A Profile of a Muscle Car

A Profile of a Muscle Car

The names of muscle cars hadn't changed by 1971, but the personalities had. For instance, there was still a Buick GS 455, but instead of highlift cams and tall numeric axles, there were lowcompression engines and lowoctane appetites. The 1971 Buick GS 455 wasn't alone.

Muscle Car Image Gallery

GM said all its 1971 models must run on lowlead, regulargrade fuel (91 octane), and meet stricter exhaustemission standards. The edict reduced the compression ratio of the GS 455's V8 to 8.5:1, from 1970's 10.0:1. Horsepower tumbled along with it, to 315, from 350. The extracost Stage 1 package dropped two full points of compression and suffered a decline to 345 bhp from 360.

These were gross horsepower ratings. For '72, all the automakers would begin publishing net ratings that reflected engine output with all accessories in place. Though a given engine's actual output didn't change from '71 to '72, net figures made for some startling numbers. The '72 GS 455, for example, had a 250bhp rating, the Stage 1, a 270.

While the light had dimmed for muscle cars, all was not darkness. The 1971 Buick GS 455 still came with a fourbarrel carb, dual exhausts, and functional hood scoops that fed the standard ramair induction system. Heavy duty springs and shocks, wideoval tires, and a front stabilizer bar were included in the base price, which rose nominally, to $3,285 for the Sport Coupe and $3,476 for the convertible. Styling was as aggressive as ever, and even the GSX returned, if only as an appearance option.

Three and fourspeed manuals and the automatic were back, though the 3.61:1 axle ratio was dropped and the 3.42:1 took over as the top factory gear. Any 455 still had enough torque for an impressive seatofthepants feel under hard acceleration, but ETs don't lie, and the '71s were a second or more slower in the quarter than the '70s. GS sales plunged more than 50 percent for the year. The Gran Sport 455 would remain on the roster through 1974, then fade out as a grand remnant of Buick's bigblock glory days.

For more cool information on muscle cars, go to:Buick, GM's "gentleman's car" division, was an unlikely source of some of the finest muscle cars.