SHARING SATURDAY- '73 EDITION

Philip Roitman's '73 GS 455 Stage 1 Sun Coupe

 We've got a pretty active group of folks over at the Reynolds Buick GMC Facebook Page and it can lead to some great dialogue and sharing of some awesome cars. Every day has a different theme. A week ago Friday, for example, we looked at the restyled Buick Century Gran Sports of 1973. It's a pretty cool car that definitely flies under the radar in the muscle car world.

Pat Harmon's '73 GS 350 with factory 4 speed

 But not to the Reynolds followers. They responded quickly with photos and stories of their own '73 Gran Sports- our follower Philip Roitman owns five beautiful examples by himself- and then Pat Harmon jumped in with his '73 GS 350 4 speed, and Kevin Myers pulled up a picture of the one he had in high school.

Philip Roitman's 73 GS 350 now has a 462.

Sharing Saturdays are a lot of fun for us- it's where we take all the cool Buicks (and GMC) that our followers have submitted during the week and make a whole day out of them on our Facebook page. But today marks the first time that we have enough of one year and model to do a whole Sharing Saturday dedicated to it. So thanks to Tom, Kevin, and Philip, it's the Sharing Saturday 1973 Gran Sport Edition.

Every Sharing Saturday is totally different, and created by our fans, so drop in and check it out soon.

Kevin Myers owned this '73 Century 350 when he was 18. 

Philip Roitman's '73 GS 455 Stage 1

A pair of Philip Roitman's '73 Gran Sports

Philip Roitman with his '73 GS 455 Stage 1 Sun Coupe

Side view of Pat Harmon's '73 GS 350

Bench seat and 4 speed was the factory combination in Pat Harmon's '73 GS 350

1973 Century Gran Sport- Late in the Game

The GM Strike of 1970 caused the delay of the new mid size cars for one year, so what was intended to come out for 1972 actually debuted one year later as 1973 models. All of the corporations mid sized cars were affected, so of course Buick was no exception, The 1971 styling continued for 1972, prolonging the availability of the convertible for one more season, until the new cars appeared for 1973. 

 There was a lot new for the '73 Buick intermediates, starting with the name. The Skylark name was retired for '73 and  the time honored Century nameplate returned. A new Regal model was introduced at the top of the line and the Gran Sport became a Century Gran Sport in 1973.

 The new styling was handsome and well received. All body styled featured Colonnade styling including fixed B-pillars and frameless door glass on all models, four doors and wagons included. The Gran Sport had the sportiest of the Century rooflines, a swept back rood with large fixed rear side glass.

Mechanically the car was little changed from the 1971-72 GS. The lowered compression ratios of 1971 had effectively stopped further engine development, so the engines were largely carried over for 1973. Both 350 and 455 V8s were available, as was a 455 Stage 1. The 455 was now rated at 250 HP, and the Stage 1 which developed 270 HP net. This figures are comparable to the net horsepower ratings of the 1972 models.

 Even though the performance era was rapidly drawing to a close, Buick still managed to produced 6,635 of the handsome 1973 Gran Sport. Of that number,  4,930 were equipped with 350 engines, 979 had the 455 and another 728 were Stage 1 455 equipped. The vast majority were produced with automatics, only 365 cars had four speeds in '73- and 92 of those were also Stage 1s. A handsome car that is much desired today and who knows what might have happened if it had reached market at the peak of the performance car era instead of so late in the game.

BUICK Set the Pace at Indy Six Times

One year after the 100th Anniversary of the Historic Indianapolis 500 race, let's take a moment and remember some of Buick's role in this iconic American Experience. Buick was one of the first manufacturers to take part in racing at the Indy track, and won several events in 1909, two years before the first Indianapolis 500 of 1911. Many, many Buicks were also raced at Indianapolis including factory sponsored racing engines as recently as the 1980's.

But Buick has also served as the Official Pace Car at Indianapolis on six different occasions, and created some very special cars to suit the role.

The first Buick Pace Car was a 1939 Roadmaster Series 80 Convertible Sedan. It used Buick's most powerful 320 cubic inch OHV straight eight engine in a slightly smaller chassis for high speed performance. Although nearly stock in appearance, The Roadmaster had no trouble maintaining the high speeds required of a Pace Car.

The next time Buick was selected as Pace Car was 1959. This was a great opportunity to showcase the all new 1959 Buick with its swept back fins. A white Electra 225 convertible with red bucket seats was specially prepared for the event. Following the race, the car itself was presented to race winner Rodger Ward.

The 1975 Buick Pace Car wrapped itself in the red, white and blue. A loaded Century Colonnade Coupe with 455 V8, bucket seats, and T-Tops was chosen and finished off with a patriotic red, white and blue flag-derived paint scheme which was very much in keeping with the Bicentennial mania that was sweeping the country. In addition, white Le Sabre convertibles were supplied for race executives and a fleet of replica Century coupes, with the same cosmetic treatment, were offered through Buick dealers.

Buick was the Pace Car again in 1976, but this time the technology was all new. The 1976 Century Pace Car featured the first Turbocharged V6 engine which was specially developed for this high speed application. This concept would lead to turbocharged V6 engines in the 1978 model year, and ultimately to the legendary Buick Grand National. It was finished in an aggressive color scheme of silver, red, and black, and again replicas were offered through Buick dealers, but they had conventional 350 V8 engines.

The Buick Regal was chosen as the 1981 Indianapolis Pace Car, again showing off Buick's V6 power. This time, a highly modified 4.1 litre V6, conventionally asperated, developed 281 horsepower and helped further establish the performance reputation of the Buick V6. The actual pace car had a Targa-style roof with an integral roll bar, and was finished in a unique color scheme of silver and dark maroon with bright red and orange trim.

Buick's most recent trip to Indianapolis was in 1983. That year a special Riviera Convertible was chosen to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Buick's personal luxury car. A special color scheme of two shades of tan, a leather and suede interior, a fuel injected turbocharged V-6 engine and even genuine wire wheels set the car off. A replica coupe called the Riviera XX was offered through Buick dealers, although only 500 were ever made.

So when you sit back and enjoy the 101st anniversary of the Indianapolis 500, remember that Buick has been a important part of the Indianapolis story. Many times, we've set the pace.