All I can say is WOW! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Stag...iewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2c55648647
That is Ron Klein's car, and is VERY nice. I have known the car since the late Kelly Hartman brought it to the central Ohio area years ago. I believe there are a couple of minor items that are not original to the car, but it is largely as the description states. I will let Ron provide details. This is an incredible, original, and largely unmolested example of a '70 Stage 1 car. It is worth quite a lot of coin, and I wish Ron luck with the sale. Jim J.
I owned the car from March of 1994, when I bought it off of Warren (AKA Kelley Hartman), until the summer of 2002, when I sold it to Ron. I don't mean to correct Ron, but it won best '70-'72 Hardtop @ BG when that really meant something, maybe back in 1993? It won an Archival Award in 1999 at the BCA nationals. All the paperwork is in excellent condition, just like the car. A couple of tid bits. It has power disc brakes from the factory. The sport wheel is a 15", so it probably came with a standard wheel. It was a factory pie pan car, purchased from Butts Buick in Santa Barbara the spring of 1970. I got some of the paperwork directly from the original owner, who told me the car would have been destroyed in a California wild fire had he not sold it in 1988. My favorite piece of paperwork is the original owner's insurance application. Under comments, it says, "360 hp no musclecar". One interesting thing. I chased my tail for 2 years because I couldn't get the thing to make power in 1999 and 2000. I finally found out the original exhaust was plugged up on the inside. So, off it went, and on went 2 and 1/2 inch Torque Tech with Flowmasters. What a difference in top end! What's crazy, is that the original exhaust was not rotted out. That's what kind of car this is! I've always wanted to see what the car would do on eBay. Now I'll know. Good luck Ron, and good luck to the future owner. I just hope they consider themselves a caretaker of the car, like I did. It sort of owned me! Warren said it was the best original in the country when I bought it. That hasn't changed, and I don't want it too. BTW, it ran dead even with a '67 427" Vette on the interstate coming home from a cruise one night. The 'vette owner had a small daughter with him, and I had 3 teenage boys in the car. I love the 455"! I'm happy to help answer any questions about the car and it's history.
I've ran into that twice through the years. Once on one of my dad's GMC pickups and once on a neighbor's `69 Impala. The factory exhaust pipes back then were double wall pipe amd the inside pipe would collapse. You should have seen the look on my neighbor's face when I told him to put new exhaust pipes on the car. He told me later he thought I was crazy, but it worked. Made a believer out of him :grin:
Hi guys - a potentially buyer called and told me that there was a thread on here regarding my car, and he mentioned a couple things that could possibly need clarified. I have not been on the forum in a while. Jim J - I do not know of any other than something Brian may state, he being a super meticulous owner (and I have followed that lead). I have a couple things out of it where I have the originals, but nothing not simply "bolted on", so to speak. flynbuick - I simply re-listed NADA from the day I put the ad on. I have no such thoughts of obtaining that, indeed tens of thousands less ... if that makes it more palatable for you. Being in the business as a former Buick dealer family for 40 years, I have always paid pretty close attention to details and both the other two cars I've sold in the past few years were right about where I expected them to be. I probably should not have put that in the ad, but feared of insane offers that would simply push me away from selling the car all together. Perhaps I invited them moreso through that, and again may have done it differently if had to do it over again. Of course Brian is "right on" about the details. I kept it all in a fireproof safe Brian - a freak about the car, as you were ... and only put a few hundred miles on it in all these years. I waxed it far more than I have driven it ... and it has never seen moisture, let alone a wet road, let alone rain, since it left Brian's house. Tough to think about right now. My Buicks have been a legacy to my father, who is still 'thank God' with me at 84, and battling his 2nd cancer - the best Buick dealer ever. I sure love & respect the heck out of the man. And please allow me special thanks to the Guru and great buddy George Nenadovich. He and guys like so many of you (like Brian, John Chamberlain, Jeff Sapp, Larry Gibson, Steve Hunkins, Jim Haas, Bob Christo, Dave Kleiner, Brian Young, Mark Macoubrie, Joe Castrigano, Duane Heckman, Wayne Roberts, etc) make me realize why these are the best cars on earth ... and that you guys are a special group. I call the above and many others "friends" for the right reasons, very sharp & most-importantly ... decent guys of integrity all.
Ron, I knew from the moment I met you the car wouldn't be abused. My concern right now is that the car will end up in the hands of a non-Buick guy. With all the classic car dealerships and auctions, I can easily envision the car entering into that circuit and basically traded amongst rich collectors. This car hasn't been publicly offered for sale since 1988, when Warren bought it through Hemmings Motor News. While anxious to see the response the car receives on eBay, the process still leaves me with some questions about the car's future owner. Another exciting fact about the car. An old friend of mine was a big wheel at Year One. They shot a ton of pictures of the aqua car at a B-O-P show in Atlanta. At one time it was a catalog cover car. The last catalog I got it still was being used in the interior section of the catalog. That show, like so many, was a bit of a disappointment for me. I honestly thought the car would win a trophy that day. At the awards, the presenter chuckled that, "Anyone with a black or red car come up and get your trophy". Turned out, he wasn't joking! Very few things are incorrect on the car. Other than routine maintence items, like filters, there isn't much to say. The spring ring battery cables were long gone and someone had repaired and repainted the shroud at one time. Warren reported the water pump had been replaced. The paint on the right front fender was redone after a ping pong table accident. (I think that was with the original owner and it matches quite well). Warren and I both ran the car with WG wheels and Polyglass tires he took off of a GSX he owned. I had the timing cover off when it wasn't making power. The original nylon timing gear still looked like new, so I left it. I had to repaint the top and front of the engine. There simply wasn't any original paint left. Warren had put KYB or Koni shocks on it. I forgot the air cleaner decals were original, and think they really show the cars true nature in a nutshell.
Hi again Brian - you can mail me at the rjklein@roadrunner.com address if you wish. It has changed (my email addy) a couple times with the Adelphia family now all in prison for their integrity <smirk) and it may have been an "infinet" address before that - but always 'rjklein' before it. I just go with the local cable provider's changes. Anyway, I recall the Year One cover and thought I had something with it on there. And for your level of comfort, the three most interested parties are all pretty much Buick guys, with the top two in my book, a five 1970 Buick GS owner (but not a hot-shot money guy, a real car guy who says he knows you) and the other, perhaps the most likely?, a former dealer family man for four decades as myself (still attached to a Buick dealership through his sibling). So I feel good about all that too, if it shakes out that way. Take care all - and thanks for the input always. I respect your guys' opinions.
If for no other reason than the fact this car was originally sold at Butts Buick, I feel it should be given to me as that again would make it a Butts Buick.:Brow: My very first Buick, A 70 Skylark was that same exterior color except it was a painted white roof as opposed to Vinyl but man that car is reet on. Someone will be very lucky to own that beauty.
someone is gonna end up with a great looking GS. good luck with your sale ron, hope you won't regret it.
