Roll on back to 1967, and full-on muscle car wars are raging all over Detroit. At GM, the competition was heavily skewed toward the SS396 Chevelle vs. Pontiac’s GTO, with Oldsmobile’s 442 biting hard at the edges. So, what about Buick? Buick threw its fedora into the ring too with its handsomely styled and nicely equipped GS400, such as today’s subject car, a find courtesy of Curvette. And a GS 400 convertible is a rare find – more on that to follow. This Shadow Turquoise Iridescent drop-top is located in Portland, Oregon, and is listed here on craigslist for $37,900.
The GS 400 and its lesser sibling, the new for ’67 GS 340, were members of Buick’s A-body team and based on the Skylark/Special series. Body styles were three: a two-door hardtop, a coupe (with a B-pillar), and a convertible (only the two-door hardtop, however, for the GS 340). Total GS 400 production stats reached about 48,000 units – pretty good shootin’ but that convertible body count only mustered 2,140 copies (and the coupe registered just a paltry 1,000 units!). Our seller states, “Extremely High-Quality older Restoration of Rust-Free Buick GS Convertible with Extremely Nice Turquoise factory Color Paint.” Yes, this GS presents beautifully, and it’s not only its condition, but it’s also the understated refinement one expected from a Buick in this era. The shiny American Racing wheels are OK, I suppose; certainly period-correct for a rig of this nature. Unfortunately, the images are shadowy and not the best for a close exterior examination, but from what I can spy, including the condition of the folding top, I’ll say, “Otay!”
The cool, and I’m told rare, “Star Wars” air cleaner assembly sits atop a 340 gross HP, 400 CI V8 engine, married to a Turbo-Hydramatic 400, three-speed automatic transmission. The seller offers no take on running and driving characteristics but claims, “Approximately 1,000 summer-driven miles since completion.” What I’d like to know is what happened 1,000 miles ago. The car was restored; I got that, but was the 80K-mile engine redone? A question to ask. One nice feature of this GS is its optional front disc brakes – not always the case in ’67.
If there’s a letdown here, it’s the interior. The black vinyl upholstered environment is in excellent condition, mind you; it’s just that it’s a standard bench seat with a column shift arrangement – not all that exciting. One very obvious feature is the strapped-on tachometer – it’s kinda big and probably not essential with the automatic gearbox – but hey, whatever you want, right? This is a non A/C equipped car.
I decided I wouldn’t rag on today’s Buick, the way I usually do. And you all probably don’t want to hear it anyway. So, to quote Buick’s famous sixties tagline, “Wouldn’t I really rather have a Buick?” You bet, if it’s this one; how about you?
Tuned for torque these Buick motors. Bet it’s a blast to cruise J.O🏁😎
This is one very nice drop top Gran Sport. The colors are great. Buicks “Star Wars”air cleaner lid is one of my all time favorite looking designs. I typically lean more towards Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles, but this Buick is really speaking to me. And like Stan already said above me, these Buicks are torque monsters. I like it. Hats off to Curvette for another great find. And to Jim, I enjoyed your write up very much. Thank you.
Good eye Dave 🏁
It’s got the rare Star Wars looking air cleaner. Probably worth a gazillion bucks alone
Strapped on tachometers were a trademark of 60’s and 70’s cars. I would leave it there, if it still works.
My old Ford 4wd 4sp 300ci had a column tach from the previous owner. Loved it and left it right there Primo