Another stupid question from a Big Car guy... Looked thru the auction pics tonight and noticed the speedo has the shift quadrant in it. Why, if it was originally a bucket/console car? Also checked the Freeway Flyer pics. The magazine test pics clearly show a Stage 1 decal on the breather. The car in the auction has a stage 2 decal. Minor points but why would someone mess with the speedo and breather on a 27K mile car? o No: Tom Mooney
All automatic cars have the shift quadrants in the speedo regarless if the car was column shift or console. The only cars that didnt have the quadrants are manual cars. Ive seen alot of dumb things done to really nice cars. I can overlook a sticker
interesting story but to prove it would be difficult. other than that, VIN should tell the rest right? Wonder what it would cost to bring it back to the right side of the pond?
The dash pic of the Freeway Flyer does not show a shift quadrant....the odometer is clearly visible in the picture, why not the shift quadrant? Heavy shadow...? o No: Tom Mooney
I cant make out the bottom of the rallye guages on the left side either. The picture is not very clear and the picture is very dark. Doesnt help that its black and white either. I thnik the important thing is that they are both automatic/console cars. What would be interesting to see is how the rear spoiler is mounted. Is it mounted with factory style cutouts in the inner structure? Does it use the reinforcement plates under the mounts? Or does it look like someone mounted it in their driveway? Stripes- Do they look like they were done "freehand"? If it is in fact the magazine car or a sister car that the factory did, the stripes should have the factory flubs and the mis-alignment. Factory stripes were poorly applied at best. The seller does state that the except for the hood and mirrors its original paint. I'd be curious to see if the sport mirror brackets have the X stamped in them as well. This evidence might lend some creedence to the belief its the test car.
Figure 4k just to be safe. But that just gets you to Long beach. Figure anither 2k-3k to get it shipped to the east coast. Hope for the best, expect the worst. And you probably will not see the car for 3 months. There are alot of what ifs...what if the boat sinks? Although not probable, it is possible. What if it gets damaged in shipping? What if stuff gets stolen off it while its being stored at the dock? What if they misplace it? Id be a nervous wreck untill it arrives at my doorstep.
Yes to get it to the right coast 5K must be added. Yoy can insure it. I would not be so concerned about the other risks you list. One thing is clear to me. This car was never sold as a GSx and the seller knows it but he would like to leave a lot of room for the inference that it is a GSX. Whether it is the test car probably will never be established unless there is documentation somewhere in the Buick archieves regarding the VIN number for that car and they match.
The same car used in the "Freeway Flier" article in the Sept 70 "ROAD TEST MAGAZINE" was previously tested by Car Craft in the July 1970 issue in an article called "Late Sleeper". In the Car Craft article there is a picture of the interior and the PRNDL1L2 is clearly visible below the speedometer. There's no doubt that it is the same car in the 2 articles, every option of the cars match, they are both early cars (radiator cover, recovery tank, doomed lens), both white, both have the same license plates (46J 015), and both even have the same "D" written behind the brake booster. My bet is that the car in Japan is the same car as the road tests but proving it might prove to be impossible. Without a VIN verification people believe the Motion car the be the 1 Motion modified car due to the many remaining similarities to what Motion performed on a 1970 GSX back in the day, so why couldn't someone believe this is the magazine test car? The dealer codes and Special order code shows that something was going on with the car on ebay. Even if not a "GSX" the car on ebay is still a good condition '70 Stage 1 car with nice options, which is a valuable and desirable vehicle. If someone could dig up proof that this is THE magazine road test car then would this mean that there were really 679 GSXs instead of 678? I mean if GM made the modifications then it would be a real GSX even if started as a base Stage 1. Just like Brad's GSX prototype/autoshow car, it started as a GS and was custom built into a GSX, and it is commonly accepted as a real GSX. Just a thought...
Not triying to get this thread off track. No disrespect intended on the Motion car so I hope that neither you nor anyone else took my post the wrong way. The Motion GSX is an awesome piece of musclecar history. But was it documented by actually matching the VIN to an old record or document from Motion? I thought Mark told me that Joel believed it the be THE car because it still had many many Motion installed items and emblems still on the car? The article in Musclecar Enthusiast quoted the letter as stating "after checking your pictures and information carefully, it is my opinion that your BUICK GSX VIN# xxx was ...." If there was an old document that matched the car up then there would not be much opinion involved. What I guess I was trying to say was that with the car on ebay so far there has not been a way to truely prove it is not the test car since there is no way yet to match the VINs, but there has also not been a way to prove it Not the test car either especially since the cars are so similar... If I can contact the guy at Road Test Magazine that I spoke with a couple of years ago, and get him to pen a letter that states, ".... based on the pictures and information you have submitted, it is my opinion that your white Buick VIN#xxx is the same car that I tested in 1970 since it has all the same equipment, options, build date, etc..." would that work? We are all just having a good time here with this subject so I hope no one was offended by my commments, just asking a hypothetical question...
Gary brings up a good point- Lets say for the purposes of this discussion, it IS the road test car. Would it be considered a GSX? If Brads car is technically a show car, wouldnt this be considered a prototype? It would fit the definition- Prototype: an original model on which something is patterned a first full-scale and usually functional form of a new type or design of a construction (as an airplane) I wonder how long California keeps DMV records on license plates? :Brow:
Just a couple of observations. I suppose the mag articles are not consistent with the flyer being stage 2 equipped as is stated to be the history passed down to the seller. On the Motion car the features used to make the connection were certainly more dispositive and unique in that only one GSX was ever modified with motion labels and equipment. There are consistencies between the current car and the flyer but those could theoretically be shared with other cars. Perhaps Mike Trom could run a check to see if others were made so equipped. (The cruise control equipment is still an odd an on.) For another major inconsistency the position and existence of the stage 1 emblem on the ebay car does not match the pics on the 1970 mag articles. A second inconsistency is the September 1970 mag article as best as I can see shows a recessed choke on the passenger side of the intake. If my interpretation of the pic is correct, it had a stock iron intake manifold and a Q jet at that time and not the Holley carb and Eldebrock manifold shown on the Ebay car.
Last time I called the California DMV (it was several years ago) they told me that after a car has not been registered in the state for 7 years, then they "get rid of the records". Not sure if this is really true or if the person didn't want to help me. I later made a written request and even sent a copy of the registration and title for a Stage 1 car that had been out of the state of CA for about 9 years and I received a letter stating "no records found".
Forced flow ventilation switch? One of the more rare options listed for this car in the information from Wayne Roberts is the "I2" Forced Flow Ventilation (only 171 of the big block hardtops cars had it in 1970). In the Car Craft article it looks like there is something hanging down above the radio (very small) but I can not find a picture anywhere of what the switch looks like to verify that this is what I am seeing in the photos. Anyone here have a photo of the correct switch setup for a '70 with the forced flow option (I know my good friend Mr Big on thsi board has a '70 Stage 1 with this option but he will not see this post until Monday)?
This is a very interesting subject, great thread. I noticed in the Ebay pics that there was a dash plaque above the radio, and emailed. The owner said that the gold plaque reads "GSX Stg 2". Probably nothing, maybe an owner add on or car show left over. Could it be anything more than that?
Im sure that some previous owner had placed that emblem there. I could see someone doing that, taking into account its former street racing history. To add an engine callout was not out of the ordinary. The car has grown a Stage 1 emblem on the trunk lid as well. I'd love to see the back of the dash emblem. Wonder if its got a part number on it? [EDIT]- I mis read Andy's post ou: . I thought he was reffering to the dah emblem that would normally say "GSX by Buick". I see now he was talking about that homemade brass emblem. Dont lose sight of the fact that this car, like all of them, was simply just another used Buick at some point in its life. Parts were swapped, added and removed. It didnt matter The sellers claims in the auction in my opinion have been distorted over time. Stories that get passed down from owner to owner change. Due to failing memories and exaggerations. Maybe some of it got lost in translation? Im sure theres something special about this car.
