One on One with Buck Kinney

If you are not into drag racing, the name Buck Kinney may not ring a bell, but for those who follow the sport, you aware he is a living legend. In his day, he set world records in two different classes and held the distinction of being the first Canadian racer to be inducted into the NHRA Northwest Division Six Hall of Fame. Buck has always loved racing, and now in his seventies, he still goes to the track as a spectator and participant as he can still make his way down to the finish line at the street legal on Friday nights in his street/strip Malibu that runs an 11.50 at 132 mph.

If you are not into drag racing, the name Buck Kinney may not ring a bell, but for those who follow the sport, you aware he is a living legend. In his day, he set world records in two different classes and held the distinction of being the first Canadian racer to be inducted into the NHRA Northwest Division Six Hall of Fame. Buck has always loved racing, and now in his seventies, he still goes to the track as a spectator and participant as he can still make his way down to the finish line at the street legal on Friday nights in his street/strip Malibu that runs an 11.50 at 132 mph.

RPM: When did your love affair with automobiles and racing begin?

Buck Kinney: When I was in grade 10, I was in the mechanic apprentice program and the teacher asked what we thought we should do as I project. I said I would buy a ’36 Ford from Mussalem Motors in Maple Ridge for $340. I had two jobs working for farmers in Pitt Meadows and saved money so I could buy a car. When we got it in the shop, we couldn’t get any speed out of it so we took the drainpipes down off the building and made some dual exhausts and took air conditioning tubing and made a cold air package. Then we made the heater box come in off the firewall to take the heat off the motor to make the heater for inside the car. That was the start of it all.

RPM: Did you ever race that car?

BK:  Never raced it, no. But that was the first Mustang ever built.

RPM: But the Mustang didn’t come along until the early ‘60s?

BK: It was the first Mustang because I name all of my cars and that was the name I chose for the ’36. Of course, I had no idea at the time that would become the nameplate for one of the most famous cars ever.

RPM: Why do you name your cars?

BK: For me I get more into the project if it has a name. Building cars is a very personal thing to me. I’m involved in every aspect of the project. Building cars is all I’ve ever done. It’s my passion, my hobby and my job.

RPM:  What was the first race car you built?

BK: I started racing when I was 21 when I bought a Mercury stick overdrive 4:10 gear car, then and immediately supercharged it, amongst other things, and raced it out at Abbotsford.  Then I got a job at Metropolitan Motors (now Metro Motors) in Port Coquitlam in 1958 and special-ordered a ’59 Ford Meteor, supercharged it and raced it for several years.

RPM: Is that when your racing career took off?

BK: That was the beginning, but a few years later Mussalem Motors wanted me to come and work for them and I told them if I did, they would have to sponsor me a race car. They agreed and it worked great as we set our first world speed record for C-Stock in a ’66 Chevy when we ran a 12.82 at Seattle, Washington.

RPM: How long did the record last for?

BK: We had the record for three years before it was broken. The racing got really competitive and we used to sell the race cars after we were finished with them, although I knew I could build a good motor that could set records, but I needed the right suspension as well. So I decided to buy a Chevelle Malibu convertible built by John Hoffman of Hoffman Machine in Stoney Plains Field, New Jersey. I called it the “Buck Kinney Special” and it really lived up to the name. We dropped one of my motors in and the first time out, we set a new world record in the Super Stock J Automatic class with an 11:46. We went on to set six quarter mile and six one-eighth mile records with that car.

RPM: How long did you race the “Special” for?

BK:  I raced it for over 25 years before I sold it to a customer of mine by the name of Wayne Darby. He had it for almost 10 years before we took it down to the Barrett-Jackson Auction in 2007 where it was bought by the Petersen Museum, where it has been on display ever since.

RPM: What do you see as your biggest racing accomplishment?

BK: I’m very proud of many of my accomplishments including winning the NHRA West Coast National Championship in 1966 (that came along with a six foot-high trophy) and all the speed records along the way, but it would have to be in the year 2000 when I was the first Canadian drag racer to be inducted into the NHRA Northwest Division Six Hall of Fame.

RPM: You branched out, opening your own shop in the early ‘80s. Do you work exclusively on race cars?

BK: No, we work on everything, as it helps to pay the bills, but race cars are my passion, so that is mostly what we work on.

RPM: Is your family involved in racing?

BK: My wife has always been very supportive of my racing. I have two daughters who never got into actually racing. I used to build nice cars for them, but they preferred to come out to the track and pit for me. My two grandchildren don’t race either, but love the sport and have their toys. My granddaughter has a Mustang and her brother has a radical 4×4.

RPM: Where do you see drag racing going in the future?

BK:  I think it’s going to get bigger and more sophisticated. Good performance parts are getting so much more economical, so people can afford to get into it. The street legal programs are really opening up the hobby to so many new people, and within a few years when there are fewer original cars available to build, I can see a market for kit cars. I also think we’ll also see electric and hydrogen-powered ones in the not-too-distant future. And don’t forget about the alcohol cars. They run very clean and it is comparatively cheap to purchase. I’m sure, though, that the cars are going to get faster and faster no matter how they are powered.

RPM: So what does Buck Kinney do for relaxation?

BK: I go to the race track, and I either watch the races or just help guys out with their cars.

RPM: Words spoken from a true car guy through and through.