And yet everyone feels compelled to have their car in a show with a brand new set of perfect foams on it, as if the hood has never been closed. Would the concours judges make a deduction if the foams looked like this? I seem to remember that the Japan GSX had documents confirming that it was a white GS Stage 1, but not a GSX. But if it was pulled from the line and converted into a GSX so it would be available to the press, this would make sense.
Imagine if people restored GS's as they actually looked in 1970? Crappy squished foams, the whole back end of the undercarriage spray painted black...all the sloppy paint work. Dingy looking engine compartments. Lol The cars you see at the GS Nationals represent what a GS could of looked like in 1970 if Buick had unlimited time and money. And they put them together like Rolls Royce puts thier cars together
If you would look, the plate on the auto in question is a California Manufacture plate which makes sense as this was probably sent to California (or even possibly manufactured there) as a test car for magazines, hence the California emissions controls and such.
I don't think that the anything the factory built can be called a "clone".. Pre-production model, engineering prototype, or Show car would be more correct descriptions. The word "clone" carries with it the connotation of "unauthorized copy". JW
Road Test magazine was based in southern California, same as Car Craft so it makes sense that they would get the same white GSX to test. Hi-Performance Cars magazine was based in the northeast (NY area?) so it makes sense that they tested a different car, yellow GSX in their road test "Electric Banana." Jim, it was intended as a joke. My joke didn't translate well online. It can't be a clone if it's the first one made.
The article is also dated in July of 1970, which means they probably were testing the car in the spring, the weather in the northeast was probably still too lousy for any kind of track testing.
Brad, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember or recall us ever discussing this car with the correlations between ours and the "red" show car, John C. old car. (the one up for sale now, again) As you know our three cars share very close body numbers, most likely pulled off the assembly line around the same time, 10-10 white cars, (yes even the red show car) Stage1's, and pretty much all "speced" the same. My car was speced and ordered by Bill Trevor, Buick's technical instructor at General Motors in Ca. through Reynolds Buick. And yes, Ca. emissions car, Built in Flint Mi. It would be interesting to know the build date of this GSX.
Guy, I never paid attention before concerning the early car parts but it is obvious to me it was an early build, much like ours. I agree, it would be nice to know more about this car.
I like how the article states the Stage 1 engine has a .490 lift cam. Buick did their best to cheat the NHRA in the blue print specs.
I’m sure someone does, is reading this, and laughing… sitting in the car, patting the steering wheel…
When I worked for a company called DST Industries we would take preproduction Ford test vehicles blow then apart and put “show” paint jobs on them and use them for auto shows and press type events. More than a few Shelby Mustangs at the auto shows in the last twenty years sitting on the turn tables were just regular plain Jane mustang 5.0’s.
