Still good reading; Thanks!   Bill

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick caregivers,

There is another article on the Hagerty's website that is somewhat interesting.  The title is suggestive that you might learn some dirty secrets: "Here’s why you don’t let a dealer “detail” your new car."  Here's the link:

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/12/05/dont-let-a-dealer-detail-your-new-car

The article isn't particularly surprising but it does highlight some potential dangers in trusting a dealer or perhaps even auto detail shop with a poorly trained staff.  It also goes into some detail of what you can do to really get the most out of a new paint job.  I've never gone as far as to use a clay bar or other decontaminating device, but this article makes more curious about the concept.  The one point it reaffirms is that the only way to safely clean a car is with lots of water!  Drought or no drought, I remain extremely suspicious of waterless cleaning techniques.

As with the previous Hagerty's piece, the comments are almost as interesting as the piece itself.

Cheers, Edouard