Ask your gear-head friends to close their eyes and picture an awesome muscle car, and very few will describe anything brown with a black vinyl top. However, you’d be remiss to disregard this 1970 Buick GS 455 Stage 1. The normal GS 455 cid (7.5L) V8 made a tectonic 510 lb-ft of torque and 360 HP. The $199 Stage 1 package added a hotter cam, bigger valves, and more, gaining 10 additional HP on paper, though dynamometer tests of stock or nearly stock Stage 1 V8s yield numbers ranging from 360 to over 400 HP. This Grandpa-Brown beauty in Lumberton, North Carolina parted ways with its original 455, and cannot be described as “numbers matching.” Today the unlikely choice of an inline five-cylinder Mercedes turbo diesel powers this GS. Ha! That’s a lie, just seeing if anyone reads this stuff. Put down the heart attack pills. In reality another Stage 1 spec 455 motor promises to make this beast as fearsome as the day it left the dealer showroom… and about 17 seconds later when it laid down the first of many black streaks on pavement. The listing here on eBay includes a $31,995 Buy It Now button as well as the Make Offer option.
Like the entire car, the engine bay shows highly original or original-spec replacement parts. A 750 CFM Street Demon carburetor and other parts do deviate from stock. I assumed the restoration included all new floors, but the seller claims no “holes or welding” have sullied this all-original steel Buick. The listing includes a host of under-car pictures that bolster the seller’s claim of a complete restoration.
While the listing includes a host of pictures, many are oddly composed and / or taken in poor lighting, obfuscating finer details. The repaint from “25 years ago” appears glossy enough for a local car show. The nearly flawless undercarriage supports the claim of a long life in California before moving east.
Only the cheesy steering-wheel wrap detracts from an otherwise tidy interior. Bench seats grace many a Buick GS, so potential buyers will celebrate the bucket seats and full center console. Serious collectors will wait for a numbers-matching car, so the ideal buyer might be someone willing to maintain and enjoy this nearly-perfect GS! A restored numbers-matching car can bring twice this one’s Buy It Now price. This car “sold” twice on eBay for under $22,000, so it’s anyone’s guess why we’re seeing it again. What’s your top bid on this brown beauty?
Seems like a very fair price. Let the “matching numbers” guys hold their noses and walk away. That crowd is only interested in value, trophies, and bragging rights. This one should go to someone who will appreciate, use it, and enjoy it!
I need me a GSX, but unfortunately that probably won’t happen. THis could work perfectly though…. I just love the look of a GSX… Its kind of goofy looking and that’s why i love it!!!!
GS/GSX are my favorite muscle car
Talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This thing is a fire breathing monster wearing a traveling salesman’s suit. I love it. My 71 Skylark was a blast to drive, this thing is a whole other level…er, stage.
Ok so now I’m imagining this car idling, diesel clatter and all. And a 0-60 time around half a minute.
Glad that’s not really the case here!
Seems like a reasonable price for a car you can drive without fear of messing up a “numbers matching” drive train.
If you read carefully and looked at the pics, you would realize that under the hood is a 455
Good to see a driver version of what some people consider to be one of the strongest muscle cars ever made. Almost barfed with the mention of the hokey poke diesel engine swap…funny, very funny.
Forget the diesel Mercedes! Drop in a Volkswagen 1200 cc, convert it to 6 volts, and get a HOWARDA vanity plate! 🙃
Hopefully there was a clearance sale on those spoilers and this is the last we’ll see of them!
When I got into the car hobby in the early 90s I remember questioning why the heck so many hi-perf vehicles of this vintage wore brown, tan or other intestine colors – of course muscle cars should wear screaming colors!
Now I simply love such colors as they add such a period and understated look to these street bruisers. Great gentleman’s muscle car that should be enjoyed and driven
Just checked the add out again, I see a $24,999 buy it now clicker not the 31,999,,,looks like the same car, maybe I can’t read (see) all that well. The engine mods lower the value but increase the wide eyed thrills which seems like the real value here….driving.
I’m not a big Buick guru so I’ll ask my elementary question for the day…Is it OEM to have the dual groove belts/pulleys?
Yes. Most came with A/C and that is what utilized the empty groove. Since this is a replacement engine, it likely came from a car with air.
Ha! Ha! Ha! 5 cylinder diesel. I almost stopped reading at that point. Earth tones is what I call these type color combinations. Never could stomach them, I like bright colors. I’ve driven bright yellow, red, blue and deep bright green cars, but never a brown car. Now I’m a Buick fan pre 70’s so this gets my attention. Since the car no longer is “original”, it can transformed into a thing of beauty with bright paint colors. On this car I would choose an eye popping competition orange. Just my twisted thoughts. Love car guys no matter your tastes.
God bless America
The last thing I’d do is paint this car in loud colors. If I wanted that I’d buy a Mopar. I’d lose the spoiler and turn this car into a sleeper, complete with dog dish hubcaps, and enjoy the street racers underestimating me.
Currently only a BIN button at $24,999. Myself I would want to know more about the engine in the vehicle, specifically the pad stamp and evidence that it was built to 455 Stage 1 specs. Same for the transmission and rear end which the seller states in the ad were all rebuilt. Verbal statements mean nothing. Trust but verify.
This car does look remarkable clean underneath and several components have been replaced recently – that’s all good. But if I am going to pay 25 large I would want to know exactly what I’m buying.
God, I hate this brown color. And vinyl roofs. Love Buick’s and GS’s and Stage 1’s.
if you have never felt the torque of 510 ft pds. you are missing something !
LS-6 Killer
I was totally surprised to see that, according to the window sticker, no limited slip (posi). How could anybody order a Stage 1 GS without that option? All that torque delivered to one wheel? Doesn’t make sense to me, but I do dig this car!
A friend had one in the 80s. ULTIMATE sleeper! His was a brown exterior with brown bench seat interior. Huge torque. So much fun.
I remember seeing an article about a Hemi Super Bird getting beat pretty badly by a GSX 455 the video was amazing in the quarter mile it took the big bad bird by about 3 car lengths
Damn Todd
You got me excited about the diesel swap! Liar!!
Kidding aside, it’s surprising that folks are still stuck in the past about diesels. A 5 cylinder MB Diesel engine can be made pretty monstrous! Has anyone seen the MB diesel wagon drift machine?
PDX Bryan……In a straight line, with 455 bona-fide cubic inches of good old V8 power roaring thru the tailpipes…and the smell of high octane racing fuel, that’s how this one goes. Ahahaha!
Seems like a nice car at a reasonable price you can drive now without spending a ton of additional cash, unlike far too many cars here. And you won’t see many like it when you show up at Cars and Coffee. By the way, unclehulka, according to the window sticker, posi comes standard with the Stage 1 option package.
Really nice find and a decent price for what it is!!