Record Setting Bombshell 1952 Buick Super Riviera
Straight 8 Buick Bonneville Salt Flats Racer
There are some cars that are near-universally popular. Here’s one.
Jeff Brock, the owner, co-builder and driver of this wicked 1952 Buick Super Riviera showed up at the 2008 Bonneville Speed Week with his Buick and floored spectators and racers alike. Since then, the “Bombshell Buick” has seen some serious metal work to make and re-make it into the, “the sculptural form he favored for creating a fast, furious work of art.” Done.
To help you catch up on where the Buick started, after finding it in an abandoned lumber mill near Phoenix, here’s a few build pictures, then we’ll catch up with Brock’s plans for this year.
Here’s how she looked when purchased. Jeff says, “Our “first date” … bofore shot. Her ass was fat …I played hard to get.”
Here’s a great shot of the Buick nose before modification. Most of the GREAT shots featured here were taken by Gunther Maier. (If I’m using someone else’s shot, please tell me)
From here, we better fill you in on Brock’s plans for 2012 Bonneville Speed Week:
“Yes, we’re running in the XO/GCC racing class. That’s a gas powered, competition coupe with the “XO”, a vintage engine category . We hold the current SCTA Bonneville record at 141.821 set at Bonneville Speed World in 2010.
For this year, here’s a brief list of the 2012 mods. Primarily added : Aero-dropped nose job using a sectioned, flipped 1959 Dodge truck bumper, built a full belly pan, full lexan front fender skirts and body side skirts. Then we had Roger Kraus racing (of California race tire fame), radically shave and balance her tires. I also drilled 3 lbs of mass weight out of my rear Rally America, custom made LSR wheels and turned 20 pounds (YES… 20) of cast iron and factory balance weights off of the rear 9″ 1969 T-Bird brake drums. We did some of these mods for Bonneville World Finals, last year, but got rained out.
We test ran her at the El Mirage season final in November. She ran real good. but it is only a 1.3 mile course. Our record is 141 (in 3 miles) at Bonneville and we ran 143.7 (in 1.3 miles) on our test runs at El Mirage. Do the math… we should kick it ! Wish us luck!”
Here’s what “Rained out” looks like at Bonneville:
I’ve never been to Bonneville in October. Dig the snow in the background and the rust on the unfinished metal. Jeff’s hard core to pull the car out for these photo-ops!
Here’s a few more photos to help ease the “salt fever” until I can get my own shots of Brock and the Bombshell in about a week. Thanks to Jeff for letting me nab these photos.
Testing at El Mirage.
An older, but so cool photo of Jeff gettin ready on the salt
1952 Buick Bombshell. Sexy from any angle
Judging from the older style front end, an older photo of the Buick at speed.
Jeff’s Buick has inspired a few art pieces. If you’re smitten by the Jeff’s rolling artwork, check out the artwork & t-shirts found here on Jeff’s home page. This piece by Deb Howard-Rauls is done with graphite pencil/colored pencils and ink.
See ya on the salt for Speed Week 2012!
Click here for all of MyRideisMe.com’s Bonneville Salt Flat coverage plus rules info and a little history.
Tags
Related Posts
Share This
This is one stellar transformation! Some Bad ass Bonneville.
THANKS folks,
We are super stoked, locked and loaded, ready for SCTA SPEEDWEEK 2012.
Thanks Craig Pike , friends and fans.
Hope to see you there!
Jeff,
You outdid yourself with these modifications! Pretty soon you’ll have it down to about 24″ high and 35′ long. Best of luck at SpeedWeek.
Wayne
Hey Wayne,
you about nailed it brother !!!
Wait till you see her new and improved, slender bodied “Evil Twin”
Seriously.
Bwaahahhaaaa! (she said)
Jeff: Congrats! The 141 mph previous records were far surpassed at over 156! I hope we can learn more about the specs of “The World’s Fastest Straight-Eight Buick” here or at BaT or both. I’m curious if you have stock 320 cu in displacement, transmission, rear-end, and chassis info.
Thanks also to pikesan, Gunther Maier, and http://www.myrideisme.com for this fantastic article, great pics and art-work!
I like this Buick, it makes me think of this is how a “Diesel Punk” Hot Rod would look.
162.481 mph on the 17th per the unofficial final event records!
That has got to be “The World’s Fastest Straight-Eight Buick!”
That is one awesome looking fat bottom girl.
She looks like something out of Mad Max Road Warriors.
All the best at Bonneville.
Back in the 60s the old timers would tell me the straight 8 was used alot in the 40s and 50s but was prone to brake the crankshafts due to its length. Looks like you dont have that problem. Was wondering if you have found a way to create a 4-bolt main for your crankshafts? I know that there are Ford V8 flatheads available now with 4-bolt mains. Love the pics and congrats on your success. Cant wait for pics of the twin.
Hi Bruce,
We’ll have pictures of the twin as soon as they’re available. Jeff Brock is a great guy and very approachable. If you’re at Bonneville, ask him your question. OR, I can ask him to get in touch with you? -pikesan
Bruce: If we don’t hear a reply from Jeff here you also could write to him with a cmt or message at his Face Book page, “Jeff Brock.”
https://www.facebook.com/rocketheads
I wrote a cmt there on one of his pics and he shortly cmtd there w the answer.
Thanks also pikesan for this web page. My first car was a 1952 Buick Special 4 door sedan so I have been highly interested since first hearing of Jeff’s 52 Buick.
Incidentally Bruce, the Buick straight 8’s in varied cu inch and two block designs was std to all Buicks from about 1937-1952. 53 was a changeover year with Specials having the last of the straight eights as all other Buicks got the new nail head V8. All through the 37-52 time frame the Buick straight eights were a valve in head design while many American cars had less efficient flat head designs.
Perhaps Jeff’s engine builder or some other fan of Buick Straight 8s will give us some cmts on the crankshaft breakage issue. I can tell you that both with the Dynaflow in my 52 Buick and later with a three speed std transmission in a 1951 Special 2 door sedan my two straight *s were among the smoothest running best balanced motors. I had no problems with those engines in ordinary street use. They probably never had anything more done to them than usual tune up maintenance. Buick Straight 8s are famous for being able to balance a quarter in edge sitting atop the engine..
There is a Wikipedia article that provides specs on Buick Strt 8s from 1931-1953 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Straight-8_engine
http://www.teambuick.com/reference/buick_8_engine_specs.php provides very detailed specs for 1952 Buck 263 and 320 straight eight Buick engines. The information has been directly complied from the original 1952 Buick service manual.
HenryJ, you’re welcome! That’s what MyRideisMe.com is for… helping each other out and enjoying our rides. Jeff is a solid dude and it wouldn’t surprise me if he told you everything you needed to know and then some. I just saw him at 2014 Grand National Roadster Show and he was stoked and humbled to be in the Bonneville hall with all the heavy-hitting record setters. Let me know if you need help reaching Jeff. Thanks!! – pikesan
I used to put Hudson flathead 6 spark plugs in my 1947 HD Knucklehead because they were a hotter plug. That was in 1965. The oval dirt track guys were big on the Hudson 6. My neighbor was a mechanic at the Buick dealership in Wichita Ks. and he loved my old 1940 4 door Buick. Straight 8 overhead valve, three on a tree. We had more fun in that $20 car. I painted it black and put baby moons on it, cut the muffler off and aggravated my dad alot. No money for a cam or oversized pistons, etc. I was 16 and broke.