James, I don't think that could have been a possibility, for 71 & 72 the stripes were the package, so if you bought a "stripe delete" car all you were buying was a GS. Although Brad's/Drew's 71 Black car comes about the closest. It was delivered with the red pin stripe only, because the Factory was not going to paint semi-gloss black on a black car. It must have looked like the Batmobile. The decision was made at the dealership level to paint the Cortez Gold stripes. Duane
An interesting Side note to this is I knew someone who had a 70 Olds Cutlass W-31. He wanted to order it Black with no stripes in 1970. Factory said no. Dealer ordered black with black stripes! He got his car no stripes. Sneaky.
There are several Oldsmobiles that are documented as stripe-delete cars, and it was possible to have this done - it's not an anomaly. Here's a strange one: A Judge with stripe-delete: http://phscollectorcarworld.blogspot.com/2013/09/1970-stripe-delete-judge-mystery.html
So answer me this please. If there is a way to correctly tell factory stripes and my stripes appear correct, then how could the color be wrong if body tag paint code is correct? 1971 Verdemist green was a new color and offered on the GS and option code for GSX stripes makes it what this car is. My car has the correct and factory paint! I think you have my car mistaken.
A Fisher build sheet would be a good way to tell if stripes were original. I would look hard for that. I have found on Flint cars rolled and stuffed in cubby under drivers side vent and also under the sound deadener at the passenger foot well. The body tags did not show stripes just upper and lower colors and fabrics.
What about rocker cover stripes being black on a GSX and red on a GS? I seem to recall this from my documented GSX.
Another interesting note if you find the Fisher sheet is it should say rear ornament delete. That would indicate you got the stripe and decals with no GS badge on the trunk lid. Anyone with a 71 or 72 Gsx fisher sheet have this code?
Tom, There are original owners of 1970 GSXs that have never taken their cars apart and their cars came from the Factory with red striped rocker panels. They were not supposed to, but had them never the less. (I have never heard of any 71 or 72 GSX's with them.) Now back to this car "So answer me this please. If there is a way to correctly tell factory stripes and my stripes appear correct, then how could the color be wrong if body tag paint code is correct? 1971 Verdemist green was a new color and offered on the GS and option code for GSX stripes makes it what this car is. My car has the correct and factory paint! I think you have my car mistaken." What I have said is your car is not one of the 6 regular colors for a 71 GSX, not that your car is the wrong color, or the fact that your body tag shows it being the correct color or not. As to your car having original paint etc, I do remember the driver side rear quarter having repair work/paint work done. I also remember the trunk lid being changed, and having oval slots cut into it for the rear spoiler bolts/screws. I do not remember if it had the rear spoiler brackets or not and vaguely remember I thought it may have had a 72 or replacement style rear spoiler on it, but don't quote me on that. I also remember the passenger side rear quarter having some paint work done, but did not have time to see where it stopped. I also remember looking at the cowl tag to see if it was a SCO car. You could tell it was, from the Flint coupe low body number. I do remember looking at the stripes on the rest of the car and having a hard time determining of they were correct or not, and had no time to determine if those panels were correctly date coded, or had original paint. Now you have to understand that I looked at this car for approximately 5 minutes, at the GSX Reunion, which was probably the busiest day of my life. (Mark Macoubrie and I did nothing but run all day.) At the time I figured the car had a good possibility of being real, but could not say yes on no. It had a lot going for it, but that is where I left it. I know Richard Johns got some pics from you and I have talked to him. Rich is very knowledgeable on this subject and we will see what he has to say. If you want another opinion you might want to call John Chamberlain. He lives in western PA and might be able to look at the car in person. Maybe he can help you. Again, If you find a Build Sheet I would be happy to decode it for you. Duane
Dwayne after reviewing everything you emailed me here is my assessment for you car. Like Duane, I was at the GSX reunion, when this car rolled in for sale and only spent a few minutes walking around it, so from the pics you emailed me and that brief walk around many years ago here are my thoughts on your car. First,this car has a low body # which was required for installation of the factory WA6 rear spoiler. In 1971 only 20 GS hardtops received stand alone WA6 rear spoiler. Typically, the stand alone rear spoiler cars (non GSX) received GSX dash pad emblem, as the assembly line assumed GSX stripes were to be painted on later after car was off the line. Both Duane Heckman and myself have seen GS cars with factory rear spoiler to prove this. Also, I currently own a 72 GS 455 SCO factory WA6 rear spoiler car which had GSX dash emblem however, car is not a GSX, as it does not have Y41 GSX group and WA5 GSX ornamentation package option. Dwayne Your car has had a various level of paint work/ body repairs ,however your GSX decal on passenger rear quarter is cracked and aged like my original paint 70 GSX I own. The stripes on your car, in shape and angle are correct, only the factory or modern Phoenix Graphixs paint templates allow for this accuracy. Your stripes especially painted red pinstripe around door handles is done the factory sloppy way. You also indicate this car has also not be tagged since 1982 another good sign that any cloning was done back in the 1970's. Your front fenders are correct for your car and have had no factory GS front fender holes punched in also very good sign as a factory GSX would not have front fender GS emblems. Unfortunately decklid and spoiler have been replaced but large diameter rear trunk rods are still there. I short, I believe your car is probably a factory 71 GSX 455 4 speed car, undoubtedly special ordered with unique driveline and non Buick recommended 49 paint code Verdemist Green color and black vinyl top. Even though I feel it probably is one of the factory 124 GSX's built in 1971 that is just my opinion, for what I see and from what you have emailed me. Without a factory build sheet or factory paper work which hopefully one day will be available, you can say with 90 % confidence your car is probably a factory 71 GSX. The only way you get 100% is with paper work which currently you do not have. I know you want to restore this car, if it were my car, I would restore it exactly they way it is factory optioned, I would restore exactly as you see it now, as a Verdismist Green, Black vinyl top, non Stage 455 4 speed 71 GSX . Do not add hood tach or front spoiler as these were separate options and were not part of the 71-72 WA5 GSX ornamentation package and your car was not factor ordered with these options. If you add or change options during restoration your car becomes less believable as a genuine 71 GSX car. Rare cars need to be respected and restored as factory built to be correct. I hope this helps you move ahead with your car. Photo document this car in detail before you start restoration, as this currently is your only evidence of your car probably being a real 71 GSX.
Thank you Duane and thank you Rich. I just needed a little guidance and direction to my though process and wanted some expert advice. Thanks
I have pictures of Tom's old 71 GSX, white with black Vinyl top documented by GM Canada that was all original. I will see if I can find the pictures I took of the car 25 or 30 years ago but I am sure Tom has some too.
Sorry for the poor quality picture but its dated 1982, It would have been interesting to have scratched off the black paint to see if there was red under it but that said the owner of this car did pretty much nothing but drive it. I have seen a lot things on our Buick's over the years that were not the norm like odd block stamping's etc, paint error's etc so I am not sure we should say "never"
