The 1970 Buick GS Stage 1 is widely considered the greatest Buick muscle car of all time. It was the most powerful Buick ever built, and with the magic of time, the 1970 GS Stage 1 convertibles have attained top-tier collector-car status. One of only 67 Stage 1 4-speed convertibles built and the only known example with Glacier White paint, a Burnished Saddle interior and black top, it was purchased new from South Shore Buick of Quincy, Massachusetts, by Peter Newman of nearby Weymouth. In addition to choosing the optional M20 4-speed manual transmission, the original owner ordered F41 suspension, special shocks, rear Firm Ride springs and lower control arms. Power steering, a Soft Ray-tinted windshield and Super Sport wheels finished off the exterior appointments. Inside, the Stage 1-standard deluxe Sport steering wheel, custom padded bucket seats and glovebox and ashtray lights were augmented with power windows, Instrument Group tach and gauges, a center console, Convenience Group trunk and mirror lights, and a Sonomatic AM radio. In 1975 Martin “Bud” Kearney of Walpole, Massachusetts, acquired the Stage 1 and maintained it as a daily driver until 1987, when he decided to retire it from daily service. After a cosmetic refinishing of the car, he drove it to the 1987 GS Club of America National Show in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Kearney would eventually own the car for 30 years until selling it in 2005, after which the car was owned by a handful of collectors until becoming part of the Brett Torino collection and eventually the Mike Guarise collection. When Guarise purchased the car in 2012, he decided to perform an extensive body-off restoration because the car retained its original engine, rust-free body and floor panels. The completed Stage 1 convertible bears all the signature elements of a Mike Guarise and Dan Vasic restoration. When asked about the restoration, Guarise replied, “All the bolt-on suspension parts, the frame, everything was sand blasted and then powder coated. So it’s done to a very high degree of finish. It has a new Legendary interior, Gardner exhaust, the chromed wheels; in fact all of the chrome and stainless were redone. Nothing was left untouched on this car; there were no shortcuts whatsoever.” Of course, no such extraordinary automobile is complete without excellent documentation, which accompanies this Stage 1 in the form of a maintenance folio with owner’s manual, a booklet of extensive service-history notes by Kearney, known ownership history since new, copies of previous titles, a copy of the window sticker and Sloan Museum paperwork. In 2015, the extraordinary quality of this rare Stage 1 4-speed convertible was rewarded in one of the automotive hobby’s most competitive and demanding venues, the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, receiving a high-point Concours Gold award (scoring 991 of 1,000 points). There can be no better endorsement of this sensational GS convertible than prior owner Mike Guarise’s own words: “Of all the Stage 1s that I’ve acquired and then restored over the years, this is no question the best car we’ve ever done.”
