American Motors Corp. became the go-to car builder for quirky, colorful and — in some cases — low-production muscle cars in the late 1960s and early ’70s. AMC muscle machines typically had loud, Type A personalities. There was the patriotic SC/Rambler and Rebel Machine; hairy little two-seat AMX; Javelin SST; Matador X; and eventually even a Gremlin X. It was an interesting cast of characters for sure.

Certainly one of the oddest ducks on the AMC farm, and perhaps the least understood and most overlooked as a legit pavement eater, was the one-year-only 1971 Hornet SC/360.  Just 784 of the hyper Hornets were built, and only a relative handful remain. Most car guys probably don’t remember them at all, or at least haven’t seen one in years.

For some guys, like Greg Piecynski of Plover, Wis., SC/360s are Holy Grail-type cars. They aren’t nearly as uber-expensive as the Hemis and Shelbys of the world, but they are almost as hard to find. Pieczynski knew for a long time that he had to have one, and he was willing to wait as long as it took. His patience was rewarded when he landed his impressive green-on-green SC/360 about four years ago.

“I looked for about 30 years. I did find some for sale, but they needed a lot of work, and to try to find those parts is really tough,” says Piecynzki. “So I tried to buy the most complete car I could… They’ve got a registry for these cars, and they are estimating there are probably about 100 left in the world, and that includes automatics, four-speeds and three-speeds. When I got this one, yeah, it was the nicest one I had ever seen.”

It’s hard to believe by looking at the nearly flawless green AMC today, but it was driven into the ground and then left for dead in its first life. Fortunately, Pieczynski isn’t the only guy around who covets the SC/360s and will go to great lengths to have one.

“I came across this one about four years ago in Alabama. The guy that restored it was a guy named Bill Smith. He lived in Kansas and this car came to a dealership in Osage City, Kansas,” Pieczynski notes. “He owned another SC/360 at the time and he drag raced it. He was looking for another one to drive, and this dealership got this green one in. He saw it on the lot and called them up and said he was interested in buying it. The dealer told him it was sold already, so he told them if it ever came back in a trade or whatever, to let him know. What I heard is that a guy bought it for his wife, because she was a mail carrier. So apparently this car spent 100,000 miles carrying mail! …The guy that restored it said when he got it, there was so much mud in the right rear quarter panel, he said, ‘I believe the story.’ This car had to have been a mail car.”

The dealership that sold the car originally did eventually get the car back in trade, but it was so far gone they junked it. 

“It was in a local junkyard, because it was in such bad shape and had so many miles on it. So he went to the salvage yard and bought the car and restored it.”

AMC Kept Its Foot On The Gas

American Motors thought that it was “introducing a sensible alternative to the money-squeezing, insurance-strangling muscle cars of America” when it advertised the all-new Hornet SC/360 in the December 1970 issue of Motor Trend magazine. Little did the company realize that it was also bringing out a rarity. Although it expected to make 4,000 of the cars and optimistically suggested that 10,000 sales might be possible, only 784 were ever built. That’s what makes the SC/360 an especially interesting car. The model was never offered again, although a fairly mild version of the 360-cid V-8 was offered in other Hornets for a while.

“They had a signature muscle car for ’69, ’70 and ’71. In ’69, they had the Rambler-SC/Rambler; then, for 1970, they came out with the Machine Rebel. Then, in 1971, they decided to come out with these, but by then, the insurance companies were already getting wise and clamping down on muscle cars,” says Piecynski, who also owns a stellar 1968 AMX. “So AMC thought, ‘We’ll do one last hurrah. We’ll take Grandma’s Hornet, stuff a V-8 in it, with Ram Air, and a Hurst four-speed in it.’ But the insurance companies weren’t quite that naïve and they figured it out. If they knew it was an SC/360, you were going to pay for it.”

The compact Hornet replaced the Rambler (formerly Rambler American) for 1970. It was efficiently sized with a 108-inch wheelbase and short 179.6-inch overall length. It was only 70.6 inches wide, despite having wheel wells that looked large enough to stuff in racing slicks. The largest engine at first was a 304-cid V-8, but that changed when the 1971 SC/360 was introduced.

A 360-cid V-8 with 245 hp was standard for the base price of $2,663 along with a “three on the floor” all-synchromesh transmission, a heavy-duty clutch, D70 x 14 Polyglas tires, 14×6 mag-style wheels, a Space Saver spare, rally stripes and individually reclining seats. For $199 more, you got the Go-Package with an AM 4300 Model 1RA4 four-barrel carburetor, the 285-hp power plant with dual exhaust, a functional flat-black Ram Air hood scoop, a handling package, raised white-letter tires and a big tachometer. A four-speed manual gear box with Hurst shifter or a Borg-Warner Shift-Command automatic (for $237.85) and a choice of 3.15:1 (with automatic) or 3.54:1 and 3.91:1 rear axles with a Dana Twin-Grip differential were other options

A Hot Rod road test of the SC/360 was printed in the December 1970 issue of the magazine. The virtually out-of-the-box car, fitted with the automatic, was put through its paces five times and turned in a top performance of 94.63 mph in the quarter-mile with a 14.80-second elapsed time. Can Am driver Steve Diulo then wrung it out on a road racing course and summed it up as a great little car with slow steering that was “really a lotta car for the money!” Two other advantages were that it avoided a 25 percent surcharge insurance companies were levying on other muscle cars, and that it got fuel economy as high as 17 mpg in freeway driving.

Apparently not many of the fiery 360 versions of the Hornet came in Meadow Green. “Supposedly only four were made this color … Most of them were blue or mustard yellow; once in a while red,” Piecyznski says. “It’s a lot of green. You gotta like green!” he laughs. “I didn’t have too much choice in it, but I like the color.”

Creating A Buzz

Pieczynski says his green Hornet was pretty well known in AMC circles after the previous owner began showing it and collecting trophies after he finally restored it. Collecting hardware wasn’t really what Pieczynski had in mind, however. He was mostly fixated on winning the chase to finally find one and be able to own and enjoy a car that he had pursued for many years.

“I’m not into the trophies that much, I’m just into the uniqueness of the car,” he says. “Mostly, if I take it to car shows, people say, ‘Oh, it’s a Hornet, we had a Hornet. I remember those!’ But what they don’t realize is how rare these particular ones are and they only had 784 of these built. But once in a while, you get a guy that really knows what these are, or who worked at the Kenosha [Wis.] AMC plant and they can’t believe their eyes, because you never see these anymore. A lot of people don’t know they were ever even produced.”

As far as he knows, Piecyznski’s Hornet was restored back to its original factory configuration: automatic with the Go-Pack, AM radio and optional Magnum 500s. “And, of course, the famous Rambler seats that fold down!” And was the luggage rack ever used to carry bags of mail? We’ll never know. “Maybe! I never thought of that! It’s funny to think somebody would have used a car like this to deliver mail, but back then, they were nothing special. They were just a car.”

Nothing special, perhaps, but definitely a wolf dressed as a green sheep when it came to performance. With its V-8 and short wheelbase, SC/360s just flat-out feel and sound fast, even when rolling at slow speeds. 

“Yeah, It wants to go. It’s built to go,” Pieczynski adds. “And being a lightweight car, it can go. When I first got it, I tried a couple runs with her. I think it would do well against the AMX. You had the SST package, and if you got the Go-Pack, you got the Ram Air hood, and Hurst four-speed in them with a special suspension. And a lot of performance upgrades, but they only had one ad in Motor Trend magazine. That’s it. That’s all the advertising they did for them. A lot of people never even knew about them.”

But was it worth the 30-year wait? The grin on Piecyznski’s face leaves no doubt about the answer.

“Absolutely! Absolutely it was worth it. I love it!”

AMCs your thing? Here are a few more articles for your reading enjoyment.

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/car-of-the-week-1965-amc-ambassador-990

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/car-of-the-week-1970-amx

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/old-cars-out-and-about-1967-amc-marlin

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Paul Bellile has grown used to the delayed reactions. When he rolls up in his vintage camper, he knows most people are probably thinking to themselves, “That’s a nice old camper, and a pretty nice Chevy pickup underneath it.”

Then a few moments later, it hits them: “Hey, that’s not a pickup! That’s a Blazer!”

Sure enough, somebody actually turned a Hugger Orange 1972 K5 Blazer convertible into an all-in-one family camper. And that somebody was Paul’s dad Len, who bought the Blazer new from a local Chevy dealer in Hortonville, Wis. From there, the family had the K5 immediately shipped to a long-since-defunct shop in Osseo, Minn., that fitted it with a nice camper big enough for Len and his family of four. 

Some 95,000 miles and 53 years later, the camper is still on the Blazer, and the rig is still in the family after Paul took the keys from his dad a while back. And both father and son always get a chuckle when confused onlookers check out the camper and act like they’ve just seen a unicorn. As far as Paul knows, that’s pretty much what the camper truck is. The camper top was supplied by a company called Ronco Coaches, and the Belliles have only come across one other similar unit, but it wasn’t on a Blazer.

“I keep in touch with a guy with a GMC from Grand Rapids, Minn. He’s got a 1970 GMC version of this with the exact same camper,” Paul notes. “I talk to him and keep in touch and we don’t know of any other ones… I’m hoping if any others are out there, somebody sees this. That would be awesome.

“They made pickup toppers, too, and I’ve never seen a pickup topper for a full-size truck, either. Supposedly they were in business for 10 years. I’ve talked to people who live in Osseo, Minn., who don’t even remember that the company existed.”

Len Bellile says the idea for a Blazer camper wasn’t even originally his. He remembers being in the market for a camper for his wife and two young boys back in the early 1970s when the local Chevy dealer, Griesbach Chevrolet, pitched the idea to him. “My wife really wanted a camper and we went out to Griesbachs and we were looking at Blazers and he said, ‘I know where they could put a camper on a Blazer,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘OK, order us one,’ so he ordered us a nice blue one. When it came in, he said, ‘Your blue Blazer turned into a red one!’ I said, ‘That’s fine,’ and, we had it shipped out to Minnesota to have the camper put on it…Everything was perfect. We flew up there and there was a guy there [at the airport] and we looked it over and it was nice, just the way we wanted. They had different deals on the inside. We wanted the bunks in there so the two boys could sleep on the bunks and we could sleep up above. After we got there, they had to finish it the way we wanted it. We stayed overnight one night and the next day we drove it back.”

Len says he paid $5,500 for the K5 Blazer — “the same amount that it weighs” — and the family soon took off on its first big adventure to South Dakota. “Mom died 23 years ago, and she’s the one that loved this,” Paul says. “When we first got it, we went out to Deadwood, S.D., and she bought a little beaded Indian, and she hung it from the rearview mirror, and it’s hung there all these years — 53 years, I guess. I’m trying to keep it exactly the way it was.”

Blazing A Trail

Ford and International Harvester had already launched new lines of utility trucks by the time General Motors mounted a response in the late 1960s. International had made a big first impression with its enduring Scout, and Ford followed up in 1966 with the similarly designed and equally capable Bronco. Both of them were heading down the same road as the Willys Jeep and Jeep CJ, which owed their beginnings to World War II-era military jeeps.

With a shortened pickup chassis, the new-for-1969 Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Jimmy were bigger machines than either the Scout or Bronco, which probably made them a little more appealing as a truck that could pull double-duty as a family hauler, but perhaps made it less nimble off-road. The body had an open top “convertible” design, and buyers could choose between a soft top and fiberglass hardtop.

The Blazer and GMC Jimmy were classified as half-ton trucks, but instead of riding on a 115-inch wheelbase — the shortest pickup chassis at the time — their wheelbase was shorted to just 104 inches. There was no divider between the cab and bed, and no window frames on the doors.

Shifting was done through a choice of either three- or four-speed automatics, or a three-speed manual transmission. When it debuted for 1969, the new Blazer and Jimmy were only offered as 4x4s. Two-wheel-drive versions were added a year later in 1970, but buyers overwhelmingly preferred the 4×4 models. Even fewer preferred the six-cylinder. The 350 was offered only with the SM465 or TH350. Manual locking front hubs were optional.

The four-wheel-drive version had a solid front axle and used leaf springs front and rear. The two-wheel-drive version came with independent front suspension and rear trailing arms, both with coil springs. Both versions used drum brakes on all four wheels until 1971, when the entire GM light truck line was fitted with front discs as standard equipment. A tachometer was optional. Two transfer cases were offered: the Dana 20, available only with the manual transmissions, or the NP-205.

Chevrolet built a modest 4,935 Blazers for the model’s 1969 rookie year, but production ramped up quickly, and for 1972 that total had grown to 44,266 4×4 Blazers.

‘It Ain’t For Sale’

Len Bellile opted for the 350 V-8 and full wheel covers on his new Blazer, but he left most of the other accessories to Ronco. “Dad wanted the big V-8 so we could pull the boat,” Paul remembers. “It’s the standard model, so it’s got the painted bumpers, not the chrome bumpers. That would have been the CST (Custom Sport Truck), but that came with the console in the middle and he and Mom wanted to be able to get in back in between. It had a soft top and they took it off at the dealership. That’s the original Hugger Orange, K22 — it’s called a red-orange. Those are the original hubcaps. The tire was mounted in back, where we have the bunk beds, so they had to build a bracket and mount the spare in front. That was part of the camper package.”

The family rolled up plenty of miles in the K5 camper every summer during the 1970s, but the odometer started to slow down a little after the boys got older. The camping trips were fewer and farther between, and eventually Paul decided to just buy it from his dad and keep it for posterity’s sake — and because he couldn’t bear to part with it.

“It actually wound up sitting for many years. I bet it was a dozen years. But I had it inside and covered. But I finally said to Dad, ‘I gotta get that Blazer out. I want to start showing that.’”

Paul had the body repainted below the beltline and did some carburetor and fuel pump work. Other than that, he says it was pretty much ready to go after a little cleanup and detailing. Aside from the partial repaint, he says the Blazer itself is unchanged from when he was a kid. 

Inside, he’s taken out the sink for now and unhooked some of the heating and plumbing. But otherwise, he’s keeping the camper intact. “I’ve got a few little things I want to do, but I don’t want to touch that camper, because I’m afraid with it being wood I’d be opening up a can of worms,” he laughs. “I really want to just leave it the way it is, from new. It’s the way I remember it.

“I’ve got some bodywork I want to do. I have a new bumper I want to put on it. The step in back was just something they thought up at Ronco with all the leftovers they had. I’m going to re-do that and make it different so it’s cleaner.”

Paul says he had a hunch the K5 camper would be a hit at car shows, and he was right. It drew a steady stream of onlookers at this year’s big Iola Car Show in Wisconsin, and he says the Blazer never lacks for attention, no matter where he takes it. “I was at a vintage camper show in June … It was just like bees around it!” he laughs.

“Nobody knew that these things existed. It’s quite a conversation piece. I have a hard time getting away from it once I park it. Part of that, of course, is the color. That color really makes it stand out.”

With Blazers and their brethren pickups from the era red hot on the collector market these days — the best examples have even topped $100,000 at auction and private sales in recent years — it’s no surprise Bellile has had other Bowtie fans trying hard to get him to sell it. He’s fended them off so far, and he insists his commitment to keeping the camper won’t waver.

“I’ve been offered a lot of money for it already, you bet I have… I had one guy say, ‘I’m going to buy this, how much do you want for it? Name your price and I’ll get the cash.’ I said, ‘It ain’t for sale.’ He said, ‘Everything is for sale.’ I said not this thing. It’s in the family.’ 

“There is really a cult following for these Blazers.”

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The post Car of the Week: 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer camper appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

The T-Top is a beautiful example of compromise. If you want the open-air fun of a convertible, but don’t want the body flex, draftiness and added weight of a droptop, then the T-Top was made for you. Yet it’s also not a feature you’ll find in any car being manufactured today.

GM gets its money back

While many credit General Motors for the T-Top, it was actually invented and patented by legendary car designer Gordon Buehrig. It was first used in a Buehrig-designed 1948 prototype for The American Sportscar Co., or “TASCO.” While the TASCO had an innovative roof, the company never made more than one prototype.

The T-Top wasn’t seen again until GM introduced it on the 1968 Corvette Stingray, at which point Gordon Buehrig reportedly took legal action against the company for using his patented roof. While his suit was apparently successful, the payout was allegedly small by today’s standards.

The Corvette’s T-Tops were so well-liked they were cited as the reason Chevy discontinued Corvette convertibles for the 1976 model year and didn’t make a convertible available on the Corvette again until 1986.

Perhaps the most iconic application of the T-Top was on the second-generation Pontiac Firebird. Offered on the Firebird for the first time in 1976, these T-Tops were originally provided by Hurst until 1978, when they were replaced by larger, less-leaky panels manufactured by Fisher Body. The “Smokey and The Bandit” Trans Am featured the Hurst version of T-Tops, called Hurst Hatches. Earlier, Hurst Hatch T-Tops were offered on other GM products, such as the 1975 Hurst/Olds and the 1975 Buick Century. 

Eventually, all of the Big Three American car manufacturers tried their hands at making automobiles with T-Tops. They even made their way onto the Fox-body Mustang in the early ’80s, as well as less performance-oriented models such as the Chrysler Cordoba and seventh-generation Ford Thunderbird.

The featured 1971 “Shark Nose” C3 Corvette Stingray was produced at GM’s St. Louis assembly plant as a Mille Miglia Red coupe with T-Tops, the 350-cid V-8 and automatic transmission. It was purchased by Kathryn “Kay” Buehrig and gifted to her husband, Gordon Buehrig, after receiving a metallic green repaint and gold-tinted T-Top panels. Legend has it that the intent for the green repaint and gold T-Tops was to send a message to GM, reminding the company that Gordon Buehrig had won a settlement against it when his patent was overlooked. The green paint was intended to reflect the color of money, while the gold was to identify the “Golden Gordon Buehrig Idea” of creative design.

Behind the C3 ’Vette 

The third-generation Corvette, patterned after the Mako Shark II concept car, was introduced for the 1968 model year and was in production until 1982. C3 coupes featured the first use of T-top removable roof panels in a production car. The C3 introduced monikers that were later revived on later Corvettes, such as LT-1, ZR-1, Z07 and Collector Edition. In 1978, Corvette’s 25th anniversary was celebrated with a two-tone Silver Anniversary Edition and an Indy Pace Car replica based on the C3. This was also the first time that a Corvette was used as a pace car for the Indianapolis 500, starting a long string of pace car duties for the fiberglass two-seater. 

Corvette engines and chassis components were mostly carried over from the C2, but the C3 body and interior were new. The 350-cid V-8 replaced the old 327-cid V-8 as the base engine in 1969, but power remained at 300 hp. The all-aluminum big-block 427-cid ZL-1 engine was also new for 1969; the special racing engine was listed at 430 hp, but reportedly produced 560 hp and accelerated a ZL-1 model through the quarter-mile in 10.89 seconds. 

There was an extended production run for the 1969 model year due to a lengthy labor strike, which meant sales were down on the 1970 models, to 17,316. 1970 small-block power peaked with the optional high-compression, high-revving small-block LT-1 that produced 370 hp. The 427 big-block was enlarged to 454 cubic inches with a 390-hp rating. The ZR-1 special package was an option available on the 1970 through 1972 model years and included the LT-1 engine combined with special racing equipment. Only 53 ZR-1s were built.

Inside the 1971 Corvette

In 1971, to accommodate regular low-lead fuel with lower anti-knock properties, Corvette engine compression ratios were lowered, resulting in reduced power ratings. The power rating for the L48 350-cid base engine decreased from 300 to 270 hp, and the optional special high-performance LT-1 engine saw power decrease from 370 to 330 hp. The LS5 454-cid V-8 was carried over and produced 365 hp.

The 1971 Corvette’s arrival also accompanied a flurry of new federal regulations that forced manufacturers to reassess the types of cars they were producing. In addition to the federally sanctioned mandates on reducing exhaust emission outputs, Edward Cole (who was now president of General Motors) had decreed that all 1971 GM cars be capable of running on fuel with a Research Octane Number (RON) no higher than 91 octane.

According to Cole’s calculations, this octane rating was low enough for the fuel companies to begin marketing the lead-free regular gasoline needed to avoid fouling catalytic “reactors” (known as converters today) that were going to be required on automobile engines. This reduction in fuel octane rating would translate into a reduction in engine compression (now just 8.5:1) and horsepower (a mere 270 bhp in the base 350 engine).

These sanctioned emissions and fuel requirement changes didn’t only impact Corvette’s base engine, of course. There was also a notable reduction in compression and power on almost all of the engines offered in the 1971 Corvette. The solid-lifter, small-block LT-1 engine, which had boasted 370 hp in 1969, was now rated at a more modest 330 hp with a 9.0:1 compression ratio.  The big-block engines also received the same treatment. The LS5 454-cid V-8 big-block produced 365 hp at 4,800 rpm, and a new aluminum-head big-block engine identified as the LS6 was rated at 425 hp at 5,600 rpm.  Given the output numbers of these engines, there were few who would argue that the 1971 Corvette was weak, although most would agree that it was a far cry from the Corvettes that emerged in the unregulated era of muscle car performance.

The 1971 Corvette production specs called for the use of amber parking lamp lenses. However, most 1971 Corvettes carried over clear lenses and amber bulbs from the 1970 model year. Additionally, the 1971 Corvette included an optional custom interior trim package that included leather seat trim, wood-grain accents and lower carpet trim on interior door panels, plus wood grain accents on the console and special cut-pile carpeting.

There were minor advances made for 1971, such as an easier-to-open fuel filler door, and an automatic transmission selector quadrant that illuminated during nighttime operation. Otherwise, very little separated the 1971 Corvette from the 1970 model.  However, the 1971 Corvette would be the last Corvette model to feature the fiber-optic light monitoring system, and it is believed that many late-model 1971 Corvettes were actually manufactured without the fiber-optic system. (While not a notable change to the 1971 Corvette, the removal of the fiber-optic system allowed Chevrolet to make the optional anti-theft alarm system (RPO UA6) standard equipment for the 1972 model.)

All in all, the 1971 Corvettes were nearly identical to the 1970 models that had come before them. Styling changes were nearly non-existent, and visually it was all but impossible to distinguish between the two models. 

Gordon Buehrig’s Career

After dropping out of Bradley University in 1924, Buehrig worked as a body shop apprentice in Wayne, Mich. He soon gained design experience with Packard, General Motors and Stutz. In 1929, he was responsible for designing the Weymann-built bodies of the Stutz Black Hawks entered at Le Mans. At the young age 25, he became chief body designer for Duesenberg, where he designed several bodies for the Model J chassis. He joined the Auburn Automobile Co. of Auburn, Ind., in 1934, updating the Auburn line for 1935, and notably designing the famous 1935 851 Speedster. Buehrig also designed the distinctive and modern Cord 810/812, the latter recognized for its originality by the Museum of Modern Art in 1951. At the end of World War II, Buehrig worked with Studebaker and his design ideas led to its 1947 models. 

In 1949, Buehrig joined Ford, where his projects included the 1951 Victoria coupe, the 1952 station wagon and the 1956 Continental Mark II. He invented the removable T-Top, patented on June 5, 1951, which had been used in the aborted TASCO sports car. 

Retiring from Ford in 1965, Buehrig taught from 1965 to 1970 at the Art Center College of Design in California. In 1979, he produced the design for the Buehrig motor car, a limited-production carriage roof coupe. In his last five years, he consulted for the Franklin Mint and helped oversee the development of its model cars. Buehrig died in 1990.

‘Big Green’ finds a permanent home

The National Automobile and Truck Museum (NATMUS) in Auburn, Ind., acquired Buehrig’s 1971 Corvette in 2017 from Hira Harrington, the grandson of Gordon Buehrig. Harrington was apparently relocating to Michigan from Batesville, Ark., and did not have the space to store it. Prior to handing down the Corvette to his heirs, Buehrig had stipulated that if, for any reason, a family member no longer had the means or suitable place to store the Corvette, that all efforts should be made to take it to Auburn, Ind. 

Harrington called retired NATMUS Executive Director Don Grogg, who reached out to Don Monesmith, asking if he would be interested in and available to make a trip with him to Arkansas to pick up the Gordon Buehrig Corvette and drive it back to NATMUS. Monesmith agreed and the men trekked to Arkansas. 

At the onset of the drive back, the Corvette started to show signs of engine mechanical issues with excessive smoke coming from the exhaust. Monesmith and the Corvette made it to Auburn, but it was apparent the engine would need to be rebuilt. 

Enter the NATMUS Youth Volunteers. Monesmith oversees the program in which 13- to 21-year-old youths learn the mechanical function and operation of automobiles and trucks under a structured, mentor-driven program at the NATMUS facility garage. 

Knowing that the Corvette and its 350-cid V-8 engine required skillful hands to disassemble and then reassemble the engine, Monesmith called on David Overy and Scott Armstrong, a pair of high school friends who were capable of taking on the project. These two 15-year-olds possessed the expertise, drive and passion to see the job done. In fact, Armstrong came up with the nickname “Big Green” for the Gordon Buehrig Corvette. The engine heads had to be sent out for a professional valve job, so from disassembly to reassembly, the project took about two months to complete.

Monesmith says “Big Green” is a favored automobile from the NATMUS automobile collection. It’s shown regularly by the youths at automobile events, but there’s one recent event that is extra special. Camden Reese, a student in the youth mentoring program, asked if he and his bride could use it at their wedding to drive from the church to their reception and permission was granted. In that moment, “Big Green” entered into the life and history of yet another couple: Mr. and Mrs. Camden Reese.

Find out more about The National Auto & Truck Museum (NATMUS) at https://natmus.org/

Love Corvettes? Here are a few more articles for your reading enjoyment.

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/car-of-the-week-1954-corvette-gm-motorama-proposal-car

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/car-of-the-week-1956-chevrolet-corvette-black-silver

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/car-of-the-week-1965-chevrolet-corvette

SHOW US YOUR WHEELS!

If you’ve got an old car you love, we want to hear about it. Email us at oldcars@aimmedia.com

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The post Car of the Week: Gordon Buehrig’s 1971 Chevrolet Corvette appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

Mustang enthusiast and collector Kelly Schultz has bought more than 100 Boss 302 Ford Mustangs since 1987, many of them after creating his side business, Kelly’s Muscle Cars, in Follett, Texas. In 2018, Schultz acquired a 1970 Boss 302 out of Shreveport, La., that appealed to him because of its Calypso Coral paint color that reminded him of a favorite Boss from his past. The seller advised Kelly that Calypso Coral was not the car’s original color, but that didn’t bother Kelly in the least. He preferred that bright orange shade on a Boss 302, and he planned to use this car as a driver rather than a show car.

“Whoever painted the car did a good job of stripping the original paint,” Kelly says. “But I did spot small remnants of metallic green from the factory paint.” 

The Boss’s certification label on its left door has a blank color code and six-digit District Sales Office (DSO) code, confirming that it had been specially ordered in a non-Mustang color; that makes it one of just 64 “Special Paint” Boss 302s built for 1970.

The Deluxe Marti Report confirmed Schultz’s suspicion as it lists “Special Paint, Ford # unknown,” and two sets of invoices show “Special Paint” at the bottom of the option list.

The Boss’s option list is long, but not in the usual Boss 302 way. Instead of the popular image items such as the Shaker hood scoop, rear window slats and rear spoiler, this Boss 302 was ordered from Detroit’s Stark-Hickey Ford with the Décor interior, power steering, console, electric clock, 3.91 Traction-Lok differential and Magnum 500 wheels, as shown on its Deluxe Marti Report and factory invoices.

Schultz kept the Calypso Coral Boss 302 for three years before selling it to one of his clients, collector Roland Rodriquez, who was intrigued by the car’s rare Special Paint status. As part of the sale, Rodriquez requested that Schultz oversee the Boss 302’s restoration to its unconfirmed original color. Schultz turned to his go-to restorer, Jason Billups, of Billups Classic Cars, in Colcord, Okla. Once the Boss 302 was stripped down and more samples of the original paint were revealed, Billups used a paint-chip color wheel to determine a match. The match was found to be “WT 7819 Green Metallic,” a fleet color listed in Ford’s 1970 Special Order Paint Selector. Fleet paints were available to buyers of multiple vehicles intended for business use. Seeing how the Marti Report shows the order type as “Fleet,” perhaps the original purchaser of the Boss 302 wanted his Boss 302 to match his fleet of green delivery trucks. Maybe it was even the boss’s company fleet vehicle!

As part of the restoration, the added rear window slats and rear spoiler were removed to match the Marti Report and factory invoices, returning the Boss 302 to its original no-frills appearance. The Boss 302 is even made more plain by its missing standard Boss 302 front spoiler, which was not installed at the time of our photography. 

During the restoration, Billups chose to retain the dual sport mirrors that were on the car when purchased by Schultz. (Special Paint 1970 Boss 302s came with a single driver’s door chrome rearview mirror, as confirmed by the window sticker’s “LH remote control mirror substituted for color-keyed racing mirrors.”)

Now restored to like-new in its original special-order paint, and detailed down to the correct Thermactor emission system and rev limiter, the Special Paint Boss 302 is now a prized part of Rodriquez’s private, 100-plus car collection. 

Building the Boss

The Mustang Boss 302 was built in 1969 and 1970 as a high-performance street car for Ford Motor Co. to homologate 302-cid V-8-powered Mustangs into the SCCA’s Trans-Am racing series. In the Trans-Am series, the Boss 302 initially raced against Chevrolet Camaros, the Mustang’s younger competitor. (Chevrolet had quickly developed its own Trans-Am race car, the Z/28, which was ready shortly after the model’s 1967 introduction.) The Boss 302s that raced on the SCCA circuit were specially prepped versions of the street cars, but Boss 302s nonetheless.

Both the Boss 302 and likewise-homologated Camaro Z/28 were powered by 302-cubic-inch V-8s to meet the Trans-Am series’ requirement of engine displacements of 305 cubic inches or fewer. The 302 engine used in the Boss was unique to that model in several ways.

The Boss 302, available only as a fastback, was the ultimate evolution of the 260- and 289-cid Mustang V-8 introduced in 1965, with special cylinder heads that gave it a performance advantage over the previous small-block Mustangs. These “Cleveland” heads (so called because of their similarity to those used on the 351-cid engine made in Ford’s Cleveland, Ohio, foundry) used canted intake and exhaust valves that permitted the fitting of bigger ports and valves and a straighter-flowing fuel/air mixture that gave better volumetric efficiency. 

Boss 302 intake valves measured a massive 2.23 inches in 1969, and exhaust valves were 1.71 inches — incredibly large for a production-type small-block engine. “Semi-hemi” combustion chambers were also different from those of the earlier small-blocks, with an advanced wedge design that resembled the shape of the chambers in the Ford 427 racing engine. The camshaft had 290 degrees of duration for both valves, and a .290-inch lift. The crankshaft, balanced both statically and dynamically (with the rods and pistons in place), was made of forged steel to stand up to high rpm. It was anchored in place by five main bearings, of which the three center units had four-bolt caps. Forged steel connecting rods were used. Other features included a high-rise, aluminum intake manifold with a single 780-cfm four-barrel Holley carburetor; pop-up type pistons; a dual-point distributor; a high-pressure oil pump; lightweight, stamped rocker arms; screw-in rocker arm studs and pushrod guide plates (with specially hardened pushrods); an oil pan windage baffle; and screw-in freeze plugs. The Boss 302’s engine block was of a unique thin-wall, high nickel content casting.

After considering the car’s target audience, Ford wisely chose to install only manual transmissions (there were two to choose from) in the Boss 302, with a floor-mounted Hurst shifter handling shifting chores. Surprisingly, the wide-ratio four-speed was best suited with the 302 for street performance and drag strip use. The close-ratio option was better utilized for road racing.

According to published reports at the time, the Boss 302 out-classed “most of the world’s big-engined muscle cars.” Others reported a slightly modified G-code Boss 302 engine would keep increasing power clear up to 8,000 rpm, which suggests that some owners were bypassing the rpm limiter that kicked in around 5,800 rpm and randomly cut spark to the cylinders to keep the revs under about 6,150 rpm. Clearly, Ford’s peak horsepower rating of 290 at 5,800 rpm was conservative, although it was convenient for advertising, as the Camaro Z/28 advertised that number.

Three axle ratios were offered: a standard 3.50 non-locking version, plus the Traction-Lok 3.50 and 3.91. There was also a No-Spin axle available with a 4.30 ratio built by Detroit Automotive. To prevent buildup of stress points in the axle shafts, Ford installed fully machined units with larger axle shaft splines, an extra-strength cast nodular iron center section and larger wheel seals.

Handling of the Boss 302 benefit from a lower stance. Because it would be called upon to keep the Boss stuck to corners on the racetrack, the front suspension received high-rate (350 inch-pounds) springs; heavy-duty, direct-acting Gabriel shock absorbers; and a special steel stabilizer bar with specifically calibrated rubber mounts. The Hotchkiss-type rear suspension had 150 inch-pounds leaf springs and it used a staggered shock absorber arrangement. The left shock absorber was bolted behind the axle and the right one was ahead of the axle. Wheel hop, bounce and the tendency of the tires to break tread were substantially controlled with this setup. Ford also added a rear stabilizer bar for improved cornering. This induced a little oversteer, but helped keep the rear end from swaying.

The Boss 302 brake system included discs in the front and power assist. Power steering was available as an option to help with the quick 16:1 ratio — especially desirable with the wide F60-15 tires. Final details on the 1970 Boss 302 package included black taillamp bezels, headlamp bezels and tail panel; a black chrome backlight molding; black front spoiler; color-keyed, dual racing mirrors; dual exhausts; hubcaps with trim rings; black 3M tape stripes and Boss 302 identification; a 45-ampere battery; and a Space-Saver spare tire.

From the driver’s seat, the Boss was still basic Mustang in layout, with circular gauges, dash lamps to monitor oil pressure and electrical systems, and a tachometer. Two very desirable Boss options were an adjustable rear deck lid spoiler and rear window SportSlats. To qualify as a production model by Trans-Am racing rules, Ford was required to produce a minimum of 1,000 Boss 302 Mustangs; the car’s popularity racked up 1,628 sales in 1969 and 7,014 (or 7,013, depending on the source) were built for 1970.

The 302’s bigger brother, the Boss 429, was born because Ford had still another engine it wanted to place into competition — this time on the NASCAR circuit. The decision was made to install the new-for-1969 429-cid semi-hemi big-block in the popular Mustang platform after predictions that it would be easier to sell 500 such models than a Torino-based supercar. Kar Kraft, an aftermarket firm in Brighton, Mich., was contracted to build Boss 429s. Since the Mustang’s engine compartment was not designed to house such a wide powerplant, the job required a big shoehorn and a lot of suspension changes and chassis modifications.

The 1970 Boss 302 was a runner in its own right, and could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds and cover the quarter mile in 14.6 seconds at a top speed of 98 mph. 

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“Beautifully quiet, Quietly beautiful,” proclaimed Chevrolet’s 1972 Monte Carlo sales brochure. It also said, “We left well enough alone to keep it alone in its field.” Though well stated and accurate, the total truth was that the original plan was to have an all-new Monte Carlo ready for 1972. However, federal regulations that emerged from congress at about the time the new version was entering the design stage forced a delay of one model year to introduce the second-generation car. Therefore, only a light facelift was performed on the 1971 Monte Carlo to create the ’72 model. Interestingly, the 1972 Monte Carlo was the best seller from the 1970-’72 generation of Chevy’s personal luxury car, a model that stood alone in terms of its price, which was about equal to that of the Impala two-door hardtop.

Developing the Monte Carlo

The Monte Carlo was a major success for Chevrolet, and one that was very much needed at the time. Chevrolet’s market penetration took a dive in 1969, from 32 percent to 24 percent, a situation that was most unusual for the division. The personal luxury car market ­— started by Ford with its Thunderbird, first as a sporty car with a single bench seat from 1955-’57 and then as a four-passenger model starting with the 1958 model year — was practically Ford’s alone until General Motors’ Buick Division released the Riviera for 1963. Oldsmobile later followed with its front-wheel-drive Toronado, debuting for 1966. Pontiac entered this market arena in 1969 with its all-new midsize Grand Prix, previously a sporty version of its full-size car. 

In early 1968, Chevrolet General Manager Elliot “Pete” Estes gave the green light for what became the Monte Carlo, originally known as the “C-Bird” during its design stage. (Coincidentally, John DeLorean had approved the 1969 Grand Prix in early 1967 while general manager of that division. He then became general manager for Chevrolet not long after the Monte Carlo project was underway.) Designer Dave Holls was placed in charge of the design work for the C-Bird project.

The namesake of the Monte Carlo was the administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. With the French Rivera in the immediate vicinity of Monte Carlo, perhaps the moniker was an obvious choice, although based upon an early clay mock-up, the name “Concours” was apparently considered.

To keep the Monte Carlo at the planned price target, costs of production were kept in line by adapting GM’s A-body (Chevrolet Chevelle, Pontiac LeMans, Oldsmobile Cutlass, Buick Skylark) to the 116-inch-wheelbase suspension systems of the four-door Chevelle. Indeed, as much as possible was shared with the Chevelle. The frame for the Monte Carlo, though, was not shared with any other GM car, nor were any outer components except for the rear window and deck lid, which came from the Chevelle parts bin. The front end ahead of the cowl was stretched to fit the 116-inch wheelbase chassis, resulting in the longest hood of any Chevrolet at 6 feet in length. 

Inside, the dash from the Chevelle SS was adopted, though with applications of simulated elm woodgraining. Heavy amounts of sound deadener comprised of thick jute under the carpeting, plenty of asphalt-inpregnated material above the headliner and spray-on fiber in various places throughout the body helped to ensure the quiet ride befitting a personal luxury car. Execution of the design was so well done that buyers either did not know or did not care about the Monte Carlo’s relationship with the Chevelle. Its long-hood/short-deck proportions helped ensure public acceptance, most of whom said styling was the most important factor influencing their purchase.

Only a formal-looking two-door hardtop body style was offered for the Monte Carlo, although a convertible version seemingly was at least considered, but evidently only on the drawing board or simply via discussions. No photographs appear to exist of drawings, clay mock-ups or prototypes of a 1970-’72 Monte Carlo convertible. (However, some owners had conversions performed, something relatively easy to do since GM offered an A-body convertible.) Early road test reports on the new car stated a convertible was on the way, thus there had to be some basis for the claim. A four-door hardtop version was built as a full-scale mock-up, but smartly rejected by management.

Outfitting the 1970 Monte Carlo

Standard features of Chevy’s T-Bird fighter included the 250-hp, 2-barrel 350-cid V-8 coupled to a three-speed synchromesh column-shifted transmission (a Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission was standard with optional engines); power brakes with front discs; black sidewall G78-15-B bias-belted tires; heater/defroster; concealed windshield wipers; in-the-windshield antenna; electric clock; high-grade nylon and vinyl upholstery; and deep-twist carpeting. Interestingly, while Chevrolet’s sales catalog for the 1970-1972 plainly states the three-speed manual was the standard transmission, other sources indicate that it could be special-ordered in place of the automatic; in other words, the Turbo-Hydramatic 350 was standard issue with the 350 2-barrel. The sales literature shows the three-on-the-tree, though, was standard only with the 350 2-barrel. Therefore, the author’s understanding (by reconciling the information put forth) is that the three-speed could be special-ordered for some of the other engines that would otherwise have come with one of the automatic transmissions (TH-350 or TH-400). Regardless of what was possible to acquire, the three-speed transmission was quite rare with only 545 Monte Carlos being so-equipped for 1970 and a combined 622 more Monte Carlos were built with it for the next two model years. Old Cars and the author welcome a confirmation, correction or better explanation of the facts in this regard.

A plethora of options were offered to customers buying a Monte Carlo. Engine choices were comprised of a 300-hp, 350 4-barrel; a 400-cid version of the small-block V-8 with a 2-barrel carb rated at 265 hp; a big-block 400 (actually displacing 402 cubic inches) with a 4-barrel rated at 330 hp; and a 360-hp 454-cid V-8 with a 4 barrel available only with the RPO (regular production option) Z20 package costing $420 that added a heavy-duty suspension, wider tires, an automatic load-leveling rear suspension and “SS454” badging. The Turbo-Hydramatic transmission was mandatory with the SS454 package, and added $222 to the bottom line. Only 3,823 Monte Carlos had the SS454 equipment for 1970. Though not many buyers opted for the high-performance package, the majority of Monte Carlos were loaded with options such as a vinyl top; Rally wheels; fender skirts (but not available with Rally wheels); bumper guards; AM-FM stereo with 8-track player; bucket seats with or without a console; power steering; and electric trunk release. Additional options included a two-speed Powerglide transmission (for either 350 only) and four-speed manual transmission (available for any engine except the 454, as noted). Yet another option was a tachometer, the same type used by the Chevelle SS, something made practical by the use of the Chevelle SS dash. Fifteen paint color choices were offered with names such as Cranberry Red, Cortez Silver, Astro Blue, Misty Turquoise, etc.

Chevrolet introduced its new Monte Carlo with the rest of its lineup on Sept. 18, 1969. Nearly two million people came to Chevrolet dealerships around the country that day, and the new Monte Carlo was a large part of the reason. (It certainly was not the Camaro that drew them there, because the second-generation Camaro’s introduction was delayed until Feb. 26, 1970.) A labor strike at the Flint, Mich., assembly plant, where the majority of Monte Carlos were built, began shortly after model introduction and lasted into February, thus hindering sales. Many would-be customers found their local dealership did not have any Monte Carlos in stock for a while. Output of about 185,000 units had been projected for 1970, but in the end, production totaled 145,976 cars. The vast majority of Monte Carlos had one of the 350-cid V-8s with the TH350 transmission.

Minor tweaks to greatness

A minor facelift for 1971 included squared-off headlamp bezels (changed from rounded) and rectangular parking lamps (changed from round); headlamps moved a little farther apart; a fine horizontal pattern grille (previously a fine square pattern); revised hood spear with stand-up ornament; and a new keyhole emblem on the trunk lock. Detail changes to the interior for 1971 included revised door panels, steering wheel and control knobs. Horsepower ratings for the 1971 engines remained the same as for 1970. Sales in 1971 slipped from ’70, with 128,600 Monte Carlos produced. Another labor strike early in the 1971 model year that lasted a little more than two months once again suppressed total output. The SS454 option package drew a mere 1,919 orders this time. The option package was dropped for 1972, though the individual items comprising it could be separately ordered.

Significant changes were seen in the engines; they had lower compression ratios to meet federal air pollution regulations. Ratings for the 350 2-barrel and 350 4-barrel were listed as 245 and 270 hp, respectively, and the 400 big-block lost 30 hp, down to 330. The 454’s output actually increased to 365 due to changes to the valve train. The small-block 400 was dropped from the engine lineup.

Changes were few for the 1972 Monte Carlo. Updates were mostly limited to the exterior and comprised a rectangular-pattern grille, parking lamps relocated from the bumper to between the grille and headlamp assemblies and a wider hood spear with “MC” lettering. Now offered was the Custom package, RPO 03, comprised a group of convenience and appearance items. Cars so equipped were noted with the addition of a “Custom” emblem next to the Monte Carlo script on the rear roof pillar. 

For 1972, SAE net ratings for engine horsepower output were adopted. The 350 2-barrel and 4-barrel were rated at 165 and 175 hp, respectively, while the 400 big-block’s rating fell to 240 hp. As for the 454, it was rated at 270 hp. Even so, buyers were more interested in luxury than performance, and the 350 with TH350 was the most popular choice. Only 1,268 Monte Carlos of 1972 had the biggest engine. The four-speed transmission was deleted from the options list this year while variable-ratio power steering became standard.

A survivor with a secret past

Sales in 1972 were the highest of the three model years of the first-generation Monte Carlo with 180,819 finding buyers, one of which is shown here. This 1972 Monte Carlo was owned by Terry Reese, of Longview, Texas, when it was recently photographed. Just a few weeks after the photo session, Terry’s friend made an offer for the car that was judged too good to turn down, thus the car now has a new owner living in Michigan. This largely original Antique White example is a relatively low-mileage car with 69,400 miles on its odometer at the time it was photographed. An engine rebuild was performed during the early part of 2021. At that time, a 4-barrel intake and carburetor setup was installed, as was a Borla exhaust system. In addition to those minor modifications, the car only has an aftermarket AM-FM stereo that perfectly fits the factory radio opening.

The featured Monte Carlo has received one repaint at some point and other than it spending most of its existence in Virginia and North Carolina before coming to Texas, nothing else is known about its history.

In the aforementioned 1972 Monte Carlo sales brochure, Chevy’s marketing people wrote that the, “Monte Carlo tends to be the most often misunderstood Chevrolet ever. The problem is, there is no other car quite like Monte Carlo. There’s nothing to compare it to, no convenient category to put it in. So some people will continue to assume Monte Carlo is an oversized sporty car putting on airs. While others will remain convinced it’s an undersized luxury car with a jealous eye cast toward the performance-minded. Rest assured, Monte Carlo is neither. And perhaps both. Try thinking of it this way. Monte Carlo combines the best (but not all) virtues of the luxury car with the best (but not all) virtues of the sporty car. Owning a Monte Carlo is kind of like having your cake and driving it too.” 

From start to finish of the first-generation Monte Carlo, a total of 455,395 buyers agreed with Chevy’s ad writers. Marketing need not have been too concerned about perception.

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Photos by Al Rogers

Currently tucked among the varied treasures inside the National Auto and Truck Museum in Auburn, Ind., is a 1970 Buick GS 455 that’s a little more grand than others of its ilk. Not that there isn’t anything already grand about the 1970 Buick Gran Sport, a brutish performance car that bucked Buick’s rep for building conservative “doctors cars.” Available with a 315-hp, four-barrel 350-cid V-8 as the GS 350 or either the 350-hp or Stage 1 360-hp 455-cid V-8 as the GS 455, the midsize 1970 Gran Sports showed Buick’s wild side amidst a showroom of earth-tone Electra 225 and LeSabre behemoths. By installing the 350- and 455-cid V-8s from these full-size Buicks into the midsize Skylark, Buick created a tire roaster that could make an Electra 225 or LeSabre blush.

The Buick GS 455 inside NATMUS isn’t just out of character for a Buick, but also for a Gran Sport. It’s hard not to notice its unique Fireglow Red Pearl exterior paint, and then its likewise one-of-a-kind pearl white interior. Indeed, this Buick GS 455 Stage 1 was specially built for go and show.

Buick swings from mild to wild

When Buick brought back the Special name in 1961, it was on a new compact with a small, cast-aluminum-block V-8 good for 155 hp. By 1964 — the year General Motors launched a new midsize A-body line for its Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick divisions — the Special successfully graduated to the new and bigger body. It was the start of even bigger things to come.

During the middle of the Special’s comeback year, Buick added a plusher Skylark Sport Coupe to the compact car line to complement the base Special and better-trimmed Skylark Deluxe. All three were carried over to GM’s new A-body for 1964.

Despite the midsize A-body being a corporate GM platform, each division’s car cleverly resembled its full-size counterpart more so than its corresponding midsize competitor from the other GM divisions. For the 1964 Skylark and Special, that meant a handsomely square profile with a formal roof and body edges tailored to gentle curves, much like the full-size LeSabre and Wildcat, the latter being Buick’s version of a “Super Sport” LeSabre.

With the new A-body redesign of 1964, GM’s bargain and mid-priced brands brought out performance versions. At Chevrolet, that meant the Malibu SS while over at Pontiac, the GTO made its famous debut. Seeing the value of the GTO hype, and already having a performance reputation of its own, Oldsmobile followed suit mid 1964 with the 4-4-2. With performance heating up across the industry and adding more and more sales potential with each increase in horsepower, even Buick — GM’s brand for those seeking luxury and quality without the ostentatiousness of a Cadillac — joined the melee with performance models.

In mid 1965, the Gran Sport option became available on the Riviera, Skylark and Wildcat. The racing heart of the Skylark GS package was a 325-hp “Wildcat” 401-cid V-8 with a 10.25:1 compression ratio and a single four-barrel Carter AFB carburetor. The athletic engine exhaled through dual exhaust, and to give the package added street cred, GS badges were mounted inside and out.

The GS continued on the updated 1966 A-body with more muscular looks that included blacked-out exterior components and the addition of hood scoops. Obviously seeing more potential with the Gran Sport, Buick split the Gran Sport into two lines for 1967 with the addition of the new GS 340 powered by an engine of that displacement. 1967 also marked the arrival of an all-new, truly 400-cid V-8 in the GS 400 that no longer had to skirt GM’s displacement limit. This new 400-cid V-8 had 340 hp, which compared favorably to the standard 335-hp, 400-cid V-8 in that year’s GTO.

The GS 400 maintained the “fast with class” image of the previous Gran Sports by using much of the bright Skylark trim, but the new GS 340 had an increasingly more typical muscle car image with red body stripes on the sides and atop the hood scoops and a red-accented rear deck molding.

By this time, a few savvy racers had noticed the power of the Buick Gran Sport. Among them was Lennie “Pop” Kennedy, who had been racing Buicks since the mid 1950s. He stayed with Buick on the strip through the 1960s and beyond, driving cars sponsored by Reynolds Buick of West Covina, Calif., and gaining the attention of Buick brass as he and fellow racer Jim Bell worked to improve and develop Buick engine components for better quarter-mile times. The pair eventually formed Kenne-Bell to sell those parts.

When the Gran Sport was born, Pop was there, racing the first 1965 GS 400 delivered to the West Coast, likely obtaining it so early because of his past with Buick and success racing their cars. Once Buick’s new 340-hp 400-cid V-8 came out in 1967, Pop raced that engine, too.

When GM restyled the A-body into more of a fastback for 1968, the Gran Sport returned to the exploding muscle car wars. Again, a new engine became available in a Gran Sport when the 260-hp 340 was replaced with a new Buick four-barrel 350-cid V-8 of 280 hp, but the GS 400 was back with no changes to the one-year-old engine. Again, Pop Kennedy raced the new Buick GS 400, running times as fast as 117 mph in 11.40 seconds. Pop’s GS ran some of his experimental hop-up parts for the Buick 400-cid V-8 (notably, better heads, a more efficient intake manifold and a different carburetor). Using Pop’s input and experience, a factory-installed Stage 1 package was offered for the engine of the GS 400 in 1969, as was a more aggressive Stage 2 package that was available over the counter at Buick dealers.

GM divisions moderately updated their A-bodies for 1970, and again Buick paired the new-looking car with a new engine. After the 455-cid V-8-powered Hurst/Olds cars of 1968 and 1969, GM’s 400-cubic-inch limit for its divisions’ intermediates was in the rearview mirror. Now GM divisions were running their largest engines in their midsize muscle cars. At Buick, that meant using the new 455-cid V-8 in the Gran Sport. The car was logically dubbed the GS 455, while the 315-hp GS 350 continued to be offered alongside it.

Without question, 1970 marked the peak of the muscle car era with bright paint options, wild factory graphic and decal packages, top performance engines and catchy acronyms for names, and Buick ran with the best when it introduced its new GSX. Essentially a slightly dechromed GS 455 with front and rear spoilers, select painted trim and a decal package, the GSX was a decidedly youthful and in-your-face Buick that took the GS 455 to the extreme. Available in Saturn Yellow or Apollo White, it could be had with or without the Stage 1 option of the GS 455 upon which it was based.

The new GS 455 and GSX for 1970 offered 350 hp and another 10 hp with the Stage 1 package (a Stage 2 package was again available over the counter). Those numbers may not appear to be competitive against a 425-hp 426 Hemi or a 450-hp LS6 Chevelle SS 454, but with 510 lb.-ft. of torque, the Buick GS 455 Stage 1 could match — and even beat ­— a Hemi GTX or a SS 454. On lists of the fastest muscle cars of all time, Stage 1-equipped 1970 Buick GS 455 cars always rank at or very near the top.

The GS 455 and GS 350 lasted through the 1970-1972 styling cycle and even slightly beyond when GM’s A-body was completely redesigned for 1973, but as with all muscle cars, the power was never as great as it was in the first year of the disco decade.

Pushing go and show

In early September 1969, shortly after the Buick Division of General Motors began minting its new 1970 models, two identical white 1970 GS Stage 1 two-door hardtops were pulled off the assembly line the same day to be converted into show cars for the auto show circuit. The “top dog” Gran Sports were identically optioned and close together in production sequence (their body numbers were just two digits apart). One of these Stage 1 Gran Sports destined for show duty became a GSX show car sometimes mistakenly referred to as a prototype, and the other was converted into a specially painted and trimmed GS 455 intended to “light your fire,” as advertisements generally claimed for the GS. Both made their debut perched atop circular stands at the 1970 Chicago Auto Show, held at the International Amphitheater from Feb. 21 to March 1.

Not surprisingly for show cars, the Shows, Displays and Exhibits Division of Buick had each Gran Sport well-equipped. They both featured the Stage 1 package, an automatic transmission, a console, bucket seats, 3.64 Positraction rear differential, Rallye Ride Control Package, G60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GT tires, chromed five-spoke wheels, tilt steering, power windows, power locks, full instrumentation, power steering, disc brakes, Soft Ray-tinted windshield and the Rallye steering wheel. The GSX show car received the parts unique to the model, although some of them differed from production components, while the GS 455 Stage 1 show car underwent its own changes. Its body color was changed to a one-of-a-kind, bright orange Fireglow Red Pearl color, and the pearl white-upholstered interior received a unique white shag-type carpet with non-production, orange-colored experimental front seat belts that complemented the body color. The tinted glass ­— even the windshield ­­— was also removed from the car and replaced with untinted glass.

“The windows were not tinted, because it was felt that any tinting would not properly demonstrate the appeal of that white interior,” said Alan Oldfield of the Buick Heritage Alliance, which now holds title to the car. “It’s quite striking when you see it.”

A photo of the car at the 1970 Chicago Auto Show shows the interior glowing, and without the window tint, the white is pure and oddly bright without a blue tint cast upon it.

It seems Buick had a thing for metallic orange show cars, and the Fireglow Red Pearl 1970 GS 455 Stage 1 was not its first. In 1966, a Wildcat convertible painted a non-production metallic-orange color appeared on the auto show circuit with an exclusive orange front-and-rear bucket seat interior. Two years later, Buick displayed atop its stands an orange 1968 Riviera and a white 1968 Gran Sport, the latter having a one-of-a-kind white interior with a shag-type white carpet.

Like the preceding orange Buick show cars, the white 1970 GSX and Fireglow Red Pearl Gran Sports were supposed to disappear, but Columbus, Ohio, Buick dealer Len Immke, a rabid fan and collector of Buicks ­— and himself a sponsor of a 1970 GS 455 race car ­— stepped in.

“They were retired and supposed to be crushed,” said Oldfield. “Len Immke convinced Buick to sell the cars to him with the promise that he would not sell them, but one time, when he was out of town, the cars got sold and they went into private hands.”

The first owner of the Fireglow Red Pearl GS reportedly raced it into the 1970s, racking up about 13,000 miles on the odometer. However, he ran steep gears for racing so the actual mileage is likely lower. That owner reportedly raced the car hard enough to blow the original engine and transmission,. Today the car has a replacement engine block with many of the important original components, such as the carburetor and cylinder heads. It still shows about 13,000 miles.

Racing kept the Fireglow Red Pearl GS’s body rust-free, and by the time it went into a collector’s hands, the original paint had cracked and the car’s rock-solid sheet metal deserved a re-spray. The car then swung from owner to owner with one of them replacing the white shag carpet with a production-type black rug. However, the rest of the interior remains original.

In 2023, the car went to its forever home when it was donated by Ralph Jenkins Harding III of Odessa, Texas, to the Buick Heritage Alliance, a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation of all things Buick, from literature to the cars themselves. The BHA’s literature collection is housed at the AACA Library & Research Center in Hershey, Pa., while it loans its cars to museums across the country. Oldfield said the Fireglow Red Pearl 1970 Buick GS Stage 1 show car will continue its show car duties at NATMUS for the foreseeable future, where it can be seen by all.

MORE INFO

Buick Heritage Alliance
www.buickheritagealliance.org

NATMUS
1000 Gordon M. Buehrig Place
Auburn, IN 46706
260-925-9100
natmus.org

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As a teenager growing up in Livonia, Mich., things changed for the Gogola family when Cas opened the Midwestern Auto District, a used car dealership in Wayne. The dealership was located on Michigan Avenue, and its niche was selling automobiles that were traded in at the local new car dealerships in the area. Cas Gogola created an exceptional business relationship with these dealerships that allowed him to have first dibs on their best used trade-ins, which he then offered for sale on his used car lot.

Cas’ teenage son, Chris, started working at the used car dealership when he was 15. He and his mother would drive to the new-car dealerships to pick up trade-ins and transport them to Midwestern Auto District where they would be added to the used car inventory. Chris filled this role for the next three to four years, then moved into the porter position. While working at the dealership in 1976, his father took in a Candy Apple Red 1969 Ford XL with a white vinyl top and white interior. The XL caught Chris’s eye, and he had to have it. Chris asked his father if he could buy it, and Cas agreed to sell it to him for $200. The Ford XL was Chris’ daily driver and car show cruiser for the next year.

One day, a flatbed tow-truck showed up at the dealership carrying a 1973 Mustang Mach 1 with a blown engine. After some haggling and a lot of passionate convincing of his father, Chris was able to buy the Mach 1 under one condition: “You’re going to replace the engine on your time,” his father told him. With his father’s guidance, and under the tutorage of mechanic Bill Bruden, the next two weekends were spent installing a rebuilt 351-cid V-8 engine into the Mach 1.

With Bill’s help, Chris had himself an exceptional pony car. It was during the engine swap that Bill became a true mentor to Chris. Bill taught Chris everything conceivable about cars. Electrical, mechanical, but most important, how to maintain and care for an automobile.

In 1979, Chris’ mother told him it was time for him to get away from the dealership and branch out into something new. He enrolled at Eastern Michigan University and went to work as a footwear manager at Kmart to help pay for college. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business at EMU, then went to work for power tool company Makita as a sales representative in Michigan, followed by a career at Cooper Tools. Chris said he found his calling years later at the Henkel company under the Loctite brand. There he served as sales engineer and worked as a professional speaker, traveling the United States to teach classes about Loctite products. The engineering and sales careers taught him the importance of communication and how to properly interact with people.

Catching a Cougar

By the early ’80s, Chris was already fond of the 1973 Mercury Cougar. In 1981, he received a lead from a coworker and friend who knew about a one-owner, low-mileage 1973 Cougar hardtop that was well-optioned. Dalores Dauble had bought the Cougar new and was looking to sell it, if the right person came along. Chris contacted Dalores, who extended an invitation for him to come to her place to see her unrestored, Wimbledon White ’73 Cougar. While discussing the automobile, Dalores disclosed that her late husband had purchased it for her prior to his passing, because he wanted to ensure she had a new and dependable automobile. Dalores had grown tired of driving and decided it was time to sell the ’73 Cougar to someone who would maintain it much like she had done. By the time Chris first saw it, the 8-year-old Mercury had just 20,000 miles on the odometer and remained factory-new looking. Dalores and Chris worked out a deal and Chris became the Cougar’s new owner.

Back in June 1973, when Dalores took delivery of the Cougar from Bob Dusseau Lincoln-Mercury in Farmington, Mich., she went against the norm, insisting that the dealership remove the optional factory-installed Ford AM/FM radio and door speakers. The unit was replaced by an AM Radio with a single speaker in the dash. The dealership covered the void in the inner door panels, where the door speakers were originally installed, with black tape.

After acquiring the ’73 Cougar, Chris was thumbing through the documents and noticed the original dealer invoice showed the Cougar was originally produced with the AM/FM radio and deluxe speaker option. Years prior, he had acquired a new Ford AM/FM sound system with premium speakers. Wanting to make the car right, he removed the AM radio from the dash and the black tape from behind the speaker grilles in the doors. When he went into the dash and doors, he found the original wiring was still in place, just tucked away, easing the re-installation process.

Chris didn’t stop at the radio. He also added a factory XR-7-style tachometer to one of the gauge pods in the dash, a power antenna, power trunk release, spare tire lock and Motorcraft locking gas cap. He finished it off with intermittent wipers. With these Ford Motor Co. dealer options, the standard 1973 Cougar that was ordered with every option available (for a non XR-7) had now been transformed into an XR-7, minus the “XR-7” badging. It’s worth noting that the XR-7-style tachometer is an addition that Chris had to re-engineer to fit the factory dash pod, and it looks and functions with perfection.

Chris’ story with the Cougar took a twist in 1991, about 10 years after he bought the Cougar. While detailing and waxing the car one day, something really odd caught his eye. After a double take, Chris noticed the passenger-side quarter glass trim molding is the standard factory Cougar style, but the driver side has the more detailed and longer XR-7-style trim molding. It turns out his 1973 Cougar is a factory “mis build.” Chris decided to leave it as is, and for the most part, no one really notices it. Apparently, an operator incorrectly installed the XR-7 quarter window trim molding, possibly due to looking at the car as it came down the assembly line while also looking at its build sheet, and mistakenly grabbed the XR-7 trim piece instead. The ’73 Cougar’s incorrect trim piece had gone completely unnoticed as the car traveled through the assembly plant, past the inspectors and into the dealership pre-delivery preparers before going home with Dalores. It took 18 years for it to be discovered in 1991, and even then, owner Chris Gogola, “Mr. Detail” himself, hadn’t noticed for 10 years of his ownership!

Currently, the 1973 Cougar has 79,900 miles on its odometer. The H-code Cleveland 351-cid V-8 has been exceptionally well maintained. Chris changes the oil every 1,000 miles, and there have been times when he changed it at the 200-mile range. Today, it runs like a finely tuned Swiss watch with no smoke or noise. The same is true with changing the FMX automatic transmission fluid, which Chris says he’s changed a handful of times. Even the factory air conditioning blows cold air and still works like the day it left the factory.

Chris jokingly refers to himself as a car fanatic. Each of his automobiles, including the daily drivers, are over-maintained, over-detailed and, in most cases, over-optioned. If they didn’t receive a factory option, but the manufacturer offered it as a dealership add-on, chances are Chris has added it to his automobile.

His purpose or goal with each of his automobiles is to keep the internal engine components clean and running like new. Much of this can be attributed to his mentor, Bill, when Chris was a teenager getting into the car scene. As Chris was getting hit hard with the car bug, Bill stressed the importance of fresh engine oil, clean fluids and keeping records of what preventative maintenance was done and when it was done. Chris didn’t divulge Bill’s recommendation for oil changes, but 1,000 miles or less between oil changes is something Chris swears and lives by. He adds, “What better way to stay on top of your automobile than to do the detailing, change the oil and fluids?”

The ’73 Cougar is an important part of the Gogola family. It’s the car in which Chris Gogola proposed to his wife, Terri, and now the two occasionally cruise it to local car shows. Chris and Terri now have two sons: Trevor, their eldest, is married to wife Jenna and they have two children, Piper and Walter. Their youngest son is Austin, a Lego genius.

Joining the ’73 Cougar in the Gogola automobile collection is an original 1986 Mercury Capri 5.0 Liter RS and a 1986 ASC McLaren convertible. They, too, are original with low miles and in like-new condition. They are meticulously cared for, much like the 1973 Cougar. Look for feature stories in Old Cars about each of these automobiles in the not-so-distant future. Each of them has a great history with some of the special and unique experiences with their owner.

The Mercury Cougar in Retrospect

By 1973, it was clear that the pony car craze was coming to an end, and Ford Motor Co. had seen the writing on the wall. Therefore, this was the last year both Cougar and Mustang could be considered pony cars. While Mustang would be turned into a compact car in 1974 with the introduction of the Mustang II, the Cougar would be turned into a mid-sized personal luxury vehicle. And though the Cougar name would be applied to different Mercury models into the 21st Century, most agree that the classic Cougars ended in 1973.

But before it went out as a pony car, the Cougar produced one last gasp and production rose to 60,628 cars, an improvement of nearly 7,000 from the previous year. That being said, the production of every pony car increased for the 1973 model year, and those that were still around dropped sharply the following year.

The 1973 Cougar was basically a carryover model from the previous year as Ford prepared to present a larger and more luxurious Cougar the following year. Engine options were limited to two versions of the 351-cid V-8 configured exactly as they had been the year before. The standard engine was a two-venturi 351 rated at 168 hp, and the other was a four-venturi 351 CJ that achieved 264 hp.

As it had been since it was introduced in 1967, the Cougar was available in two models: the base model, known simply as Cougar, and the XR-7 model, which featured upgraded trim. Both models were available as a hardtop coupe or convertible. The 1973 Cougar had an original base price of $3,372 as a hardtop and $3,726 as a convertible, while the XR-7 had a base price of $3,679 as a hardtop and $3,903 as a convertible.

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Cars and trucks often depict points in time and symbolize the world in which they were created. Some even become “segment busters” that establish a new vehicle category. One such segment buster was the compact truck offered in the United States by multiple Japanese manufacturers during the 1970s.

Japanese pickups became the ideal type of hauler in the United States during the fuel-starved 1970s when the norm was odd-even days of gasoline rationing, long gas lines and high prices for whatever gas might be available. Overnight, these compact pickups became money-saving alternatives to those who needed to haul, but didn’t need much carry capacity or power to do it. Adding to their appeal, many found that the compact Japanese pickups could be cosmetically and mechanically customized, attracting many young men to them during the 1970s.

Datsun and Toyota were among those Japanese manufacturers that offered compact trucks for 1970, and in 1972, Mazda’s entry joined them. Meanwhile, Detroit’s Big Three offered no mini pickups and had none on the drawing boards. To quickly get into the compact truck game, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. entered into joint ventures with Japanese brands that already offered compact trucks. Chevrolet brought out the badge-engineered Isuzu Faster as the Chevy LUV (light utility vehicle) while Ford offered the Courier based upon a Mazda B-series pickup. Both began to be sold in the United States for 1972.

These compact pickups all had overhead-cam, inline four-cylinder engines in front, a rear axle, a four-speed manual transmission and an independent front suspension paired with a leaf-spring rear suspension. For 1974, Toyota’s little pickup had 106 hp, Datsun’s pickup touted 100 hp, Mazda’s version had 85 hp, the Chevy LUV put out 75 hp and the Ford Courier was good for 74 hp. Then Mazda stirred things up, and between 1974 and 1977, it offered the Rotary Power pickup, now referred to by enthusiasts as the REPU (pronounced rhee-poo, an acronym for Rotary Engine Pick-Up).

The Mazda REPU was the first and only rotary engine-powered pickup. Mazda’s Wankel (pronounced van-kel) engine is a combustion engine that makes crank power by rotation motion rather than reciprocating motion, as on a regular internal-combustion engine. The Wankel uses a triangular rotor that revolves in a chamber. In contrast, a piston moves up and down in an internal-combustion engine’s cylinder. There are fewer moving parts in a Wankel, and it is also smaller and lighter for a given horsepower than a conventional internal-combustion engine. Compared to the competition, the Mazda REPU made 110 hp, besting all other compact pickups of the day.

To match its unique power plant, Mazda’s rotary pickup had a distinct design with rectilinear styling. Like other pickups of the time, the cab was short and the bed was long. Pronounced lip flares around the wheels were stamped into the front and rear fenders that suggested muscular haunches. Track width, both front and rear, was greater than the competition, and the REPU was shod with larger tires. Low-beam headlamps were outside of the grille and within the grille were the high-beam headlamps in an arrangement reminiscent of the 1962 Dodge Dart. A large “Rotary Power” call out was on the tailgate.

These charming details and promise of more power caught the eye and swayed original owners to buy the REPU. The sporty steering wheel with two U-shaped spokes, the floor shifter, the pleated door panels and seat upholstery and the deep-pile-cut carpet gave the interior plenty of flair for the day. Woodgrain inserts on the instrument panel further provided the Mazda with a touch of refinement. Also on the instrument panel was a row of three round, deeply hooded gauges with white lettering on black faces. The three instruments included a 110-mph speedometer plus odometer; an 8,000-rpm tachometer; and the third dial housed the coolant level, ammeter and fuel capacity. The only seating option was a bench seat with a low backrest.

In printed advertisements of the day, Mazda said the rotary-engine truck came with power-assisted front disc brakes and a stabilizer bar and a warranty unmatched by any other light truck. Specifically, a 50,000-mile or three-year engine warranty. Rod Serling, of “Twilight Zone” fame, did television ads and hawked the 1974 Mazda REPU as “The pickup with pick up.”

Colton Broderick is the proud owner of the featured 1974 REPU. The Arroyo Grande, Calif., resident said, “I had been working for a shop called Lucky7Racing for a few years as a mechanic fixing rotary engines and the toys they are sold in. I was drawn in immediately to the classic body lines of the Mazda Rotary Power pickups. They were simple but spoke to me.” Broderick knew these trucks were innovative, ahead of the curve and a trend setter, and he eventually found one of his own.

“I personally like the aggressive fender flares, the unique and tasteful rotor-shaped hood emblem in the middle of the grille, the optional ‘Rotary Power’ on the tailgate, and the passenger-side battery box cover just in front of the rear tire,” Broderick says of the REPU.

When Broderick bought his REPU, it needed some refreshening and attention. As a caretaker of history, Broderick’s truck is more than a possession to him. It is a passion. As someone fanatically devoted to the rotary engine, Broderick did a body-up restoration.

“A full overhaul was done, and this includes anything and everything,” Broderick says. “Every nut, bolt and pre-existing thread was tapped or replaced. The frame was blasted, and the chassis savored. The bed was lined and protected. The dings and dents on the 22-gauge sheet metal were troublesome. On top of my 40-hour work week, I was determined to make this REPU beautiful.”

The body panels are smooth and accented with show-quality chrome. The blue paint is well applied, and the glass is exceptionally clear. The interior looks showroom-fresh again. Broderick is grateful to Fielding Steen-Larson for providing space to work and helping with the labor-intensive work.

Lucky7Racing specializes in upgrading Wankel engines. Motor-vation for Broderick’s pickup came from a more “vitamin enriched” engine using aftermarket parts.

“The truck has a factory 13B [engine] with the old-school vintage air (carburetor), correct rotor housings, and a mild street port,” Broderick says. “I would suspect upgrades of 180 to 200 hp, if not more.”

Mazda only sold 15,000 units in the United and Canada before it discontinued the truck. Today, the Mazda Rotary Pickup has a sainted standing as a cult classic.

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Scott Frye was told so many times that his 1971 Dodge Charger Super Bee wasn’t legit that he was starting to have some doubts himself.

The Sobieski, Wis., resident had bought his cool MoPar as a fixer-upper when he was still in high school. He was pretty happy with his purchase at the time, but then the naysayers — who didn’t really know what they were talking about — had him questioning whether he had been duped.

“You never heard of the ’71 Super Bees. You always heard of the ’68 through ’70s, but you never heard of the ’71,” says Frye, who showed off his hot Dodge at last summer’s Iola Car Show in Wisconsin. “And I remember the first three years I had it, I can’t tell you how many people said, ‘They never made a Super Bee in ’71! This is a Dodge Charger. They never made a Charger Super Bee!’ But they did, one year.

“And I was a young kid, and I didn’t know. I’d say, ‘Well, where did these Super Bee stickers come from, and all the decals? Why would somebody do all that?’ It wasn’t until I went to the MoPar Nationals and started seeing some other ones that I knew for sure that they made them.”

It was a couple trips to those national meets that actually changed the future for Frye’s ’71. Instead of just looking at the car as some cool, muscular daily transportation, he started hatching bigger plans.

“People were telling me how rare they are, how you never seen ’em. You would never even see them in the magazines,” he adds. “I said, ‘I gotta go through this car. I gotta go through everything and, you know, make it right …And the rest is history.”

The bad news when Frye bought his Super Bee back in 1984 was it had been the victim of neglect and had sat outside for quite a while, wasting away through some hostile Wisconsin winters. The good news is that it was still in remarkably good shape — probably in large part due to the aftermarket rust-proofing it got when it was new. Plus, Frye had already gotten some practice fixing and restoring MoPars by the time he and a friend decided to go check out a group of cars for sale in a barnyard stash that they had heard about.

“My first car was a 1970 Dodge Cornet 500 that my dad bought me for 100 bucks,” he laughs. “I worked on that car for a year, and then my friend called me one day and said, ‘You’ve got to come and check out this barn full of cars!’ So we went there, and it was like something you would see on the Internet, where you see an old barn or a field and all you see is MoPars everywhere! It was unbelievable. We were walking around and I asked the guy, ‘Are you selling anything? Is any of this for sale?’ And he says, ‘Everything is for sale.’ So I saw this car and I talked to my parents. We agreed on a price … He had this one behind one of his sheds or garages, and it was still covered up under the snow. And I remember he had to drag it out of the mud in, like, April or March.”

Bright red 1971 Super Bees are easy cars to take notice of, and Frye was pretty certain he remembered seeing the car in question driving around in Green Bay a few years earlier. Sure enough, the car had been sold originally at a Green Bay Dodge-Chrysler dealership and Frye was the third owner. And fortunately, the first owner apparently had some admirable foresight when he decided to shell out for some rustproofing.

“It had that Ziebart sticker in the rear quarter window on it when I bought the car in 1984,” he says. “Later on I got a chance to talk to the original owner, and he said it was done right out of the factory… It did not need a lot of bodywork. There was some rust in the rear quarters, but it was in good shape.”

The clincher was when the the second owner actually got the car running for Frye before he handed over the key. 

“Yeah, it ran! He did get it running! He had been driving it previously, but for some reason he lost interest in it. I think it was four or five years, sitting in his back yard, outside.”

1971: A BRAND NEW BEE

The Charger was a whole new beast for the 1971 model year. With the Coronet now purely a four-door, Dodge used its only remaining midsize B-body coupe — the Charger — to spawn a whole new Super Bee. It turned out to be a one-year wonder and the only Super Bee based on the Charger.

The 1971 Chargers had a semi-fastback roofline with a flush rear window and an integral rear deck lid spoiler. The Charger Super Bee was manufactured using the same restyled body and was aimed at the same market niche as the old Coronet Super Bee and still represented a value-priced but serious high-performance package.

For a base price of $3,271, Charger Super Bee buyers could get a “base” model that included a standard 383-cid Magnum V-8 that cranked out 300 hp. The engine used a single four-barrel carburetor and came attached to a three-speed manual transmission with a floor-mounted gear shifter. The hood had a “power bulge” with a flat black finish, and on the sides were special tape stripes and bumblebee decals.

The interior was similar to that of the Charger 500, but featured bucket seats. The Rallye suspension package included heavy-duty front torsion bars, heavy-duty rear springs, a front anti-sway bar, heavy-duty shock absorbers all around and heavy-duty brakes (11 x 3 inches up front and 11 x 2.5 inches in the rear). The standard tires were fat F70-14 black walls with white lettering. There was also a lengthy list of goodies on the options list.

All Charger Super Bees carried a big-block V-8. For guys who wanted to go up the ladder from the 383, there was a 440 with “Six-Pack” carburetion or the 426-cid Street Hemi. Unlike the 8.7:1 compression base engine, these muscle car mills had high-test hardware and offered 385 or 425 hp, respectively. The optional goodies list also included: a functional Ramcharger hood scoop, color-keyed bumpers, a Super Trak-Pack performance axle (with up to 4.10:1 gearing), a four-speed gear box with Hurst “pistol grip” shifter, a dual-point distributor and heavy-duty cooling aids.

The 440 Six-Pack Charger Super Bee was now advertised at 385 hp. It did 0-to-60 mph in 6.9 seconds and the quarter-mile took 14.7 seconds. With a Hemi V-8, this 3,640-lb. machine moved into the same bracket as the original Charger 500, needing only 5.7 seconds to get up to 60 mph and a mere 13.7 to reach the traps at a drag strip!

Only 22 1971 Charger Hemi Super Bees were built, nine of which had four-speeds. The rest had had TorqueFlite automatics.

Only about 5,054 Super Bees were built for 1971 (4,325 for the U.S. market), making the ’71s the rarest of the four-year run. The majority of them — 2,889 — carried a 383 Magnum with an automatic transmission, like Frye’s car.

LIFE-LONG BEE KEEPER

Frye was too young and poor to think too much about restoring his Super Bee the first few years he had it. He still shakes his head in disbelief at the idea that he’s had the car for 40 years now.

“Ha! I was just a young kid working at McDonald’s! I eventually became a mechanic and started working at the airport, and then I started going to the MoPar Nationals and started seeing more of these cars,” he recalls. “But I drove it the way it was for the first 3, 4, 5 years. The original tail lamps were all cracked and stuff, but when I got it everything was there, it just needed some work.”

It wasn’t long, though, before Frye faced his first major crisis with the car, and a big decision to make.

“Back then, us kids, we didn’t know anything about numbers matching or VIN numbers or matching blocks and transmissions,” he says. “And I had blown up the motor probably within the first year I got it! And I took the motor out and I just bought another one, I think I bought a 440 … And I remember talking to someone and they said, ‘You gotta check your block.’ So he showed me how to match up the VIN on the block to the VIN on the dash, and sure enough it was the original motor. And back then we were moving from apartment to apartment, and duplex to duplex, and I carried that thing all over! At one time that block was being used as a table in my living room! I put a 4×8 piece of plywood over it!”

It took a few years, but Frye eventually restored the Super Bee from bumper to bumper. He did all the parts chasing, handled all the paint and bodywork himself, and even tackled the upholstery work. His wife Julie helped him fit the new vinyl top.

 “Really, about the only thing I didn’t do myself was the machining on the block,” he says. “This is the way it would have left the factory. Factory FE5 Bright Red, factory white interior, factory spoiler … concealed headlamps. The only thing we really changed was the white vinyl top, and on ’71 Super Bees that hood insert, the louvered section that I have on this car is from a 71 Charger R/T. The Super Bee unit was fiberglass and was a little different, but the hoods are the same. You could change the center pieces. I just like the louvered section better.”

Oh, and there’s the little change in the bottom end that nobody can see, either, but shows up when Frye really flattens the gas pedal. 

“I did put a 440 crank in it. It’s kind of a stroker now! It pulls about 500 horse [laughs]. But the engine compartment looks almost like it left the factory. Original air cleaner, original exhaust manifolds.”

These days, the bright red ’71 certainly sounds and runs as good as it looks thanks, in part, to the regular exercise it has gotten for the past 30-plus years. The odometer says just 47,000 miles, but Frye has never been sure how accurate the total has been. 

“The title from 1984, they put on there ‘cannot verify mileage,’” he notes. “I really don’t think it was turned over, but somebody might have replaced a dash bezel at some point. I can’t verify it.

“But I’ve always driven it. Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, we’d go to car shows it seemed like almost every weekend. There’s a few stone chips, but I can’t worry about that stuff anymore, because then you won’t enjoy it. Buying a restored car like this today would cost you so much money, and then the first stone chip you get ….”

One thing is certain: the car is never going to wind up neglected or put out to pasture again while Frye is around. And it’s not going to have any other owners, either.

“I can’t imagine ever not having it after all these years,” he admits. “Not after all it’s been through. I can’t tell you how many apartment buildings, how many garages, it’s been in! … Now I’ll probably die in it.”

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John D. Meyers referred to his ‘Vette as “not so special” but could not be further from the truth. He included an impressive backstory…

“I have read several articles in Old Cars regarding long time owners of cars purchased new. In August of 1972, I ordered my 1973 Corvette convertible from Luck Motor Company in Ashland, Virginia. It was not so special because I was trying to keep the cost down. It was ordered with the standard L-48 engine, four-speed transmission, power steering and the auxiliary hard top. Unfortunately, because of wildcat strikes at some GM plants the hard top was not included when the car was delivered on November 16, 1972. I still have my Mille Miglia Red Corvette to this day and the odometer reads just over 44,000 true miles. It is pretty much still stock except for replacing the front sway bar with a larger diameter one and adding a rear sway bar. It has been garaged ever since 1976 when I built a garage at my former house. The car was only my daily driver for about 2 years when I bought a well used ’67 Camaro to commute with.

“This was not my first Corvette. In 1967, a year after I graduated from college, I walked into Dominion Chevrolet (Now Hendrick) and purchased a new 1967 Marina Blue Corvette convertible equipped with the L-71 427 cubic inch, 435 horsepower engine with a four-speed tranny. I was unmarried at the time. Two months later my college sweetheart and I got married. Two years later in 1969, we had purchased our first home, our son was born, and I had a wife, baby and groceries to carry in a 2-seater car. I traded my beloved Corvette in on a new 1969 Camaro, 350 two-barrel, automatic transmission Camaro (didn’t want to go from a Corvette to a station wagon) with the understanding that when we could afford to have two cars, I would buy another new Corvette. That time came in 1972. I had gotten a promotion on my job and a year earlier and we had bought a new 1971 Plymouth Valiant Scamp for my wife. However, I was not overly anxious to get another fire-breathing Corvette like the ’67. I didn’t think I needed the 454, and I thought the LT-1 from 1972 would be continued as the high performance small-block. Having experienced a car with a solid-lifter engine on the streets, I opted for the standard engine. Had I known about the L-82 hi-po engine with hydraulic lifters, I probably would have stretched my budget and paid the extra $400 or so to get it. However, my ‘Plain Jane’ Corvette is still much fun on the backroads.”

“I have been a Corvette addict since 1954 when I was ten years old and saw the Corvette advertised on the Dinah Shore TV show. Shortly after that, one was displayed at the Virginia State Fair. I knew I just had to have one. My love of Corvettes did not end with my ’73 convertible. In the 1970’s I bought a used ’69 Corvette and turned it into an autocross/solo 1 car. In 1989, I purchased a ’73 Corvette L-82, 4-speed coupe from a college fraternity brother, who had bought it new. I still have it as well. I also own a 1979 Corvette, a 1987 Corvette convertible and a 2008 Corvette which I bought new. My most recent purchase was a 1957 Corvette replica, built by a friend of mine from a shortened G-body Malibu and reproduction Corvette body panels.”

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