Pick of the Day: 1972 Buick GS Stage 1

Winner The “Most Improved Car of 1970” would have to be the Buick GS 455 with the Stage 1 engine, but 1970 was only one year. The next year, GM lowered the engine’s compression ratio, and the Stage 1’s reign as the reigning king was over…or was it? Our pick today is a 1972 Buick GS Stage 1, which gives us reason to examine how Buick survived the early Depression. It’s listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Reading, Pennsylvania. (Click on the link to see the listing)

In 1970, Buick upped its big-block 400 to 455 cubic inches, now allowed in the Model A, after years of being restricted to 400ci (or 401 in the early Gran Sport). Full-size Buick’s 455 was rated at 370 horsepower, but the same engine was rated at 350 horsepower when installed in the GS 455. The Stage 1 upgrade was rated at 360 horsepower, but according to Dennis Manner, the chief engineer for this engine, true showroom stock was rated at 372 horsepower.

In 1971, Buick reconfigured the GS lineup, bringing the 350, 455, and Stage 1 into one family (previously it was the GS and GS 455/Stage 1). The downgraded Stage 1 was rated at 345 horsepower, more than the Pontiac 455 HO (335), but less than the Oldsmobile’s W30 (350) and Chevrolet’s LS5 454 (365). A 30-horsepower difference between the engines seems unrealistic, so perhaps the real standard of comparison is net horsepower? In this case, the Poncho puts out 310 horsepower, the Olds 300, and the Chevy 285. What about the Stage 1? 275 horsepower. So there’s also a 30-horsepower difference in net ratings, so let’s ask this: Does the GS suffer from its corporate counterparts? If you ask a Buick racer, he or she will say no.

The 1972 engines, while nearly identical to the 1971 engines, had one or two minor emissions tweaks that resulted in a slight drop in horsepower. The 455 HO dropped to 300 hp, the same rating for the W30. The LS5 dropped to 270 hp, which was also the rating for the Stage 1. The top Mopar engines were rated in the same range, so the Stage 1 was a good performer. And, like I said, just ask the Buick racers.

The advantage of the 1972 Gran Sport is that GM finally put the engine code into the VIN (Ford, Chrysler and AMC had been doing this for a long time), so there is no need to ask for paperwork. This 1972 Buick GS Stage 1 has a “V” in the number 5.^day The VIN features prove that it’s one of 728 coupes equipped with this engine – a pedigree determinant that earlier cars didn’t have. Of those, an impressive 507 were equipped with an automatic transmission and air conditioning. It’s also one of 72 Stage 1 cars painted in Polished Copper, though you can see it was repainted green, including the GSX stripes added in 2002. Considering only 44 GSXs were produced in 1972, this might be the ideal modification for the image-conscious.

“Service records are available!” the seller claims. “The engine and transmission were rebuilt to factory specs in 1991 and have 22,000 miles on them!” The brakes have been upgraded to four-wheel discs, and an Edelbrock carburetor and exhaust manifold have been added to the engine. Sounds like a good driver, right? I also spotted a remote left-side mirror, a console, a new Kenwood stereo with a CD player, Bluetooth, and a USB port. At $43,996, this sounds like a very fun car to drive, and definitely one of the fastest cars of 1972.

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