When better muscle cars are built, Buick will build them

CRUISING CALENDAR
MONDAY
Cruzin the River in Lowellville, from
5 to 9 p.m. at 224 E. Water St.
200-300 cars, food, prizes, DJ Lee
Martinell, vendor nights, and
more. Call Al at 330-536-9009 or
Cindy at 330-540-3517.
When better muscle cars are built, Buick will build them
by Richard Sberna
Town Crier
When most people think
of the muscle cars of the 1960s
and ‘70s, the Buick name
doesn’t immediately come to
mind. But it definitely should.
Proof positive is the 1970
Buick GS 455 owned by Bill
Wills of Youngstown. The 455cubic-inch V8 found within is
rated at 350 horsepower and a
pavement-shredding 510 lbs.ft. of torque at only 2,800 RPM.
It was the most of any stock
engine, save Cadillac, from a
particularly muscular era.
With its factory ram-air
induction and automatic trans,
the GS will run quarters in the
low-to-mid 13 second range in
its current, near-stock form.
But it used to run faster.
Wills purchased the car
used 30 years ago and
modified it for racing with a
different intake and rear end,
headers and the like. “I did
nothing but race it early on,”
he said.
Since then, he has restored
the car to stock and taken it to
the Supercar Showdowns that
were held at Quaker City
Dragway in the 1980s and ‘90s,
as well as the Hot Rod
Supernationals in Canfield.
Unfortunately, Wills recalls
some anti-Buick bias from
these events.
One year, he and some
friends from the Penn-Ohio
Chapter of the Buick
Performance Club proudly
displayed a lineup of 12
gleaming muscle Buicks at the
SuperNats. “They didn’t take a
single picture of them,” he
said. According to Wills,
photographers
resolutely
ignored the Buicks in favor of
the usual GTOs, Chevelles, and
so on.
Still, you can sense Wills’
pride in his car’s sleeper status
and what he calls its “sneaky”
engineering. An example is the
car’s low stance in the rear
compared to its more steeply
raked contemporaries. This
may not have been as stylish a
profile, but the suspension
settings that accounted for it
greatly increased traction over
cars with the rakish look.
Wills’ appreciation for
Buicks goes back to 1971,
when he received his learner’s
permit and began racing his
mother’s 1965 Skylark. From
there, it was on to a 1967 GS
400, which he and his brother
ran in Pure Stock Eliminator
(street tires or narrow slicks,
full exhaust, stock manifolds)
in the early ‘70s. This low-13second car, which Wills drove
to drive to high school every
day, began his racing career in
earnest.
He raced four nights per
week, twice on Sunday, mostly
at local venues including the
old Ohio Drag City near
Meander and Quaker City
Raceway. He also raced at
Norwalk
Dragway
and
Thompson Raceway Park.
With minimal preparation to
the car, the prize money from
such “work” went a long way.
“I always had money in my
pocket during high school,”
Wills said.
His efforts paid off,
netting him the Stock
Eliminator crown at Ohio City
for seven years. He took his
show on the road, racing all
over the country and in
Canada. From his experience,
Wills feels it’s no coincidence
that Buick won the NHRA
Stock Eliminator class in 1970,
‘71 and ‘72.
While those days are
largely behind him, he still
maintains a presence on the
drag strip with another Buick,
a 1978 Skylark with a 455 from
a 1970 Electra. The engine is
mostly stock, with changes
limited to items like an MSD
ignition and 850 cfm Holley
carburetor.
Replacement
connecting rods were only
installed after one broke
during a recent run. Power
flows through a Carl Rosslerbuilt THM 400 to a 12-bolt
rear axle with 3.90 gears.
Running in the foot-brake
class, his best time so far is an
11.18 at 122 MPH.
Of course, with all this
talk of keeping an open mind,
it should be noted that Wills
doesn’t confine his auto
appreciation to Buicks. He also
owns a couple of old Ford
Mustangs, and voiced his
appreciation for the new 2001
Mustang
and
Dodge
Challenger. “I’m a car person, I
enjoy seeing all makes of cars,”
he said. “If you’re totally
closed-minded about a certain
brand, you don’t know what
you’re missing.”
But don’t ask him about
getting rid of the GS anytime
soon. Though he’s received
many offers to buy it, Wills
says, “I don’t know what it
would take to buy it, I really
don’t.” He plans to enjoy the
car as-is for now, with the
possibility of fresh paint and
other restoration down the
road.
For more photos of Bill
Wills’
Buicks,
visit
www.towncrieronline.com.
TUESDAY
Chick-Fil-A, 1051 BoardmanPoland Road, Boardman, every
Tuesday (weather permitting).
Benefit Hospice of the Valley.
Music by “Two’s Company” DJ’s,
dash plaques, door prizes,
trophies. Call Bob at 330-5459313 or visit www.mvocc.com.
WEDNESDAY
Drake’s Landing Restaurant, 2177
W. Western Reserve Road,
Canfield. All through summer, from
5 p.m. to dusk. Raffles, door
prizes, DJ’s.
THURSDAY
Westside Ice Cream and Grill,
3003 Mahoning Ave., Austintown,
from 6 to 9 p.m. every Thursday.
DJ, 50/50 raffle, door prizes and
more.
FRIDAY
A&W Drive-In, 680 YoungstownBoardman Road, Boardman, from
6 to 10 p.m. Special theme nights
throughout the summer, music by
Two’s Company, T-shirts. Call 330792-2444. Now through Oct. 14.
SATURDAY
Shepherd’s Self Storage,
Boardman (the old Sam’s Club) on
South Avenue, one mile south of
U.S. 224, every Saturday from 5
to 9 p.m. Vendors, music and
more. Hosted by Valley Cruzers.
Call 330-533-4911.
SUNDAY
Quaker Steak and Lube in
Austintown, Interstate 80, Ohio 46
exit, from 5 to 9 p.m. Music by DJ
Big Rick, discount to cruisers,
hosted by the “Chicken Coupe
Cruisers.” Call 330-668-4767.
JUNE 12 - 20th annual “Happy
Days” classic car cruise on Seventh
Avenue in downtown Beaver Falls,
Pa. Club hats and T-shirts, DJ’s,
dash plaques, raffles and door
prizes. Call 724 843-6401 or
724-846-1862.