Bad Buick: Bobb Makley’s Twin Turbo 1972 Stage 1 Buick GS

IMG_4769

People tend to back their favorite brand of car in racing with a high level of intensity and they have no problem telling you about why they love their favorite manufacturer. Bobb Makley is extremely loyal to the Buick brand, to the point where he has built a business around it and has been racing the iconic GM brand for nearly 25 years. His 1972 Stage 1 Buick GS is all Buick, and it could make some serious waves in the small-tire racing world this year after he gets it dialed in.

Makley originally was a diehard Chevrolet fan when he purchased his first car, a 1975 Vega with a rowdy small-block under the hood. He campaigned that car until 1993 when his father-in-law took him to the GS Nationals, and that’s where his Buick obsession began. Soon, the Vega was gone and replaced with a 1970 Buick GS that was powered by a 470 cubic-inch Buick engine with a full interior. That car had some serious power, running in the 8.70s at 136 mph while weighing over 3,800 pounds.

Makley’s Buick met an untimely demise after a brake failure at Cecil County caused him to go off the end of the track, destroying the car. That accident put Makley on a different path with the engine from his crashed car, and a fresh body to work with.

“I found the Stage 1 car to use as a new chassis, and one of my best friends Steve Morris talked me into adding a ProCharger to the car. After we got everything built how I liked we ran the car that way for several years. With that setup, we went a best of 8.20 at 167, but we struggled to get the car down the track consistently,” Makley says.

After spending years trying to get all the Buick power to the ground through a stock suspension, Makley decided it was time for a change.

“Since we planned on adding more power, I knew it wouldn’t make getting the car to hook up any easier at the track, so I started talking to Kevin Stevens from Straightline Performance about redoing the suspension. Kevin felt he could get me headed in the right direction on the car and we developed a plan to make sure it would work better at the track”, Makley explains.

IMG_4770

To run with the big guns in the small-tire world Makley knew he would need to step up his engine program and power-adder. Gone is the 470 cubic-inch Buick engine, and in its place is a 560-inch big block Buick mill with a Moldex crank, R&R rods with Diamond pistons rounding out the rotating assembly. The heads Markley used are a custom modified pair of aluminum heads from TA Performance with all of the head and block work done at Finish Line Motorsports. Precision Billet Design provided the trick billet intake that will bring the air into the big Buick engine on each pass. Feeding the fuel will be a set of 225-pound injectors and the turbos are a pair of 80 mm units that have been modified by Steve Morris Racing engines. Behind the motor will be a Neal Chance-built TH400 transmission and a PTC torque converter.

To put all the new Buick power to the ground in his GS, Makley will be using a chassis built by Straightline Performance as the base of the car. For the front end Straightline added a full set of TRZ suspension products and AFCO shocks from Menscer Motorsports to assist with the dampening duties. The rear suspension features a Rhodes Race Cars four-link and wishbone along with AFCO shocks from Menscer Motorsports.  The rearend itself is a custom chrome-moly housing built by Straightline that uses a Mark Williams Enterprises sway bar. The Buick will roll on RC Components Hammer wheels while a full set of TBM Brakes will bring the car to a stop after each pass.

20170224_124710

When the car is complete, Makley plans on getting as much racing in as possible in 2017.

“We are looking at running the Milan Dragway Friday Night Shootout Series, the Shakedown at the Summit, the Yellow Bullet Nationals, and the Buick GS Nationals. If things go well, we will also try to make Duck’s race at South Georgia, as well,” Makley explains.

Makley’s Buick GS is a unique racecar that will get a lot of attention at any event he attends. Make sure you stay tuned to Dragzine for some additional photos of this bad Buick after it has been completed!

About the author

Brian Wagner

Spending his childhood at different race tracks around Ohio with his family’s 1967 Nova, Brian developed a true love for drag racing. Brian enjoys anything loud, fast, and fun.
Read My Articles

Drag Racing in your Inbox.

Build your own custom newsletter with the content you love from Dragzine, directly to your inbox, absolutely FREE!

Free WordPress Themes
Dragzine NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

We'll send you the most interesting Dragzine articles, news, car features, and videos every week.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Dragzine NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...


Street Muscle Magazine
Hot Rods & Muscle Cars
Diesel Army
Diesel Army
Engine Labs
Engine Tech

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...

  • Streetmuscle Hot Rods & Muscle Cars
  • Diesel Army Diesel Army
  • Engine Labs Engine Tech

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Dragzine

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Loading