1972 Buick GS 350 Convertible
1 of 645 built, 1 of 68 sold new in Canada
Documented by GM of Canada
Jump to a section to see the restoration:
Chassis (Completed Aug 13, 2004)
Body & Paint (Completed Jan 7, 2006)
Driveline (Completed Feb 3, 2006)
Electrical (Completed April 11, 2006)
Interior (Completed June 16, 2006 )
Final Assembly (updated Sept 28, 2009)
Completed pics and video (last updated June 2022)
How it started :
While I was on an endorsement course for the Boeing 737 in Oct 2000, a guy in my class and I were talking about cars, since he owns a 1987 Grand National. I was telling him about my car and he said he knew of one possibly sitting near his house, very rusty but complete. We went to look at it, and turns out it was a 72 GS 455, #'s matching but the engine had a spun rod bearing. I thought it would be good for parts, so we asked the owner if it was for sale...turns out it was, but I had to buy BOTH cars and when I asked about the other car, he replied that it was a 72 GS convertible!
Despite my better judgment I ended
up buying them. This page will follow the progression of the #'s matching ragtop,
since I've always wanted a convertible. Both cars were purchased Nov 13, 2000.
This is the ragtop once I had it on a friends farm. It was later trucked back to my garage. This car had an interior fire in 1987, and sat unprotected for 13 years in the field we pulled it from. The previous owners had collected a small amount of parts for it and had already replaced the doors and steering column. The top mechanism has some damage and obviously the interior is gutted. The carpets were thrown away and the floor was bare, this helped kept rust from starting in the passenger floor area. Also, they had removed the floor drain plugs. You can see the front fenders have the usual rot in the lower corners and the lower quarters have some rust as well...pretty minor stuff for a 28 year old convertible.
This car had been partially repainted before the fire. Hood is ok. Doors need to be replaced,
but I have extras. Windshield trim is on the way, along with several other
pieces.
Dec15,2000
Since my convertible was built in the US and then sold new in Canada, a phone call to George Zapora of GM's vintage department resulted in a letter which listed all the options and some information on the car.
The convertible was built in Flint, MI on September 1, 1971 (well that is what the paperwork says but the date code on the trim tag is 08E or fifth week of Aug 1971) and sold new at Jenner
Pontiac Buick Ltd of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was Flame orange (ironic, isn't
it??) with a covert (light tan) top and saddle (brown) interior. Earth tones were
the style in 1972, I guess. Options included notchback bench seat, tilt,
tinted glass, power windows, power steering, power disc brakes, chrome road wheels,
rally suspension, 3.08 posi, rally gauge cluster, map light mirror, and a factory
tape player in addition to the radio (anyone got any 8-tracks laying around??).
Buckets were not available in 1971 or 1972 on the GS convertible, except for a couple SCO or special order cars that were built.
I have confirmed that it does indeed still have the original engine. I will most
likely remove and store it but have not decided whether to replace with another Buick
350 or go the 455 route....
Also, GM stated that this car is one of sixty-eight (68!) GS convertibles sold in
Canada in 1972. Total production of 1972 GS 350 convertibles was 645, with 601 automatics
like mine, 39 four speeds, and five "three on the tree" cars. There were an additional 126 GS 455 convertibles (114 auto, 12 4-speed), and 81 Stage 1 convertibles (66 auto, 15 4-speeds) built in 1972.
Did a VIN search for previous registrations and any accident damage. The car was
sold new in Edmonton, Alberta, yet the first time it was registered in this province
was Sept 1, 1984 (I also checked BC, Sask, Man and Ont so where was it for the first 12 years?). Follow the links
on top of this page for the restoration of this unusual car.
Feb 22, 2001
Some updated information on the 1972 Buick GS convertibles, maybe you will find it useful. There were 645 GS 350 verts like mine, 126 GS 455 verts, and just 81 Stage 1 verts in 1972. There is no breakdown between the three models for the following information, it simply applied to all 852 cars. Top breakdown: Interior breakdown: Some things to note here. Black was only available with the standard bench. Buckets were not available on the 71 or 72 convertible. Also, 72 white is either off-white or bright white depending on who you talk to! As always, changes were ongoing and not always documented. March 6, 2006
Here is a sample of some of the more interesting options on the 1972 buick GS Convertible. This is for all 852 convertibles built. Engine and Transmission Some interesting things here. 62% of all 1972 GS convertibles had air conditioning. A surprising number did not have disc brakes. Surprisingly few had the rallye ride option, which again is odd given the cars "performance" nature. Only 54 cars came with a block heater, so that pretty much tells you where most cars were sold new (kinda odd, you would think all 68 that came to Canada would have block heaters although I suppose on the west coast it is not needed). The front shoulder belt option was not very popular (go figure). Gauges and clock were more popular than gauges and tachometer. The Canadian special items I do not know much about, it did include extra anti-freeze and fuel though. The 350 powered 3 speed manual was the base driveline package. Percentages rounded off to the nearest 1% for options, engines to the nearest 1/10 %. March 13, 2006 Car turned 50 years old today! Sept 3, 2021
Found out that the property where this car had sat in that field was sold, and all the cars sitting there along with it were hauled to the wreckers and crushed!!
June 14, 2002
NUMBER PRODUCED
COLOR
SALES CODE
DATA PLATE CODE
131
Flame Orange
Z
65
113
Burnished Copper
M
63
101
Fire Red
R
75
87
Sunburst Yellow
Y
56
76
Stratomist Blue
B
26
59
Hunter Green
I
48
47
Seamist Green
F
43
40
Arctic White
C
11
40
Antique Gold
U
57
38
Heritage Green
H
36
33
Cortez Gold
Q
53
30
Sandalwood
J
50
11
Silver Mist
V
14
10
Regal Black
A
19
10
Cascade Blue
T
24
10
Crystal Blue
D
21
5
Deep Chestnut
K
67
4
Vintage Red
X
73
2
Nutmeg
N
69
2
Royal Blue
E
28
2
Unknown, Special Order
SCO
SCO
1
Emerald Mist
G
45
NUMBER PRODUCED
COLOR
SALES CODE
DATA PLATE CODE
498
White
1
A
201
Black
2
B
99
Sandalwood (Covert)
5
T
54
Green
9
G
NUMBER PRODUCED
COLOR
SALES CODE
DATA PLATE CODE
429
White Notchback Bench
245
135
197
Saddle Notchback Bench
246
136
150
Black Standard Bench
128
138
76
Green Notchback Bench
240
130
NUMBER PRODUCED
OPTION
PERCENTAGE
OPTION CODE
SALES CODE
526
Air Conditioning
62 %
C60
I6
517
Power Disc Brakes
61 %
JL2
C1
463
Tinted Glass
54 %
A01
L1
429
Chrome Plated Wheels
51 %
P05
V2
257
Power Windows
30 %
A31
R1
253
AM-FM Radio
30 %
U58
D5
251
Tilt Steering Column
29 %
N33
S7
248
Rallye Steering Wheel
29 %
N31
X2
193
Through Bumper Exhaust
23 %
N25
E6
185
Gauges And Clock
22 %
WB7
U9
165
Rallye Firm Ride And Handling Package
19 %
F41
H6
146
Wide Oval G60-15 White letter Tires/Chrome Wheels
17 %
PJ4
F7
115
Speed Alert
13 %
U15
K3
107
8 Track Player
13 %
U57
D0
106
3.42 positraction
12 %
HT5
G1
103
3.08 positraction
12 %
HT4
G4
90
14.6 to 1 Fast Variable Ratio Power Steering
11 %
N41
C5
89
Gauges and Tachometer
10 %
WB8
U7
68
Canadian Special Items
8 %
Z49
R2
66
Custom Seat Belts/Front Shoulder Belt
8 %
AK1
J3
62
Cruise Control
7 %
K30
S6
56
Rear Window Defroster
7 %
C50
M7
54
Block heater
6 %
K05
M8
50
Electric Door Locks
6 %
AU3
T2
4
Super Sport Wheels
0.5 %
PA6
V7
1
Hood Mounted Tachometer
0.1% !!!
UB5
UB5
NUMBER PRODUCED
ENGINE OPTION
PERCENTAGE
OPTION CODE
SALES CODE
645
350 Powered
75.7 %
L77
A7
601
350 & T350 Automatic
70.5 %
L77 & M38
A7 & B5
39
350 & 4 Speed Manaul
4.6 %
L77 & M20
A7 & B3
5
350 & 3 Speed Manual
0.6 %
L77 & M13
A7 & B6
126
455 Powered
14.8 %
L74
A9
114
455 & T400 Automatic
13.4 %
L74 & M40
A9 & B2
12
455 & 4 Speed Manual
1.4 %
L74 & M20
A9 & B3
81
455 Stage 1 Powered
9.5 %
L75
A1
66
455 Stage 1 & T400 Automatic
7.7 %
L75 & M40
A1 & B2
15
455 Stage 1 & 4 Speed Manual
1.8 %
L75 & M20
A9 & B3
1970-72 GS Factory photographs and literature