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 local endorsement course for the Boeing 737 in Oct 2000, a gentleman in my class and I were talking about Buicks, since he owns a 1987 Buick 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 (never let fear and common sense hold you back!) 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. I was told this car had an interior fire in 1987, and has not been driven since. The previous owners had collected a small amount of parts for its rebuilding and had already replaced the doors. The top mechanism has some damage and obviously the interior is gutted. This was probably a good thing, since the carpets were thrown away and the floor was bare, this kept rust from starting in the passenger floor area (which is a really common problem on convertibles). Also, they had removed the floor drain plugs which was a good idea. 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 at one time. Hood is ok. Doors need to be replaced, but I have extras. Windshield trim is on the way, along with several other small 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. Some of the options include 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

Original Buick road tests

1970-72 GS Factory photographs and literature

Reproduction Parts Page