Gary Giessen’s ragtop Skylark is about as badass as you’re gonna get in a stock-bodied Buick. In fact, Gary’s so sure of that, he’s laying claim to having the world’s fastest 1965 Buick Skylark convertible! Go ahead, prove him wrong. We dare ya.
“I have owned this car since 1987,” explained Giessen. “It’s been raced since 1993 and in my mind it’s never finished, or fast enough. I just keep going further with it!”
Giessen set out with the goal of having a fast convertible to drive and race and eventually that goal morphed into having the car run low 8-second quarter-mile times. As the car progressed through the various levels of power, to ensure it met the appropriate safety rules and would protect Gary in the event of a crash, it was sent to Matt and Mike of San Diego Auto Fab to redo the existing outdated roll cage. “In two weeks, they had the new chrome moly cage done for me!”Gary exclaimed. “The funny car-style cage carries the NHRA 25.5 certification, so it’s good for 7.50 in the quarter. The only modification to the stock frame was sectioning of the rear frame rails to make room for the Mickey Thompson 275 Drag Radials or MT 29.5×10.5 slicks we run,” he added.
To keep the car launching straight and giving Gary 60-foot times in the low 1.20s, the suspension—both … Read more of this article. Just click on the digital feature below this introduction.
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