Finding a classic that needs some restoration work, but can be driven and enjoyed immediately, is always an interesting proposition. That appears to be a realistic option with this 1969 Buick GS 400. It is an attractive car that packs the performance to match its good looks. Located in Garden City, Michigan, you will find the Buick listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has reached $5,300 in what is a No Reserve auction.
The Buick is a great looking car, and it did receive a repaint in its original Trumpet Gold Poly back in the 1980s. This has held up quite well, and the Gold vinyl top also appears to be in good condition. External rust doesn’t appear to be a major issue, but there is some to consider that you can’t see. The trunk pan is quite rusty, and this will probably require replacement at some point. There is also some rust in the floors, but this is nowhere near as extensive. The owner says that there has also been a frame repair, but it isn’t clear how major (or otherwise) this repair was. On the surface, this looks like a promising car, but it might be one that will require an inspection at some point.
The Buick’s Parchment interior trim looks quite nice, and for such a light interior, it is surprisingly free of stains or marks. There is a seam separation in the headliner, but I think that this might be able to be repaired. There is an aftermarket radio/cassette player fitted into the dash, but nothing has been cut to fit it. That means that slotting an original radio back in shouldn’t be a problem. While the interior isn’t loaded down with luxury features, the inclusion of air conditioning isn’t going to go astray.
Now we reach the business end of proceedings, and what lies under the hood is a 400ci V8, producing a healthy 340hp. Those horses are sent to the Posi rear end by a 3-speed Super Turbine 400 transmission. It isn’t clear whether the drive-train is numbers-matching, but it does appear to be healthy. That should mean that performance should be impressive enough to grab your attention when you bury the right foot. How does a ¼ mile ET of 14.7 seconds sound? Yeah, sounds good to me too. The Buick also comes with a healthy collection of documentation, including the original Bill of Sale, Protect-O-Plate, Owner’s Manual, plus other documentation.
If an inspection reveals that this GS 400 is essentially a solid car and that the previous frame repair has been completed to a respectable standard, it holds the promise of being a highly enjoyable car to own. It should certainly possess more than enough performance potential to satisfy most people, and it even presents well as it currently stands. Is this a classic that you would like to take on yourself?
This design has a very unique rear end for the day and is one of the few that looks fantastic IMHO. This is the first time I’ve seen a GS for this year and would have it over any GM muscle car for the period.
I bought this very car! Didn’t win this auction but bought it from the guy who did. Have it for a full inspection now…hoping some of the negative comments don’t come true!
I’ve had two of this model. Take a deeper look into the photos on eBay. The side profile, trunk and underside shots are frightening! Filler on all the lower quarters, rockers and rear fenders. I bought a Pittsburg 68 with less rust in the trunk floor and it had even rusted through the back bumper after 20k miles. $5000-6000.00 is all the money in this one. You just need to drive it, after isolating the muffler/resonator from the floorboard of the car. Vrooomm!
“How does a ¼ mile ET of 14.7 seconds sound?”
To me, it’s “meh,” beaten by the Toyota Camry V6, Honda Accord 2.0T, Ford Explorer ST, Ford Fusion Sport, Dodge Charger R/T, etc, etc, etc.
Though there is an unquestionable nostalgia factor involved with ’60s muscle cars, today we have ordinary sedans that can outrun them on the drag strip and out-handle them on the road, all while delivering far superior fuel economy, comfort, and safety. In time, today will be viewed as the golden age of automotive performance.
And all of them are crap in comparison to what you get in a classic Buick, or any other upper end classic for that matter. Your so called, “golden age of automotive performance cars” won’t even be able to be restored as all of the plastics and computer parts will have deteriorated to nothing by the time they will be considered as “Collectible”
Plastic doesn’t rust – it
lasts a long time.
-and the Buick is cool.
I’m a Barn Finds member
because I love classic cars.
Thanks for taking time away from shooing kids off your lawn to respond to my comment.
No, plastic doesn’t rust, it goes chalky white/grey, goes brittle and cracks or breaks or falls off etc.
What parts have to be replaced on the Cadillac’s of the 70’s , the plastic filler pieces for the taillights !
You know what this site is about. Why even come here?
Does it really matter what cars are faster? Not to me, riding around town in this Buick, people will take notice, drive around in a newer model referred to above, no one cares. Hum drum, one on every corner. But try looking around your neighborhood for a classic Buick I doubt you’ll find one, unless you live near me and see me in my 64 Riviera.
God bless America
@Chasman358. No, it just disintegrates into nothing.
I’ve had two cars in my life that needed “frame repair,” a ’69 Camaro and an ’85 BMW 325e. Neither ever aligned within factory specs again. Both ate through tires unevenly and the BMW had scary steering feel to go along with it. So I shudder at these words. I suspect they may not matter one whit to today’s emotive buyer pool, but if it were me, I’d insist on putting the car on an alignment rack prior to purchase.
Nice car… But
Frame repair scares me.
Probably poor repair. Thus the low price.
Stay away
Both exterior and interior presents very well. Pics of its undercarriage though reveals this has seen extensive winter driving at some point in life – not surprising considering its location and that cars after all are intended for year-around usage.
Considering the rough corroded texture on the frame and underbelly sheet metal I suspect the protective undercoating was applied later in this Buick’s life – AFTER the owner realized his/her car was under attack . Once it has started it will always return…!
Ought to be critically inspected in person, however I really like its color and design so if it checks out OK and price stays low it could be a deal
Pissed a lot of guys off when certain magazines started claiming the then new 5.0 Mustangs and IROC Camaros were at the very least on par with the older muscle cars of similarity if not quicker…that was in the eighties. Best to keep an open mind and enjoy all of it while it lasts.
After all the crying and complaining about the slugs being sold in the 70’s and early eighties I was certain the older cats would be overjoyed to see real V8 stick shift performance cars make a comeback!
The idea of some computer controlled Mustang threatening the classics split the hobby in half really. I give up.
Comparisons between this here GS and the Grand National was another example I clearly remember. Nice car by the way!
The 68 – 69 Buick Skylark style of quarters and rear always seemed geared towards women. I had a friend in high school that had a 69 gs 400 4speed and it ran with the 396 chevelles but it just didn’t have the following.
Great looking car and why are we comparing them to today’s models???? If you want simplicity and class you buy a classic car if you want plastic and computer control you buy a new car!! Fuel economy has come a long way and I keep an open mind about new cars!! I work on everything!! I know the alternator on my sons 98 Jeep Wrangler wouldn’t charge the battery!! Checking it with a tester the alternator wasn’t putting out!!! Simple right!!! Well the new one wouldn’t either!! Brought it to the local jeep dealer!! He said it was the computer!! It was a four cylinder and the computer wasn’t available any more!!! Sent it to a company in North Carolina and $300 later (on a $2000 jeep) it was fixed!!! It took three weeks to get it done!! What a pain!!! I’ll take an old non computerized car any day!!! Oh by the way my son drove my 69 Ford Van with a 240 ci six and three on the tree!!! He said it got better fuel economy than his jeep!!!
I have been noticing when you see a TV show or a movie about zombies or an end of the world event, the characters are always driving an old car.
I guess that subtlety tells you that the newer ones wouldn’t start.
It looks good from far but it is far from good …. too bad ….it is a beautiful looking car …. buyer beware !
I am fairly confident that my 2018 Elantra will out perform any of my vintage cars in every way, plus it gives me outstanding fuel economy to boot. That, to me, is not the point.
I like the reliability & fuel economy my plastic computerized Hyundai gives me as a daily driver. Hell, it gets better gas mileage than my Harley.
But it is boring. It is a dark gray appliance, every bit as exciting as a clothes washer.
I have the vintage cars because they show a style I prefer, or because they take me back to a time when I still had loved ones around that are no longer here, or maybe just because they take me back to when I was a kid.
If I cared only about fuel economy & reliability, I probably wouldn’t have any of them, I would just lease an appliance like my Hyundai, & lease a new one a couple years later. I would read Consumer Reports instead of Barn Finds & Hemmings.
Not everyone appreciates these cars like most of us here do. Those people are the ones that come on here, tell us how great the new cars are & how much the old ones suck. They make fun of us old timers (I’m not even 50 yet!), but one day they will be us too. Then we can flick those whippersnappers in the forehead lol.
But we can teach them about how great the old wheels are/were.
TimM, my son can’t figure out a 3 on the tree if his life depended on it lol. He’s 26.
Stevieg your last statement made me laugh but it’s not funny!! I told all three of my children that I would buy them there first car! This was so I could get them a standard transmission and teach them the joy of the drive!! I get a kick out of the kids that think there great drivers and can’t drive standard!! My daughter fought me and told me how everything was “STUPID” that I was trying to teach her!! That was when she was 16!! She’s 22 now and has taught at least three friends I know of how to drive standard transmission!! Do you know both Ford And Chevy do not offer a standard transmission in a light duty pickup for 2020 model year!! We are a dieing breed!! I laughed but it really makes me sad!!!
TimM, my kid, Christopher, can drive stick, just can’t figure out 3 on the tree lol.
First time he saw it, he thought I did some “creative engineering” to limp that rusted beater van along. He also wanted to know where the rest of the gears are. I tried to teach him the shift pattern but he told me that it must be wrong. First is “ALWAYS” upper left & it makes no sense to have it start anywhere else lol.
That van went to a junk yard, so it doesn’t matter now, and everything else sense then has been automatic.
I don’t get it, because he grew up in many older cars that had 3 on the tree. Did he not pay attention?
So dang funny!! My kids hate the three on a tree too!! They all drive it though when there new stuff can’t get inspected cause of the check engine light!!
Funny and off subject, thinking about the three on the tree, how things get lost generation to generation, like the old-timers many many years ago who laughed at the younger generation who didn’t know how to saddle and ride horse, let alone set up a horse and buggy. Those darn automobiles!!