Ok, I'm admitting ignorance here. Please remember, my car has been in storage for the past 19 years, so I'm just a little out of touch with what's current...but I'm getting there fast. Many years ago, I purchased most of my 455 performance parts from a company called Kenne-Bell Buick. I haven't been able to locate them recently and when I search the web, all I can find is a company that sells aftermarket superchargers. Is Kenne-Bell Buick a "thing of the past?" Are they no longer in business? Where are we buying performance Buick parts now? Did anyone fill in the void left by Kenne-Bell? Many questions, does anyone have answers? Thanks! Paul
You can check with Tim@donleeauto.com in Rancho Cucamonga, I think K-B is still in that area. I had my 455 built there and they used a K-B cam. Anyway, they would know how to get in touch. Dean
If none of these work, let me know. I guy I know is building a twin turbo Malibu and I know he was talking to them about turbos. They are very much still around.
I don't think they do much Buick stuff anymore. Mostly superchargers and Mustang I believe. Paul, TA performance out of Arizona is pretty much the buick performance guru now days. check them out at www.taperformance.com
A couple of years ago I emailed the company trying to reach Jim Bell. I explained that I had some questions about Kenne-Bell Buick parts. I never got a return email even after several attempts.
Spoke with Jim 2 weeks ago and he is going to stop making Buick parts for now. Too busy with the factory conversions and aftermarket parts for supercharging Mustangs and GM products.
That is too bad. What Jim has to understand is the company that He and Lennie Kennedy started years ago should remain selling Buick parts. I know he has the right to discontinue selling his parts,but he should realize that he has a following that he has to maintain. Many of us have done business with Kenne-Bell and have parts in our Buicks that have come from Kenne-Bell. C'mon Jim,how about getting back to your roots and maintaining the product line that put your company on the map in the first place.
Told him he needs to re-evaluate his decision in light of the parts development by TA and Bulldog. We have some real performance parts and Buick is earning the recognition it has always deserved as a performance car. We got respect now!
It's just stupid to jump ship now. If he doesn't want to do cams any more, at least do some induction packages for the big and small blocks! Wouldn't it be nice to be able to buy a bolt-on package for your 350? ________ Side effects from prilosec
Sadly, Im sure the decision was made from a financial standpoint several years ago - the Mustang and F-Body crowd outnumber us prolly 10,000 to 1 I met Jim at a GSCA Nats in the mid-late 90's and at THAT time he wasn't considering anything new for the TriShield crowd....In Fact, he had discontinued making the WildCat Manifold which I believe was their "Last Hurrah" for us
When I originally posted this question, I had a feeling that Kenne-Bell was no longer working with Buicks. It's really too bad because they were great to work with. I bought many things from them and never had any problems. It was "top-notch" performance all the way. Paul
