Photos of the week: Low to Go, and Black and Yellow

It's been a busy week for the Reynolds Buick Facebook Page. We reached record viewership - over 33,000 interactions during the last week, and it's keeping us busy providing new contact daily and having some great conversations on our wall. If you haven't visited yet, do check us out.

Top photo this week was a runaway favorite I call "Low to Go"- it's a great shot of a beautifully restored '55 Special in the first-year Riviera Hardtop style. It look almost stock except for the wire wheels and the super low slam. All in all, an eye catcher and our top photo of the week,

Closing quickly on the leader was "Black and Yellow", a Saturn Yellow 1970 GSX in pristine condition. Now it's hard to go wrong with any GSX, especially Saturn Yellow, so I'm not surprised that the car Buick built to turn heads still does so today, over forty- two years since it made its debut on the stand at the Chicago Auto Show. We've written extensively about the GSX here on the Reynolds Blog, check out our Get to Know: GSX Series.

And don't forget to stop by the Reynolds Buick GMC Facebook Page for daily updates including great images and daily conversation. See you next week!

Get to know: The 1972 GSX

1972 GSX in Flame Orange with Black vinyl roof- 1 of 1

1972 GSX in Sunburst Yellow- 1 of 3

1972 GSX in Stratomist Blue- 1 of 4

It's somewhat ironic that the final year of GSX production offered the most choices and sold, by far, the fewest cars- only 44 cars left the factory in 1972 with the GSX option. There are many reasons why the production itself was so low- it's no secret that the entire industry was turning away from the high compression muscle car bu 1972- emissions requirements were taking hold and the game was changing.

Buick had great plans in place when GM made the unilateral decision to lower compression effective with the 1971 model year in order to run unleaded fuels. An entire proposal for a factory racer was withdrawn, and future focus changed from power to fuel economy. "What'll she do" became "What'll she get."

The changing landscape combined with the redesign of the GM intermediate bodies created a very logical transition point for the GSX. The new bodies were originally intended for 1972, but the long GM strike and the adoption of new bumper regulations pushed the new model back to '73, so the existing bodies were continued for one additional year, and although GSX sales were minimal, there was no reason not to offer it a final time for 1972.

The package itself had deteriorated to three cosmetic options on the GS coupe, and that approached was retained for 1972 amid an even wider range of choices- the number of GSX colors increased from six in 1971 to twelve, and in addition vinyl roof coverings were offered for the first time, in four colors. Stratomist Blue, Arctic White, Seamist, Heritage and Hunter Greens, Sandalwood, Burnished Copper, Cortez Gold. Fire Red, Silver Mist, Sunburst Yellow and Flame Orange were the exterior colors for 1972, and the newly optional vinyl roofs were offered in black, white, beige and brown.

Divide the total production of forty-four cars by twelve colors and the average is about four cars in each color. When the roofs are considered (and they were tracked), it turns out that eighteen of the cars were finished in unique, one off exterior combinations and the most produced in any one unique exterior combination was five units.

Interiors were a bit more consistent- fifteen cars had white bucket seats, twelve had black, and only three cars had unique interior choices- one each of Saddle bench seats, white notchback, and black notchback.

Powertrain wise, 24 of the 44 had the 455 Stage 1 engine, 4 had the base 455, and 16 were equipped with the 350. Forty of the forty four were automatics, so the four speed is extremely rare- only two Stage 1's, one base 455, and one 350 are so equipped. Chassis options were freeflow as in 1971, but remember that the option is still limited to GS coupes. Production spanned the entire model year, with the first invoice being generated on September 9, 1971 and the last car produced on July 3. 1972.

In all, the last GSX serves as a fitting close to a unique and exciting chapter in Buick's history. The extremely low production and high degree of one off examples makes them particulary exciting to collectors and so far the GSX registry has documented seven survivors. Hopefully that means the rest of us have a chance at discovering the missing 37 in barns and garages nearby. If you do see one, let us know. We have a trailer and everything.

Get to Know: The 1970 GSX

The success of the GSX show car all but guaranteed a production version, so no one was really surprised in the spring of 1970 when Buick announced the introduction of the very limited edition GSX. This was no stripe kit, but rather a very inclusive production option priced at $1196, plus of course a base GS455 Coupe.

The package included the standard 350 HP 455 V8 engine with 10.0:1 compression and 4 speed manual close ratio transmission with a Hurst shifter, plus a hood tach, G60-15 Polyglas tires on 7 inch wide V2 Chrome wheels, front air dam fiberglass rear spoiler, and outside color keyed sport mirrors. Special two color striping and GSX badging set off the exterior. Only two colors were offered, Apollo White or Saturn Yellow, which was a GSX exclusive color. Black was the only interior color.

Inside there was a custom interior with bucket seats, rally gauges and clock, 15' sport steering wheel, and special GSX identification. The chassis was loaded with goodies too- power front disc brakes, 3.42 rear axle with positraction, heavy duty cooling, large diameter front and rear stabilizer bars, heavy duty front and rear shock absorbers, and firm ride control arms and bushings. Quick ratio power steering was an often selected option, as was a Turbo HydraMatic 400 transmission.

But the biggest performance option of all was the Stage 1 455 engine, an additional $113 option for which the compression ratio was upped to 10.5 to 1 and the engine produced well in excess of its advertised 360 HP. There's a story there, but it's for another day.

The GSX sold rather well for such an expensive offering, with 678 examples assembled for 1970. Of those, statistics from the GSX Registry reveal that X00 had the Stage 1 455 engine and 479 had the Turbo HydraMatic transmission. Sensibly, a vast majority of buyers opted for quick ratio power steering- 613 in all. Color choices were a bit lopsided as well, with the Saturn Yellow accounting for 491 units and Apollo White only 187. But above and beyond its own sales, the GSX was a halo car for Buick and made the division's image more youthful and vital. After all, twelve year old boys don't hang posters of Electra Sedans on their walls. And yes, we were impressing the boys with our own 1970 Stage 2 drag car, but Buick decided to do it on a larger scale.

But was it really all that? In a word, a resounding yes. Motor Trend magazine got a hold of one and made a 13.38-second pass at 105.5 mph, prompting the magazine to name the GS 455 Stage 1 "the quickest American production car we had ever tested." Great plans were made for the future, including a Buick factory drag racer developed by Dennis Manner himself. But alas, it was not to be. The GM Corporate decision to reduce compression on the 1971 models triggered a swift decline for the supercars, and the GSX was quickly wound down. But the passage of time does not diminish the moment, and the 1970 GSX has a revered spot in the history of the performance car.

1970 GSX in Saturn Yellow

Another view of a Saturn Yellow 1970 GSX

The formidable 455 Stage 1 Powerplant

All '70 GSX models came with this black bucket seat interior

'70 GSX in Apollo White

Great shot of the spoiler- special striping was the same either color.

Muscle Car Memories: The Mid-Year 1970 GSX

It made it debut in the cold of a Chicago winter, but people realized instantly that it was hot enough to melt the snow, and while it wasn't identical to the production version that would follow, it was clear that Buick was about to take the lid off of what had been the best kept secret of the muscle car era- the power of the Buick 455 V8 lurking under the hood. We knew all about that here at Reynolds, but the rest of the world was about to be awakened.

We're speaking of the first GSX- The dazzling white show car that wowed them on the floor of the Chicago Auto Show way back in February of 1970. And it was a dazzler all right- in a special Mother of Pearl White paint finish, with a huge front air dam, twin hood scoops, big dual exhaust ports exiting the back bumpers, an inverted u-shaped rear spoiler, black painted Buick 15" road wheels with sticky G60-15 Goodyear Polyglas tires, and a black and red striping scheme that pulled it all together and announced to the world that one very special Buick was coming, and please step aside.

The attention grabbing color scheme continued on the interior as well, with asymmetrical black and white geometric designed leather bucket seats and door panels, set off with yellow and red accent striping. The GSX logo was stitched into the door panels. The full operating console and dash featured engine turned aluminum trim panels. Loaded with optional equipment including power windows, it was all in all an exhilarating environment for the driver.

The drive train was a basically stock 455 Stage 1 engine, which in stock tril developed 360 HP @4600 RPM,  and a stump-pulling 510 lb/ft of torque @ 2800. It featured a stock 10.5 to 1 compression ratio and was mated to a Turbo Hydramatic 400 automatic transmission. The only special touch to the engine was a set of Kenne-Bell headers.

Amazingly, after the 1970 show season was completed, the car was sold intact to Len Immke Buick of Columbus, Ohio, who sold it to a retail customer. Amazingly, it survived and has been restored to its original as-shown condition and is a fixture at GS Club of America National Events.

(See more photos here courtesy of Buick Parts Directory)