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One Family 1971 Buick GS Stage 1 455

This amazing find popped up in the Barn Finds Classifieds, so we just had to take a closer look! Its a 1971 Buick Gran Sport (GS) Stage I muscle car. I guess you can call this a survivor instead of a project because it is running and been in the same family since new. Located in Lakewood, California, the car can be seen here on eBay as a no reserve auction with 4 days remaining. The current bid is $8,800.

The black interior is well appointed and power is transmitted to the rear 3:42 axle via a GM Turbo 400 automatic transmission. The seller states that the car has the matching numbers quadrajet, block, intake and rear end. The Buick does not have power windows but does have air conditioning, power brakes and power steering. I love the Buick Rally wheels. This car has had a MSD ignition box added.

The heart of this beauty is the Stage 1 455 cubic inch V8 engine which generated 345 horsepower and 510 foot pounds of stump pulling torque. The GS Stage 1 came with a large 4 barrel carburetor, dual exhausts and functional hood scoops. While the 1971 GS was a little slower than the 1970 version, it was still an impressive car. However, unit sales dropped by 50% from 1970 to 1971.

While the Stage 1 455 engine had durability problems due to using only 2 bolt main bearing caps and an undersized oiling system, the car was still incredible. In the 1980’s, it was listed as one of the fifty fastest muscle cars and ranked ahead of all the Chrysler Hemi Cars. So, how high will the bidding go on this GS Stage 1 455?

Comments

  1. Avatar Cattoo Member

    Aww man. To have the cash for this…

    Like 19
    • Avatar triumph1954

      Nice car. Never heard of a Buick Stage 1 455 having durability problems because of 2 bolt main caps and undersized oiling system. These motors are very stout and could take a lot of punishment.

      Like 15
      • Avatar jerry hw brentnell

        heres one for you, a friend who ran a marina installed a 455 oldsmobile engine new from gm in a high performance jet boat, the customer wanted a full gauge package which JIM, did took the boat out for a test drive, the oil pressure gauge showed zero oil pressure, he called GM as the engine had less than 20 minuets run time, GM told him 455 olds engines are all this way leave it alone!

        Like 2
    • Avatar triumph1954

      In the eighties it was listed as one of the fifty fastest muscle cars ahead of the Chrysler Hemi cars???

      Like 6
      • Avatar jerry hw brentnell

        what a crock of crap that is no chev engine is going to out run a hemi mopar, the 426 max wedge ruled the drag strips in the 60s proven fact in super stock, what was the first 7 cars over the finish line in 1969 at the daytona 500, dodge daytonas thats who! and in 70 nascar banned them, because nobody could beat them, mopar or no car!

        Like 5
      • Avatar ACZ

        The Stage 1 455 sure did. Do your research before you open your mouth.

        Like 32
      • Avatar Bob

        I read an article years ago that was a grudge match between muscle cars including hemis bb Chevy & fords. The Buick cleaned all their clocks.

        Like 17
      • Avatar WaltL

        It was, but that’s not the whole story. Seems the Hemi guys called BS and it escalated from there.
        Not sure where @ACZ is getting his information, but apparently he didn’t do his research before he opened his mouth as he advised others to do.
        There were three show downs over the years between Hemi B-body cars and the Buick GS, as an article in Hot Rod mag describes it.
        The first meet, single pass, a 70 Stage 1 (with a NHRA driver in the seat) beat a Hemi GTX: 12.30 and 13.03 times.
        In the second meet, arranged by the Hemi and GS car clubs to bring out their best stock-trimmed cars, a Hemi RR beat the GS 12.62 and 12.85.
        In 2006 in a best of 3 match with F.A.S.T. stock rules, but allowing slicks (and the GS slipped by (cheated) with aluminum heads), the Hemi RR spanked the Stage 1 with 10.39 and 11.09 then 10.38 and 10.98 times.
        So, sorry to bust your bubbles, boys, but the Mopar Hemi rules!
        https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-0702-hemi-vs-buick/

        Like 3
      • Avatar Brian Oleshak

        Muscle Car Review magazine. around 1986-1988

        Like 3
      • Avatar ACZ

        Walt, read my previous comment. You epitomize the old adage…. Figures lie and liars figure.

        Like 0
      • Avatar Troy s

        It’s all good, really. I remember a lot of hate mail a certain magazine got from the Mopar guys back then, over the Buick beating out a legendary Hemi.
        A Buick.
        At the time that was insulting.
        If the GS 455 had ever been a well known street sweeper it was forgotten history…by the eighties, if ever, especially by the younger set.
        That much surprising grudge brought the ’70 GS455 stage 1 into the spotlight a whole bunch, along with the rising popularity of the turbo Regal, but that was the problem.
        It was a Buick.
        Great soft riding boats for older folks,,,,one of the quickest muscle cars ever built?? Well, I’ll be dog gone.

        Like 4
      • Avatar WaltL

        ACZ, you’re correct. The Stage 1 did beat a Hemi, once, with an NHRA driver behind the wheel in a disputed race. I guess you prefer to ignore validated results with equally matched drivers and cars. Much better to insinuate I’m a liar for pointing out these facts….

        Like 0
      • Avatar ACZ

        Walt, just keep reading your magazines and watching your TV shows. Leave the real thing to the rest of us that are real car people.

        Like 0
      • Avatar Raymond Hurst Member

        To Waltl and ACZ, the cars you guys mention are just semi-race cars. I read the specs in the article and these cars are NOT stock cars, so neither one of you proves anything except that one racer prepped his race car a tad better than the other guy. What would be the results if both cars had 2 carbs or if they both had 1 carb. Find 2 ”stock” cars and see which is the fastest. NOTHING settled here except that on the day in question one race car beat another. Tomorrow could be different result. We’re talking race cars here.

        Like 1
      • Avatar WaltL

        Good point, Raymond, but remember, ACZ belongs in that rarefied group of “real car people,” so his opinion is pretty much sacrosanct.

        Like 0
    • Avatar stillrunners

      A flipper has it now…so sad….nice car though.

      Like 1
      • Avatar triumph1954

        Darn Flippers!

        Like 0
  2. Avatar DayDreamBeliever

    Baked/weathered paint…. but the interior looks great.

    If the trunk is the worst of the rust, this really IS an EASY redo, and what a great car to spend the time and money on.

    Kudos to the seller for letting it go, while he still has time to tell the new buyer all about the history of the car. Like when the spoiler was put on/taken off, and maybe the antenna behind the rear window.

    Awesome.

    Like 16
  3. Avatar fxchris Member

    I am putting the finishing touches on a four speed version of the virtual twin to this car. It’s a 70, and was rebuilt, repainted, new interior, etc. in the early 80’s and then sat in a warehouse for the next 35+ years. While I have an interest in this gentleman’s car going for a lot more than 8 or 9K, I guess it just means my insurance costs go way up!

    Like 31
    • Avatar Pat L Member

      Most collector car insurance like Hagerty (who I use), is based on an agreed value after a current appraisal. If you only want to insure your Buick for $8,000-$9,000 that should not be a problem. But that is all they are going to pay out if you write off the car.

      Like 8
      • Avatar Weasel

        I’m a JC Taylor guy

        Like 3
    • Avatar DR Member

      AC or non-AC? Beauty ’70 !!!

      Like 1
  4. Avatar Tom Member

    How do you let a car like this OUT of the 1 family thing…..maybe no one to leave it to. Sad. I am up for a surrogate adoption !!

    Like 15
  5. Avatar R Soul

    Looks like it got the Barn Finds bump… It’s at $14,855 now!

    Like 10
  6. Avatar pwtiger

    The lacquer that GM used back in the day became porous especially in the hot southwest climate and it is a pain to remove. When using a sander, it becomes gummy and clogs the sandpaper, so media blasting is the way to go or live with the patina…

    Like 5
    • Avatar Mr. Bond

      Some people have had good luck with scraping off lacquers with a razor blade style scraper. If it works it works really well. Any residual left is usually primer and easier to sand.

      Like 3
  7. Avatar 433jeff

    As much as i love the 4 speed, after all the hp claims and torque claims putting in the same class as the Hemi( all hail the Hemi) and the Ls6 or 7 ( all those hail the 454 too) i would leave it automatic. Go Buford

    Like 10
  8. Avatar Dave

    Grandpa bought a new ’72 Skylark Custom moredoor with factory rallies and kept it for almost twenty years driving it from Florida to Ohio and back every summer until the 350 finally gave up the ghost. It still looked new when he got rid of it. I still like the body style thought that’s probably driven by nostalgia.

    Like 3
  9. Avatar Troy s

    Nice machine here, maybe the best looking of all the early seventies mid sized muscle. Can’t argue with the 455 GS being rated over the Hemi cars, just a better street engine really with all that wallop down low. Light weight engine too.
    As a full blown racer, well, the Hemis own that.

    Like 8
  10. Avatar JCA Member

    I wonder what the paint would look like if they had just invested $30 more in a car cover instead of a blue tarp

    Like 6
  11. Avatar David G

    The 1971 model year was a shortened one for GM due to a months long strike. That accounts for a sales volume loss across the board. In fact, the ’73 Colonnade style midsize cars were supposed to be released in September of ’71 as the ’72 lineup. Thank God the strike gave us one more model year of these fantastic GM intermediates. This car is awesome, even more so that it doesn’t have a vinyl top.

    Like 8
  12. Avatar Haryy H

    Sadly for the Hemi guys, this debate was settled in a 3 race set done by a magazine a number of years ago. Hemi Charger lost 3 for 3 against a Stock Buick GS, similar configuration to the article car but it had a 4spd.

    Like 5
  13. Avatar Gaspumpchas

    Sunburn not the P word. Very cool car. Holes in the car from missing spoiler and antenna, as the guys mentioned with corresponding Rusted/rotten truck floor, too bad. Would like to see pics of the frame and underbelly, looks like it spent a lot of time outside. Good luck to the new owner. worthy of a rotisserie resto, or what ever level you want to take it to, Good luck!
    Cheers
    GPC

    Like 6
  14. Avatar Raymond Hurst Member

    Finally a ”survivor”, that is really a survivor.

    Like 9
  15. Avatar Mountainwoodie

    Man…too bad Grant didnt have the knowledge or wherewithal to sell it himself. (If you know what I mean :

    Original to the bone, His Dad is the kind of Dad, car wise, every one of us when we were kids would have liked to have, I’ll bet!

    As Little Feat’s song goes , Time Loves A Hero

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK_hftXn4dk

    Like 1
  16. Avatar Bakyrdhero Member

    I had a 71 Skylark. Loved that car, but more than one person commented to me about “Buick’s terrible oiling system” I don’t have any further comment about it, but it seemed like a commonly known thing.

    Like 2
    • Avatar ACZ

      They didn’t have a terrible oiling system. But never overheat one or you were going to have to put cam bearings in it.

      Like 3
  17. Avatar Mike Lacy

    The floormats alone are worth big $$ :>}

    Like 1
  18. Avatar Russell Ashley

    $18,300 now with 2 more days too go. I would have duct taped over the holes if nothing else. I wonder if he didn’t think about water getting in through that B.A. hole in the rear panel. Nice Buick otherwise.

    Like 3
  19. Avatar Clay Bryant

    I was very fortunate to own 2 of the 1776 GS convertibles back in the early 80s.(both 69s)Had the 340 horse and then bought the 360 horse Stage One in Florida sight unseen just out of curiosity, The difference…wow. The 360 horse was under rated because of insurance “problems” at the time. Had both for several years at the same time so got a real “on ground ” comparison. (One held a NHRA class record for several years, you’ll have to look that one up but positive of that…….. I’ve been very fortunate to own nice rides over the last 60 years, many, many nice rides……………

    Like 4
  20. Avatar Tom

    The hole below rear window was likely for a CB radio antenna. It must have been removed several years ago allowing water to pour into the trunk causing all of the rust to trunk floor.

    Even with the trunk rust this is a beauty. If I was closer to California I’d be a serious bidder.

    Like 1
  21. Avatar Tim W

    Hate to wade into this friendly discussion on ” Hemi vs the World”, but just can’t resist. Hey guys, what about what I’ve always heard referred to as “The Hemi Killer”… The L-79 Chevy II’s?

    Like 1
  22. Avatar Mark A.

    It seems these cars are getting alot of attention as of late. I think if anything, they suffered from market identification. Chevrolet was GMs performance flagship. The GTO and 442 had lots of lore. But these just didn’t have the same panache. Now after 50 years, Buicks are/were sleeper Hemi eaters. And no one knew? Vvvery innnnterrrressssting.

    Like 0
    • Avatar triumph1954

      Buick GS Stage 1’s have always been popular and not as of late. More than likely the majority of the people that are reading BarnFinds now just were not around back when these were new or good used muscle cars in the 70’s through the 90’s.

      Like 0
  23. Avatar Mark A.

    Well… I beg to differ. And this is just my opinion. I personally always felt, that in order of popularity. It was Chevel SS and GTOs. Then the olds 442. And the GS, as far as mid size GM bodies go. I dont know the production numbers. This was my impression. I remember seeing them, and a few guys in the neighborhood had them. Two, a 67 and a 71. But I never, ever, ever got the impression they were a Hemi eater. Also, I have been made aware, in the last 18 months or so. That these were a sleeping drag strip giant. I’m not taking anything away from them. 455 ci is a lot of cubes. So um sure they moved right along. But I don’t believe all the Chevy, Ford and Mopar guys were stupid and didn’t realize what a fantastic engine those big Buicks were. Ohhhh, And I was born in January, 1959. So ur right, I was a little late getting to the party. But I was definitely there.

    Like 1

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