Since you have a BB (stage 1)trans compare the VIN info on the driver's side to your VIN. If it matches this is good. This would be a rare and popular combo if you put it back to original.
:TU:Ha Ha. I just watched Treasure of Sierra Madre . I mean; just 5 minutes ago the credits were rolling. I recorded it on DVR Monday night. :grin: Seargent York is on now.........
The tranny vin does not match up. There are really no ways of knowing if this car is a stage 1 since the drivetrain has been swapped out who knows how many times... However, if i find out from wayne roberts that it is, it wouldn't be hard to make it a stage 1: 1. the block numbers and date codes are right, i would just have to stamp the SS and vin 2. the tranny is a 1970 BB, i would just have to restamp the correct vin 3. I have a set of correct heads (non stage 1) i could have machined for the large valves 4. distributor and carb are an easy fix for someone who can stamp vin codes.. Anyone see any problem with my plan? If all the date codes and vin #'s match up, how would nyone be able to tell the difference?
Hello and welcome from Milwaukee Wisconsin. It seems you have a really nice car with a really nice color combo. I wish I had the chance to restore one or two of my Pops old cars. Good for you. Im just wondering what would be the reason for all the restamping? Are you planning to keep, show or sell this car?
"if" the paperwork shows it to be a stage 1 car, i wil need to do something since the heads, tranny, carb, and distributor will not match. any ideas besides spending an arm and a leg finding the original parts? i will always keep this car as i inherited it from my dad, and i would love to show it at buick shows. the body man helping me with the restoration is gary mccintire in baldwin, wi, who has built numerous 992-998 point cars.
As long as you do not purport it to be a #s matching car, and advertise it as a re-stamp, I see no issues. You are scaring me with your "restamp" and "how will anyone know the difference" statements. Sounds like you want to create the illusion that this is an all original car when it is not.
i haven't thought the whole thing through yet, which is why i came to this forum- to learn things from people like you. it is my understanding that the vins and stampings are shaved off when a block is decked... you're saying it would be easy to tell the difference? just a thought, if this car happens to NOT be a stage 1 according to the build sheet, i will make it a non stage 1. i'm just looking at my options. thanks for the reply it helps a lot! justen
Howdy Justen I think what he was saying (and I'm sure he will answer you also) is you can not change out parts to make it a numbers matching car as it did not come from the factory like that. If you have a Stage One car great, but by changing the parts to the other stuff you have now changed it from a "Factory Numbers Matching Car" if you add those parts. There's nothing wrong with doing that, what becomes wrong is if you change the parts and then try and sell the car as a "matching numbers car". If you try to sell it just list it as what the VIN says it is and that you have had to modifiy this or that to make it this. It becomes the same as like my car, yes it looks like a GSX Stage One but it didn't start life as one so that is why it is a Tribute/Clone car. It sound like you have a great build going for you and your father and you most likely will not sell it but just remember it will no longer be a numbers matching car and as others have said just please don't try and pass it off as a numbers matching car. Good luck on your build and get some photo's for us, check out those catalogs I gave you the posts for, the Year One is great, as I said they list all the break downs so you can find out just what your car is and were it came from. Good Luck :3gears:
Justen, it sounds like you are planning on restamping parts to make your non-numbers-matching GS 455, into a numbers-matching Stage 1. That's fine, if you plan on being honest and up front about it. If you are going to try to pass it off as a real Stage 1, numbers-matching car, in order to get money out of it, that's dishonest and we take issue with it. That's what people are trying to say here.
Thanks everyone for their insight. I am going to build this car according to the vin and trim codes. I have decided to build a stage 1 out of it regardless if it was originally a non stage 1 (still waiting on wayne roberts). However, if it ends up being cloned as a stage 1, i will advertise it and be honest. I do not intent to ever sell this car due to sentimental value of it being my dad's project before he died. Ever since i was ten years old the 1970 stage 1 has been my ultimate favorite muscle car! I will be posting pictures as the project evolves...
You can at least tell if the block is leaning toward being a stage1 by measuring the oil pick-up galley... and welcome from WI
Pics!!! If it's truly for sentimental purposes only, and you are that o/c that you need to see the correct part # stamped on the distributor while you are waxing the intake, then I say go for it! Just don't try to pass it off as the real thing. It'll still be a triple black GS 455 with goodies, maybe not quite as valuable, but still an extremely cool car that could kill anything on the street back when it was born (and probably still today).
Another question for fellow buick owners- IF i decide to spend the big bucks and extra time needed to make this car worth competing in national shows, how would it do against cars that are truly original? Is it worth even showing at a national buick show if it is not original? I need to figure out how far i should go with this one...
here's a pic of the floor patch (passenger side rear) we had to make due to rust. I could not find a sheet metal supplier that offered a floor panel that actually matched the other side, so we made one.
No Buick judge is going to care if it's numbers matching...only that you have 1970 correct components. What is your definition of 'original'?
