Hi Guys, I've found a site (musclecarclub.com) that states a Stage 1 was a "dealer installed" option for the '68 GS. Is there any truth to this? and if so, how would you identify such a car? Thanks, Greg
Greg, Since it is dealer installed, I'd say it would be pretty tough to identify one today. Looks like 11:1 forged pistons, hotter cam, different spark curve and carb jetting. Without some sort of dealer documentation or engine disassembly, who knowso No: Any particular reason you are asking? Think you have found one?
Possibly. From a 30 year (elderly) owner. The car comes with a story that sounds just enough like it could be a Stage 1 optioned car but I can't seem to find a difinitive way to validate this. If this is the type of dealer intalled option that (short of original documentation) cannot be verified without an engine tear down, I guess the point is moot. Were there no external modifications, stampings or components that could shed some light on this? Thanks again, Greg
Greg, o No: Since it was a dealer installed option and the parts are internal to the engine the only way would be through dis-assembly or with an original dealer recipt for the install. Sorry :beers2:
How to tell a '68 Stage without opening up the engine: I believe that a 1968 Buick GS400 Stage 1 would have a cowl induction ram air system...dealer ( or owner ) would have had to cut a hole in the firewall... ( Like a 1967 Camaro Z28..)
Jim You are correct, cowl RA option was just that ,an option that no one knew about and had nothing to do with Stage 1 over the counter stuff eventhough it would complement a 68 car.
Okay..my bad...BUT..It would seem that if you were improving your engine internals, you want to increase the mass of air induced into the engine... Cowl mounted ram air would increase volume at speed and lower the temperature of entering air..two things that would increase air mass... A thing that Buick did for the 1969-1972 GS cars. Does anyone have a clue how many Ram Air set ups were sold by Buick motor division ? Does anyone have a clue what sort of performance increase you would get by carving up your firewall ?
The 69-72s ram air set ups basically add zero to performance as the scoops are not tall enough to get out of the boundary layer. I think most cars run faster if you take the factory stuff off and put on an extreme filter set up. I am unsure of the effect of the 68 ram air rare option. I think I might even have one in some parts but I have never seen one actually installed.
Jim, With the removal of the factory induction system, what can you do to avoid water intrusion through the ram air scoops that happen to be just over the distributor? Not that I drive mine in the rain but in sub-tropical South Florida sometimes it can't be avoided. My buddy with a custom 70 GS455 had to replace parts of his MSD due to this reason. Also, my 464 will also be sans factory induction. I would hate to block these off...
Jim, I currently have to rebuild the bottom end of my 1968 400 (culprit...early morning runs up to a steel mill we are putting together... apparently running too fast for long stretches kills big blocks...) and am open to re-building the engine as a 1968 Stage 1, for the fun of it. (as long as it would hold together NEXT summer when I run around the country side as fast as I can). If you ever want to sell those parts, I would definetely be open to buying them. In your opinion would a Skylark hood combined with a Stage 2 scoop deliver a better Ram Air package ? I would need a new hood as I am running the 1969 set up... I am not a drag racer, so I really want my power between 50 and 130 MPH. I would love to get someone to compare the different hood options available to us, using a chassis dyno and come up with some real numbers for OUR cars.
68 GS Stage 1 option parts were over the counter from the parts department. I would think you could have the dealer install them but the one I had was a 68 GS 400 that the owner bought some of the stage 1 parts and did his own install. I bought the car after it was damaged. It had the chrome valve covers and the bigger push rods and the Stage 1 cam. As was stated very hard to tell because you could buy one or many of the parts over the counter. The only way I new this had some of the stage 1 parts was because a friend of mine did the install. Thanks Bill.
0.2 tenths second increase in a quarter mile run reported: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=20971&highlight=stage+scoop+performance
