Car of the Week: 1967 Buick Gran Sport 400

This beautiful 1967 GS400 two-door hardtop is powered by a matching-numbers 400 4-barrel V-8 with a Super Turbine 400 automatic transmission.

Other features include power steering, power brakes, bucket seats, center console, air conditioning, tinted glass, console-mounted tachometer, clock and pushbutton radio; there are also the GS-specific styling cues, including the special twin-scooped hood, red-accented GS grille and 5-spoke chrome wheels with matching Firestone redline tires.

For the final year of production before the redesigned GM A-bodies debuted in 1968, the GS400 did nonetheless receive some upgrades, most notably under the hood.

They did away with the previous Nailhead engine family, which had been in use since 1953. In its place was a more modern 400 CI V-8, which was lighter, better performing and cleaner-burning, making it ready for a new generation of Federal emission and safety regulations. With a bore of 4.04 inches and a stroke of 3.9 inches, the new 400 was rated at 340 HP at 5,000 RPM with 440 lb-ft of torque.

It featured 10.25:1 compression and was fed by a Rochester Quadrajet carburetor.

The new engine featured a lightweight block design, freer-flowing cylinder heads and a more modern combustion chamber than the engine that it replaced. Production figures for the 1967 Buick GS400 break down to 8,003 two-door hardtops with automatic transmissions.

The Super Turbine 400 was a version of the Turbo 400 3-speed automatic with a variable-pitch stator in the torque converter. “Car Life” tested a GS400 automatic with 3.90 gears and it ran a 6-second-flat 0-60 MPH and posted a quarter-mile ET of 14.7 seconds at 97 MPH, a very respectable performance for that era.

With the high-quality of its restoration, its rarity and performance, this 1967 Buick GS400 is a great example of Buick’s “GTO fighter,” adding a sophisticated flair to the market segment.