Can anyone decode 71 GS455 Phase 1

[lane91]

I have a car that looks to be original and has the following trim tag ...if anyone could decode I would appreciate!! I am a new buick owner have Chevelles so a different a body is good right.

Vin 134371Z112855

Trim Tag
71 - 43437 Z 00891 ---WHY WOULD BODY NUMBER BE SO LOW?
165 B80 53 A 7(THE 7 IS STAMPED ODDLY A LITTLE HIGHER THAN A)
02A 098768 68044

Car has air cond and appears to have orig 455 in it...having a hard time finding vin on motor. Is is rare to have AC how many came with air.

It has stage 1 emblems...how else do you tell if it is a stage 1?

Has disc brakes, ps and pb.

Also is has elec driver bucket, and tilt ...were these rare?

Interior has woodgrain console and is white interior.

I was thinking about a full restoration is this car a keeper all opinions are appreciated.

Thanks!

[Steve Craig]

Think your first digit in the VIN is a 4.
4=Buick
34=GS
37=2 dr. hardtop
1=1971
Z=Fremont , CA build plant
Balance is sequence build number. Next car was 112856
00891 is an internal plant number, no relevance.
165=Ivory interior in Canada, White I think, in the US.
B80=Chrome drip rail mouldings
53=Cotrez Gold lower body colour, A= white vinyl upper body colour.
Not sure on the "7"
Take the power steering pump & bracket off. On the block,driver side, just below the head you will find a stamped serial # on the motor. Hard to see, you may have to clean /scrape the paint & oil. The original motor will be stamped 41Z112855.
Plenty of cars had AC but not many had the electric seat.Power locks too??
A really rare option was a power seat back release that came with power locks. Might have to look inside the seat back to confirm this.
First give-away that it's a real Stage 1 car would be chrome valve covers. Few other things to look for but I'm not the expert here. 1971 is very difficult to identify.

Check the identification article here: www.buickperformance.com

BTW: Sounds like quite a car. They are usually all "keepers" unless rusted into oblivion.
Be prepared to spend some effort looking for some trim parts, lots of help on this site.
Post a pic when you can & let me know if I can help out anymore.

[Dan Healey]

Low number (00891 is a Fischer Body number) because it was built in the Fremont, CA plant. I saw another GS with December build and 00666 body number. :laugh:
165= Pearl White buckets(also called Ivory from Fischer Body)!
B80 = ? don't know, that was a Fremont thing, could be the pwr seat
53 A = Cortez Gold with White vinyl top, "7" = ? no idea. :Do No:
02A = 2nd week of February, 098768 68044 = no idea, I think cars headed to Canada got something there. :Do No:

Yes, I'd say you have MANY desireable options and somewhat rare for GS's, and a great color combo! Excellent car to restore IMHO :TU:

Stage 1? Read here and it will also tell you where to find the vin on the block!
http://www.stage1registry.com/stage1info.html#E1

[henry white]

i think i saw a post by Marco saying the B80 code was something about roof moulding delete/ or no. i just made a post about another Z fremont car with the same code.

edit: see the thread i bumped where Marco mentions the B80 code.

[GS1]

I thought all GS stage 1 cars in '71 were built in Flint??

The stage 1 has a different carb - I could look up the number if you need it.

[Dan Healey]

And look here. :TU:
http://www.stage1registry.com/stage1info.html#E1
:Smarty: