nothing cooler than going to the local cruise here where there are 800 -1000 cars and mine is the ONLY A body GS ! Never seen more than 2 GS's at the local big show. occasionally theres a GS clone or GSX clones that are obvious clones . other than that there is an occasional skylark or 2 but in all never more than 2-3 total GS's and skylarks out of 800-1000 cars . there are double digits of chevelles of ever year and mustangs are plain ridiculous, with at least 40-50 of those. It is really cool to have a rarer muscle car. And I love it when Mine is the only one in a sea of chevelles. A body Oldsmobiles 442's are somewhat rare too, but usually theres at least a handful of them too.
Exactly. I kind of like that quite a few people I know have never heard of a GS. It makes it that much more cool when you show em a picture and they say, "wow, that's a nice looking car." I have seen one Stage 1 car with X stripes & spoiler around where I live, but aside from the 71 GSX that got me started into Buicks, the only other place I remember seeing any was at the Auto Fair in Charlotte, but they were still few and far between even there. It's good to be different.
Welcome Sherwood! Like you, the Buick bug bit me in high school too. Difference is, when I got bit, the 1970 models were only six years old! My dad has been a Buick guy for a long time too. He had the first one I ever noticed, a 70 Electra 'vert. Bamboo cream, brown leather interior and tan top. I know for a fact that one had a posi because I watched it lay twin stripes on more than one occasion! When I started shopping for my first real car, one I could actually drive that is, we went all over Orange County, California. We ended up at Mike McCarthy Buick in Huntington Beach. There was a Cortez Gold with a brown top and interior Stage 1 GS. All I got away with was starting it. One earful of that sweet exhaust note and my eyes lit up with a "Gotta Have It". Every time my mouth opened to say something to my dad, he had a one word response before I even finished the first word. His was *NO*! Bu-- NO Da-- NO. Fortunately for me, telephone poles, ticket books, tires and untold trouble, he stayed firm and I didn't get the GS. What I did end up with was a 1968 Riviera GS, red, black vinyl interior and black vinyl top. $1,250 out the door. That car was the fastest thing at my high school until my buddy brought a hot 1970 SS Chevelle to school. Close race every time but he always got me. That Riv ran down and beat a 240Z on the Santa Ana Freeway one night, spinning a bearing in the process. Got a 430 out of a 69 Wildcat and ran the Rivi at the OCIR Friday night drags. Ran 15 flat on old plugs and just taking off the air cleaner. Fun stuff. Also had a 1970 GS 350. My dad, again, knew I was looking for a car and tossed the Saturday paper in front of me one day. Hansel Olds was advertising a 1970 GS and had a picture of a silver/black/black GS. Off we go to "look". On the test drive with my dad and brother in the car, we stomped the s&*t out of a 70 Mach 1. Drove that home that day. Out terrorizing some freeway on ramps one night, I ran against a 340 Challenger and won that one too. Lost a few on the street but won more than I lost. :laugh: Enjoy that GS. The small block Buick makes some serious fun, even stone stock. Take lots of pictures. I have ONE picture of my 70 GS and none of my Riv. :spank:
Welcome! Check out the Carolinas Chapter of the GSCA. Lots of great Buick guys & girls in the NC - SC area. Plus me in Alabama (I used to live in SC). The website is kind of out of date but I think most of the contact info is good. http://www.carolinaschaptergsca.com/club_officers.htm
Thanks for the welcome guys! And thanks for the link Mike. I'm already excited for the day I get to drive it! I just wish I was around back when you could have cars parked all along the road and be racing on weekend nights, and the only issue you'd get from the cops is when they come and flash their lights for people to disperse. Much simpler times, back when people didn't overreact to everything. ou:
Dustin, welcome to the Buick community! Glad to see younger guys getting into restoring these cars. No one in my high school was into old cars like I was, but don't let that get to you. I am only 22 and have 3 Buicks already. Started out with a 73 GS455 that I have been restoring with my dad since the age of 12! Car is still not completed but its fun so that is what matters. You have yourself a great car to start with. What are your plans for it? Let's see some more pictures!:beer
Hey Anthony! Thanks for the welcome. Looks like you have quite the nice trio of 73s. My plans for this car are to do the bodywork first because I can do it fairly cheaply and know how to. I am planning on going back with the original color combo for it, (Sherwwod Green with white buckets and white vinyl top). I may put front and rear spoilers on it, but that will be a later decision. As far as drive train goes, I'm not sure yet. I don't know for sure if the car has 36k or 136k miles on it, but when I fired it up, even though it had been sitting for 5-10 years, it hardly smoked and once it was warmed up it ran very smoothly. If everything checks out, I'm probably going to go through, clean everything, polish the heads, inspect all moving parts and put new gaskets and seals in it. I may put a mild cam in it while I have it opened up. I'm doing a restoration thread in the members rides section and I'll be posting on my progress there. Here's a pic of what the car originally looked like...
