1969 GS Colorado Denver CL - 5000

Kinda costy but...

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/3046641075.html

 

Looks like a QQ.

 

Educate a rookie. What's a QQ?

 

Maybe it was just Q-- For 69 it was a mid year special paint color called Fireglow.

 

Gotcha thanks for the input. :beer

 

It has been on CList for awhile out here. I wasn't aware of it's rarity. o No:

 

I have to agree.A prettied up Special basically.Still cool though

 

Spoke to the owner a few minutes ago. No non sense guy... States the following:
1. Interior is rough and will need to be replaced. (interior is BUICK POST COUPE SPECIFIC and PUI or Legendary does NOT carry interior parts for the 68-69 post coupes)

2. Rear window is rotted at the base (states trunk pan, floors, quarters, etc is nice. Didn't know about the radiator support or inner fenders).

3. Colorado emblems are broken/ missing pieces....

HOWEVER, she IS A FIREGLOW car!!!!

Data tag info:

ST 69-43327BF02422
TR 114 B90 - E PNT (-= fireglow)

 

So why did buick make the GS California and Colorado's? What Wisconsin didn't want any of this? Maybe a GS Texas?

 

They also made a Carolina GS. Not sure if this was dealer specific or dealer installed decor though as opposed to factory.

 

GS Carolina

Thanks for that info. I never knew that. Anyone got one or pics of one? Seems like every GS California or Colorado that I have seen are kind of strippers. (Not the pole type)
I wonder if the GS Carolina's were the same.

I swear this one for sale used to be in this mountain town that we used to go to when we were kids. It sat outside this small radio station in Glenwood Springs Colorado.

 

I thought there was a lot of doubt as to whether there was ever a GS Carolina? I know the Colorado Regional Dealers got together to fund the production of 'Colorado' emblems which replaced the 'California' emblems Buick put on the cars and some advertisements in Colorado. Has there ever been a picture of a GS Carolina?

---------- Post added at 06:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:20 PM ----------

The GS California was intended to be a low cost pillar coupe model which looked sporty (outside) and had a basic interior thus keeping the cost low - not exactly an area where Buick typically played, but an important and growing (growth) segment of the entry-level/intermediate market segment at that time. Buick decided to add some GS specific appearance items (hood, emblems, etc.) and the 350-4 engine. The 'California' name was chosen for pure marketing appeal, but - as I understand the issue - Colorado Dealers got together thinking that they could could sell a model with more local appeal named 'Colorado'. I understand that this group of Dealers had the 'Colorado' emblems made up and that the pins to affix the new emblems had the same pin positions as the pins on the Buick 'California' emblem and the Dealers just switched these out.

I am not sure if the '67 option of a GS appearance package was a precursor to the GS Californias, but in '67, I believe you could have ordered a base Special with GS emblems and hood like a "sport" appearance package, but not have the GS-specific engine or transmission, etc.

 

Ken,

Yes... Somewhere in my archives I do have Carolina GS pictures... Some were even painted that light, robin egg blue.. So, there is such an animal. Documentation, however...

 

Only California GSs rolled off the assembly line. Colorado and Carolina dealers "cashed in" on the California chic with different scripts that were roughly the same length. Look at any brochure published by Buick- you won't see "Colorado" or "Carolina" anywhere.

It's rare and collectible in the same way that a guy in a bookstore tried to keep me from returning a book because it had pages 137-157 repeated, and was missing pages 158-178. Hosed up or knocked off shouldn't equal rare, for value. My 2.

 

Yup what Steve said.

The only cars that were made by Buick were the Cali's.

A dealer in Colorado (I have heard/read it was only one dealer) took the Cali off and put his Colorado emblems on.

I never heard of a Carolina ( but as said above there is some doc's about it, huh).

I had a 1968 GS Cali in Midnight Blue, OH I loved that car. It had a 350 with a Super Turbine 300. I totaled a 1974 Buick Centry Wg, I pulled the 455, turbo 400, driveshaft and rear end out of it and put it into the 68. Boy did the 68 "Get Up And Go" after that :TU:

 

i own a california gs and have seen the colorado and the carolina gs's here are some pictures to help with this topic

johnny

 

The three dealers listed in the GS Colorado ad posted (Dreiling, Deane, and Denver) were the ones who commissioned the making of the Colorado emblems.

There were a lot of people in Colorado at that time who were not happy with all the hoidy-toidy California folk coming in and ruining their lovely state.

These three dealers knew they'd never sell a single GS California in Colorado because of that bad blood, but thought they could possibly cash in by swapping the emblems and offering the nice folks of Colorado something to thumb their noses back at California. They didn't sell a ton of them, but they did sell.

And you're right, those emblems are scarcer than hen's teeth!

 

Kind of totally hijacked this thread ha ha. Thanks to all for the great info. Couple more quick questions. I assume those Carolina GS emblems are for a '67? Where did you find those?? Cool stuff. :beers2:

 

:TU: for cali's

Colorado's are neat too in my book just because of the story line...

 

Sweet pics.