Words: Clive Branson
Randy is an exceptional model builder. He has several showcases at home that display his collection of flawless and precise replicas of German, American and British World War II aircraft. This meticulous characteristic extends to his other passion – his 1972 Buick GS 455.
“Building model cars as a kid probably planted the seed and then as a teenager, seeing some of my friends pull up at High School was the catalyst to giving me the need for speed,” Randy recalls. “What finally sealed it for me was seeing all the hot rods and muscle cars cruising on Carling Avenue. That was a glorious time.”
About 13 years ago, while driving home with his wife Debbie, Randy casually suggested that he would like to buy a Buick GS, a childhood dream car of his. Not any Buick GS – it had to meet his specific requirements. It had to be a ’72, as the VIN number corroborates engine/bay size (compulsory for big block engine).
“I did not want a 1970 model due to its higher compression and its allergy to unleaded fuel, which I feared may be a problem,” Randy insists. “And the 1971 model cannot be verified for authenticity without the proper paper work.”
The car had to have all the factory options that were ‘must-haves,’ such as the 455 engine, 15” chrome rally wheels, black bucket seat interior, sport mirrors, sport steering wheel, and under no circumstance could it be a hue of green or brown.
“If any of these options were missing, or did not come with the car when new, it was a deal breaker.” Looking for such a model would be a test of patience, but Randy is a perfectionist and was ready for the challenge.
With Debbie’s consent, Randy went to work, searching on the Internet for ’72 Buicks in California, Washington State and Northern Ontario. Eventually, in 2004, he spotted the car on the Hemming’s site. The car was being sold through Classic Corvettes and Collectibles in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
“This car had something that none of the other cars I viewed had,” says Randy, “namely provenance. It came with the original bill of sale, original window sticker and build sheet. It advertised 25,721 miles on the odometer, but I found that hard to swallow given the age of the car and believe the actual mileage would be closer to 125,721.”
After some parry and thrust negotiations with the salesman, a deal was settled. “While waiting for a shipping quote, the salesman quit the dealership and the negotiation process commenced anew with another salesman only to seal the deal with the originally negotiated price. It was October, and all that remained for me to do was wait for the shipping company to deliver the car in December.” It is one of only 1,099 GS’s built in the 1972 model year with this engine and transmission combination.
Buick isn’t exactly noted for its eau de testosterone muscle cars; rather, it has made its reputation on solid engines and a sedate, refined look for customers like advertising executives. But to Randy, the ’72 Buick GS spoke volumes. While the competition offered bare-knuckled street fighters, this car was actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The ’72 Buick GS 455 is equipped with a hemi-vortex, dual carb centrifugal quad intake. And that just powers the door lock. The big block engine has enough torque to light up the rear tires, and though it wasn’t the best selling muscle car, it didn’t take a back seat to anyone.
“It represents the end of an era. It is generally accepted that the muscle car era died in 1972, and this was Buick’s swansong. That year, Hot Rod magazine stated that Buick had one of the best, if not the best, performance packages obtainable from Detroit,” states Randy with pride. “In 1972, with lower compression, emissions equipment and reduced horsepower, Buick stepped up to the plate one more time and swung for the fences.”
Rumoured to be heavy and lazy around curves resulting in understeer, the GS is actually very docile to drive. “It handles as well as can be expected for a car of this vintage due to the original suspension set-up. It has a more solid ride than other GM A-bodies, as Buick incorporated an extra set of body mounts that Chevrolet, Pontiac and Oldsmobile did not use except for their convertibles.
“The car was in such excellent condition when I bought it as it had spent its entire life in North Carolina and was hardly driven. In fact, I hardly needed to perform any extensive restoration work. The previous owner had repainted it 65 Flame Orange about 28 years prior – faithful to its original colour – but Buick stipulated that that was only for one year.”
Hardly surprising, since Buick probably isn’t blazers and turtlenecks, but lab coats with dripping pens in their breast pockets.
“Together with friends, we have restored ‘The General,’ or as my neighbour calls it, ‘The Money Pit,’ with new carpeting, foam padding for the front bucket seats, and several details, such as the addition of a set of reproduction Goodyear G60-15 Poly Glas tires to get the car looking the way it was initially delivered.
“The longest and most difficult task has been to pull the engine so that new seals and gaskets could be installed. The whole process was made more awkward by virtue of the A/C equipment that harbours much of the engine bay. The hardest part to maintain is getting the correct parts to keep any repairs faithful to the original way it was built. Buicks are a little harder and more expensive to restore than some other makes as the aftermarket companies don’t really cater to the Buick owners, or specific Buick parts aren’t reproduced. Trim, bumpers, grills and sheet metal are virtually non-existent. A Ram air hood, for example, or the proper air cleaner to go with the hood, are as rare as hen’s teeth.”
The wonderful thing about photographing classic cars is the reaction you get from observers. “I get mixed reactions from the public,” confesses Randy, “but almost all are very favourable. The most common thing I hear is ‘nice Chevelle,’ or ‘I had a GTO just like that.’ It also looks similar to a Skylark and a Cutlass. A few years back, I was idling at a red light and a guy, standing by the curb next to my front fender, looked right at the car and said to me, ‘Nice GTO.’ I guess the GS letters look like GTO. Another time, I had a conversation with an elderly lady at a gas station. I was filling up and she mentioned to me that the car brought back memories. I asked her if the memories were from the front seat or the back seat. She smiled coyly and said the back. This is what gives me the ultimate pleasure in driving this car. It’s the people you meet, or getting together with my other classic car friends and going on road trips. Nothing beats driving down the highway with all the windows down and the music up. I have to admit, it is kind of cool when we all pull into a small town and the locals are all over the cars. I guess I am more appreciative of what I have, as many people who want a classic car may not have the means to acquire one.
“As far as the future is concerned, I believe there will always be a future for classic cars. How you define a ‘classic’ is somewhat fluid. Today’s classics may be harder to obtain in the future, but there will always be a classic to take its place (the youth aren’t really interested in cars from the ‘70s. There is little emotional connection). Might seem like a stretch, but today’s Buick Regal may be tomorrow’s classic. After all, who would have thought that a Volkswagen Beetle would be a collectible?”
