Imagine an event that tests not only quarter-mile speed but also

endurance. Competitors roll in with nicely detailed paintjobs,

immaculately engineered engine bays, and interiors stuffed with

gauges, shift lights, lightweight racing seats and floor shifters.

Then a bunch of overall-wearing hayseeds cruise up in a clappedout,

four-door Pontiac bubbletop with a blowup doll in the back seat.

There goes the neighborhood.

Brent "Buck" McCoy has earned a reputation for showing up

at HOT ROD Drag Week with unassuming cars that clock times

far quicker than you'd expect. In 2010, his four-door, small-block,

Chevy-powered '68 Buick Skylark sported one aluminum head and

one iron double-hump head yet still ran high 10s on nitrous. He's

also known for his sense of humor and his reluctance to spill the

secret of how he builds quick cars while making it look easy.

Just like in the previous year, Buck showed up at the '11 Drag

Week with his pals dressed in straw hats and overalls, playing the

part of country folk out for a cruise in the family car. Ten Buck

launched his '59 Catalina sedan and jerked the front wheels off the

ground, bugging eyes everywhere. Because Buck and his buddies

have so much fun creating--and maintaining--their hillbilly faade,

we make no guarantee that he didn't throw us a red herring when we

tried to get the dirt on his behemoth Pontiac.

Tis time around, Buck went for big-block power, rebuilding a '72

Chevy 454 bored to 4.35 inches. Dave Hight balanced the rotating

assembly, and Buck assembled the engine with Doug Woody. A



solid roller cam with 0.695 inch of lif and 256/266 duration at 0.050

made up the short-block. Brodix oval-port heads ported by Tony

Schafer were bolted down, followed by a Dart intake, a Zex plate

nitrous system, and finally a 950-cfm Holley.



torque converter into a reverse-manual-valvebody Turbo 400

HOT ROD

See all 7 photos Check the kill switch hidden behind the hinged panel where the factory fuel filler used to be.

transmission built by Mike Leighty. Keeping

the sleeper appearance, Buck modiTed the

factory column shiffer to work with the new

shiff pattern. Peek inside the car and you'll

see vinyl buckets, stock gauges, and no real

hint of the car's capability other than an

unobtrusive rollbar.

One example of Buck's ingenuity is the

three-link rear suspension he fabricated

himself. Using a Ford 9-inch with 35-spline

axles, a spool, and coilovers from Strange,

Buck fabricated lower arms and used the

factory upper arm, telling anyone who asked

that he repurposed a bus A-arm. You can't

argue with results; with 4.11 gears and the

same 295 Hoosier Drag Radials he used at

Drag Week last year, the Catalina had a best

60-foot time of 1.53 and a best e.t. of 10.68 at

last year's Drag Week, but he's since upped

the nitrous and lowered his 60-foot time to

1.41 with a best e.t. of 10.04

Buck and his crew took home the Daily

Driver class win at the '11 Drag Week

with an average time of 10.9007. If tradition

continues, look for the same set of tires to

push another four-door through the traps

at this year's Drag Week. With a Buick and

a Pontiac under his belt, maybe it will be an

Oldsmobile this time--who knows? One

thing you can count on: Even though the

cars change, the overalls never will.