Not sure if I am in the right spot but does anyone know this car?

The car is now black so the inside of the fenders would be too.

 

No, I was referring to the inner fenders, but was thinking the car was brown, not black

 

I took a closer look at the door panels and yes there are 6 screws running along the bottom passenger as opposed to the 4 at the bottom of the driver's side panel and the driver's panel has a screw just above and forward of the window crank as well 3 extra screws running up the back of the driver side door panel. I looked at further pictures and do see fins on the front drums however am sure the seller will try to explain himself out of the P.D.B. description by saying that P.D.B. stands for Power Drum Brakes which is misleading (at least in my opinion). If the car does need new tires I'm going to have make the decision of up grading from the current 14 inch rims to 15's however not sure what a set of 4 (well maybe 5 if you want a correct spare) 15 inch would cost. I've also been told that a car would handle better with 15 inch rims/tires. The seller did tell me that the car spent most of it's life in California and Arizona so the heat may have warped the door panels however that is no excuse to resolve the warped panels by just driving more screws in rather than buying new panels. I guess when Lemon Squad runs their paint scanner over the car the answer to any rust on the car will be answered. I tried to enlarge the side view pictures of the car but it doesn't work.

 

I am going to say that I don't feel like this is the kind of car that has the loving attention to detail the we are used to seeing here in the high end restoration category. Many little and some big things are wrong and it would require a fanatical owner and a bunch of time to make them right.

Also it makes you wonder what else is wrong that we can't see?

The drivers door is missing both the rubber bumpers and the brown paint appears to be showing through. The passenger door is missing one of the bumpers, The weather strip/window sweep at the top the drivers door looks kind of tired.

It's a great looking car, no doubt! but I would be prepared to spend more if you buy it to deal with the items that bug you.

Also, FYI, replacing things like the 52 year old door panels and the wheels are not trivial if you intend to make/keep the car mostly correct.

 

Driving distance from Winnipeg Manitoba to Lynnwood is just under 6,000 miles round trip, 46 hours driving time, maybe more when going through the mountains. If you drove non stop round trip it would take 6 days at driving 8 hours/day plus time at the dealership, stopping for meals, 6 days renting a hotel room, finding a suitable kennel to take care of my dogs, hiring a service to do a walk thru of my house every 2 days to satisfy the company who insures my house, gas and am sure there are more expenses involved. Flying would be faster however did enquire about the cost to fly round trip but very expensive as the airline passes along the expense of the high fuel cost onto the customer. As well would have to do the same as I'm doing from home I.E. hiring a mechanic and Lemon Squad to look over the car. Seems more cost effective to book/pay the experts in Lynnwood from my home.

 

Checked out the picture of the driver side door panel and besides the extra screw you had mentioned there are also 3 extra screws at the back of the door panel. The seller told me the car spent most of it's life in California and Arizona where the heat may have warped the door panels however the proper fix would be to replace the panels rather that driving more screws in. Are the mirrors placed too far back to be nonfunctional and what are the correct type of side mirrors for a 70 convertible? Looked at the 40 extra pictures (mostly of the underside of the car) and do not see any tags on the differential however when I looked at a couple of Mustangs they were missing the differential tag(s) as well. The seller told me the previous owner did partially restore the car and the seller finished the restoration however it appears as though people have different ideas/definitions of what a restoration is. The car has already been to the mechanic on July 30 however have e mailed the station and mechanic to ask if the car has front disc brakes when he pulled the wheels to check the brakes as well even though asking am not sure if a mechanical inspection would require checking to see if the differential is Posi. The mechanic did tell me yesterday the fluid in the differential is very dirty and needs replacing. Both in the eBay listing it did say boot as well as the seller said there is a boot for the convertible top and have also asked Lemon Squad to make sure the top functions correctly and if there is a boot.

 

Yikes, looks like the rear axle housing has been getting touchy-feely with the exhaust! Hard to ignore that kind of noise.

Devon

 

Not sure where they would put gauges to replace the temperature/oil/amp lights and would consider replacing the clock with a Tach. Lemon Squad will be running a paint scanner across the body which should address any rust concerns. With spending $57K U.S. to buy the car I was hoping to get a good quality driver (hoping in the #2 category) without having to put a lot more money into the car. Not sure if it's still available but there is/was a 1970 GS Stage 1 4 speed with 3 binders documenting the restoration asking $59,900 however it is a hardtop and what drew me to this car was that it is a convertible. I am not sure if I would be able to back out of the contract to buy the convertible however did message the seller through eBay one day before buying that the sale is conditional to the car passing a Washington State safety/mechanical inspection, that the car is as described in the listing and meets my approval once I receive the Lemon Squad report as well as there being no Liens on the car.

 

Not really interested in a very highly detailed high end restoration (although it would be nice to get a car such as that for $57K USD) that would bring the car up to a #1 concourse as I'm sure to buy such a car would be very expensive. I want a quality car that some/most friend's and people in general would envy but don't want to be afraid to drive the car in fear of getting a stone chip or scratch on it. I already have a 1969 Camaro that in my opinion is in the #2 range however have not had it appraised to confirm that and do get a lot of complements on that car and always worry when I take it out to Sunday night cruise in's but I am a worrier by nature on most things besides the cars. I'm hoping that whoever inspects the Buick from Lemon Squad would notice any/all imperfections and include this information in their report. If the report indicates there is just too much wrong and the car would be a money pit I think I would pass on the car although I've really got myself pumped on the car but that is only based on the color combination, the 455 with standard trans. and mostly that it is a convertible. As I said if the car is going to require too much money in bringing it up to the condition I want I would be disappointed but pass on it from a financial standpoint. I know people who have meticulous cars however never see them on the street but only at indoor car shows.

 

The 3 gauge pod (fuel/temp/oil) replaces the pod that currently has just the fuel gauge & temp/water lights. The tach (or 24-hr rally clock) was only avail. w/the gauges. Assuming lemon squad checks out & no lein, it seems you're getting a decent (& quite rare) car. Will it require some $? Yes. How much depends on what you want out of it.

Like I'm sure in the case on any specific brand/model site, we're going to find the stuff that's wrong and I think that's what you want but it's also easy to make all that critiquing 2nd guess your decision. If it's truly rust free/orig. sheetmetal/#'s matching drivetrain & the color change doesn't bother you , you're way ahead of the game.

Also, I wouldn't let the drum brakes worry you although if it was advertised w/disk I'd hammer them for some $. Buick had very good drum brakes. Only issues are repeated high-speed hard stops &/or if they get wet. It should also have aluminum front drums (can't tell from picks if the are). Same on the posi as far as $ if it was advertised as such. It should have a 3.42 rear regardless (open or posi).

 

Just to add to your research on whether the car will be acceptable with 14 inch rims or you would want to go with 15s, I'll offer this..........................A set of new or show quality used 15 inch Buick Rallye wheels will set you back about $1300 IF you can find them. (they are back ordered all over the country with no promise date). A set of BFG Radial TAs in 245/60 x 15 will set you back another $1300 so plan on an outlay of about $2600 plus mounting and balancing. You could probably sell the current 14s with mounted tires for $1,000 give or take.

I hope everything works out for you. Keep us posted.

 

Thank you. How much of a handling difference is there between 14 and 15 inch Rims/tires? Not planning on doing any ralley racing with the car just thinking of handling and if the 15's would fill up the wheel well any better however judging from the pictures the current 14's don't look odd in the GS's wheel wells.

 

Thank you. I am hoping Lemon Squad will come back with a positive report. According to the Lemon Squad's list of some of items they check for on a vintage/classic car inspection is previous accident and flood damage (asked them to smell for mildew all the same), comprehensive inspection of the motor and transmission, all driveline components, Steering, suspension, Braking components, and Exhaust system, the entire drivetrain performance is evaluated with a road test, verify VIN, take over 40 pictures. I thought I read that they also numbers match the car however cannot find that statement so will assume not. Condition of body and paint, presence of scratches, cracks, dents or rust.
They will also address any additional areas of concern that I identify ( I have asked them to take a paint scanner that they say will determine if the car has been re painted, which I know from the firewall tag the car used to be brown but prefer the current black, and any body fillers where I also hope will pick up on any rust issues, check the gaps in all of the body panels, checking to make sure the top is in proper working order as well if there is a boot, correct function of back up lights, condition of chrome, check under trunk mat for rust). As far as Liens I have already taken care of that by contacting the California DMV who verified there are no liens and the car is not a salvage vehicle. I'm not quite sure how they would be able to determine if all sheet metal is original. I want to call Lemon Squad to ask them to also check if the diff. is posi. and re afirm there is a boot and the boots condition. Besides getting a the Lemon Squad inspection I also had the seller take the car to a mechanic for inspection. Some of the negative things the mechanic identified was although the brakes passed they will soon need replacing, the shocks need replacing, the oil in the diff. is very dirty and needs to be changed, the valve covers, oil pan and water pump leak as well that the air conditioning doesn't work even though the seller told me the air blows cold. All in all if Lemon Squad gives the car a good/high report I think I will still buy the car as it seems any or at least most of the items in need of repair or attention are minor fixes however multiple minor fixes will still add up to a large bill. I thank you for the information and your input.

 

One last thing I noticed was that the "455" emblems are in a different position on ea. side (driver's side is definitely wrong - pass side at least looks close if not correct). That, besides that incorrect emblem plcement is a pet peeve, would seem to indicate a fender has been replaced which isn't a big deal really & it appears to be a '70 fender (there's only a minor difference).

 

If a new fender were to be put on wouldn't the fender come pre drilled for emblem placement. I'm not to concerned that the placement of the GS 455 emblems are a bit off as I believe 99.9% of anyone who looks at the car fender would not notice once they walk from one side to the other, if anyone started putting a tape measure against the car to compare they would be in great need of a dentist. It is odd though as on my 69 Camaro the holes between the front of the door and the back of the front wheel well came pre drilled to accommodate a number of emblems .

 

You're buying a US$ 57,000 car, but that's the reason to not fly to WA to have a good look at that car....

I found a flight for only US$ 549, leaving on Saturday 08/08 and returning on Monday.

DEPARTS: 6:00 am from Winnipeg, J A Richardson Intl (YWG)
ARRIVES: 10:30 am at Seattle, Seattle Tacoma Intl (SEA)
DEPARTS: 12:45 pm from Seattle, Seattle Tacoma Intl (SEA)
ARRIVES: 11:44 pm at Winnipeg, J A Richardson Intl (YWG)

I'm sure you can find an even better deal if you do more searching.

It's only 2270 km one way, so that's 4540 km round trip.
And that's 2821 miles (not "just under 6000 miles"), if you still want to use miles in metric Canada.



I think research isn't your strongest point.
Not when it comes to distances, not when it comes to finding flights and also not when doing research before you buy a US$ 57,000 car from a few photos.

 

I agree the standard drum brakes on Buicks are fine. I have them on my’70 and they stop great. Only thing I had to get used to is the higher brake pedal.

 

The convertible wedges are missing on the doors, I would guess they are also missing on the body.

 

They didn't come pre-drilled. All the NOS replacement were for Skylark or GS. That also looks to be a '70 fender so it would've been a used one if replaced and probably off a Skylark. Of course car was in CA & it could've been done a long time ago as a result of a fender bender so rust free sheetmetal was around. Unfortunately the pics from when it was for sale are gone from the thread on here (ppl have gotten better now at downloading them & posting so we have them for posterity). Maybe look at the magazine piece IIRC you said eas out there and see if it they were mismatched then.

Again, we're just pointing stuff out & not trying to discourage you! That's what you're paying us for. Personally, when the car was for sale in CA if I'd had the space/$ I'd have seriously considered it.

As a side note, it'd be interesting to know what the factory did for all the various trim/emblem holes in Skylarks/GSs. They must've all come from the stamping plant blank (like the NOS) and then they had jigs/punches @ the assy. Plant depending upon which car that particular fender was going on. Same for trunks & quarters/doors at Fisher body. We know of at least 2 '72 GS convertibles that came from the factory w/both GS fender emblems and Skylark quarter panel emblems and @Mart's orig GS "BMD" fender emblem is crooked.