For Sale at Auction: 1969 Buick Gran Sport in Newport, Rhode Island

Chassis No. 444679Y139816

Buick GS 400 Convertible chassis number 139816 was assembled at Wilmington, Delaware during the second week of December 1968. Its original build sheet survives together with a reproduction Monroney window sticker, and together they document a thoroughly considered order. The buyer specified the M20 four-speed manual with floor shift and consolette, a choice just 213 GS 400 Convertible buyers made, then paired it with C60 air conditioning. To that he added power steering, power front disc brakes, power windows, the F40 suspension ride and handling package, tinted glass, remote driver's mirror, AM/FM radio with rear speaker, electric clock, speed alert, and the deluxe steering wheel, bringing the original MSRP to $4,627.

The Fisher body plate records paint code 51, Twilight Blue, with trim 188 Black vinyl Strato bucket seats, the color combination it wears today. Accompanying the car is a history file of extraordinary completeness, including the original build sheet, Protect-O-Plate, owner's manual, and the Buick New Car Warranty booklet with the hand-written serial number issued during delivery. This is owing to its first owner, Robert B. Reeves of Philadelphia, who took delivery and kept the car and its papers together for the better part of four decades, parting with the car in 2015.

In a signed statement given at that time, he addressed the sole anomaly in the car's paperwork, noting that the serial number stamped on the dash and carried on the title reads 444679Y139816 and attributing its third digit to an error at the factory, while the build sheet, Protect-O-Plate, and warranty booklet all record the correct thirteen-digit chassis number as 446679Y139816. Having benefited from a ground-up, no-expense-spared restoration, in which no detail was overlooked, it now presents with an arrow-straight body and just under 79,000 miles at cataloging. It is the sort of car that would earn its place on the show field at a Buick Club of America national meet or it is the sort of car that would earn its place on the show field at a Buick Club of America national meet or any number of AACA and MCACN events.