From the era of simulated muscle cars came the 1974 Apollo GSX, an easily forgettable decal GT from Buick.
The 1970-72 Buick GSX, a special edition of the Gran Sport, is a highly coveted muscle car today, especially when equipped with the remarkable Stage I package. This is not that. This is the 1974 Buick Apollo GSX, an appearance package for Buick’s compact Chevy Nova clone, the Apollo. Like the original GSX, it includes stripes and badging, but that’s all they have in common apart from the name. We can’t blame you if you’ve forgotten about this one-year model because frankly, we’d forgotten it, too.
As the muscle car era sputtered to an end in the ’70s, a crop of faux muscle cars appeared with the exterior trappings of muscle cars but few if any of the performance features—Maverick Grabber, Plymouth Twister, Heavy Chevy, et alia. Decal GTs, they were called. These models, which often sold in fair numbers, demonstrated that for many car buyers, the muscle car scene was as much about style as substance. The Apollo GSX is one more example, mainly distinguished by the fact that it appeared and disappeared in a single year.
Stripe detail
The price of the GSX option package pretty much tells the story: only $96 tacked onto the $3037 base price of an Apollo coupe. Obviously, the 96 bucks could never cover any significant engine, suspension, or brake upgrades. What it did buy was a blacked-out grille, a stripe package, streamlined sport mirrors, and vinyl GSX badges. Any other features were extra-cost options. There were three available engines, the same three available in any Apollo: the standard 250 CID Chevy inline six and two Buick 350 CID V8s. With a two-barrel carburetor, the V8 was rated at 150 hp, while the Quadrajet four-barrel version offered 175 hp. (See our feature on the 1973-75 Apollo here.)
While the scant promotional materials prepared for the GSX suggest that it was offered only with in white or red exterior paint, apparently the full range of Apollo colors were offered, judging by the cars still in existence. You’re not likely to see one of them anywhere outside a Buick meet. Only 1,562 were produced, reportedly, and there was little to distinguish them when new.
I didn’t forget about the 1974 GSX, I never knew it existed. I’m aware of the Ventura GTO, the Maverick Grabber et al., but they barely made an attempt here. Faux wire wheels on a muscle car?
I suppose either it let them hold out the good Buick road wheels as a separate option or they wouldn’t fit the pre ’75 X anyway for whatever reason. I never looked it up but I suspect they cost more as a separate option than this entire package.