Buick Races in the 1962 Indy 500

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Mickey Thompson came to Indianapolis in 1962 with three remarkable race cars, all powered by Buick aluminum V8s.

 

Buick is no stranger to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. During the so-called Junk Formula years of 1930-37, Buick straight eights privately campaigned by Red Shafer, Harry Butcher, and others were regular features in the Indy 500. And from 1983 thtough 1996, the Buick turbocharged V6 was a constant threat—at least on qualifying day. With the aid of a higher USAC boost limit for stock-block engines at Indy, Buicks won the pole three times, in 1985, 1992, and 1996.

But when Buick appeared at Indy in 1962, it had been several decades since anyone had seen one on the bricks. Leading the effort this time around was Southern California hot rodder Mickey Thompson, and while this was his first attempt at the Indy 500, M/T was never one for half measures. Sensing the potential of Jack Brabham’s Cooper entry in 1961, he entered three beautiful new mid-engine cars designed by Englishman John Crosthwaite, a Cooper and Lotus veteran. All were built by Mickey and his talented crew, including Fritz Voigt and Bob Bubernick, and all were powered by light and compact Buick Special aluminum V8s. (See our feature here.)

 

How the Buick V8s came to race at Indy in ’62, how they were built, and what they were about is an intriguing story, and it’s a complicated one, as there are at least two versions of how it all went down. And since we have no way to know which story is accurate or which parts, we’re going to share them both.

+   In its post-race coverage of the ’62 race in its August issue that year, Hot Rod magazine reported that the Buick was an M/T project with no factory help. M/T pistons with a 14.0:1 compression ratio and M/T aluminum rods were coupled to an M/T cast ductile-iron crankshaft with a 3.10-in stroke. (M/T was then marketing “Cast Billet” stroker crankshafts for popular V8s.) Iskenderian supplied the roller camshaft and kit, while Bob Bubenik engineered the gear drive for the cam and oil, water, and fuel pumps. HIlborn fuel injection with both laydown and vertical-stack manifolds were tried, but vertical stacks were proven best. Quoted output was 330 hp on straight methanol fuel.

+   However: In a feature in the May, 1970 issue of Hot Rod, Buick executives had a different recollection. In this later version, noted Buick engineer Nelson Kunz led the three-month program, working closely with Thompson. Oversize cylinder liners allowed a bore of 3.6125 inches, but here the 3.10-in ductile iron stroker crank was a welded Buick piece and the connecting rods were 4340 steel. Large-port head castings and a Crower H-1 roller cam kit completed the combination, which produced 370 hp at 7200 rpm. Around 15 engines were assembled, they reported, with a few sent to sports car teams, including Lance Reventlow’s Scarab operation.

 

While these inconsistencies might be confusing, they’re understandable. GM corporate politics probably played a role in the ’62 narrative, we can guess. And we may simply be peeking into two different points in the development timeline. Anyway: At Indy in ’62, there was no special rules accommodation for stock-block engines, and at 256 cubic inches, the Buick ran at the same 4.2-liter displacement limit as the Offenhausers then dominating the Speedway. It’s said the Offy was good for roughly 350 hp in 500-mile tune at the time, so with 330 to 370 hp, the little Buick V8 was legitimately in the hunt.

In practice, two of the stunning M/T mid-engine racers struggled to find speed and did not make the show. But a third car, driven by Indy rookie Dan Gurney, qualified in the middle of the third row at 147.886 mph (with a light dose of nitromethane in the tank, reportedly). He was running 11th on lap 92 when the transaxle failed, scoring a 20th place finish. In recognition of his race cars and their advanced engineering, Thompson was rewarded with the Speedway’s Mechanical Acheivement Award, He returned to Indianapolis in 1963 with even wilder ideas and Chevrolet V8 power.

 

Mickey Thompson and Fritz Voigt

5 thoughts on “Buick Races in the 1962 Indy 500”

  2. Apologies for being a comment hog lately but motorsports, the Chrysler Corporation and NHTSA safety defect investigations summarizes my six decade career of “fun with cars”. MCG and the occasional comment on Barn Finds whenever a ’60-’73 Imperial pops up is my only online/social media engagement. Bump day ’69 was my first trip to Indy.

    According to the ’62 500 entry list and local newspapers of the day, M/T had five of these cars at the speedway with 3 drivers assigned but Dan Gurney was the only one to qualify. Dan the Man also drove the Zink “Trackburner” turbine in practice for the ’62 500, but 143MPH was too slow…

    • Your comments are always appreciated. I believe there were 3 M/T cars in ’62, 5 in ’63 (2 ’62 cars + 3 new cars).

  3. I think we all know this, but I’ll mention that in 1962, GM was still pretending to adhere to the 1957 AMA racing ban. Ford and Chrysler would abandon it later that year, but GM hung on and would double down in 1963.

    Buick probably wasn’t allowed to admit any involvement in an Indycar engine, and hyping Mickey Thompson’s development skills probably helped Hot Rod get more advertising from his company.

    In 1970, Ford & Chrysler were preparing to close down their racing operations and GM was about to rejoin NASCAR.

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