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Car Of The Day: October 13, 2010; Ertl '81 Buick Regal NASCAR (Cale Yarborough)
Topic Started: Oct 13 2010, 02:19 AM (613 Views)
Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
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Today's car of the day is Ertl's 1981 Buick Regal NASCAR stocker of Cale Yarborough.

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Wikipedia
 
A downsized Regal appeared for 1978 with Buick's new 196 cu in (3.2 L) V6 engine as standard equipment and a new version of the venerable 231 cu in (3.8 L) V6 as an option (which became standard in 1980). Initially a 3-speed manual transmission was standard but this was later replaced by an automatic. This model lasted 9 years and helped give the Regal an unexpected reputation for performance. Nevertheless, it was still hampered (from a performance perspective) by a soft suspension, small wheels and tires and the unavailability of a manual transmission (in later years), largely because the intermediate personal luxury market was the Regal's intended target, not the sports car segment.

The 1978 Regal was noteworthy, as it could be equipped with a 3.8 L Turbocharged V-6 engine with automatic transmission. Versions were offered with either a 2-bbl or a 4-bbl carburetor. The Buick LeSabre was also available with the turbocharged engine. The only other turbocharged cars available in the U.S. market in 1978 were imports from Saab and the Porsche 930. The Turbo Regal also included a firm handling suspension with larger tires and sport wheels.

A major facelift in 1981 gave the Regal a much more aerodynamic profile, helping make it possible for the car to compete on the NASCAR racing circuit. The sloping hood and nose of the car made it the favorite of several NASCAR teams. Richard Petty drove one to victory in the 1981 Daytona 500, and the car won a majority of the 1981 and 1982 seasons races and won the NASCAR manufacturers title in 1981 and 1982. V8s for street use were still available, but had shrunk to 265 cu in (4.3 L) (1980 and 1981 only, Pontiac built), and the V6 was rapidly gaining popularity. In 1982, a new Century appeared on the front-wheel drive A-body, but the former rear-wheel drive Century sedan and wagon were not discontinued. These models were simply rebadged as Regals, and for the first time the name appeared on a full model lineup. The wagon was discontinued after 1983, and the sedan dropped from the lineup the next year. From 1986 to 1987, the 5.0 L Olds 307 V8 was available as an option. The 3.8 2-bbl V6 was standard. The 200-4R overdrive transmission was an option with either engine.


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For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Buick Regal & Cale Yarborough

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In the early 1980s, Ertl was the only diecast manufacturer doing NASCAR diecast. They didn't do the whole field- you were lucky to get some of the most popular drivers. Of course Hot Wheels offered up a model here and there (Darrell Waltrip's #11 Mountain Dew Buick Regal and Buddy Baker's #21 Valvoline Thunderbird both come to mind), but for the most part, Ertl was the only game in town until Racing Champions burst onto the scene in the late 1980s. This is a fairly crude casting, especially by Ertl standards.

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Wikipedia
 
Yarborough won a career-high and modern-era record fourteen poles in 1980, captured six races including sweeping the events at Rockingham, and scoring wins at Bristol, Michigan, Texas and Atlanta. Yarborough barely missed out on his fourth championship in five years, losing the championship to Dale Earnhardt by 19 points. At the end of the season, Yarborough announced he was leaving the Junior Johnson team and would run a part-time schedule for the rest of his career. He was replaced by Darrell Waltrip. Yarborough won 55 races while driving for Johnson from 1973-1980, compiling an amazing winning percentage of 26.57 percent.

Yarborough competed in 18 races in the 1981 season in the #27 Valvoline Buick for M.C. Anderson, winning his fourth Firecracker 400 and his fifth Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta, finishing in the top-ten a total of six times. Yarborough competed in 16 races in 1982, winning three, including his hometown Southern 500 for the fifth and final time. He also ran the 24 Heures du Mans in 1981, finishing 13 laps before a crash ended the team's efforts.

In 1983, Anderson closed his operation, and Yarborough moved to the #28 Hardee's Chevrolet owned by Harry Ranier, competing in 16 events. He won four races, including his third Daytona 500, his sixth Atlanta Coca-Cola 500, and swept both events at Michigan, along with three poles. In 1984 he repeated by winning his fourth Daytona 500, becoming the second driver to score back-to-back wins, the Winston 500 at Talladega, a race that featured 75 lead changes, and the Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500, along with four poles. Yarborough also captured the IROC VIII championship. In 1985 after his team switched to a Ford, he won his first Talladega 500 and scored his final win in the Miller High Life 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He also finished eighth in the final standings of IROC IX.

In 1986, Yarborough won his final career pole at the Firecracker 400, and had five top-ten finishes. He scored a victory at Talladega during IROC X and finished third in the standings. In 1987, he left the Ranier-Lundy team and purchased Jack Beebe's Race Hill Farm team. Yarborough took the Hardee's sponsorship and began running the #29 Oldsmobile Delta 88 as an owner/driver, posting two top-five finishes. He ran his final season in 1988 in an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, entering ten races and posting two ninth place finishes. He retired at the end of the year.


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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
When stuff like this first came out, NASCAR fans were all smiles just to have ANYTHING like this.
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bangerkid45
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Ultimate American Banger Enthusiast!
Yay! Glad you used this one as car of the day! Great car, but not really in my collecting paramiter, glad you put good use to it!
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
I like it, and I thank you for RAOKing it to me! :thumbup:
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pjedsel
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Muscle Car
With all the NASCAR stuff out there these days, it is hard to believe that these little cars from ERTL were pretty much it for NASCAR collectors. at one time. I think ERTL did a nice job with the few cars they issued. The Buick's were cast both in Taiwan and Korea - with the castings having a slight variance in size.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Does anyone have a good list of the drivers/cars available from Ertl in the '80s? I don't have many of them, but I intend on filling in the gaps.
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pjedsel
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Muscle Car
:toy: Here is what I have for ERTL NASCAR models.
1980 Chevrolet Superstock Car
#1598-#88 Gatoraid/Darrell Waltrip
#1598A-#11 Mountain Dew/Darrell Waltrip
#1599- #43 STP/Esmark/Richard Petty
#? - #28 Hardee's/Cale Yarborough

1980 Ford Thunderbird
#? #9 Ford/Bill Elliott
#? #15 Wrangler/Dale Earnhardt (part of a four piece gift set)

1981 Buick Regal (the first four were cast in Taiwan and Korea with a size difference in the casting, the next three are Pow-r-Pull issues (had a pull back motor and the last one was a promotional model
#1942-#43 STP/Esmark/Richard Petty
#1943-#27 Valvoline/Cale Yarborough
#1944-#88 Gatoraid/Bobby Allison
#1946-#11 Mounain Dew/Darrell Waltrip
#4077-#15 Wrangler/Dale Earnhardt
#4078-#28 Hardee's/Cale Yarborough
#4079- #7 7-Eleven/Kyle Petty

1983 Ford Thunderbird
#9466-#9 Ford/Bill Elliott
#9670-#9 Melling/Bill Elliott
#1329-#15 Crisco/Brett Bodine
#2467-#21 Citgo/Dale Jarrett
#9183-#21 Citgo/7-Eleven/Kyle Petty
#2465 #30 Country Time/Michael Waltrip
#9663-#55 Fast Fare/Crown Gasoline/Phil Parsons (promo piece)
#7651-#1 Macco (no driver) (promotional piece)
#9193 Thrifty Food/Drug (no driver or number) (promotional piece)

1991 Oldsmobile
#2464 #59 Kodak/Rick Wilson
#2466-#43 STP Oil Treatment/Richard Petty
#9007-#00 Thomas Country Ham/Sam Ard (Start Your Engines promotional piece)
#2151-#59 Alliance/Robert Pressley (1991 promotional piece)
#2151-#59 Alliance/Super Lube/Robert Pressley (1992 promotional piece)

Chevrolet Monte Carlo
#9305-#25 Folger/Tim Richmond (promotional piece)
#9557-#17 Hesco Muffler Center/Sterling Marlin (promotional piece)
#9336-none Hobby Heaven/Our 10th Year (promotional piece
this casting was used as a blank by Stock Car Miniatures for their custom models

1936 Ford Coupe
#9439 - #11 Roquemoor Motor Supply/White Lightning/Fireball Roberts (promotional piece)
#9746 - #9 Prince Motors/Curtis "Crawfish" Crider (promotional piece)

1937 Plymouth Coupe
#2152 - 70A Cotton Owens Garage/Cotton Owens

ERTL also released four semi haulers but they used a regular box trailer rather than a drop transport trailer
#2463 Ford LTL 9000 Tractor Trailer - Citgo/Wood Brothers
#2460 Kenworth T600A Tractor Trailer - Kodak
#2461 Mack Ultraliner Tractor Trailer - Country Time
#2462 Navistar Tractor Trailer - STP Race Team/Richard Petty
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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
NICE info, PEJEDSEL !!
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Very nice list- thank you! As a big Bill Elliott fan, I will need to track down examples of both the '80 & '82 Thunderbirds!
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