Buick is one of the pioneering brands of the GM conglomerate, founded in 1908 before General Motors even existed. Buick later served as the second-highest luxury tier in the General Motors catalog, falling only behind Cadillac in price and luxury. It would be an understatement to say that they produced some of the most important cars of the muscle era, including the Buick Electra, Buick Riviera, Buick LeSabre, Buick Skylark, Buick GSX, and Buick Regal.
The Buick 3.8L V6, otherwise known as the Buick 3800, was the result of the time from which it came. With efficiency and emissions compliance being a particularly dominant factor during the late 1970s, Buick wanted to prove that high-displacement V8 power could be achieved outside of the proven recipe. As a direct evolution from…
Since the 1950s, America and muscle cars have been synonymous. Large displacement V8 engines powering rear-wheel drive two door coupes, have warmed the hearts and souls of generation after generation of Americans. Yet, for many younger generations who didn’t experience the behemoths of the 1950s-1980s first-hand, the question always comes up for those looking to…
The Buick 455 is a big block 7.5L V8 that was produced from 1970-1976. It came at a time when big block V8’s were dominating the muscle car world. The 455 cubic inch motor made 350-370 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque in its early days. However, changes with gas & emissions laws – as…
Riviera History 1963-1975 Introduction: The Buick Riviera was not a muscle car, per se, but it had a tremendous impact on the American automotive scene. The Riviera represented one of the most successful American attempts at capturing European styling and performance in a large automobile. Positioned at the top of Buick’s coupe line up, the…
The Buick Wildcat started production in an interesting way. Like many other muscle cars of the time, it wasn’t originally its own model. Instead, it was a subseries of the full-size Buick Invicta which was in itself a conglomeration of the Buick Century and Buick LeSabre. Not even its name was unique to the model,…
The Buick Skylark was born out of celebration for Buick’s already storied history in 1953. At that point, the General Motors’ cornerstone company was celebrating their 50th anniversary and wanted to create something special as a result. That’s exactly what they did. Initially introduced alongside other GM specialty convertibles like the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta and…
Though it might not have the name recognition as some of its competitors, the Buick Gran Sport — or GS — was one of the best luxury muscle cars of the 1960s and early-1970s. It started life as an option package on the Buick Skylark and Buick Riviera from 1965–1966, before becoming a stand alone…
The following chart identifies the block, crankshaft, and cylinder head casting numbers for Buick’s made between 1962 and 1979. Keep in mind this is information has come from many different automotive resources, and may have some misprinted numbers as well as omissions. All these numbers are trademarks of the manufacturing car company. These are able…
