For you performance Buick enthusiasts, sketches and photos of the Buick Camel GT car (Morgan Performance Argo JM16 GTP) campaigned by the Morgan Performance Group in 1985–86. Racing photos courtesy of Racing Sports Cars. My involvement was limited to a sketch of a paint scheme. I don’t know why the rendering shows rear fender skirts unless the photos of the prototype provided for reference had them. The car competed at Sebring in 1986 (DNF); the 1984 Camel GT500 in Charlotte (10th); the 1984 Coco-Cola 500 (5th); the 1984 Camel Continental at Watkins Glen (DNF); the 1984 Michigan 500 Camel GTP (7th); 23rd 1985 Annual SunBank at Daytona (17th); 1985 Charlotte Camel GT (6th); 1985 Lumbermens 500K Camel GT (10th); 1985 Camel Continental (9th, 1st in Lights).

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Buick LeSabre PPG Staff Car

Another Buick promotional vehicle, this time a PPG Staff car. Kind of ridiculous now. Now that I think of it, it was ridiculous then as well.

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Oldsmobile Calais Kelly American Challenge Car

This Oldsmobile Calais rendering developed into a modeling project at Diversified Glass Products where Gary Clark and I modeled the flared fenders. I found a few photos of the resulting race car on the Racing Sports Car site.

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Performance Design (see The Early History of the Buick Grand National and Performance Design) was created as an assumed name for freelance activities with Herb Fishel and Buick’s promotional efforts in the late ’70s. The 80X was featured in Hot Rod Magazine, October 1979. It was called the 80X because the Skylark was build on the new X-body platform for the 1980 model year.

Keep in mind that in the late ’70s the whole idea of what a performance car was, changed because of federal regulations, corporate downsizing, smaller engines, emission and fuel economy standards. Until computerized fuel injection engine management systems would become mainstream, new car performance was very modest by ’60s standards. Buick was struggling with image and an aging customer base, and needed to try and come up with ways to appeal to a broader market. Performance promotional vehicle creation was part of that strategy. Because these vehicles needed to be real cars that magazines would evaluate, they needed to preform much better than stock. That gave Buick the excuse to develop the unlikely V6 as a performance engine. This engine development produced factory performance parts that saw competition in a variety of racing venues, and eventually did see its way into production as the 3.9 liter turbo in the Buick Grand National and Pontiac Turbo Trans Am, and later in an even-fire configuration as the 3800.

Another thing worth noting is that Buick didn’t have any performance platforms like Chevrolet or Pontiac. So we were trying to make a performance car from an up-scale luxury car with conservative styling. It was no easy trick to take a stiffly sectioned boxy notchback and turn it into a performance car. If success is measured in lasting historical significance, then the 80X and the ’79 Century Roadmaster were not successful. But they were building blocks that helped lead the way out of the fog of the late ’70s.

80X concept sketch.

The modeling on the Buick 80X was done at Diversified Glass Products in Pontiac, Michigan by a group of very talented GM sculptors, mostly from Buick Studio. Larry Brinker acted as chief modeler. Other talented sculptors that helped on the project were Al Holgerson, Ted Klein, Dan Curtis, Dave Curtis, and Claudio Bertolini. If I’ve left anybody out, please let me know. We would meet at Diversified and work in the evenings and on Saturday. It was not the best of environments to work in, as it was a working (read: dusty) fiberglass fabrication shop during the day.

This is how these things start. Pretty scary and hard on the sheet metal.

Larry Brinker working on the front fender flare.

Models always go through ugly stages that tests the designer’s convictions. This car was no exception.

The sculptors were the best anywhere.

The hood blister came out nice. I felt free to break away from the stiff sections of the car and create a more organic form.

The finished model.

Two-page spread as it appeared in Hot Rod magazine, October 1979.

Publicity shots of the 80X.

Considering that these add-on panels were going to be offered to the pubic, I thought about ways to make the panels easier to install. I came up with the idea of attaching them with a C-shaped rubber molding with rivets instead of a lot of extensive and expensive body work. The C-shaped molding slipped over the flange designed into the body panels The lower leg of the molding went under the flange, and the upper leg of the molding covered the rivets that held the panels in place. The molding also added a visual, graphic element to the panel design. The idea was that the installation would be easier and far less expensive than traditional panel installation methods. I learned later that the shop that installed the panels and finished the car had a difficult time getting it perfect. Oh, well.

I imagine these are rare parts. Like none, maybe.

Buick, Olds, Chevrolet, and Pontiac studios competed for designs for the 1979 GM A-bodies. There were two coupe and two sedan uppers to be shared, a notchback and a fastback. Since Buick and Olds traditionally catered to more traditional buyers, it would be appropriate for those divisions to have the notchbacks. But there was a great deal of competition, and in the end Buick and Olds got the fastback designs they wanted. Even though Herb Fishel tried to put a positive spin on the fastback Century by calling it the ’40 Ford of the eighties, the truth of the matter was that they didn’t sell well.

The first major promotional car I worked on for Buick as an outside designer under the name of Performance Design (see The Early History of the Buick Grand National and Performance Design) was a ’70 Century coupe. It was called the Roadmaster in Hot Rod Magazine and the build up was featured in several issues in 1979.

I can’t find the original concept sketches. When I do I’ll add them to this post. The modeling was done at Diversified Glass Products in Pontiac, Michigan by a group of GM sculptors, mostly from Buick Studio. Larry Brinker acted as chief modeler. Other talented sculptors that helped on the project were Al Holgerson, Ted Klein, Dan Curtis, Dave Curtis, and Claudio Bertolini. If I’ve left anybody out, please let me know. We would meet at Diversified and work in the evenings and on Saturday. It was not the best of environments to work in, as it was a working fiberglass fabrication shop during the day.
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Larry Brinker starting the model.



Al Holgerson is working at the back of the model.

Dan Curtis and Larry Brinker.

The hood, front end, front air dam, and front fenders replaced factory parts. The fender styling was a unique in that we stretched the fender forms to meet the wheel well openings with conical surfacing instead of letting normal surface be interrupted by added flare forms. The hood bulge likewise was a raised, stretch surface. The sections of the new panels was lean and shear like the production car.

Fiberglass panels installed on the car.

The paint scheme was way overdone with too many stripes, but that was the trend in those days. Moly Designs in California painted the car. I can’t remember if the graphic design came from me or not.

Herb had Smokey Yunick build a 355 HP V6 for the car, and as a publicity stunt the car was taken to the Riverside International Raceway in January to have Cale Yarborough drive the car during a Winston Cup practice session. The entire spectacle was featured in the build-up finale in Hot Rod Magazine, April 1978.

From left to right, Herb Fishel, John Thawley, Smokey Yunick, and C.J.Baker.

From Hot Rod Magazine, April 1978.

The body kit was available from Diversified Glass Products. I wonder how many they sold.

On a tragic note, I recently learned that John Dianna’s son was killed in that car. John was editor of Hot Rod Magazine at the time.