1975 Buick Regal Indy Pace Car

[DoctorLarry]

If you have seen any of my other posts, I have a soft spot for GM Collonade 73-77 cars. They had better suspension (particularly Pontiacs) and were generally more refined than earlier "muscle" cars. Downsides were 5 mph bumpers which looked like battering rams (except the Grand Am) and pollution control choked engines. Styling wise, folks seemed to have a love/hate relationship. Buick was chosen to provide the pace cars for both the 1975 and 1976 Indy 500 races. Both were very attractive cars.  However, the only Collonade car produced as a model was the Jo-Han Cutlass.  It was done in promos for various years but the model was a 1975.  It was a curbside, meaning no opening hood and no detail in engine or chassis.  I used the basic shell to master Grand Ams and Buick Regal/Centuries in various years including 1975 and 76 Pace Cars. I have yet to build one, so I started on it as a project. I have not been doing any resin work; a job change kind of halted that for awhile. I started with my own body and interior and a Jo-Han chassis. I wanted this to be as close to stock as possible so the basic chassis pan was a good start. I cut away the rear suspension area and cut off the front and ground out the engine space. I grafted the front clip from a Revell 66 GTO for suspension detail and grafted in the rear floor pan and rear axle from the same car. I added a rear sway bar. So far I have scratch built a firewall, added the heater and A/C parts and a relay and vacuum canister. I modified the GSX wiper motor to look like the Regal. I am working on a radiator and shroud and have the master cylinder ready. I am fully plumbing and wiring as much as I can.  The only close Buick engine is in the 1970 Buick GSX kits but it is 1/24 and way too big to use.  I took a Revell 66 GTO Pontiac 400 and modified the heads to look like Buick. I used the front cover cut down from a GSX kit as the oil filter and distributor are in front. I resin cast a copy of the Buick intake and then copied it on a NASCAR Chevy intake. I modified a wired distributor to look like a HEI and placed the accessories where they would be on the Buick. The brackets are not totally accurate and the starter is on the wrong side but it was molded in so I left it there. I used a Fireball resin B/O/P Quadrajet with a return spring.  For the interior I added pedals from the parts box but everything else is cast resin from my masters. I put in a head liner and sail panels and moldings for the T Tops. I use HO scale brick plastic sheet for texture; it looks like headliner material and is easy to work with. Paint is the actual GM colors mixed by a local paint store for me. Wheels and tires- wheels are from another kit, probably the GSX. Tires and tire decals are from Fireball.

[kelson]

Lots of work ,but it looks good so far.

[Monty]

I had no idea Buick engines were ever painted blue.  The 455 in our family's '73 LeSabre was red, so the change must've taken place soon after.  

[Can-Con]

1 hour ago, Monty said:

I had no idea Buick engines were ever painted blue.  The 455 in our family's '73 LeSabre was red, so the change must've taken place soon after.  

They went to blue in '75, Monty. All my Buicks had red engines too. , , BTW, I took my licence road test in a '74 LeSabre with a 455 transplant. ?

[Rattlecan Dan]

Already has a one-of-a-kind look to it. Model on Bro!

[Bainford]

Interesting project. Nice work so far. 

[DoctorLarry]

Interior stuff, all in resin plus some other bits:

[DoctorLarry]

Making progress. More wiring/plumbing on the engine, brake and e-brake lines on the chassis, mounted the rear end and began adding exhaust flanges. Making progress on the body as well. Interior is ready for final sand/paint.

[kelson]

Coming along nicely,good work on the engine/chassis.?

[DoctorLarry]

Original chassis was a bust. I could not get it to fit the body right. Something was off so back to square 1. My go-to for Collonade chassis is a Revell 66 GTO. Great detail and similar underpinnings. The earlier cars were 3 inches longer in wheelbase so I take 3mm out of the chassis right after where the front floor pans start. I also had to open up and re-do the tunnel because the GTO is a four speed and this uses a Turbo 400.  Front brake rotors and calipers are from a Ford Thunderbird NASCAR car. I took a hint from another build and wrapped the cat, mufflers and resonators in matte BMF. Looks pretty good. Maybe still a little shiny, but good.  Brake lines, fuel line at the tank and emergency brakes all in. Scratch built the exhaust with flanges where they are on the real car.

[nickfzr61]

This is coming along real nice.
Good attention to detail.                         Gotta love that huge AC compressor. 

[DoctorLarry]

Those A/C compressors weigh a ton! They also suck horsepower like crazy but the systems with R12 would freeze you out of the car.  They did not convert well to 134A. I tried on my 76 Laguna but it was not great. On my 73 Grand Am i went with a VIR eliminator and a modern replacement comptessor.

[DoctorLarry]

Plugging along. I painted the body, interior and engine compartment. Got a little bleed through in a couple of places to fix. Started detailing the engine bay. I need to tome down the cad colors on the brake booster and VIR. The master cylinder is just sitting there now so it is crooked. I started foiling the body and detailed the front grille. Lots of big decals on this one.

[DoctorLarry]

Got the foil done and started decals. I had three sets of decals and two sets disintegrated. I took the remaining details and coated them with three coats of clear lacquer, which stabilized them. I got one side moved too far and so am waiting on another replacement set to finish it. They were too large and had to be shortened to fit so a major headache.

[slusher]

Looks fantastic!

[LennyB]

Great work here and I’ve always been a fan of Pace Cars?

[DoctorLarry]

Thanks, guys!