Congrats Tom!!! I was considering buying this one. I hate 72's.. However, a Stage 1 stick, with this color combination... Great buy!
Hate 72's???? 72 is the best looking in its third year of production. 71 they ditched the ugly 70 front and rear bumpers, then in 72 they added the black rubber accents and black headlight bezels creating the best looking of the 3 years. Lol, to each his own said the lady as she kissed the cow. 70 may be the high compression, high HP model year, but I've never felt it was the best looking year. Probably didn't help my opinion may be biased due to the old man here in town that had a fire red/black vinyl top 72 GS here in town that I fell in love with when I was 14 years old.
Tom... As I had said, this car, in this color combo, with a stick... The same with Sobotka's 72 Flame Orange that is now at Adams shop. Loved it! Just don't like the grille, rear bumper rubbers, or the faux wood on the door panels.. That's all. Again, congrats on a good buy!
The one I have is a fully documented 72 - stage 1 - 4 speed (build sheet & Sloan doc.). It is Cortez Gold with a white and black interior. The car in my avatar was my Fathers 72 Buick Stage 1 four speed. The picture was taken in 1978. I believe the car is still alive but the drive train is long gone. Here is a picture of mine.
Richie post some pics of your 72 GS Stage 1 Looks great ,what is it's factory option load? Tom, I am with you for the same reasons ,I feel 72 Buick GS styling is pretty special.
Options: Tinted glass Body side moulding (removed during restoration) Sport mirrors N25 exhaust 15 x 7 wheels Conven. group (trunk, glove box, ashtray light) Engine block heater (long gone) am/fm radio with rear speaker power steering/power brakes Stage one 4 speed shorty console added by the previous owner
1 step closer. Made it from the barn into the heated attached garage. Might even get the engine out before the weekend is over.
Life gets in the way. Engine isn't out yet, but I ran across some Buick wheels to roll it around on so I can get the hideous chevy rally wheels off of it, lol
Ok, looking for input. The goal is to make the car run and drive. Here is the million dollar question?? Should I just pull the engine, fix/repair/rebuild it, reassemble it without painting it and put it right back in, leaving the car as a barn find, as found looking original?? Or....... Fully detail clean and paint everything under the hood, which would create a restored underhood appearance with an unrestored as-is exterior??
If you want the engine bay nice for when you work on it, I see no harm in a restored engine bay. I myself love the look of the car so I would not want to do anything to the body of the car, but interior upgrades or suspension or engine bay, that is all up to you. You will surely enjoy it more when you don't have to worry about door dings and scratches and all that fun stuff!