I received a bunch of original documentation from the 2nd or third owner of my '70 GS455the other day (Thanks, Jimmy S.) . In the package was a neat report on the 1970 GSX I've never seen before. It compares the upcoming GSX to its competitors the GTO Judge, Ford Cobra, Charger R/T and Olds W30. Gives 1/4 mile comparisons, Specs on all, price analysis and lots more. Is this a known document? It was published by Buick Engineering, Production Information Dept. with a value engineering report and a lead times to obtain all the GSX specific add-ons. I've attached the first 3 pages of the 28 page report which includes a 5 page addendum with analysis data.
Yes it's been posted on v8Buick before but it was a couple of years ago. There are actually two versions of the report.
Upon going back through the document I found comparisons of all 4 models as to standard vs options and detailed price comparisons but, they only posted 0-60 and 1/4 mile times for the Olds W30 vs the Standard GS455 and the Stage 1. They showed the standard GS just as fast as the W30 with the Stage 1 much faster. It seemed that the 1/4 mile times were a bit slow. Wonder who did the testing?
Here are two different scans of one of the reports in pdf format. I don't see a date on it. Ray's copy appears to be cleaner than my copies.
Here is a pdf attachment of the 11-page report titled GSX and Competitive Car Data dated 10-31-1969. Some of the info is the same as the previous report but it also has information about how many they thought they could sell, the cost to make the GSX specific items over the cost of a GS455, comparison to other cars, etc:
Two men at a desk. While, I suppose under the worst case scenario - a loaded GS455 with a peg leg high gear, high ambient temp, and a timid inexperienced driver might turn a 15 flat, there is NO way the 442 W30 did the exact 15. This was done from a desk.
A friend of mine had a completely stock 1970 GS455, 2.93 peg leg auto with bias ply redlines. He had no problem running 14.40-14.50 @98-99 mph at BG back in the late 80’s early 90’s…
Yep. Thats a valid # Had a bone stock 71 did the same 14.4, but it did have factory 3.42 posi. This was in the 80s, bias plys and high miles.
I also had the same '70 GS455 with an open 2.93 rear, A/C, and other options. (It was a convertible) It also went mid 14s in the high 90's. I agree that the W30 time was probably a "desk estimate". Road and Track tested a W30 back in 1970 and it went 14.20 @102. It did have a 4-speed and a 3.91 though. Just a footnote on that much talked about 13.38 @ 105 that Motor Trend reported on a '70 Stage 1........most other road tests back then were in the high 13s to low 14s at about 100 MPH. Makes one wonder where Buick found a stock Stage 1 with 50+ HP more than the norm. No complaints from me on that one.
