Friends of Buick: Buick Power

"With Buick, we sold the assurance that the power to perform was there.

Power sold Buick, and made it what it is today."

So wrote General Motors founder Billy Durant in the 1930s (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

Indeed, as the automaker exclaimed in a 1936 advertisement, "there was never a Buick built as a mere means of transport!" Performance with class, for Buick, is vital.

Yet, as author and National Buick Expert Brad Conley writes, "performance means many different things to different people.

"It could mean longevity of service (reassurance) or neck-snapping acceleration. For Buick, it was usually the former, where the purchaser was assured many years of trouble-free service."

Independent quality surveys yesterday and today will point to the Buick as a fiercely reliable automobile.

Yet Buick has also built cars with eager power. After all, did Louis Chevrolet - who helped William C. Durant found Chevrolet Motor Co. - not achieve fame as a Buick racing driver?

Was, in 1953, Buick's 8.5:1 compression ratio not the highest in all of Detroit?

Did the 1958 Buick's new 364 cubic-inch V8 pack up to a 10:1 compression ratio, and as much as three hundred horsepower?

Has the 1970 Buick GS455 Stage 1 not been ranked as one of the top three fastest muscle cars of all time, and was the 1986 Buick Grand National not the fastest American production car of its day?

Most importantly, Buick power is delivered in smooth, easy symphony. Even as about 85% of all Buicks built were equipped with automatics, this was no ordinary automatic box; rather, Buick's Dynaflow was the industry leader.

It starts with the turn of the twentieth-century, as Buick embarked upon a course that would give it a reputation as an engine innovator. The Buick valve-in-head engine was powerful; reliable, and developed more horsepower per liter than anything else in 1903. It would be emulated countless times over.

Today, as we have entered the Millennium, every Buick produces at least two hundred brake horsepower - and Rainier with its V8, three hundred.

Thus, three aspects of Buick power stand out: strong numbers; smooth delivery, and steadfast longevity.

Discover Buick Power, by the Numbers

Today, every 2006 Buick offers two hundred brake horsepower or more. The 2006 Lucerne and 2006 Rainier offer eight-cylinder power, with Rainier mustering three hundred horsepower.

This is a legacy of power that begins in 1904, when Buick became the first to patent the valve-in-head internal combustion engine (patent #771,095). With its valves located in the top of the combustion chamber, unlike the L-head and T-head engines of contemporaries, the Buick engine was superior in horsepower per liter.

Writes author Lawrence R. Gustin, "the Buick design was more efficient than engines with other valve configurations. It was powerful and reliable, and eventually the entire industry would make use of the principle" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

Buick Chief Engineer Walter Marr would explain of this triumph, thirty years later, that "compression in a valve-in-head motor bears directly on the pistons, without any loss in jumping from valve chamber to valve chamber.

"It's from 20 to 25% more powerful and efficient in performance" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

Today, GM engineer and vintage Buick enthusiast Kevin Kirbitz ventures, "the evidence indicates that Buick, as depicted in the Richard engine patent, was the first manufacturer to successfully integrate all of the elements of what is today commonly regarded as the overhead-valve engine, including valve placement; valve-train operation, and engine cooling.

"It is this combination of ideas which set the Buick engine apart from its contemporaries" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

The upshot? The Buick was one hot horseless carriage! "Jesse James would have never been caught if there had been a Buick in those days," one Buick dealership suggested in a 1905 advertisement.

Buick's first four-cylinder followed in the 1907 Model D.

That motor took Buick to victory after victory in competitive hill climb events and, by 1906, Buick celebrated with the production of its first two-door car: the Model G runabout. That year, Buicks won a pair of 100-mile races in New York. The Buick Racing Team would win more than five hundred trophies from 1908 to 1910, including major victories at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway in its first, 1909 season.

In 1909, Buick won 166 events, over ninety percent of those it entered.

In Lowell, Massachusetts of 1910, almost a century ago, crowds would gather to watch the revolutionary Buick Bugs

take seven of ten events in three days of National Stock Chassis racing.

In these heady, early days, a corporate publication (the Buick Bulletin) once reported a Buick victory in a tug-of-war with an elephant!

By 1913, Buick held several AAA speed records, thirty of which would still stand a decade later. On July 17^th, 1913, a Buick Model 10 of 1910 vintage became the first car to climb Pike's Peak unassisted. All Buicks had four-cylinder power this year.

Buick launched its first six-cylinder (a 48bhp unit) in 1914, an appropriate move for its larger cars. 1916 saw it renewed, and cast in a single-piece block. It was now Buick's only engine.

Although a new four-cylinder was introduced for 1917, it was predominantly the six-cylinder that would carry the marque through the 1920s. It also, in modified form, carried racing driver Joe Nikrent to 108.24 mph on April 17^th, 1923, near Muroc, California.

Reshaped hemispherical combustion chambers were introduced for 1928, before the overhead-valve straight-eight came to all 1931 Buicks.

This made Buick the first mass-producer of automobiles to adopt eight-cylinder engines exclusively. Indeed, by the Thirties, no gangster worth chasing would be caught in anything less than a Buick.

By placing the Fireball Eight straight-8 into its lightest, smallest Century range in 1931 Buick preempted the muscle car craze by thirty years: this was a large engine in a lighter and smaller package, with sparkling performance indeed. Buick would hold the title of GM's performance division until Oldsmobile's later Rocket 88 OHV V8 and, later still, Pontiac's 1964 GTO.

In 1936, the Buick straight-eights received lighter, more durable Anolite pistons, reducing weight and improving performance. For 1938, domed high-compression pistons debuted for the engine now designated Dynaflash. A period production Buick Century was clocked at 103 mph!

1952 was the last year of the Buick straight-eight. Then - with the 1953 Buick Skylark; Roadmaster, and Series 50 Super - came the Buick V8: the engine they called, the nailhead.

V8 production in the United States practically doubled between 1948 and 1952. Buick noticed. Contemporary styling trends were integrating the headlamps and fenders with the hood for a more compact look, and - as authors Dunham and Gustin put it - "the increased rigidity of a V engine was certainly more suitable for the higher compression ratios made available with improved fuels" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002). Development of the 90-degree Buick V8 began in 1944 under Chief Engineer Charles A. Chayne; Engine Designer Joe Turlay, and John F. Crouter.

Hiding the ongoing work in plain sight, the 1951 Buick XP-300 Concept, with a 335 horsepower, 215 cubic-inch, supercharged V8 motor under its dome, was said to have managed 140mph in the hands of Buick general manager Ivan Wiles.

The final 188 horsepower, 322 cubic-inch production unit was first available in 1952. The Buick V8 was perhaps the most popular engine with hot-rodders in the 1950s and 1960s because the vertical attachment of the valve covers (versus the angled attachment of other V8s) enabled the engine to fit into smaller spaces while maintaining easy access for maintenance.

By 1954, the B-Body Century - the most affordable rung on the Buick ladder - boasted the highest horsepower per pound of any car at its price, courtesy a 195 horsepower 322 ci V8. "One of the three fastest American stock cars," said reviewer Floyd Clymer of the Century. That engine would bump to 236 horsepower for 1955; 255 horsepower for 1956, and a milestone 300hp for 1957. Historian and car designer Jeffrey I. Godshall has called Century the "classiest family hot rod since the original Ford V8" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

For 1955, every Buick got a 20% bump in horsepower, with the addition of four-barrel carburetion for the first time. Compression ratios in top Buicks were boosted to 9.0:1. Aluminum connecting rod bearings were a Buick first. A new camshaft provided longer valve opening and higher exhaust lift, while improved pistons reduced friction loss.

By 1956, every Buick featured the 322-cubic-inch engine, with two-barrel carburetor in the Special, and four-barrel for Century; Super, and Roadmaster. Now, no other American car - not even the Chrysler 300 - could match Motor Trend's 9.8-second 0-60mph time with a Buick Century. Science & Mechanics reported the same results.

By 1960, Buick compression was running at 10.25:1 (although an economy engine, with the 9.0:1 compression, continued to be offered).

Then, of course, there were the Buick muscle cars of the Sixties. The Buick Way was easy power wrapped in evergreen aesthetics. Skylark, new for 1962 as a Y-Body, switched to A-Body for 1964 to provide the basis for the mighty Gran Sport line.

The Buick Gran Sports won Cars' Performance Cars of the Year award.

For 1962, the Buick 401-cubic-inch V8 produced 325 horsepower in the Invicta and Electra. For 1964, a 425-cubic-inch V8 put out 340 horsepower; for 1965, 360 horsepower. So equipped, the 360 horsepower 1965 Riviera Gran Sport could hit sixty miles per hour from rest in seven seconds.

After the success of Pontiac's 1964 GTO, GM relaxed its ban on larger-displacement engines in the corporate A-Body chassis. Buick thus mounted its 325-horsepower 401-cubic-inch engine in its A-Body Gran Sport, now producing a best-in-class 445 foot-pounds of torque in part thanks to its cubic-inch advantage over Pontiac's mill. Buick would often refer to it as the Wildcat 445.

"If an owner wanted to do some serious drag racing with his Gran Sport, he could purchase a dual-carburetor manifold and a pair of four-barrel carbs from his Buick parts man," reminisce authors Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom, adding, tongue-in-cheek, "when a better muscle cars is built, Buick will build it" (Muscle: America's Legendary Performance Cars, Leffingwell & Holmstrom, MBI, 2006).

For 1966, Wildcat Gran Sport offered 340 horsepower with Positraction rear differential.

Then, for 1968, came the all-new Buick 400-cubic-inch V8, rated - with 11.0:1 compression - at 340 brake horsepower (@ 5,000rpm) and 440 foot-pounds of torque (@ 3,200rpm).

Derived from it, a 430-cubic-inch motor mustered 360 brake horsepower (and 475 foot-pounds of torque). Both peak horsepower figures were produced at 5,000rpm; torque, at 2,800rpm and 3,200rpm. The new motors replaced the 401 and 425.

"The Riviera GS is the outstanding performer of the group," said Motor Trend, testing Buick's 430-equipped '68 luxury coupé against its Cadillac Eldorado; Ford Thunderbird; Pontiac Grand Prix, and Oldsmobile Toronado competition (Motor Trend, August 1967). The test revealed that, surprisingly enough, Riviera's 3.42:1 axle ratio was the shortest in the group, while both its 3.57 steering turns (lock-to-lock) and its fuel economy compared favorably.

Also for 1968, the 340-cubic-inch V8 would evolve into the 350, drawing from lessons learned on the big-blocks. The 1968 GS350 enjoyed the engine, and for 1969 added a cold air induction system that boosted horsepower by 8%, and increased torque by 6½%.

Yet Buick was not done.

With the 1970 Buick GS455 Stage 1, one of the all-time great muscle cars was born: a coupé with a modified version of Buick's new 455 cubic-inch V8, complete with high-lift cam; dual exhaust; heavy-duty valve springs; positraction, and functional hood scoops.

Horsepower? 360 (or so they said - experts have since rated this rather higher!)

Torque? 519 foot-pounds, one of the highest torque ratings of any engine ever to power a muscle car.

"One of the great engines of the muscle car era," recall authors Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom (Muscle: America's Legendary Performance Cars, Leffingwell & Holmstrom, MBI, 2006).

"It's the enthusiast's machine you've been asking us to build," said Buick at the time, offering an extra heavy-duty Rallye suspension with front and rear stabilizers and front disc brakes atop the performance options available on lesser GS models.

So respected is the 1970 GS 455 Stage 1 that it ranked third in a list of the 50 Fastest Muscle Cars, published in the November 1984 issue of CAR REVIEW (now MUSCLECAR REVIEW). The GS came in just behind a 427 Corvette and 427 Cobra.

"In their Stage 1 option - which costs $325.44 and includes dual exhaust; special engine and transmission components; higher performance axle; special instruments, and heavy-duty handling pieces - Buick has one of the best - if not the best - performance packages now obtainable from Detroit," gushed Hot Rod magazine (Hot Rod, February 1972).

Meanwhile, the 1970 Buick Riviera also gained in displacement, to 455 cubic inches.

1975 saw the installation of the Buick V6 in the Skyhawk.

This smallest Buick in sixty years was powered by the same engine that made its compact Skylark stablemate the only compact on the market with a V6 engine. Skyhawk turned in 30 mpg on the highway. Buick's lead in producing a V6 had resulted in a motor that could squeeze into smaller compartments than an inline-6, and the advantages were palpable.

The advantages of Buick's V6 were all the more evident when one looked at the figures turned-in by, say, the 1975 Mercedes-Benz 280 S. A two-ton car with a 2.7-liter DOHC inline-6, the Mercedes - saddled with the burden of meeting California's 1975 emissions limits - managed just 15 mpg overall in a Road & Track test, while its 120 brake horsepower labored to 60 mph in 16.3 seconds, and took more than twenty seconds to crack the ¼-mile (Road & Track, March 1975).

Meanwhile, testing Buick's Skylark V6 - similar in weight - in the same issue, Road & Track measured an overall average of 21 mpg.

Also in 1975, as it had in 1939 and 1959, Buick again paced the Indianapolis 500. It would do so, too, in 1976 (with an engine whose turbocharger tripled its horsepower); in 1981, and in 1983

becoming the domestic leader in turbocharging in the meantime. "This may well be the most technically sophisticated powerplant ever to appear at the Speedway, in a pace car or the race!" enthused Buick general manager Lloyd E. Reuss of the 1983 Riviera Pace Car's turbocharged 4.1-liter V6.

1978 had been the first year for Regal's availability with a turbocharged engine, rated at either 150 or 165 brake horsepower. Another five horsepower had been added to the latter, four-barrel carbureted version for 1979, and Riviera mustered 185 brake horsepower, thanks to its front-wheel-drive layout permitting the relocation of the turbo to a cooler location at the rear of the engine, with quicker engine response due to shorter plumbing.

"Interestingly enough, that 185 bhp puts the Riviera's 0-60 mph time spot-on with the Saab Turbo we tested... and is particularly impressive when you consider the Riviera is a 3,900lb car," mused Road & Track of the 1979 Riviera S-Type (Road & Track, March 1979).

It was firmly with forced induction that Buick moved into the Eighties.

The turbocharged 3.8-liter now put out 55% more horsepower than its non-turbocharged counterpart; 36% more horsepower than the non-turbocharged 4.1-liter V6, and 21% more horsepower than the big, 5.0-liter non-turbocharged V8.

The best was yet to come. Buick won the NASCAR Winston Cup in 1981 and 1982, and it would celebrate by returning performance to the road with a model that is revered today.

The legendary Grand National label was first applied to a Buick Regal that made a February 1982 run at Daytona. A forerunner of one of the most sought-after 1980s Buicks, the Daytona car was powered by a turbocharged 4.1-liter V6 with four-barrel carburetor, sporting silver-gray and charcoal-gray paint with red accent stripes; a T-Top roof; blackout grille and trim; air dam, and rear spoiler.

As Buick was flooded with prospective interest in a production turbocharged Grand National, a series of T-Type variants permeated through its 1983 range. Even the subcompact, front-wheel-drive, second-generation Skyhawk was offered as a T-Type, powered by an overhead-cam 1.8-liter four-cylinder through a five-speed manual with short 3.83:1 axle ratio, and shutting the air compressor off automatically under full throttle (so as not to drain away needed power).

Those who had been impressed with the Grand National at Daytona in February, 1982, were stunned when Buick paced the 1983 Indianapolis 500 with a twin-turbo 4.1-liter V6-powered Riviera, churning out 450 horsepower.

Turbocharged Buicks were available in the showroom, with the 1985 Skyhawk developing 150 horsepower in a car weighing just 2,295 lbs.

Buick may have been producing turbocharged automobiles for some years but, clearly, the time had come to up the stakes. Grand National came alive with forced induction - and to Buick dealerships - for 1984. As The Standard Times reminisced recently, "a group of serious engineering gearheads with fond memories of a bygone era; sufficient time on their hands, and tongues of silver managed to convince the brass that a high-performance revival would be good for the old corporate image - and a whole lot of fun, to boot" ('Bold Buick Beauty,' Malcolm Gunn, The Standard Times, May 17^th, 2006).

The '84 Grand National featured a turbocharged and fuel-injected, 200 horsepower @ 4,000rpm V6 (LM9). With 300 foot-pounds of torque @ 2,400rpm, routed to a 3.42:1 posi-traction rear end, the black Grand National made the most of its 15 psi of boost.

The 1986 Grand National gained 35 horsepower and 30 foot-pounds of torque, thanks to an air-to-air intercooler; turbo adjustments and the relocation of the turbo to a spot nearer the right-side exhaust manifold to reduce lag, and redesigned upper and lower intake manifolds, and exhaust. A redesigned front air-dam allowed cool air to reach the intercooler duct.

It was the fastest American production car in the country that year, and its glow would reverberate across the Buick line.

For 1985, the 3.8-liter with multi-port fuel injection (MFI) had come to the Century T-Type. Meanwhile, the Grand National name (dating back to a moniker used by NASCAR prior to Winston's sponsorship of the cup) was applied to the LeSabre for 1986, with the same motor. That LeSabre Grand National, celebrating the switch of its mainstream nameplate to front-wheel-drive, is among the most prized turbocharged Buicks produced in this era: just 117 were built.

Meanwhile, approximately 2,100 Regal Grand Nationals were sold in 1986, and 20,000 in 1987. The 1987 Grand National managed 245 brake horsepower @ 4,400rpm and 355 foot-pounds of torque @ 2,000rpm.

As legislative edict emasculated our engineers and our automobiles, Buick boldly burst through the fray with a car that was just plain mean without being the least bit cantankerous.

The turbo gained a larger housing; dynamic oil seals for less drag, and a lighter, ceramic turbine. The shape and number of fins in the intercooler were changed for greater fin density and effectiveness.

With its maximum boost upped from 15 psi to 16 psi; with its cylinder heads redesigned; with a transmission cooler added, and with beefed-up suspension and tires to match, the 1987 GNX came with every option save for T-Tops (or a sunroof), with ASC McLaren adding 16-inch wheels; fender flares, and portholes. Faster than the Corvette, just 547 GNXs were produced. The Pontiac Trans Am, and GMC Syclone and Typhoon, benefited.

The car had been chipped, turning fuel injection less rich at full throttle. Turbo boost began at 16.0 psi in 1^st and 2^nd gears; reached 14.0 psi in 3^rd, and leveled off at 10.0 psi in 4^th.

Buick never released a horsepower rating for the Grand National GNX, but it has been estimated at between 276 and 300 bhp (@ 4,400rpm), with 360-to-420 foot-pounds of torque @ 2,400rpm. The GNX managed 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds, and the 1/4 mile in as few as 13.43 seconds @ 103 mph. Only the Porsche 911 Turbo was quicker.

A GNX could outpace a Corvette both to 60 mph, and in the quarter-mile. It drew considerable attention from the press. Wrote Road & Track Editor-at-Large John Lamm, "it's this easy: find a lonely stretch of straight road, preferably a drag strip. Make certain the engine of the Buick Grand National GNX is up to temperature. Hold your left foot lightly on the brake while your right foot presses down gently on the accelerator. Engine revs will climb as you take up the slack in the torque converter. The car will try to move forward. You might have to press a bit harder ton the brake to keep the GNX stationary, but be subtle, almost gentle.

"Then slam the gas pedal down as you lift off the brake. The back of the Buick will slew a bit as the fat tires scratch for traction, but keep your foot down because the Goodyears will quickly grab and send you rushing down the road.

"And that was a gentle run" (Road & Track, June 1987).

Lamm estimated that "in this era of too many same-same cars, there are precious few that will be the serious special interest cars of the future... this is one of them."

He was right. Today, Grand Nationals are rare enough; the GNX - produced in numbers of just 547 - is rarer still. A low-mileage stock Grand National recently sold on eBay for more than $70,000.

"Today the cars have developed a cult status, in part because of what they were capable of when new, but mostly because of their potential... with the addition of a few electronic components and a bit of fuel injection tweaking, the engines were capable of producing more than twice (their original rated) horsepower," explain authors Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom (Muscle: America's Legendary Performance Cars, Leffingwell & Holmstrom, MBI, 2006).

As the GNX debuted, a new 2.0-liter turbocharged motor slot-in under the hood of the 1987 Skyhawk, now producing 165 horsepower for a power-to-weight ratio that rather belied its sub-$10,000 price tag.

The Grand National engine would power a slew of tuned prototype Buicks in the late-1980s, released to a stunned media who found that a Buick Estate station wagon, so powered by an estimated 328 horsepower, could run the quarter-mile in 13.82 seconds!

This engine would evolve into the 3800 for 1990 - a motor that would become famous through the coming decade. It was, said the company, "the smoothest; most sophisticated production V6 ever used in a Buick."

The 3800 would feature under the hood of Buick's first bespoke production sports car: the Reatta.

Then, a Buick Reatta prototype turbocharged the 3800 for 245hp, powering the rear wheels - albeit that this attempt increased weight to nearly 4,000lbs, turning the Reatta more outright muscular than finessed.

The 1995-1999 Riviera

was the flagship, matching a supercharged 3800 Series II capable of up to 240 horsepower and 280 foot-pounds of torque with the fluidity of a semi-trailing rear and honed stabilizers at both ends. The supercharger helped Riviera deliver the horsepower and torque figures often associated with a V8, with instant, lag-free response.

For more on the continuous development of the legendary 3800, you might enjoy The Life and Times of the 90-degree Buick V6.

If a V8 was what the Buick buyer of the Nineties wanted, one could be found in the 1991-1996 Roadmaster - and, from 1994, what a V8 it was! The 5.7-liter (350 cid) LT1 powerplant derived from Corvette, producing 260 horsepower.

By 1998, Buick had dropped four-cylinder cars for good - and its entry-level Century

(partly by virtue of its standard V6) was perhaps the most value-packed car in its class.

The 2000, supercharged Regal GS

boasted the most power in its class. "Plenty more involving to drive than a top-line Camry," wrote Ward's Engine Update.

Most recently, Buick showed its Velite Concept at the 2004 New York International Auto Show, with a 400 horsepower @ 6,200rpm, twin-turbocharged, 3.6-liter motor with Variable Valve Timing (VVT) under its forward-folding hood, putting out 400 foot-pounds of torque (at an accessible 3,200rpm) through a six-speed automatic.

Today, every 2006 Buick offers at least two hundred brake horsepower. The 2006 Lucerne and 2006 Rainier offer eight-cylinder power, with Rainier mustering three hundred horsepower.

Buick performance clubs abound. The Chicagoland Chapter GSCA (which also welcomes 3800 Supercharged Buicks) and the Skylark Drive (the Florida West Coast chapter of the Gran Sport Club of America) cater to Buick Gran Sport owners.

For Regal; Grand National, and Grand National GNX owners, the New England Buick Racing Association maintains an on-line community.

Grand National meets GS at the Northeast GS/ GN club, and at the Michigan Buick Performance Club, which caters to all performance Buicks.

The Buick Street Rod Association of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is dedicated to promoting street-rodding activities of owners of pre-1949 modified Buicks.

Since 1996, the Houston Buick Club has catered to Buick performance car owners at tech sessions; test & tune days at the drag strip; cruise nights, and car shows.

Seamless, effortless delivery is a critical aspect of Buick power. So, too, is the intelligent application of power.

"No argument about it: Buick didn't start the performance-car movement," once admitted Hot Rod magazine, albeit qualifying the comment with, "but they seem to be the only automaker able to hang on to performance and deliver clean air at the same time" (Hot Rod, February 1972).

Discover Buick Power, by its Delivery

In the last few years, General Motors Vice Chairman Robert A. Lutz has overseen the evolution of GM's proving ground at Milford, Michigan, including modifications fashioned after the famed Nurbürgring road course in Germany.

It should be of no surprise. Buick, you see, has long been as concerned about the delivery and management of power as about absolute numbers.

In 1911, models with planetary transmissions received an automatic high-speed clutch release, while the new selective transmission was less noisy. A centrifugal water pump was given to the bigger Buicks, as well as a new dual ignition system. A plunger pump replaced the former gear pump. Buick power, by this time legendary, was now controlled by a foot-operated accelerator.

In 1912, grease cups were fitted to the pivot pins of all rocker arms; spark plugs were more conveniently secured in the cylinders at a 45-degree angle (instead of horizontally); brakes were redesigned for ease of service and were now pedal-operated, and the gear-shift lever was moved inside the body.

Buick engines were now all mated to a three-speed selective sliding gear, replacing the planetary transmission across the range.

For 1916, the Buick Six received an aluminum manifold, and a new clutch shaft fashioned of a single piece of steel integral with the constant mesh pinion of the gearset, reducing rattles through the use of a light aluminum center cone and three small springs rather than one, heavy large one. An interlocking device on the gearshift prevented the accidental simultaneous engagement of two gears.

In 1917, Buick advertised that its engine's "small; simple; compact combustion chamber with the smallest possible water-jacketed space" gave it a "more perfect combustion than other types of motors; a quicker ignition of the charge, and a smaller loss of heat through the water jackets.

"The sum of these advantages is more power and less gasoline consumption" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

Two years later, the plunger-type oil pump was replaced by a gear unit.

Testing a new Buick in March 1920, British motoring magazine The Motor wrote, "in the thickest traffic, it appears possible to pick up from practically a walking pace without easing the clutch, and this without any indication of unwillingness on the part of the engine.

"One can distinctly feel the invisible gate when changing gear, so that there is practically no risk of a noisy or faulty change being made."

When the all-eight-cylinder Buick line-up appeared for 1931

the new straight-eights were equipped with an oil temperature regulator that cooled the oil at high speeds and warmed it in cold weather. Regular improvements to lubrication and cooling would follow.

Yet power, as an Italian tire company used to say, is nothing without control. Moreover, Buick's power delivery has long been characterized by attention to transmissions.

Synchromesh gearboxes became standard at Buick in 1932;

knee-action independent front suspension, in 1934 (designed by former Rolls-Royce engineer Maurice Olley), and hydraulic brakes, in 1936.

Hydraulic brakes were indeed welcome; a 1936 Buick could easily top one hundred miles per hour (as indeed was promised by the Century nameplate).

In the years that followed, the Buick engine would become a master of velvety, instant response; something that prompted Buick to investigate the semi-automatic Self-Shifting transmission for 1938, offering low-range (first and second) and high-range (first; third, and fourth) switches before plunging again into the wartime effort.

After World War II, Buick resumed straight-eight production, now with the refinement of a two-speed automatic transmission in the shape of the Roadmaster Riviera.

New for 1953, the Buick V8 was a Buick engine through and through. "GM's sound laboratories rated it the quietest in several model reports," write authors Dunham and Gustin (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

Equipped with the new engine, the 1953 Skylark - today highly collectible - was the first Buick to offer power steering and power brakes.

The new Twin-Turbine DynaFlow unit accentuated the forward, silken sweep of its V8 power delivery with a smooth swell. DynaFlow was the industry's first torque converter automatic transmission. Its twin turbines in the torque converter between pump and stator were said to increase torque output by ten percent, providing faster and quieter acceleration at reduced engine speeds.

A year later, Buick worked further on its propulsion characteristics, borrowing the airplane principle of variable pitch propulsion to change the pitch of the blades deep inside the Dynaflow unit. As in a propeller which had one pitch for quick take-off and fast climbing, and another for economy in the cruising range, this gave the Buick the intelligence to cope with different driving conditions: an intelligence that had and has been a characteristic of the marque. "When you press the gas pedal to the floor board," Buick explained, "twenty spinning stator blades change their pitch in DynaFlow oil to produce a liquid-smooth safety-surge of power for quick passes and instant getaway... hold the pedal at cruising speed, and you get brand-new gasoline savings."

In 1958, Buick invested $86 million in tooling to produce Flight Pitch Dynaflow, or triple-turbine. Three turbines instead of two proposed to increase torque output. Although stopwatches confirmed the improvement, drivers felt as though the transmission was slipping. Buick eventually pulled back.

By the '60s, the Buick automatic had gained a hill-climb range. The Buick automatic even applied its torque-converter clutch to reduce heat build-up in heavy going, and reduced engine spark to reduce the stress on the transmission under abusive shifts. For 1976, the Buick automatic featured an altitude compensator, providing smooth shifting at various elevation.

Again, absolute numbers are not as critical at Buick as the intelligence with which they are delivered. The 215 cubic inch V8 in the 1961 Buick Special was the first mass-produced aluminum V8 in an American-built passenger car. It carried forward the experimental aluminum eight-cylinders used in the XP-300 Concept and LeSabre Concept, proving that Buick had learned from its magnificent concept cars. The engine weighed just 318 pounds, despite producing 155 brake horsepower. 0.487 horsepower per pound gave Special's motor the industry's highest horsepower-to-weight ratio. Road & Track called it "an absolute jewel." Sports Cars Illustrated's Karl Ludvigsen suggested that it would be America's "most widely copied engine in the next ten years," and mused that "a highly typical imported car engine, the 1.6-liter Volvo four, weighs almost exactly the same as this remarkable V8, at less than half the displacement!"

The Special Skylark offered a four-barrel version of this engine, rated at 200 horsepower.

With 30% of Americans buying compacts, Buick introduced the first U.S. mass-produced V6 for the 1962 Buick Special. A 198-cubic-inch engine, it was fifty pounds lighter than the period Chevrolet 194-cubic-inch inline-6, yet produced 12.5% more horsepower (and 33% more horsepower than the inline-six in Ford's Fairlane). The engine would help Special gain Motor Trend's Car of the Year award for 1962, the magazine citing "pure progress in design; originative engineering excellence, and the power concept for the future expressed in America's only V6 automobile engine."

Buick would use the motor through 1967; sell it to Kaiser Jeep, and reprise it later in 1974.

By the turn of the '70s, Buick would deliver what Hot Rod magazine called "one of the best - if not the best - performance packages now obtainable from Detroit:" the GS455 Stage 1 (Hot Rod, February 1972).

Yet Hot Rod was careful to note that "Buick's GS isn't likely to offend anyone, even an ecology major.

"New to Buick's 455 is Exhaust Gas Recirculation. This is a system whereby a portion of the exhaust is recirculated back into the induction system from passages in the intake manifold. Exhaust gases pass through a metering valve and into the manifold to dilute the fuel/ air mixture.

"The result of this is lowered combustion temperatures so the production of oxides of nitrogen is reduced" (Hot Rod, February 1972).

In this effort, Buick was a year ahead of nationwide requirements, Hot Rod noted.

Moreover, the Stage 1 offered a 3.42:1 rear axle ratio, even with air conditioning. Hot Rod commented on the significance of this, writing, "most automakers prefer to hold rear gears near the 3.00:1 mark with air so the compressor pulley doesn't get to belt-slinging speed.

"Buick's Stage 1 proves this doesn't have to be a problem" (Hot Rod, February 1972).

Those who did not opt for Buick's flagship performance car still found what the division called total performance; and, indeed, Road Test magazine concurred that the 1971 Buick Centurion (for instance) delivered "a high level of total performance... (of) that combination of acceleration; top speed; stopping; cornering; ride, and comfort which establish a car's operational personality" (Road Test, January 1971).

Beyond the big block, the next wave of Buick power was approaching. Turbocharging - increasing the horsepower per displacement through forced induction - fit perfectly with Buick's weight-saving efforts in an era of optimal efficiency. The 455ci engine had run through 1976 for those who believed there was no replacement for displacement; a 403ci engine continued the tradition through 1979, and certainly 1980 also saw the introduction of a new, intermediate Buick 4.3-liter V8 and 4.1-liter V6.

Yet, by 1980, Buick was in its third year of offering turbocharged engines, with three such variants of the 3.8-liter (231 cid) V6. When Buick had started, only Porsche and Saab had offered such engines.

"Turbocharging wasn't a new idea, of course, having been used in the 1960s Corvair Spyder and Oldsmobile F85," clarifies author Ron Kowalke.

"But in line with its advertising slogan - a little science, a little magic - Buick was now pioneering the turbocharging of a small engine for a family car" (Standard Catalog of Buick: 1903-2000, Ron Kowalke, Krause, 1999).

Indeed, turbocharged Buicks for 1978 were the only standard turbocharged production cars made in the United States.

Their internal parts differing from their normally-aspirated brethren, these Buick turbo motors were offered as standard on the LeSabre Sport Coupé; the Regal Sport Coupé and the Riviera S-Type, and were optional on Century coupés and sedans. An average 190 horsepower was on offer - an impressive figure amid a second gasoline crisis.

Electing the 1979 Riviera S-Type its Car of the Year, Motor Trend reasoned, "the turbo provides a smooth, progressive application of power that belies the engine's small size."

An automobile engine does work by producing heat. For Buick, converting the heat to useable power was the trick: the more heat converted to power, the higher the engine's efficiency - and the exhaust and cooling system heat loss of a conventional motor meant that Buick could gain considerable efficiency by regaining some of the lost heat and turning it into power.

By harnessing the previously wasted energy of the exhaust gases, the turbocharger opened up the possibilities of extracting more power on demand without the fuel economy penalty that would result from simply adding more cubic inches.

This was the job given to the turbocharger: a pump powered by the gases that ran through Buick's stainless steel tubular exhaust manifolds, turning a compressor that forced a fuel and air charge, under pressure, into the engine's combustion chamber and produced more horsepower. The effect, Buick mused, was additive: as more exhaust pressure increased inlet pressure, the engine produced even more exhaust pressure to build up still more inlet pressure.

The word turbocharger is an abbreviation for turbo-supercharger, and its function is the same as that of older Roots; vane, and centrifugal supercharger types. The primary difference is that a supercharger is mechanically driven by the engine, and thus absorbs power all the time. In the case of a turbocharger, this is not so, because the source of power is the exhaust gases and thus the turbocharger only works when the engine is under load and creating a sufficient flow of gas. Without a turbocharger, the exhaust gases go to waste anyway - thus the turbocharger, in effect, gets a free ride.

Power was delivered to progressive; lively, and smooth effect, as befit a Buick. While many rivals would simply set their maximum turbo boost well below the critical pressure point, Buick's electronic Turbo Control Center was regularly improved to further control spark, compensating for fuel octane; atmospheric conditions; load; altitude, and other driving conditions by deciding just how much power could be produced at any given moment.

Turbocharging generates additional pressure in an engine. If the pressure becomes too great, the engine starts to knock - a condition that can eventually lead to self destruction. Introduced for 1978, Buick's electronic spark control system was a first in the industry, and remained for years a somewhat exotic means of retarding spark to control detonation during turbo boost. Many a rival manufacturer would simply place a switch in the intake manifold and retard ignition timing in steps.

The turbo, like the engine, also needed to be well lubricated. So Buick's V6 turbo came equipped with a high-pressure oil pump that draws from a 5-quart oil pan.

Other progressive refinements would include hotter spark plugs, and an electric Early Fuel Evaporation (EFE) system which preheated the incoming air/ fuel mixture during cold starts for excellent driveability, without temperament or bother.

When the motor was installed in the new Riviera for 1979, the car was the only front-wheel-drive turbocharged car produced in America. "Well within the tradition that made the original Riviera a classic... it is an excellent example of the capability of American design and technology," mused Motor Trend.

As impressed as Road & Track was that a 3,900lb '79 Riviera S-Type could turn equal 0-60 mph times to a Saab Turbo, the magazine seemed even more enamored of its power delivery. "The automatic transmission masks the turbo effect and little, if any, engine noise reaches the interior," the staff wrote (Road & Track, March 1979).

Indeed, the Buick Turbo was a civilized affair, with minimal turbo lag; no more than slight whistling, and matched to upgraded suspension and transmissions.

Meanwhile, full-size Buicks were downsized for 1977, losing more than six hundred pounds thanks to things like smaller frames (saving ninety pounds), and aluminum reinforced bumpers (cutting one hundred and thirty-five pounds). For 1985, another round of downsizing cut up to nine hundred pounds again from these cars. Impressively, in both rounds, interior space was retained (and, in some cases, gained - as befit Buick attention to ergonomics).

For the 1985 Somerset Regal, designed to target upscale-import-shopping boomers, Buick took fifty pounds of weight out of its 3.0-liter V6.

By 1986, Buick V6 engines were moving from throttle-body and multi-port injection systems to sequential-port fuel injection with - in some cases - intercooled turbocharging; to delivering fuel to each cylinder individually at the precise moment that each intake valve opened, and to driving chassis directed through fast-ratio, rack-and-pinion steering. Computer-controlled ignition began to render the distributor a relic; intercoolers, where applicable, not only added power but prevented detonation.

Simply stated, while finned turbo housings helped to keep the bearings cool, intercooling cooled the fuel/ air mixture. The cooler the mixture, the more densely it could be packed into the cylinder. The denser it was packed into the cylinder, the more power per stroke. As a side benefit, cylinder head temperatures were appreciably reduced.

Suitably impressed by the legendary Grand National GNX, Road & Track Editor-at-Large John Lamm noted that most interesting to him was "the ease with which the GNX will run those (mid-5-second 0-60 mph) times.

"There may have been a few supercars of the late Sixties and early Seventies that were a bit quicker, but they were a great deal more work. Sometimes it meant rowing your way through manual shifters as beefy as crowbars, or contending with suspension that couldn't handle the available torque and kept trying to run into the next lane.

"The supercars of 15-20 years ago used 7.0 normally-aspirated liters or more to do what the Buick does with 3.8; a turbo, and an intercooler.

"Six-second 0-60s are so easy in the GNX I suspect my 16-year-old daughter, her new driver's license in hand, could be doing them with 10 minutes of training. And wouldn't she love to try?" (Road & Track, June 1987)

It is the heart of the Grand National that would be transformed into the Buick 3800 V6: a smoothly forceful source of seamless power, with tuned port injection, and mated to electronically controlled automatic transmission. Over 25 million 3800 V6s been sold to date, with the engine spending several years on Ward's Auto World's 10 Best list. As the 3800 permeated through the Buick line-up from 1990 onward, a butter-smooth, electronically-controlled four-speed automatic debuted for 1991; first on Park Avenue; Reatta, and Riviera, and gradually across the Buick range.

For 1993, the 3800 received a new intake manifold; a higher compression ratio for improved torque, and roller rocker-arm pivots for reduced friction.

For 1995, and the introduction of the 3800 Series II to the Park Avenue, Buick gave its engine a redesign, with lower deck height (reducing size and weight); cross-bolted main caps that stiffened the bottom end (reducing noise and improving durability); new cylinder heads with symmetrical combustion chambers (for a smoother idle and lower exhaust emissions), and larger valves and more efficient ports for improved flow. "This is an excellent powerplant for GM's large cars, especially when mated to the refined four-speed automatic... call it the Extreme Street Machine," wrote Car and Driver's Don Schroeder, impressed with that year's Buick Park Avenue Ultra, which in his hands cracked 60mph from rest barely a step behind BMW's (twice as expensive) V8-powered 740i.

"This Buick is endowed with a feel that it more substantial and expensive than 3,672 pounds and $33,797 would suggest" (Car and Driver, September 1994).

For more on the continuous development of the legendary 3800, you might enjoy The Life and Times of the 90-degree Buick V6.

Buick, however, is not wed to the overhead-valve engine. The 1982 Skyhawk experimented with overhead-cam motors and 5-speed manual gearboxes. For 1995, Skylark replaced its 2.3-liter overhead-cam engine with a dual-overhead-cam unit, boosting its horsepower by 30%. Two counter-rotating balance shafts assisted smoother operation and less vibration, while larger mufflers reduced exhaust noise.

Today, more than half of Buick's 2006 range offers you the choice of overhead-valve or dual-overhead-cam configurations. It is a choice that no other premium automaker makes available today.

In both configurations, Buick has experimented with the supercharger. The 1990 Bolero mustered 206 horsepower and 253 foot-pounds of torque from a supercharged 3.3-liter V6. The rear-wheel-drive, five-passenger Sceptre Concept of 1992 offered a supercharged 3.5-liter V6, with 250 horsepower and 280 foot-pounds of torque routed through a five-speed automatic transmission, putting power to four 245 ZR40x18 tires made specially for the car by Michelin.

As with turbocharging in the late-70s and the Eighties, Buick in the Nineties believed, as Chief Engineer Anthony Derhake put it, that supercharging "was perfectly suited for front-wheel-drive luxury performance cars," offering the benefit of power in a compact package. Supercharging compacts air - making it denser, with more oxygen per cubic inch. Denser air can atomize more fuel/ So, when the supercharger forces a dense fuel/ air mixture into an engine's combustion chamber, and a spark plug lights it off, the result is a bigger explosion, and more power.

Said Car and Driver of the supercharged 1998 Buick Park Avenue Ultra, "a power curve that arcs upward as smoothly as a Ken Griffey, Jr. home run" (Car and Driver, February 1997).

Still, a car's brakes should be as responsive as its engine; certainly, of the nature that would liberate one to enjoy its power. Anti-lock brakes were standard across most Buicks by 1991, and across the entire range by 1994.

By the mid-90s, Buick automatics were matched with the engine through a Powertrain Control Module (PCM) to create a completely integrated powertrain system. The PCM tracked key vehicle data such as speed; temperature; altitude; barometric pressure, and engine load, and automatically adapted the powertrain's shift pattern to these. The result has been consistently responsive performance with smooth operation under all driving conditions.

For 1997, the Buick automatic received new electronic controls that modulated the energy during shifts for gear transitions that were smoother still.

Also in recent years, Buick automatics have featured adaptive shift quality. Shift timing is carefully monitored, and line pressure is adapted to maintain optimal shift feel. This automatic adjustment compensates for changes in the operating condition of the transmission which naturally occur over time. The result of this feature is a consistent shift performance which meets the high expectations of the Buick owner.

An input speed sensor in the transmission monitors its internal speed precisely, enabling full use of the pressure profile and torque control.

An electronically controlled capacity clutch (EC3) has replaced the torque converter's conventional mechanical engagement with one that continuously varies clutch capacity. That results in improved durability and fuel economy. The electronic line pressure control reduces pumping losses, which further contributes to improved fuel economy, and produces smoother, quicker shifts.

The engines of new Buicks also feature a dual-phase chain system, employing two half-width chains that are phased 180-degrees apart. Since both chains are directly opposite to each other in orientation, they cancel out the noise each one generates. Thanks in part to this system, noise reductions of several decibels has been achieved.

In a 2006 Buick, roll-formed and hydro-formed reinforcement rails create the most efficient body structure possible. Closed sections specified for the upper engine compartment rails and the top radiator support help optimize the front-end structure, and significantly lessen road-induced noise and vibration.

In several Buicks, as since the late-90s, a die-cast magnesium crossbar beam serves as the main instrument panel-structure and mounting support. Steering columns used in conjunction with the magnesium beam benefit from increased stiffness. Perceived vibrations are virtually eliminated from the steering-wheel over rough roads.

The durability of Buick engines - in particular, that of the Buick Six - is legendary.

Discover Buick Power, by its Steadfastness

The first successful valve-in-head engine design was produced in 1904 - by Buick, as designed by Buick engineers Eugene Richard and Walter Marr with assistance from David Dunbar Buick.

This engine is widely credited as the cornerstone of Buick's success. Jacob H. Newmark, an associate of GM founder Billy Durant, recalled in 1936, "the Buick Motor Company prospered... almost from the beginning, and all because the company was unusually fortunate in its engine design.

"Buick, without doubt, had one of the best of the early engines. It would go and keep on going. Roads were of all kinds in those days - most of them sand; clay, and what-not. Buick's early valve-in-head motor did have power if nothing else, and the new car would negotiate all sorts of road conditions" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

The fame of the new motor grew steadily.

"All parts are made with jigs or templates, and are interchangeable," explained a Buick catalog in late 1903 (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

"The inlet and outlet valves are in the head... so should it become necessary to take the entire engine to a machine shop... but simply take the head.

"All the moving parts are made of the best steel and hardened.

"We use the jump spark and not the mechanical spark, the former being much more simple, and not so liable to get out of order and give trouble.

"The cams for the inlet valve; exhaust valve, and contact breaker are all in one piece, and there is only one way this can go, no matter how the gearing is meshed.

"When the cam is put back in place, the valves are bound to open and close at the proper time. It does not require any readjustment. This we consider a very strong point in our engine."

In 1904, it was written in the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal, of Flint doctor Herbert H. Hills (among the first Buick buyers), "Dr. Hills has driven this car almost the whole time, day and night, over the very hilly and sandy country about Flint, and has had no repairs, except a split gasoline pipe, this day, Sept 16^th, and believes he has the best car in the world" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002). So fascinated was Hills with his new automobile that he left the medical profession in 1906 and became assistant sales manager for Buick!

By 1905, the Buick engine was generating 27.7 horsepower. So heady was this figure that not all were convinced of its veracity. General Motors founder William C. Durant related decades later that he had hired a motor expert to study Buick's engine in the face of widespread doubts about its power, only to hear the expert tell Buick factory superintendent Arthur C. Mason that the engine was "unsound; extremely dangerous, and quite likely to explode."

Mason reacted by starting the engine; placing his head alongside it, and replying, "if it explodes, I might as well go with it!" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002)

"Power became synonymous with Buick," Durant would later write. "Power! Power to outclimb, power to outspeed anything on wheels in our class.

"With Buick we sold the assurance that the power to perform was there. Power sold Buick and made it what it is today."

In those early days, a Buick Model F was the only car to complete a 1,000-mile relay run from Chicago to new York. The Model F was the first Buick to be referred to as a doctor's car, a tagline that stuck for decades hence.

In 1908, as Durant rearranged a Buick salesroom in Boston, Albert Champion happened by with ideas for spark plugs and magnetos. Though Buick used no magneto, one spark plug alone, of the time, could power the Buick engine, and its manufacturer was an expensive supplier. Thus was Champion given a building near Buick's factory in Flint, eventually producing a plug befitting the Buick, and thus launching an organization that would become General Motors' AC Spark Plug division.

For 1916, the Buick Six received bronze bushings in its pistons for added life of both wrist pins and pistons. Meanwhile, the Buick clutch was now lighter and easier than ever to adjust.

For 1923, Buick adopted a new foundry practice of chilling the cylinder bore for a harder casting, and installed longer connecting rods; longer pistons, and a new and larger crankshaft used together with connecting rod and main bearings of hard babbitt.

The first front-wheel-drive application of the famed Buick 3.8-liter was in the late-70s Rivieras. These still used a longitudinal (i.e: North-South) configuration. By this point, Buick had become an early leader in turbocharging. Soon, many would follow. Commenting on the trend, Road & Track in 1981 endearingly wrote, "basically, a turbocharger is a device in which the working or pumping end is powered more or less for free by a waterwheel in the exhaust flow which is going out willy-nilly anyway to pollute the atmosphere; curdle milk; frighten chickens, and all those good things, thus giving you money for old rope" (Road & Track, July 1981).

Yet Road & Track also noted that several turbocharged automobiles it had tried displayed "evil habits... water in the oil; superheated jets of steam; mice-et pistons, and cylinder heads looking like Armenian bread."

Not Buick, whose turbocharged engines had by this point attained a solid reputation for power; efficiency, and steadfastness.

No one should have doubted Buick's ability to do the job; yet there was, at hand, a matter of priorities. Strength and durability were serious matters in the gas-crunched Seventies, and Buick was not about to imperil its reputation for mechanical integrity and longevity for a few pounds per square inch of boost.

The turbocharger was an integral part of the Buick engine. Consequently, every turbo Buick offered was carefully and precisely manufactured, with some tolerances as fine as one-ten thousandth of an inch. Moreover, the turbo - like the engine - needed to be well lubricated. So Buick's V6 turbo came equipped with a high-pressure oil pump that drew from a 5-quart oil pan.

In 1984 came the front-wheel-drive, transverse-mounted 3.8 - the forerunner of what we know today as the Buick 3800. So durable was the 3.8-liter Buick V6 block that McLaren became involved with it in 1985, assisting with the design of a dual-overhead-camshaft head for the 1985 Wildcat II Concept. For more on the continuous development of the legendary 3800, you might enjoy The Life and Times of the 90-degree Buick V6.

For 1990, the Buick Reatta received a standard auxiliary transmission cooler.

Then, as today (under normal service), the Buick's DEXRON transmission fluid and filter seek replacement only every 100,000 miles - as with (since 1996) its coolant and spark plugs.