There was no mention of the frame issue and I didn’t see it when I inspected the car. That’s a strange issue. All numbers? Nope. Engine block, carb, and distributor were not correct Stage 1 parts. He has now added photos in the comments of the BAT ad that show that they are all ‘72 model parts but not Stage 1 stuff. Transmission is original. I didn’t check the rearend. It is a neat car and I like it but I’ve already got a fleet of cars that have issues. I don’t need another hungry mouth to feed. A potential buyer just needs to know that they are looking at a NOM car with some old body repairs that were done poorly. It would still be a fun car.
Well,I’d want to ride behind that Pandora’s box and see how it tracks on the road before I bid on it. Might dog leg some?
Well,with all the conveniently undisclosed information now coming to light (see clarifying comments in the ad) I’ll just say good luck to the high bidder. I find it very hard to believe that a car with the alluded to low miles (and Voluminous previous owner history) would already have a standard 455 (and all of its critical Stage 1 components) installed without a very selective memory amongst the previous owners. If freely admitted I would have no issue with the car and would be happy to own it (at the correct adjusted price) but as all the details come to light, the path probably isn’t going to get much easier. Caveat emptor.
Or….. he knew the underlying body/ frame issues would scare many off and sold the high dollar items to maximize profit..
This 3 pages has been a good lesson for me. I am nowhere near ready to properly inspect a late 60s to 70s car for a purchase. I thought I was. This is a good wake up read…. Helps to realize what you don’t know.
I think this car is close to it potential for sure, doing the math, if I had this car and put my labor and about $20k into it I would be all in at $35k for a #2-3 driver and could expect to get $39k tops for all my time and effort, and for those reasons, I’m out.
“Or….. he knew the underlying body/ frame issues would scare many off and sold the high dollar items to maximize profit.” I was thinking that also George because I have all the missing parts for this car from one of my 72 Stage 1’s, but the block stamping being a standard 455 dashed my dreams of getting something I could add my parts to in order to make it correct in the event I ever sold it. Tough enough to get better or fair ROI money for a 72 versus a 70, but this put’s a guy at the back of the line unfortunately. Still a cool car but……..
For $35k (incl. free labor), I'd personally rather put another $30k into that 14k mi. survivor assuming I had that extra $50k to spend up front. Better car & better long-term investment IMHO.
You always have the knowledgeable folks on here to help! Provide us with quality photos, as this seller has done, and we can usually give a pretty good critique of any GS.
Wow, Almost to 16k for this turd with 3 days left. What's the old saying?? A fool and his money are soon parted?
You got that right! yeah, I remember back in the late 80s when we still were dependent on scrambling to the nearest store that had the paper version of cars for sale. I knew the store that got their deliveries first that I always went to on my break and I got a copy of the car and trader which I could zoom through and anything with the initials GS on it or Buick immediately stopped me from blazing through it. this particular week what caught my eye was a 1970 GS 455 stage one four-speed convertible in black on black on black!!! Price was “$18,000 FIRM,CASH ONLY!” I called the guy up and his mechanic answers and says the guy isn’t there but there were already people heading up to the mountains to buy this thing and whoever got there first was going to be the owner. I was at work and didn’t have 18 K in my pocket(go figure!) but the guy said that was OK there was a doctor on the way up there & he was probably the closest and I might get to see it because he was from my area (Charlotte at the time) so maybe I could lay eyes on it one day. Obviously it was purchased as the car went dark for over a year until I was visiting a friend who smartly hoarded NOS GS parts. I finally agreed to his $500 for an NOS passenger 70 Tri-Shield “frying pan mirror” for my 70 Stage non a/c 4-speed. As we were out in the driveway shooting the bull prior to my leaving he said you know I had a odd visit the other day after a phone call. I took the bait and asked him what it was and he said he had a call from this Doctor who had a 70 just like the ad I still remembered. The doctor offered to compensate my acquaintance for “looking the car over” for him with no further details. So this guy shows up in this stage one convertible four-speed car gets out meet my friend (before he gets fully to the car) and directs him to look the car completely over and tell him anything on this car that would prove that it’s not an original stage one car. There was one problem with this although my friend was very knowledgeable on the correct parts for the 70’s having owned a stage one convertible himself as well as multiple other super rare GS’s & GSX’s. So he happily agrees to look it all over which any of us would be thrilled to look at a factory black 70 stage one four-speed convertible are you kidding me? He proceeds to walk up to the car and notices the first red flag is the guy has dash V.I.N. covered with tape which gave him moment to pause. The owner said for him not to worry about that he specifically wanted him to look under the hood and proceeded to pop the hood. It seems the masking tape was not limited to the dash as he had the cowl covered over, distributor number, carburetor number and block codes covered. Back in those days I knew where every single GSX or GS was and other than that secondhand story I never did see or hear of the car again. Maybe it was sold out of state, maybe it’s in some dark old garage for life with the doctor fearing being sued for misrepresentation? I don’t know but it sounds like someone learned a very valuable lesson! Another reason I have learned to never rush into anything. I like how John Wayne said it better though : “What’s the secret of success? Right decisions. How do you make right decisions? Experience. How do you get experience? Wrong decisions.”
I think this is a good point. It sort of depends what you want. If you want correct - posting here will quickly find what isn't correct. If you care less about that than having a GS455/Stage 1 to blast around in and not worry too much (once any dangerous mechanicals are taken care of), it may not be too bad. The other thing I like to remember when I see ads posted here. This is basically THE PLACE that people go when they have a GS. Many of the ads posted may be by users who come here to find out about what they have and learn. Dumping on the vehicles like this, and/or their owners, could mean alienating potential members of the board - whether they're buyers or sellers of some of these cars.
From my experience/what I can see and read: A fairly well cared for mostly garaged 150K mile car. I have to pause sometimes and remember a car like this is now FIFTY years old! In that context, even with the issues it has, it’s a lot better than some of the hulled out or piece together junk that comes across these pages. if the ownership history is correct, and the current owner has all of that information, some backtracking on the cars history would prove interesting. were the car actually in front of me and I can inspect it for myself: if it’s truly a turnkey driver as it is I would seriously consider it for 15k. The option package is really good and it’s still a real stage car that presents OK and isn’t too butchered up. I wouldn’t put a dime into it other than what it takes to keep it a solid runner. Just maintain what’s there and drive it. Steve weim55 Colorado
The problem is....... What this car was several days ago(as originally represented), and what this car is today(as it has been proven to be by the experts here), are two totally different cars. Auction should be deleted, and started over with all the CORRECT representation of what it actually IS.
Now you see why I nearly dropped the phone when the owner told me a couple years ago that he would sell it to me for $40k. I didn’t even know how to respond other than to say “thanks for giving me first shot at it but I’ll pass.”
From my experience in ALL sorts of sales, the guy does “too”excellent a job with historic details on previous owners but glosses quickly over vital details with comments like (originally , built as Stage 1 “)or something for a quick exit on disclosed “info” & “replaced items” etc.” Smacked of a sleazy salesman trying to earn a selective memory commission IMO
