Buick GS Stage 1 1970, Estados Unidos

Buick GS Stage 1 1970, Estados Unidos
Motor : 455/360HP
Exterior : Vermelho (Fireglow Pearl)
Interior : Branco
Fotografia

HIGHLIGHTS

·         Factory Prototype show car

·         1 of only 2 factory exhibit Buick GS cars produced by Buick Motor Division in 1970

·         455/360 HP engine with 510 ft/lbs of torque

·         Previously part of the Chamberlain collection of 1970 Buicks

·         Certified-Gold winner at the 2010 Buick Performance Group Nationals

·         Hemmings Muscle Machines Magazine feature car in August 2005

·         Special Fireglow Pearl paint with White interior

·         Bucket seats with console

·         Power steering, brakes and windows

·         Tilt column, Sonomatic radio

In 1970, General Motors pulled long-standing corporation-wide restrictions on engine displacement, allowing its various divisions to run wild with new powerplants ranging all the way up to 455 CI. In Buick’s case, this newfound freedom resulted in one of the most formidable machines of the first muscle-car era: the 1970 Buick Gran Sport Stage 1. The GS Stage 1 built on the basic formula established in the Gran Sport, whose new 455 CI engine was rated at 350 HP and an astonishing 510 lb-ft of torque, the latter figure all-in at just 2,800 RPM. This was the highest torque rating of any production car except the Cadillac 472 and 500 CI engines, and it was made possible through higher displacement, larger valves in high-flow heads, a performance cam and standard cold-air induction fed by twin hood scoops. The Stage 1 expanded those parameters with even better breathing, incorporating still larger valves with stronger springs for high-RPM reliability, revised porting, a radical new cam and a rejetted version of GM’s versatile Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carburetor. The factory rated the Stage 1 at 360 HP, but most testers concluded it was more than 400.

Buick’s Shows, Displays and Exhibits Division leapt at the opportunity to herald its raucous new contender in the muscle-car sweepstakes. In early September 1969, two identical white GS Stage 1 hardtop coupes were pulled off the assembly line to be specially prepared for touring the manufacturers’ auto shows across the country. Requisitioned on invoices just two numbers apart from each other, the cars featured almost every “must-have” option available, including the Rallye Ride Control Package, G60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GT tires, chromed wheels, tilt steering, power windows, full instrumentation, Soft Ray-tinted windshield and Rallye steering wheel. Additionally, both cars were fitted with Pearl White bucket seats and featured numerous alterations exclusive to the pair that would never make the assembly line. One was converted into the well-known Saturn White GSX Prototype; the other, offered here, was given an entirely different treatment.

Upon first glance, one is struck by the car’s luminous Fireglow pearlescent paint, which was never a production color but was nonetheless perfect for standing out even in the brightly-lit environs of a manufacturer’s car show. But even that dramatic first impression is soon overwhelmed by the white interior. Of special note, the body-color-matching seat belts are marked with “Experimental” production codes. In order to bolster the interior’s effect to its fullest, the factory replaced the Soft Ray glass with crystal-clear glass devoid of even the slightest tint. The result is that the car seems to glow from within.

This factory prototype GS Stage 1 show car and the GSX Prototype toured the show circuit together. Typically, such vehicles would be slated for the crusher after completing their rounds, but both cars were rescued by Len Immke Buick of Columbus, Ohio, which purchased them with the understanding that neither was ever to be sold. Of course, both were “accidentally” sold while Immke was away on business; incredibly, both survived. The Fireglow Stage 1 served drag-strip and street duties until 1978, when it was decommissioned by its original owner, who in 2003 sold it to John K. Chamberlain. All the original sheet metal was present in rust-free condition, and over the next two years, Chamberlain restored it in time to present it at the 2005 GS Nationals.

Refinished in the original Fireglow special paint color, the car’s powertrain includes a correct-specification engine built with the factory-original 10.5:1 pistons, 1970 Stage 1 carburetor, distributor and transmission, and original Stage 1 heads, giving it the same high torque and horsepower that made it the third-fastest production muscle car of its time. The subject of a 2005 feature article in “Hemmings Muscle Machines” magazine and Gold Certification winner at the 2010 Buick Performance Group Nationals, this is an impeccably restored and carefully preserved factory show car embodying the audacity and showmanship that exemplified the high watermark of the muscle-car era.

Fonte : https://www.mecum.com/lots/DA0917-294080/1970-buick-gs-stage-1/

Looking to draw attention to its muscle car offerings for the 1970 model year, Buick pulled a pair of white GS Stage 1 models, with sequential serial numbers, from September 1969 production. One of these was finished in pearlescent red paint and fitted with a bold, mostly monochromatic interior before being shipped off on the show circuit. After a life spent on stage, street and strip, this one-off 1970 Buick GS Stage 1 heads to auction this October in Chicago.

The task of turning a production GS Stage 1 into an eye-catching show car fell to Buick’s Shows, Displays and Exhibits division, which began the effort by spraying the white GS a non-production shade called Fireglow Pearl. On the inside, the group removed the production steering wheel, kick panels, carpeting, A-pillar trim and seat belts, all of which would have been black on a car ordered with white vinyl seating. In their place, Buick substituted all-white components (except for the seat belts, which were tangerine), using thick pile carpeting that Craig Fitzgerald described as, “the kind of plush you might find in the back of a custom van from the 1970s.” One additional change was made to the car’s exterior, solely for the purpose of highlighting its interior: though a Soft-Ray tinted windshield was used in production, this was substituted for a clear glass windshield to avoid casting a blue tint on the all-white cabin.

Under the hood, the stock GS Stage 1 455-cu.in. V-8 and Turbo-Hydramatic three-speed automatic transmission remained unaltered. Compared to the GS 455 series, Stage 1 cars received a high-lift camshaft , 10.5:1 compression pistons, a rejetted Rochester Quadrajet carburetor and a low-restriction dual exhaust, bumping output to 360 horsepower (from the base 455’s 350 horsepower) and 510 pound-feet of torque. Like most muscle car horsepower ratings of the day, 360 was an extremely conservative number, meant primarily to appease insurance companies, and popular belief was that the Stage 1 actually made closer to  400 horsepower in stock trim.

Both cars pulled from production were loaded up with options, too, as Buick wanted to highlight features that could be ordered from a local dealer.  The show cars came equipped with the Rallye Ride Control Package; Goodyear Polyglas GT tires; tilt steering wheel; power windows; full instrumentation; chrome wheels; and a Rallye steering wheel. About the only option missing from the build was air conditioning, since Buick never intended the cars to be driven for any length of time.

At the conclusion of their time on the show circuit, the Fireglow Pearl GS Stage 1 and its sister car, a White Pearl GSX, were destined for a date with the crusher until Columbus, Ohio’s Len Immke Buick intervened by purchasing both vehicles. GM reportedly agreed to the sale on the grounds that the dealership would retain possession of both custom Buicks, but it wasn’t long before the cars were in the hands of customers. The Fireglow Stage 1 was used by its original owner for both street and drag strip duty, and although it was retired in 1978, he retained possession of the car until 2003, when it was acquired by John Chamberlain.

When Chamberlain took possession, the car showed less than 13,000 miles on the odometer and had no signs of significant rust, but the cracked Fireglow paint (and the once-white interior) had seen better days. The car’s original engine and transmission were lost to time, but the owner had preserved the factory-supplied cylinder heads, Quadrajet carburetor, and, reportedly, high-compression pistons. A two-year restoration was begun, preserving as many of the original parts as possible and substituting correctly dated parts where necessary. Completed in time for the 2005 Buick GS Nationals, the car has won awards as recently as 2010, when it picked up Gold Certification at the Buick Performance Group Nationals. Given the car’s unique and documented history, along with its remarkable condition, Mecum is predicting a selling price of $100,000 to $150,000 when the car crosses the block on Saturday, October 11.

Mecum’s Chicago sale will run from October 9-11 at the Schaumberg Convention Center. For complete details, visit Mecum.com.

UPDATE (13.October): Bidding reached a high of $82,500, which failed to meet the Buick’s reserve price. The car went unsold.