What's 61 years old, wears a straw hat, and chooses off Honda punks every weekend? It's Bill Murray, the old man from San Diego who recently off'd seven of America's Sports Cars at a local "Corvettes take on all comers" weekend. The comment from the Bloomington Gold weenies: "But your carburetor is dirty and you don't have air conditioning." That's the way Bill likes it. He also likes vintage Buicks and Oldsmobiles, 100,000-mile 455s that romp, and puttin' the hurt on the locals. But more than anything, Bill loves cheap: cheap cars, cheap paint jobs, cheap junkyard parts. Cheap power. He's pulled it off, too, with mild, driveable cars that look cool in that street-race-beater sort of way and run legit 13s in street trim. In fact, he has a yard full of 'em. Have a gander. Bill's '65 Buick Skylark has been around the neighborhood long enough that he has trouble getting races these days. Not that 13.50s at 104 mph are really that quick, but what do you want for a total investment of $2,984? Big points for sleeper value, too. Bill scored this car for $425 then sold the 300 V-8 out of it for $250. A $300 one day paint job looks menacing in satin black. Those cheater slicks are $85 from Bowling Green Customs in Georgia.Bill's '65 Buick Skylark has been around the neighborhood long enough that he has trouble The '65 has a Buick 455 and a TH400 that were pulled from a '70 Electra, hosed off, and dropped in using Poston frame mounts. To date, the combo has 154,000 miles and has never been apart. Bill added an Edelbrock Performer and a set of TA Performance headers with 2 1/2-inch Dynomax exhaust, mostly for the weight savings over the iron intake and exhaust. Other than that, the mill is stock right down to the camshaft; the factory rating was 370 hp and 510 lb-ft. Bill didn't bother to remove the car's power brakes; he uses a power steering box with no pump to keep him exercised.The '65 has a Buick 455 and a TH400 that were pulled from a '70 Electra, hosed off, and dr Here's an ancient speed trick: Bill claims the engine ran a few degrees cooler once he used some wedges of wood between the hood and the hinges to lift the rear of the hood an inch or so.Here's an ancient speed trick: Bill claims the engine ran a few degrees cooler once he use All of Bill's cars get treated to a homemade trunk-mounted battery kit. He also jerks the stock 5/16 fuel line and converts the cars to 3/8 with hand-bendable hardline. Even the pickup in the stock fuel sending unit is upgraded to the larger size.All of Bill's cars get treated to a homemade trunk-mounted battery kit. He also jerks the Inside the '65 there ain't much but stock and musty old-man-gold upholstery. The Auto Meter gauges and Auto Gage tach were paid for new, surprisingly. The paper above the radio is a chart of engine rpm versus road speed in each gear since the speedo isn't accurate with the 3.73:1 gears inside the junkyard Chevelle 12-bolt.Inside the '65 there ain't much but stock and musty old-man-gold upholstery. The Auto Mete The Corvette beater is this '65 Olds Cutlass that ran 13.80s with a 455 from a '75 Olds 98, but picked up to 13.60s with the homemade hoodscoop. Pretty impressive when you consider that the '75 is a low-compression engine, and that the stock 3.08:1 one-legger axle is still in place. Bill has about $2,200 in this car, but most of that is from paying for a new interior.The Corvette beater is this '65 Olds Cutlass that ran 13.80s with a 455 from a '75 Olds 98 The '65 Olds mill is also a dead-stocker with the exception of an Edelbrock Performer intake and a recurved stock HEI ignition. The exhaust manifolds are from an X- or Y-type '69 455 and are similar to the W30 type with rear exit.The '65 Olds mill is also a dead-stocker with the exception of an Edelbrock Performer inta There are two other Oldsmobiles waiting for the treatment. The '64 Cutlass (with an F-85 front clip) has a stock 10.5:1 330 in it for now. Not a bad score for $400...There are two other Oldsmobiles waiting for the treatment. The '64 Cutlass (with an F-85 f ...An even better deal was the '65 that's really clean and stock-also 330-powered-and only $75. How does he nab this stuff so cheap? As a local real estate agent, Bill gets around the neighborhood. He spots the cars, makes ludicrous offers, and takes 'em home....An even better deal was the '65 that's really clean and stock-also 330-powered-and only We got to know Bill when we answered an ad for this '64 Buick Special that he was selling for $300. We got him down to $250, so you know he bought it cheap. He's since decided that this little lightweight is a keeper, and it's going to become an actual race car.We got to know Bill when we answered an ad for this '64 Buick Special that he was selling Instead of buying the '64 Special, we ended up coming home with this '65 Special wagon. Our soft spot for wagons strikes again. We paid $500 and it came with a Chevelle 12-bolt already installed and the fuel lines already plumbed with 3/8-inch tubing. The California black-and-yellow plate reads PKV 401, which gives us bad ideas of nailhead power.Instead of buying the '64 Special, we ended up coming home with this '65 Special wagon. Ou Bill showed us that a 455 is the better thing to do. The arrows indicate the Poston bolt-on 455 frame mounts that replace the original units that fit either a 300 V-8 or the cool 225 V-6. Remember our "Insane Fun With a Total Beater" '72 Electra? The 455 and TH400 trans is still in the Car Craft shop. We know what to do.Bill showed us that a 455 is the better thing to do. The arrows indicate the Poston bolt-o We also saw this no-longer-in-production Edelbrock O4B intake for Oldsmobiles. Bill tells us there were two versions-one for spread bores and one for square-bore carbs-and that he had to modify this one for use with his sleeper Q-jet.We also saw this no-longer-in-production Edelbrock O4B intake for Oldsmobiles. Bill tells Bill also knows what to do. His next engine is this '70 Buick 455 (the best year, by the way) that went stealth when all the Edelbrock markings were hand-filed off the intake. Looks close enough to stock to us.Bill also knows what to do. His next engine is this '70 Buick 455 (the best year, by the w Finally, here's an uncharacteristic deviation: an '83 Mustang. Bill got tired of the 5.0 Mustang crowd and figured he'd beat 'em at their own game. He bought this one for $350 then sold the four-banger for $250. The $100 coupe is getting a 302 built for it, but a Buick 455 has been test fit into the engine compartment. It fits! That's a swap we'd pay to see; it'd be a true BuFord.Finally, here's an uncharacteristic deviation: an '83 Mustang. Bill got tired of the 5.0 M By David Freiburger Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
