I am new to v8buick.com, but I am not new the Buick Grand Sport. When I was young I would ride around in my dad's 71 Buick which was his pride and joy. After he passed my mom had to sell his GS, and for the past few year I have been trying to locate it. Unsuccessful, the last registered owner of it is not available and his GS was last registered in Pennsylvania in 1999. My next option would be to buy a different GS and restore it back to how his was (which is my Avatar picture) I have done a lot of the work so far on my own, but from here on out I need help. I have started a Kickstarter campaign with my project. If anyone would be interested in checking it out visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/373914322/restoring-memories-of-1971 Any feedback, comments or suggestions
You asked for feedback so here it is. As the owner of a 71 GS I spent a lot of time and money restoring, I wish you the best of luck on your project. However, every cent of that restoration cost came out of my own hard-earned money. It would never have occurred to me to ask people I know to chip in, let alone strangers. I've found members of V8 Buick to be very generous in helping with advice, locating parts, etc., but I really think that soliciting money crosses a line I would not want to cross.
Welcome to the board 71. I agree with Dennis, you won't find a group of generous and helpful members of a board than right here on v8Buick. Members have helped others with needed parts for their cars sometimes free or at minimal cost. Also suggestions on where to find the best outside parties to help with work on your car. Cash is another ball of wax. I would advise to determine your needs and post on this board and I'm confident that someone will be able to help you in one way or another. By the way,your project is commendable. A beautiful way to honor and remember your dad. Was his car a triple black 71 GS455? gary List you first name please,its nice to talk more directly.
I appreciate the sincerity that this forum has produce so far. I'm not for certain, it was black with black interior, however it was a 350. My husband bought me the 71 I have now, since I couldn't find my dads car. He looked all over the US for one similar and finally found one in Portland, OR and had it brought in to surprise me. Once it arrived, it was in the condition which he anticipated. We looked around and found another 71GS in Oklahoma that we got at a fair price, it had the horse shoe shifter that I want to change out in this car, and some salvageable chrome. We have had the car going on a year now and have been trying to collect some extra parts that I still need. We have several friends suggest different ways to get info out on the GS. One friend suggested the Kickstarter, he said some crazy stuff gets funded on there and it would be nice to see something authentic get funded so I thought a I would give it a shot. Regardless of the Kickstarter outcome I will complete my project, but with me and my husband owning our own small business it will take longer than we originally thought since we are running into a lot more concern with the car than we had anticipated. I'm not saying I'm not able to find the parts needed they are just so much higher than an old truck my husband had done several years ago. Some parts I have not found yet are bucket seat rails, a grill, hood air intake grills, new deck lid, a passenger side inner fender, side mirrors, windshield and an (NS25 bumper I think that's what its called), and weather stripping. Once again, I would like to thank everyone who has checked out my story and this car will be great again sooner or later
Hi Patricia. Great video! The 71 you've got there looks to be a strong starting point, but as you and your husband have discovered, a project can be very demanding in terms of time and money. The thru the bumper exhaust is commonly referred to by it's option code N-25. See The Parts Place out of Chicago for some of your needs. Patience is a virtue in this process-best of luck and please keep us posted!
Any thoughts on if I should go back with the original manifold or change out to ceramic headders? I have heard a lot of people shy away from headders. Trish
If you have the VIN number from your dad's car post it here. You never know, someone here might actually have your dad's car.
The VIN number is 434371H207088, I have tried looking online to see if I could locate it but I havent had any luck. I contacted my dads old State Farm agent and he was able to find his original paperwork on it, thats how I was able to obtain the VIN number. Trish
Year one and OPGI are just some of the places that offer these items. I built 90% of my 72 GS Clone well within budget with these parts. I found NOS and original parts when I could, but resorted to these sites when I needed too or needed the part quickly. The N25 will be expensive to buy and more to rechrome. They don't make these reproductions or even regular Lark bumpers for that matter.
I found these valve covers on buickperformanceclub.com, but they no longer carry them. Has anyone else seen them available somewhere? Thanks Trish
Trish those are the Poston covers,the company is no longer in business.Sometimes someone on the board sells a set.Go on the parts wanted section and post you're looking for some. gary
Headers are great for performance, but I have found suck to maintain, especially on an A/C car when the gaskets blow out, which seems to happen every other year. Ground clearance also is reduced, especially if the car is lowered or has the infamous old American car floating/boat suspension, which most have, even with new components. So you end up scraping up expensive headers while creating leaks. If you don't mind working on cars go for it. If you want to be more hands off, stick with manifolds or even shorty headers.
I've got Hooker headers on my 71 GS with 455, but if I had to do it over again, I'd stick with manifolds. The car is lowered 1" and I bottomed out on a speed bump, which partly flattened the collector and cracked one of the tubes where it joins the flange. BTW, I tried TA shorty headers but couldn't make them fit between the block and steering shaft on the driver side. The obvious lesson is to avoid streets with speed bumps, but there are so many around here it's hard to do. ou:
Welcome Trish. I have had good luck with CTC Auto Ranch in Denton, Texas when shopping used parts. The parts I have received from them were exactly as described and priced fairly. They ship as well. As for locating your Dad's GS, have you tried a title search with the Secretary of State (or whatever the gov't office is titled in your state)? In Michigan, they will do it for a fee.
