The 1970 Diplomat Blue GS at the Nationals circa '88-'92 that had the Spyder Wheels and had a Doug Nash 5-speed in it ? I believe it was running in the 10's and may have even qualified for the Quick 16. All I can remember was that car leaving the line at what sounded like 9000 RPM :grin: and he would be in third gear as the front tires landed at the 60 ft. marker :3gears: Was that car ever entertaining to watch !!!!!! Is that car still around ? Anyone know the owner ? Just curious......
Steve, that is Jim Turner#2 from Texas. I believe Jim sold that car in a settlement many years back.I do not know who owns the car now. It sure looked and ran well.
Hmmmm.... Carl, Did Jim Turner's car have a 5-speed in it ? I thought that his car was a Stage 2 with an automatic. Hmmm....you could be right though......
Steve: I don't know if that was Turner's car or not, but the Turner Stage 2 car ended up in the Chicago area to a friend of mine by the name of Pat Sweeny. He did a frame off on it and it is sweet. But, I havn't seen it is a few years now. He did have the iron Stage 2 heads on it too. Regards, Perry Carlini
Nice Ride..... I always wondered what happened to Jim's old car.....I'm glad it went into some "caring hands"...Awesome Car !!!! Hmmmm....I'm almost positive that Jim's car is not the one that I'm thinking of...this car was a 5-speed and man could this guy row the gears !!!!! This car had the old Spyder wheels on it and sat really really low in the front end. Every time the car would hit a gear, the front end would practically come off the ground. I will have to break out some of my old home made GS National videos to see if he is on there.
Found it.... The owner's name was Ed Balling. The car was a partcipant at the 1989 GS Nationals in the Super 16 class. The car was running mid 11's :3gears: Speaking of the 1989 GS Nationals....here is a run down of its Super 16 partcipants and qualifying times: 1). Dave McIntosh 70 GS455 9.69@135MPH 2). Fred Catlin 69 GS400 10.40 3). Luis Gilbert Jr. 80 Skyhawk 10.40 4). Ken Duttweiler 87 GN 10.70 5). James Bryan 69 Camaro 10.93 6). Jim Turner 70 GS Stage 2 11.04 7). Rusty Wilbanks 67 GS400 11.09 8). Dave Mongeon 69 GS400 11.10 9). Rich Brower 70 GS455 11.26 10). Bo Gillespi 70 GS455 11.38 11). Rick Patterson 70 GS Stage1 11.39 12). Mike Nussell 70 GS455 11.45 13). Ed Balling 70 GS455 11.55 14). Rick Martinez 70 GS455 11.55 15). George Hall 80 Buick Wagon 11.60 16). Rob Chielinski 72 GS Stage 1 11.92 I won't say what happened to Rick the first round :sleep: but lets say Rob carried the NorthEast Chapter Banner well :grin:
That was Ed Ballings car,he now runs the beautifull beige convertible stick shift car at Norwalk which used to be the old Dick Baker H/SA. The car runs well into the 10's now.
I bought my 464 short block from Pat Sweeny back in 2004. His GS was in the back of his garage. He said that he had'nt had it out as he didn't have time to run it. He was putting it back to a more stock type configureation. I can't wait to get it running. I keep hearing stories of how bad it ran. This gives me some inspiration. Sorry to bogart your thread Steve.
Ahhh...the old times Sam, Your right.....there were some names in there that I had totally forgotten about. Since we are on the subject of the '89 GS Nationals, your Mom did real well there with her GSX. In fact, I think she even ran faster than you.....Oooops.....I just didn't say that did I :grin: I sure hope that when I'm 70 years young, I will still be able to :3gears: down the track like your Mom !!!! Bill, Thanks for the information. I didn't realize that Ed's current car was Dick Baker's old H/SA car......awesome stuff. Do you know what happened to his old ride ?
"Project 73'" Hey Eric, nice to hear I won't be the only one putting togehter a formidable 73' this year! I haven't driven it for almost 3 years, to many other financial issues to handle, and I refuse to do it half assed. Geoff and Bob at Finishline have been very helpful and tolerant, I definately am not their biggest or best funded customer, I'll be happy if I can just get the engine, converter and some small things done for this year, and enjoy it some! In the future I want to take it all the way down to the frame and really do it right, I went with the Bulldog aluminum heads, and a used but good short block and rotating assembly. Down the line I will add an electric water pump and electric fans with an aluminum Be Cool radiator, but I will keep the power steering. The a/c airbox and ductwork is out (removed very carefully with all components intact and saved) as well as the dash controls and radio, It's a GS clone, and not good or original enough to really brag about, but it's going to be a great "streetable" strip car. If you ever have to, I found out the hard way that most fuel tank companies only make the tank for the '74 and up style (filler neck behind the tag between the tailights versus the filler behind the tag in the bumper) and after I made my own neck while installing an Aeromotive fuel system, I found out that GM still makes the in the bumper style tank, but you have to order it through a Chevy dealer for a 73' Malibu/Chevelle/Laguna or Monte Carlo. Metco makes billet aluminum adjustable rear control arms for the '73-'77 A bodies, at the time when I bought mine, the guy said only two of us in the country had them. The ultimate goal is 10.90's, by the math the car should go low 11's with 590hp, a 28" tire and a 3:73 gear, at 3800 lbs. I plan to use TA's SPX intake, Finishline's oil system, and a 3200 stall converter. I'll be happy if I can get it to the BPG and Indy events, I don't think it will be ready for Norlwalk. I know what you mean about "can't wait"! :laugh: :3gears:
Your right with that Steve. Took me until the 1993 GS Nats to make it down to the finals...didn't snooze, got the big choke red eye Even have a shot of that pass. Anyway a nice shot attached from the 1989 GS Nats running Rich Brower (Coin Operator) in Quick 16 times shots. That was also the last year my GS was street legal. Oh and those bumpers are fiberglass one of the original sets ever made, got them from old time friend and Buick guy Dave Knutsen. Thanks for posting the list :TU:
1989 Man, that brings back memories. Anyone know whatever happened to Rusty Willbanks and or his white '67?
I defenitly remember Ed Ballings ride. One of the few stick cars at the GS Nats not to mention it was a Fast 4 speed car. Way cool!
Memory 1320--- Hi Rick, remember this call..."coin-operated & excelR8 put a quarter in it, and make it go" Ny,Ny--- Sam Geez Rick, Mom will be 92 & I'll be 69 this year--whoa!!!
Yep! They were the good days of late night parties, no internet, no attitudes. Just grab a beer and shoot the bull. Say hello to Mom, God bless her, she is a gem! Hope to see you soon at one of the meets.
Good question,Gary. I asked that question to someone who knows Rusty-Jerry Berger. A few years ago,Jerry was telling me that Rusty still owns the car and he sees him occasionally at the local tracks. Yeah,it's been a long time that I haven't seen Rusty and his 67 GS400.
A few more notables..... After watching the video last night, here are a couple of more names and times: 1). Ken Dielhe 71GS455 11.96@110 2). Dave Senderhauf 67GS400 12.05@109 3). Jim Rorabaugh 70GS455 12.35@108 4). Chuck Strater 70GS455 12.45@106 5). Tommy Rose 71GS455 12.68@105 I believe that was the first true 11 second pass that I witnessed by a "Street Driven" GS. Man was that class fun to watch !!!!!! Trivia Question: One of the above mentioned cars gained a ton of press back in the year 2003......Who's car was it ? Who owns it today ? And what did it do ?
