Subtle Muscle: 1967 Buick Gran Sport 400
With subtle good looks and a 400ci V8 pumping out 340hp, the Buick GS 400 was something of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In the performance stakes, it could run neck-and-neck with the GTO, but the whole outward appearance of the GS 400 was more restrained. This GS 400 will require some work, but it is a fairly solid car that would be a nice thing to own once restored. The Buick is located in DeKalb, Illinois, and is listed for sale here on eBay. At the time of writing, bidding is sitting at $7,300 in a No Reserve auction.
The Burgundy Mist Metallic paint on the Buick looks tired, but significant rust doesn’t seem to be a problem. The owner says that the car is structurally strong, including solid floors. The black vinyl top is past its best, and there are some rust issues under the vinyl. The owner does say that the Buick will need a new deck lid due to rust, and there is a spare genuine GS 400 hood that goes with the car to replace the one that you see in these photos.
The interior of the GS 400 appears to be complete, with the exception of the radio/cassette player that is fitted into the dash where the factory radio should be. There is a tear in the driver’s seat, the carpet is ready for the trash, and the floor console looks like it could stand some restoration, but overall, things don’t look too bad. I really like the fact that the car features that floor console with the factory tachometer. I’ve never driven a car with a tach like that, so I’d be interested to know if it is really practical, or if it is a nuisance to read when things get serious.
I will never forget the first time I saw under the hood of a GS 400, because I really thought that the air cleaner was some sort of funky aftermarket item. That must have seemed totally space-age when it was new, and it wouldn’t look out of place on a new car today. The owner refers to the car as original, so by that, I really would like to think that this is a numbers-matching car. The good news here is that the Buick runs and drives, and the motor is said to feel strong. Behind the 400ci V8 is an automatic transmission. In keeping with the Buick desire to extract the maximum performance from the GS 400, while the car could be ordered with power brakes, power steering and air conditioning did not feature on the regular options list. However, I have seen a couple of examples with power steering, so that either means that this was fitted after the car had been sold, or someone knew the right person at Buick to get this option fitted to their car.
There are a lot of people who believe that the 1967 Buick Gran Sport 400 was the best performance car that Buick ever built. It combined impressive power with better than average handling to make the car a great all-round package. For all of their ability, Buick were only able to sell a total of 13,813 GS 400s that year, and this included 10,659 hardtops. This one looks like a good one, and would be perfect for the person who is on the hunt for a muscle car that can fly under the radar.
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Comments
Those 60’s Buick Skylarks are sweet rides. I always wanted one but with 4 speed close ratio gear box.
That is really beautiful.
I live one town over from DeKalb and saw this car sit in someone’s yard for about a year, last summer I saw it driving.
A great restoration project if the price doesn’t explode near end of auction. Restored, ’67 GS 400’s look absolutely stunning.
I think the GS was the nicest offering from the BOPC cars like this. I’ve told this story before, but bears repeating when I see a car like this. I know someone in Kingston, NY. that has an Audi/VW repair facility, but repairs all kinds. As you can imagine, this guy drives some pretty high end cars and I respected his opinion. ( he’s not far from the “East bank of the Hudson River”) Naturally, we got to talkin’ cars, and he says, “of ALL the cars I’ve driven, this is what I want”, and shows me an image of this car, only he wants a 455, but that sure told me something.
I’d hate to see what’s below that vinyl top, it looks bad. Decent car though.
According to the Buick factory literature, power steering was indeed optional on the GS 400. http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Buick/1967_Buick/1967_Buick_Brochure_2/1967%20Buick-a15.html
Air conditioning was optional on all Buick models…
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Buick/1967_Buick/1967_Buick_Brochure_2/1967%20Buick-a21.html
Yeah, I don’t know where the author came up with that story….but its wrong.
Barn Finds “authors” are
the masters of mistakes.
Perhaps on purpose,
increases outrage and
comments.
This is one of all time favorites, and don’t look like a hard resto project at all, as long as there are no major hidden surprises lurking, but you will always find somethings better than expected, and some worse. The vinyl top could definitely be hiding more work than is visible in the pictures, but over all I would love to have this in my garage as my next project.
I had a 1964 Old Cutlass 2 dr post with the factory tach mounted on the console. In that position it is for looks only
love that ‘ star wars ‘ air cleaner
Great car and I like the fact it’s no reserve!!!
Beautiful car one of the best Buick designs.
A nice year for the GS Buick, and with the original complete Star Wars air cleaner and factory Tach w/ console. These two items in value alone would fetch you a bit north of $2500. I have a ’65 with same console and factory Tach, restored years ago and a must have if you are doing the bucket seat interior.
IMO the ’67 was the last of the best body style for the “A” body lineup. Hope this GS finds a new owner that will bring it back to life!
My sister had a 66 convertible Skylark 340 ci, 3 on the tree. It was always willing…
The Buick 400 didn’t have Siamese cylinders like the Chevy did they.
You ‘had to know the right person’ to get power steering???
On what planet?
You (or more likely the sales mgr at the
Buick store) had to check a box on the order form and you had to pay an extra $100 or so. If the car was in stock you just had to sign the papers.
And to think, they paid someone to write that……
Imagine running down the strip, or worse yet, a public street at near seventy or even eighty miles an hour at a very brisk pace and having to look down there for the tach…even at lower speeds for the 1-2 shift. All wrong all day long. That’s how it would be.
Nice looking GS400, very sharp all over, but the absolute best GS would have to be the ’70 455 stage 1, can’t argue with the outward brutal acceleration of that 455, wrapped up in a very quiet yet stylish package. I’ll probably eat it for saying that, everybody has their own opinions.
Nice ride. I had a 66 GS 4 speed years ago. Look around that rear window for rust. Water would sit in that channel until it rusted through an took the trunk floor with it. A real fun driver but remember it is in the rust belt.
Sold for 7,655…I think it’s a steal for what there going for these days. I own a 67 gs 340 and love how these buicks handle…and acz is rite about those rear panels under the window rusting away,first thing I had to replace on mine
For reals! A steal! I owned a clone of this car except in blue with a painted roof. From a distance it looked like a vinyl roof car but without the chance of rust. I also hotwired a 1967 GS convertible in this color that had been left abandoned in a parking lot exposed to the elements for the better part of a year. Once I got it started, I wimped out and opened the glovebox to find the registered owner. Called him and said I’d gotten his car running! God, what a fool I was I let him bring it home and sell it to some lucky schmuck. He wasn’t even much of a car fan as I was…it was just basic transportation in those days.
I wonder what they called the “Star Wars” air cleaner in the decade in between the air cleaner coming out and the movie coming out…….
Also, would using the term “Star Wars” air cleaner today result in a law suit from Disney?
When I saw that air cleaner I did a double take! Looks like a crate motor at a glance!
Pretty car tho one of my favs from that era.