1970 Buick GSX 455
The Buick Gran Sport name was first introduced on the 1965 Skylark as a competitor to the Pontiac GTO. The first Gran Sport had a Wildcat 325 horsepower 401 cid “nailhead” V8 and was known as a “gentleman’s Hot Rod”.
In 1970 the Gran Sport GSX packed a 350 horsepower 455 cid V8 with 510 ft-lbs of torque beneath its Ram-Air hood. A special “tight” suspension, 3.64 rear end, front/rear spoilers and graphics with only two available color schemes. Regardless, only 678 were made in 1970 in either Saturn Yellow or Apollo White with a rear wing and a kind of precursor to the Starsky & Hutch stripe. (491 were produced in Saturn Yellow and 187 were produced in Apollo White).
This particular GSX 455 is said to be a Stage I with 360hp, and while the seller admits the engine isn’t original, he says it is a real GSX powerplant, and the car itself is a real GSX, as well. Regardless, it looks fantastic after having received a rotisserie restoration, and the Saturn Yellow paint was applied in a bake booth, literally melting it into place.
The interior looks fresh as can be with the fake wood trim adding a little luxury to an already well-appointed environment, with bucket seats upholstered in the correct pattern, three-spoke steering wheel, and all of it looking like new. According to the post, the air conditioning blows cold, the wipers work, the lights work, etc, even the original reconditioned GSX tach works. The original AM/FM radio has front and rear speakers, and the radio was updated to play anything with a 1/8” connector jack, like a cell phone or CD player.
The 1970 Buick GSX proved that even though Buick was primarily a luxury brand, it could produce one heck of a muscle car. Even though it wasn’t as popular as the Chevelle or the GTO, the 1970 GSX is still regarded as one of the finest muscle cars to come out of the classic muscle car era. Due to low production, seeing one these days is rare so take the time to check one out if you get the opportunity.
The Buick GSX is a relatively quiet muscle car, certainly not by the appearance, but by reputation. Most people don’t wake up thinking they want a muscle car and instantly start looking up a Buick – which, maybe they should, because the brand has built more than a few performance cars with some seriously impressive figures to their cred. But the GSX is a legend in its own right, and frankly, we don’t think they’ve gotten the justice they should, and we wonder if the market is still swinging upwardly for them. The jury may still be out on that, but given the amount of effort put into restoring this one, we feel the price is fair market, maybe even well bought.
