My uncle's all original 1970 Buick GSX

[AndyG]

I have always been proud to say this car was in my family- Only 678 were produced in 1970 and they are considered one of the three fastest muscle cars of all time- It makes 500 foot pounds of torque at the rear wheels. When the automatic shifts
out at 90 miles an hour it will bark the tires.

A lot of you guys on here know what these are and I believe one or two of you even had one.

The 1970 mile was never ordered you only purchased the car like Buick built it- It was a return to performance after a government ban was lifted.

This car has never been painted or had any body work.

It was a daily driver for years.

He is so proud to call it his.

 

[Wildman]

I have always been proud to say this car was in my family- Only 678 were produced in 1970 and they are considered one of the three fastest muscle cars of all time- It makes 500 foot pounds of torque at the rear wheels. When the automatic shifts
out at 90 miles an hour it will bark the tires.

A lot of you guys on here know what these are and I believe one or two of you even had one.

The 1970 mile was never ordered you only purchased the car like Buick built it- It was I a return to performance after a government ban was lifted.

This car has never been painted or had any body work.

It was a daily driver for years.

He is so proud to call it his.


View attachment 410041

AWESOME

 

[KennethS]

That is a very nice car, and a very desirable one.

You have a bit of misinformation, though.
The 500 ft-lbs rating was at the flywheel, not the rear wheels. It was rated using the GROSS system and not the NET system (GROSS was done with a bare tuned engine on a stand, NET was done with the engine as-installed in the vehicle with all accessories and exhaust system connected).

The "ban" was not a government thing, it was a GM edict that no midsize vehicle other than the Corvette would have an engine larger than 400 cubic inches. That was lifted in 1970 and the BOP cars (GS, 442, GTO, Firebird) had a 455 engine available and Chevrolet cars (Camaro, Chevelle, etc) had a 454 as an available engine.

 

[BlueC]

I have always been proud to say this car was in my family- Only 678 were produced in 1970 and they are considered one of the three fastest muscle cars of all time- It makes 500 foot pounds of torque at the rear wheels. When the automatic shifts
out at 90 miles an hour it will bark the tires.

A lot of you guys on here know what these are and I believe one or two of you even had one.

The 1970 mile was never ordered you only purchased the car like Buick built it- It was a return to performance after a government ban was lifted.

This car has never been painted or had any body work.

It was a daily driver for years.

He is so proud to call it his.


View attachment 410041

I expect more pictures.... maybe some from a professional.

Is he still enjoying the car? What are his plans for it?

 

[AndyG]

I expect more pictures.... maybe some from a professional.

Is he still enjoying the car? What are his plans for it?

Well I could not get the picture to lift that my aunt texted me and I would like to get some pictures of that and his grand national my wife is really the photographer of the family-

Right now he just keeps the car going enough so that it all works- The older it gets the scarier it is to drive long distances/ A belt comes off or something

He knows that a completely original car with original paint is the ultimate in muscle car finds and doesn’t plan to do anything but maintain it- I wish we could say he purchased it new but our cousin bought the car new in Fort Payne and sold it to him about six months later-

It left the dealership with smoke rolling out from under the tires.

It really does have tremendous sentimental value as well as it’s value as a classic car.

 

[Daryl]

Nice ride Andy! A friend in college had a 1971 GS Stage 1. What a torque monster that was. He ended up wrecking it into the front room of my Dr. house. It was considered totaled back then. Today it would have been repaired.

 

[BlueC]

The older it gets the scarier it is to drive long distances

I understand that, especially with the crap quality of modern replacement parts. NOS/NORS parts made up to about the year 2000 are gold nowadays. Having said that, I've had zero issues with my old cars over the last decade and I wouldn't hesitate to drive to wherever, but I'm also much younger than your uncle, so it might be a little easier for me to deal with problems. I just hope he gets it out enough to enjoy it.

Well I could not get the picture of the lift that my aunt texted me and I would like to get some pictures of that and his grand national my wife is really the photographer of the family-

I'm also a fan of GNs. Let's see some pics when you can.

 

[AndyG]

Well for whatever reason they sold the Grand National.

I always thought that was a pretty cool combo to own.

There is a guy Texas that may have the best 1970 GSX-

I can’t remember the story but I saw it in a magazine and it was just perfection- I remember he had strapped a Buick station wagon like a GSX with a matching trailer and he was taking it to some races and someone fell in love with that and traded him the car for it-

You can always tell the ‘71 and ‘ 72 cars because they have black rubber around the tail lights.

I am in my TJ and some goober just pulled out in traffic in front of me and turned go in the same direction nearly causing me to rear end them- They just got some vision X lights in the rearview mirror- goobers.

Nimrods.

 

[KennethS]

I've had zero issues with my old cars over the last decade and I wouldn't hesitate to drive to wherever

Same here. I’ve had a 1971 Cutlass Supreme convertible since last century when it was a “used car” and I have no worries about driving it any distance. In fact it’s my choice for a daily driver when I retire in a few years. I trust it more than I do any new car with too many on board computer systems. I’ve built this car so I know I can do any repairs necessary (roadside or otherwise).

 

[AndyG]

I think his situation is several things-

One, he isn’t a big traveller. He stays close to home. He has been good to drive it regularly though- he knows the importance of that.

Secondly, The fear of an accident or freak hose blowing, etc- GM big blocks can be a little prone to throw belts… and likely dry rot may be a concern.

He is highly mechanically inclined, but I also guess the car has gotten where it sits more and more over the years, and that increases the freaky stuff- he likely tinkers with it less as well.

All that said, I think mainly he just doesn’t want any drama with it. At 75, he is not about to let it undergo a restoration, has no girls to impress, can’t see good enough to go that fast, and just wants it to not get messed up. It is his pride and joy.

One time there was a car show at a local A & W and some guy had a nice Gran Sport clone he was trying to pass off as genuine GSX- Jimmy likes to mess with people (can you imagine that in my family ?) - he said “ seems I heard they had an X on the side mirror arm “ or some minute detail like that an owner would know….and then asked if they could look at an old Buick he had and see if it was ok - “sure, bring it on up, we know all about them.”

He said they fell out when he rolled in it. The guys buddy said “I thought you said no one would have anything close to what you had.”


It was only beaten by one car- a hemi Dodge that was regeared. He ran it twice and said he just couldn’t catch it geared lower.

It was faster than the Arab, Alabama city police cars too. He would light the tires at the Dairy Queen parking lot - and it was game on. He loved every minute of it. Dad said it would pass every thing but a gas station.

@NashvilleTJ and I were messing around about yellow vehicles a while back- sort of made me think of Dan Seals’ song “Old Yellow Car”- if yellow is anything, it is a memorable color. Makes a lasting impression.

 

[AndyG]

Same here. I’ve had a 1971 Cutlass Supreme convertible since last century when it was a “used car” and I have no worries about driving it any distance. In fact it’s my choice for a daily driver when I retire in a few years. I trust it more than I do any new car with too many on board computer systems. I’ve built this car so I know I can do any repairs necessary (roadside or otherwise).

View attachment 410252

That is a beauty. Seems we had a 442 around our area some years back in that color.

Almost strange- I was like 12 years old in ‘78 and these beasts were left for the teens of the late 70’s to hot rod- a ‘68 Camaro was like $800. No one wanted them.

I loved the Z-28s of that era, and all the bright colored Dodges’.

Google the Wellborn Muscle Car Museum if any of you are a Mopar enthusiast. Man he has some nice stuff. Had a 1970 455 Chevelle with 5000 miles and Burt Reynolds Bandit T/A. Also had Carrol Shelby’s Cobra hauler truck at one time.

 

[AndyG]

That is a very nice car, and a very desirable one.

You have a bit of misinformation, though.
The 500 ft-lbs rating was at the flywheel, not the rear wheels. It was rated using the GROSS system and not the NET system (GROSS was done with a bare tuned engine on a stand, NET was done with the engine as-installed in the vehicle with all accessories and exhaust system connected).

The "ban" was not a government thing, it was a GM edict that no midsize vehicle other than the Corvette would have an engine larger than 400 cubic inches. That was lifted in 1970 and the BOP cars (GS, 442, GTO, Firebird) had a 455 engine available and Chevrolet cars (Camaro, Chevelle, etc) had a 454 as an available engine.

Cool, I stand corrected. Thank you.

 

[BlueC]

@AndyG Does your uncle have any other old cars or trucks? Usually, those of us who enjoy an old car have this handicap of having more than one. It's a mental thing. Not dye-your-hair-blue mental, but we're on some spectrum.

 

[AndyG]

@AndyG Does your uncle have any other old cars or trucks? Usually, those of us who enjoy an old car have this handicap of having more than one. It's a mental thing. Not dye-your-hair-blue mental, but we're on some spectrum.

Not currently I think- he did have an older Skylark at one time- real early but can’t remember much - needed restored - he had the Grand National, and the 70 Buick was like his first real car when he was young- he just happened to pick a good one and held on to it. We have some good stuff down here, due to no rust - Will post about some other cars in the area as soon as I can.

 

[AndyG]

Not currently I think- he did have an older Skylark at one time- real early but can’t remember much - needed restored - he had the Grand National, and the 70 Buick was like his first real car when he was young- he just happened to pick a good one and held on to it. We have some good stuff down here, due to no rust - Will post about some other cars in the area as soon as I can.

May have been a Wildcat