Was there a such thing as a stage II GS?

Bill, thank you for the kind words. Finished it about a year and a half ago. although I am still making some changes.


Hi Dave-
Thank you very much for the info! It would be interesting to me to see some photos of when you and Dave were working on it. Although I'm not so sure I want to see it when it was blue :error: p from when Bob had it.
Yep, according to the Sloan docs it did come with an am radio...but I'm keeping that radio delete plate in it cause it looks so cool :bglasses:

And yes, the wiring was a mess, and every bit of it was replaced.

Also a question for you Dave. In collecting the history of this car, I have a lot of KB photos from different magazines ect. And have a couple pictures of I think this car when it was painted differently. It had a more wild paint and lettering style on it with the big KENNE-BELL on the side...can you confirm if this is the same car?
I'll try and post a pic.
Thanks again Dave!
Guy

 

I remember hearing this many years ago about the Buick Stage 2:


If Buick had ever released this package in a GS, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FASTEST PRODUCTION CAR OF ALL THE DIVISIONS OF GM. (this is counting the L-88,ZL-1,RAM AIR 5,and W-43).

Had it been a production model,the GS Stage 2 would have been a real killer on the street as well as the strip. It would've easily been the "King-Kong" of all the musclecars.

 

Here's the car painted differently o No:

 

i took some photos at the 05 BPG Nats.. what a stunning car! :TU:




got a few more too..

 

I can't say for sure if its the same car or not. When Bob bought the car and started racing it in Seattle, I remember watching him run. That painted design on the "C" pillar does look familiar for some reason. Wasn't it an orangish color? I'll ask Bob and find out. I would think Jim B. would know also.
The photos I have are print, that was before the digital age. Talk to you later.

 

thanks for the comments! yes the car still has the stg 2 parts on it and runs strong! rebuilt the engine about 3 years ago. it was a buick and chevy dealership here in fairbanks alaska. i have some pics at home i may be able to scan to the computer if i can figure it out. my parents definitely live on through the car, thanks for the consolation! be back soon. bob :TU:

 

Bob, really glad you have joined us and I (as well as everyone here) can't wait to see pictures of your car! :TU:

 

I'm in the middle of building my GSX Clone and decided to finish it off as a clone of the only GSX Stage 2 ever built! Does anyone have any more info or pics of the Stage 2 GSX? Maybe a higher resolution version of this one? I noticed in the picture that it DID NOT have a hood tach. Is it safe to assume it came with the dash mounted tach?

Leo

 

The GSX hood was swapped to a Skylark version to use the Stage 2 scoop, so there went the hood tach. Whether they added a tach to the dash is a good question?

 

Since the original one had a 4-speed, and since almost every singe car that had a stick came with a tach, I think it's safe to assume it came with the dash tach.

There's one more thing I'm not sure of... was the flat hood without the elongated lip up front availible in 1970? I thought these were only availible in 71 & 72?

 

Actually, it never had a hood tach, because it wasn't a real GSX. They pulled a GS off the line to build that Stage2 car and decided to paint it like a GSX. They did swap a Skylark hood onto it, like you said, and the scoop was metal back then, as opposed to the fiberglass ones that are available now. I don't remember if the scoop was steel or aluminum. My buddy Engie Bauza is about 95% finished with the frame-off restoration of his 4-speed, Stage1, Apollo White GSX and to complete the project, he's morphing the car into a re-creation of that factory Stage2 car, albeit with aluminum Stage2 heads. He's painting both his original GSX hood, with hood tach, and a Skylark hood with a metal Stage2 scoop that he hand fabbed himself. This way he can show the car as it originally was, if he chooses, or race it with a scoop that will actually suck some air.

 

It may have come down the assembly line as a regular GSX with a hood tach before the car was pulled for the R&D stuff.

 

It used a 1970 SkyLark (only) hood. Repeat...a 1970 SkyLark hood was/is unique to ALL other 70 through 72 "A" body Buicks.

How exact are you making this clone? I have some info on car #4085 as in, it had p-windows, p-steering, did NOT have A/C. Full Stage2 package, ran the 850 Holley with mechanical choke mounted under dash. About the closest looking air cleaner pan would be one from an Old's W30, although the ones used were prototypes.

This letter from Bill Trevor (GM training center instructor) also states "we ran the car at tracks all around southern California. It went 11.85 at 118 mph in stock trim.D."

And for some more tid bits.
Also Dave Kiener (GS Enterprises) received the GSX grille emblem (I think from Bill T.) And used it on Brads proto when he restored it. The emblem is two piece and made of brass and is screwed together with screws from the back. Scribed on the back is so4705.
And the full Stage2 hood and airpan ended up on Tom Rix's Stage2 car.
The car did not burn. it did throw a rod however.

I also have a copy of a Inter-Departmental memorandum given to Dennis Manner stating;
"Engineering GSX Car 4085 equipped with Stage II manual trans engine will be loaned to Public Relations Department for magazine coverage in the Los Angeles zone.
In addition, Stage II components will be furnished by Engineering to Reynolds Buick, West covina, California for evaluation in their GS automatic transmission performance car".

Sorry to ramble on here...just thought it all very interesting.
I also have other letters Dennis sent me about car 4085 and the Reynolds car.

Guy

 

So when were the Stage 2 cars made? What are the production dates on the known cars? I would guess early on in the model year. It would be nice to see what was on the cowl tag of 4085.

 

I was posting at the same time you were doing this one this morning. Thanks for the info.

 

For 4085, that's hard to determine. The memorandum letter is dated April 1, 1970. hey, thats April fools day!ou: So it was built sometime before that.
D.M. would probably know.

My car was an early build car, 09-18-1969. what's interesting is mine, Brad's GSX proto, John C's red show car that toured with Brad's were all 10-10 cars, (John's was painted red in another dept) and all have very, very close vin numbers. Duane had said they probably came down the line the same day.

The "Stage II proposal" letter is interesting. I'll scan and post if you guys want. There is no date on it though. It's basically a letter of intent to produce and build factory Stage II cars and what they would consist of. One fact is it would have been a "lightweight" body.

 

The letter sounds great. I'm curious what all would have been included by the factory. And thank you for the great info!


I may be adding the '70 available Stage 2 engine parts to my Stage 1.

12:1 pistons, Stage 2 cam, B4B, 850 Holley and headers.


Oh yeah, and a Skylark hood with a Stage 2 scoop.

 

Hopefully this will be clear enough.
My scanner won't let me resize it so parts of it are missing...

The hand written notes on there are from Dennis Manner from back in the day

 

What is the fastest the Car has run in the Quarter?

Have ran it down the Track ? What E.T.

 

I am doing up my Skylark hood like the Stage II for my GSX clone. Here are some pics. I am painting it Friday!!!!