1973 GS Stage 1 4 Speed For Sale

Discussion in 'Cars and Parts For Sale Leads' started by Mike B in SC, Nov 26, 2014.

  1. Mike B in SC

    Mike B in SC Well-Known Member

  2. cjp69

    cjp69 Gold Level Contributor

  3. Tom Miller

    Tom Miller Old car enthusiast

    I wasn't aware Larry had sold it?
    and....I believe the info in the description is a tad bit off:Smarty:
     
  4. gsjohnny1

    gsjohnny1 Well-Known Member

    missing side window trim, no hood insulation, hood hinges incorrect color, radiator shroud wrong color, missing air pump and parts, missing seat bottom edge shrouds and interior white is not like new.
    and 37k is crazy.
     
  5. 69GS400s

    69GS400s ...my own amusement ride!

    From Larry's signature line

     
  6. 72newbiebuick

    72newbiebuick Gold Level Contributor

    I live about 20 min from Volo... maybe I should take a trip out there and say Um...... 37k eh? Riiiighhhht.

    Mark
     
  7. Tom Miller

    Tom Miller Old car enthusiast

    Well, geeez, I didn't mean we needed to bash the car and pick it apart.
    Yes, she isn't 100% correct, but it's still a nice car. Yes the side window trim is missing, no hood insulation, I was just happy to paint those recessed area's black(they were hot pink when I bought it) hood hinges had been gold cadmium plated, incorrect, but better than some cheesey black paint flaking off, fan shroud had been painted as well, and while not the correct translucent white,IMHO it looks better black!? Who needs a smog pump, this was built to race at the pure stock drags, missing some seat trim, but overall, interior is pretty darn nice for being over 40 year old original stuff.

    On another note, it was originally dark blue, it originally had Air Conditioning, and it was originally an automatic.
    Non matching numbers junkyard ball honed re-ring rebuild standard bore 455 with small valve heads, not balanced. M-20 trans Car ran 13.89 @ 101+mph granny shifting due to a screwed up shifter, Larry corrected that with a correct rebuilt Hurst unit.

    Car was nice enough to garner a multi-page magazine pictorial.
     
  8. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    Those 73-77 cars are really starting to grow on me. One of my good friends had a 73 Chevelle SS with a 6-71 blower on top of a 350. It was pretty sweet. Once people accepted the fact that it was a post-72 car they really liked it. the blower and the low 11 time slips helped too. It was funny how many times he would overhear the term "wrong year" while at a show or the track.
     
  9. philip roitman

    philip roitman Well-Known Member

    Tom; I had no idea that the car was originally a Blue Automatic. I was surprised when Larry told me at GSCA Nats that he sold it and then gave me back the NOS in the box shifter boot I had given him. I hope they get the price for obvious reasons. On the other hand it is a hell of a lot of money for what it is. $10-15K is somewhere in the ballpark IMHO.
     
  10. gsjohnny1

    gsjohnny1 Well-Known Member

    volo advertised as restored. and now its not even close to the build sheet. so its a semi bogus car for 37k. not in my lifetime.

    original owner of a 1973 stage 1 4 speed.
     
  11. Larry Gibson

    Larry Gibson Platinum Level Contributor

    I sold the 73 Stage 1 in May of this year to a guy from Chicago who traced the car down from Tom to me. We had been talking for a year before he got serious about buying it. Yes, it's not perfect but I agree with everything Tom stated about the car. It is very nice car that has been frame offed and still looks very good with a few minor imperfections. As Tom stated I installed the correct shifter and handle(restored) plus had the drivers seat bottom recovered. I had the transmission completely rebuilt by a professional transmission shop. I also secured the Sloan documentation for it when I first got the car. Owned it for 4 years. With the 4 speed it was a lot of fun to drive. I had bought another car and needed the storage space for it so I sold the 73. There were a few things I didn't like about the 73 that influenced my decision to sell. And yes, I think they are asking stupid money for it. Still, a very neat 73 Stage 1!!

    Larry
     
  12. Redmanf1

    Redmanf1 Gold Level Contributor

    I had a complete 73 stage 1 engine and BB trans takeout that would have been nice for this car.
     
  13. Tom Miller

    Tom Miller Old car enthusiast

    C'mon Phil 10-15?????????????? You can't get the quality of paint job this car has for half of that!

    If VOLO will take $15k for that car, I'm wasting my time sitting here typing, I should be outside hooking up the trailer on my way to go get it. You know 73's probably as good as any of us who have owned 73's, and how hard parts are to come by, and how much they cost to restore over a 70-72, due to the scarcity of parts.

    Find me another TRUE 73 Stage 1 ANYWHERE in the USA that's even close to this condition for $15k, and I'll go get it. Mayabe I shouldn't say that, as someone will call my bluff. I'm currently leaning towards early to mid 60's cars on my bucket list, specifically a 65 Riviera Gran Sport, or a close second, another 66 Wildcat Gran Sport.

    Don't take offence to anything I've stated, you guys just need to be nice when talking about one of my kids, I get a little defensive.
    Happy Thanksgiving.

    P.S. I've never owned a car I didn't like, and I've never sold a car because I didn't like it. I'm simply poor enough that I'm forced to sell one in order to buy the next one. I still like this 73 very much, selling(or trading) this one simply gave me the opportunity to buy my wife's car, as well as something different for myself while I was temporarily unemployed.
     
  14. philip roitman

    philip roitman Well-Known Member

    OK Tom If it makes you feel better I will go to $20K, at that price tho I would not consider buying it. I know a 74 GS 455 from here in Bklyn(I know the guy his bro has a 73S1 that I looked at 10 years ago and found out it is now sitting outside-I am working on that one!) older restoration with some lower rust on drivers side just sold for $5K on ebay. The car was complete and besides a little rust was all there. Maroon w/white bucket interior. I might be a little off in my estimates as I bought my cars quite a few years ago. I just have not seen I hope I am wrong these cars appreciate in value like the 72 and older cars. I keep saying they eventually will increase, I have not seen evidence of that yet. I like the car Tom I like all 73's! With that said and done to bring that car back to original would cost "almost" more than the car is worth on top of what someone will pay fot it. (you of all people know what a restoration will cost. It is a good driver quality car now and I pretty much stick with my estimate. Whomever buys the car will get a nice ride. Like I said before I hope the car brings a ton of money to the seller, all the better for the rest of us 73 owners.
    Happy Turkey day.
     
  15. Tom Miller

    Tom Miller Old car enthusiast

    BTW- flattered to know that my garage rebuild small valve 455 that proves those big dumb Stage 1 valves do nothing but get in the way of air flow, is being compared to a balanced/blueprinted 500HP engine:grin:
    Nah, not 500HP, what your feeling is a good ole 510 ft-lbs of Buick torque shoving you back into that 41 year old bucket seat.:TU:
    :3gears:
     
  16. philbquick

    philbquick Founders Club Member

    I appreciate the rarity of this car and what it is. The Old Car Price Guide values this car at $11K which I think is low. I would value it at $17K to $19K. At $37K this guy is looking for a BIG fish.:Brow:
     
  17. 73BuickGS455

    73BuickGS455 A Long Restoration

    It is a very nice car but yes $37,000 is way out there. Like Phil said, hopefully that would happen so its a better day for us guys, especially us with matching numbers cars. :Brow:

    It costs a ton of money to restore these cars....why I decided to do 3 of them? I will never know the answer to that. But it certainly isn't getting cheaper to restore 73s, parts are becoming harder and harder to find each year. Been looking for a set of the rubber bumper strips forever it seems like, and when a set comes along you have to buy them because you don't know when you'll see them again. I feel bad for the guys who are looking for interior trim too, because you could be waiting 5 years to find a set.

    If you can find a nice car for low money that doesn't need every body panel fixed, the trunk/floor pans replaced, and all the interior stuff then buy it quick. I'll never restore another one of these but would buy one in good condition if the price was low. Although I'm starting to get a itch for the 70 Gran Sports. Might be time to venture back a few years and work on a car that has more parts available. :bglasses: The 73s always have a special place though with you, once you own one. :beer
     
  18. Larry Gibson

    Larry Gibson Platinum Level Contributor

    I'm going to jump in here again and defend the 73 a little bit. This car was/is as nice on the underside as it was/is on the topside. It also has a very nice body on it and all the panels are straight. Sure it is not a numbers matching car but hey there are a lot of muscle cars out there that don't have their original drivetrains in them. Once the factory installed engine and trans is gone, it will never again be #'s matching.

    I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that if VOLO gets $25K out of it they will be doing good. You simply can't build a car like this for that kind of money unless you do all the work yourself.

    Larry
     
  19. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    Ahhh...the car that inspired me to pull the trigger on my 73 in 2011. Had that issue of Muscle Car Enthusiast on the top of my magazine stack for a year, the pics of it launching on those pinstripe whitewalls were just soooooo right. Attached is my best effort to re-enact the scene...saving my nickels for real pinstipe whites.

    I love all my Buicks for various reasons, but the 73 is the best driving of the bunch. I'm just starting to dig into it this winter, it's only run 14.2's so far but it's like going to the store for milk. The colonnades deserve much more respect than they get, the engineering is iteratively so much better than my 71. They were really designed as a collaborative project between all divisions, and taking the best from each, and with minor changes wound up as the basis for all 77+ B-bodies right up to the 96 Impala SS. OK, the design is an acquired taste, they're heavy and I have no idea where they sourced such crappy steel in 73.....but still...

    I hope they get all the money for it, although I doubt it will happen. Still, what's a well restored legitimate big block 4 spd car that'll run 13's worth, no matter who what year or brand? Gotta be all of 20k, if not 25 these days.

    BTW, for those who are looking for reproduction 73-77 Qtr glass trim, it's reproduced by Fusick for 442's. Not cheap, but at least it exists.

    Tom - for when the day comes to pull off the sidepipes, who did the tailpipes for this car? They look great.

    Cool, cool car.
     

    Attached Files:

  20. Tom Miller

    Tom Miller Old car enthusiast

    Your car looks great Rhett! Liked what you had to say as well.
    The tailpipes were on the car when I bought it. They look/looked just like the ones that come in the Flowmaster header-back kit for A-bodys, and I'm pretty sure I was told that is what they were, just had to be tweaked a little here and there over the axle for fit. blackPSMCDR2009.jpg
     

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