Is GSX #539 gone or can it still be "restored"?

Please vote based on the information offered below.

Previous prospective buyer states:

"I was almost stuck with a rebody, 70 QQ GSX # 539. From what I could tell the body, frame and rear axle was originally a 71 skylark"

Comments welcome on why you voted the way you did and what might change your mind one way or the other

 

Without the frame it's gone IMO, I would say that it needs to be kept in its original/current condition. Would be a cool garage decoration

 

No it cannot. Its a different car now.

 

Do you think all the mopars that have been restored are original body cars ?
Most of them rusted away except for original drive trains and are high dollar
car at auctions. My feeling is you do what you want with the car because part
of the car is an original X.
Bill

 

GSX is gone.
However, it sounds like there is a 71 Skylark for sale.

 

Sounds like a "George Washington's Original Hatchet".
Handle has been changed at least 5 times through the Centuries, & the Head twice. "But, it is the hatchet he used to cut down the Cherry Tree!"
JR

 

Gonzo. Forget it. If the body is from another plant it is even worse. It would have been put together and primed different. There would be red primer everywhere if from a different plant.

 

Several people were almost stuck with this car, will be interesting to see what the current owner does with it. He is a "Buick" guy and active on FB, but not sure if he is a member here or not.

 

JR
That is the best answer I have ever seen for these types of questions.

Eddie M.

 

The last head was made in China and the last handle was made in Vietnam.

Great analogy!

 

In my opinion the frame and body together make a car...everything else is wearing parts and can be replaced if worn to much.

Numbers matching drivetrain is nice but it's not the "soul" that has been here and there over the last decades...

any info on this car? is there an ad??

 

Sounds like the Body and frame are Skylark, cowl tag and vin tag removed from GSX and attached to Skylark. No ad, car is not currently listed for sale. Current owner bought it in July/August, IIRC.

 

So what if the tags were removed from the skylark shell and reattached to a 70 Buick A Body shell that was built around the same time as the X and in the same plant? Is that really any different than cutting the cowl panel and dash out and replacing everything around it?

 

I say it's gone.

A 70 body is different than a 71. A GS455 frame is different than a Skylark frame.

 

These discussions always get out of hand because there are a infinite number of "what-if" scenarios that you can come up with that fall into a huge grey area. The Washington's axe example I have heard so many times but is somewhat of a ridiculous analogy since it only describes one scenario, that the entire car is gone and you effectively have a clone. What if the entire car was replaced and retagged but the original drivetrain is there...what part of the "axe" is that?

I tend to draw the line at retagging. If you put the GSX drivetrain in a Skylark and paint it like the GSX, you have a clone. I can't see how simply swapping the tags and hidden vins all of a sudden makes it a restored GSX. Unfortunately, this has been done a lot over the past few decades on all kinds of restorations, so, how could you tell on a car that has been through a thorough restoration? This is one of the reasons I could never throw big money at a done car and am starting to lean away from the original musclecar thing and look more toward clones, resto-mods, and pro-touring where this isn't an issue. But then again, if no one knows and no one can tell, maybe it doesn't matter to a lot of buyers. The risk is that they don't know who does know the history of their car then and that could bite them later on.

As far as the replacing all of the metal around the cowl example, this gets into that huge grey area of restoration where there are infinite examples of what panels or how much metal is replaced. Where do you draw the line? That is why my line is at the retagging point, which also follows the legal line. Replacing metal is part of a typical restoration process that most cars have had done. Here, I am more concerned with the quality of the workmanship. When I comes to values, I would always place an original panel car higher. With metal replacement I would put the values down a bit but, again, it comes down to the quality of the work and attention to detail (spot weld replication, etc).

 

Just curious, what state is this GSX 539 car located in?

 

James, I realize there's a difference, and I agree with you. The car is gone. The tub is the wrong year and the original BW frame is missing. My post was more of a "what if" scenario. If memory serves, isn't there a thread somewhere in one of these boards where someone welds an original GSX cowl/firewall area to a skylark tub at the A pillars? It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I'm pretty sure it was done. Question is, how is that any different than moving tags (from one 70 to another)?

 

I think we can all ask ourselves this. If we would be happy with paying top dollar for an advertised "correct" "original" but fully restored GSX only to find out it was fully rebodied around the original cowl and cowl tag which was not disclosed up front.

I cant imagine anyone wanting to be that guy, which puts this debate to rest at least for me.

Now, if the car was advertised as a rebody and had a special vin stating so then I would have no problem with it.

Also, I would not consider Duanes Chevelle a rebody either.

 

The scenario in post 18 above gets into this "infinite what-if zone". "What if" the tub of the car needed all the work due to damage but that car has the original frame, fenders, doors, drivetrain, etc? Would it be better to fix the car that way or weld in chinese floors, trunk, inner and outer quarters, etc? A lot of cars have been done both ways. In either situation, this is a lot different than just moving a tags to a different car entirely.

Or...would this car be considered unrestorable?

My point is there are so many scenarios on this side of the legal line that it is hard to draw a line between what is legitimate and what is not. Like what was said above, if you are throwing top dollar at a car, know and be comfortable with what you are buying.