PRI 2022: Dave Fiscus’ Sexy X275 Buick Grand National

Raw determination will take you far in drag racing. Sometimes it will take you places you never thought you’d end up, and Dave Fiscus is proof of how far determination will take you. Fiscus and Jason “Cheeseburger” Waterman shocked the Ultra Street world with their Buick-powered Mustang. Now, Fiscus is ready to unleash his new 1987 Buick Grand National on the X275 class.

Fiscus created a partnership with Cheeseburger that led to his 274 cubic-inch Buick engine being bolted in between the fenders of Cheeseburger’s Mustang. At first, people thought the Buick-powered Mustang was just a novelty act until they got the car dialed in. The duo owned the Ultra Street class in 2021, winning multiple events, and the RTRA Ultra Street season title.

The Mustang was never meant to be a permanent solution for Fiscus, he had aspirations to build the ultimate G-body race car. Since Fiscus’ roots were in the Buick racing scene the only logical answer was to finish his Grand National build.

“My mom bought a Grand National new and I’ve been racing that car since 1990. That car has run in the seven-second range with a tilt wheel and power windows, but I didn’t want to cut it up anymore to build an X275 car. A friend of mine had this car for sale that was just a rolling chassis. We bought it 10 years ago with the hopes of building a real race car because I wanted to start with a legit Grand National as the base. I took the car to Tin Soldiers and they started working their magic on it. To build a competitive X275 car you really have to gut most of the OEM parts of the vehicle and I didn’t want to do that to my mom’s car,” Fiscus says.

grand national

G-bodies aren’t known for being light, so Fiscus told the guys at Tin Solders Race Cars to do whatever they needed to do to make the Buick the best car possible. The only guidance Fiscus gave the team at Tin Solders was that he wanted the nicest G-body on the planet. When you look at what they’ve created, it’s hard to argue that goal wasn’t achieved.

“Cheeseburger has played such an important role in making this build happen. He’s the one that allowed me to put the Buick engine in his Mustang and race the car. If we didn’t have the level of success we’ve had with the Mustang, I doubt I would have built this new car. He’s an amazing tuner and I’m the guy that’s lucky enough to let go of the button,” Fiscus states.

This Grand National’s buzzin’ half-dozen heartbeat is based around a TA Performance aluminum block. Inside the Baker Machine-prepared mill, you’ll find a Bryant crankshaft, Crower connecting rods, and Ross pistons. BES Racing Engines worked over and then assembled the Buick Motorsports Stage II cylinder heads with T&D Machine hardware that works with a COMP Cams camshaft. The mighty V6 receives its fuel from a Waterman fuel pump and FuelTech injectors. Cheeseburger controls the engine via a FuelTech FT600 ECU.

Tin Soldiers not only took care of the chassis, but they also did all of the fab work on the Buick, including the turbo system. An X275 legal Precision turbo feeds boost into the engine via a Buick Motorsports intake. TRZ Motorsports suspension parts can be found under the Grand National, along with a set of Menscer Motorsports shocks. The RPM Transmissions-built Turbo 400 and PTC torque converter send the V6 power back to a Tin Solders full floater rearend that uses parts from Strange Engineering.

“The plan was to always keep the car a V6, and this car has some big shoes to fill. We’re already running the Mustang really hard, and in X275 they’re running just so much faster. This car is lighter, has a longer wheelbase, and the chassis is much better. We’re going to push the car as hard as we can, based on what the parts are willing to handle. You can bench race all you want, but there will be nothing left on the table,” Fiscus explains.

grand national

Building a high-level radial tire car is a massive undertaking. While some racer’s wives aren’t super supportive of their significant others’ desire to go fast, Fiscus’ wife encourages him to chase his racing goals.

“This couldn’t have been possible without my wife Natalie. She was there when I purchased the rolling chassis and was the one that suggested building the car so we didn’t cut up mom’s car. I’m blessed to have someone behind me that’s so supportive of racing. She’s always had the attitude of if you’re going to do something, do it to the best of your ability or don’t do it at all. When you’re racing a Buick V6 it’s easy to say you can’t compete, but she’s always encouraged me to figure this out and go faster,” Fiscus says.

The next step for Fiscus and Cheeseburger is to start the shakedown process of the new car. Thankfully, they’ve worked hard and unlocked the potential of the Buick V6 powerplant, so now they just need to figure out how to harness that power in this new chassis.

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.
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