8 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2019
HORSEPOWER!
500HP, BUDGET BUICK 455
Gilbert Garcia / Hollister, CA
Car Craft is always on the lookout for big horsepower, but we’re also open to
combinations that we don’t see every day. The B.O.P. (Buick, Olds, Pontiac)
contingent doesn’t get much love, so when we found Gilbert Garcia’s ’
Skylark running 11.80s while weighing in at a needle-bending 4,120 pounds,
we had to take a look.
Gilbert got the car for cheap more than two decades ago, but its small-
block’s all-original horsepower was a bit underwhelming. Thankfully, Buick
455s are cheap and plentiful, and Gilbert was able to pluck one out of the
junkyard for a mere $50. The Skylark’s A-body platform is similar to GM’s
Chevelle, which means huge engine bays. The small-block was replaced
with the junkyard 455, and more than 2 seconds off the elapsed time
was the result. In fact, with a $50 engine, Gilbert was able to click off a
13.76-second e.t. on his very first trip to the track.
While it was fun to go 13s in a barge on a junk engine, Gilbert had loftier
goals in mind, so he opened the T/A Performance catalog. Soon, the engine
got a full rebuild by APM Automotive in Morgan Hill, CA. New pistons and a
performance camshaft were installed, as well as intake and exhaust modi-
fications. What makes Gilbert’s engine even cooler is that it was built 16
years ago! He figures he has probably 400 to 500 passes on it in that time,
as well as plenty of street miles. For a $2,500 investment (parts and labor)
a decade and a half ago, we’d say Gilbert did pretty well.By Jason Sands / Photos: Jason Sands
INTAKE, CARB & IGNITION
The basics of Gilbert’s engine combination
reads like it’s from a ’90s PAW catalog. The carb
is an 850-cfm Holley, which gulps air and feeds
it to a T/A Performance intake. The ignition is
pretty simple, too: a Mallory Unilite and MSD
6AL box get the job done.LONG-BLOCK
Gilbert Garcia selected some choice parts for
his rebuild, as stock wasn’t going to cut the
mustard. Big-block Buicks are known for oiling
issues, so the first thing Gilbert did was install
T/A Performance grooved cam bearings and a
high-volume oil pump. A set of 0.030-over T/A
forged pistons were also installed, raising the
compression to around a 10:1 ratio. A T/A Perfor-
mance cam was also stabbed in, which features
238 degrees on the intake, 248 on the exhaust
(at 0.050 inch), and 0.514 inches of lift. Gilbert
ported the heads himself, then installed T/A
Performance 1.6:1-ratio roller rockers.