Cloning the GNX?

[slowcar]

only a few around

there are maybe just a few GNX replicas that can pass the eye as a real one...and only one that is 100% exact (mine) the rest are missing a lot....the car I have is original down to the Trunk code...and even the cowl plate that states GNX on it in front of the windshield...I myself can spot a fake in 5 sec....but my car I would think it was real and wouldn't question it...but I see about 10 GN's on the street a year so the chance of me seeing a totally done GNX clone is about one in a million....

 

[davidf]

LOL, my last GN was mistaken for a Monte Carlo SS more times than I'd like to remember.

 

[GNX 233 485]

And yes I PASS it as being real...real in a sense that ASC employed hourly men to build the 547 in a shop by hand assembly ..part by part...this is exactly what this car is....a hand built part for part GNX..in a shop...but it took 2 plus years to build this car unlike a week or less at ASC....the car I have has been torn down to bare metal and rebuilt from scratch....over 400 man hours put into it-----so in so many words I feel the car is as genuine as the real deal and should be respected as it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you use this logic then where do you draw the line. If I hire a master artist and supply him/her with authentic paint and a real dated canvas and they paint me a "Mona Lisa" so perfect that it can fool anyone...does that make it as genuine as the real deal and should it command the same respect as the original one? Just a different take on the debate on clones/copys/tributes/fakes. Your car is undoubtably a beautiful car and probably nicer than alot of real GNX's that are out there, it should be enjoyed and shown but never called a real GNX.

 

[theMonch]

it is a fantastic clone, and i doubt that anyone can build a clone better. As far as being "real" it will never be. The truth is that the vins are recorded and the 547 that were built by ASC are the only ones that will demand top dollar. As far as passing it off as real, I personally don't see a probem with it. It doesn't hurt anyone to do so as long as you don't try to pass it off as real in a sale situation. (unless you sell it at Barrett Jackson, those tools that buy cars there deserve to get ripped off) Otherwise, I see no problem with it.

When it comes down to brass tax, any real buyer would do their due diligence before flopping down GNX dollars.

As far as why GNX clone. Why spend upwards of 80-90k on a car that sits as an investment? when you can get 90% their for a few thousand on top of a GN's cost for a car that you can drive. With the extra 65k I saved I am going to get three more cars that I can drive and enjoy. Not knocking real X owners, just wouldn't consider becoming one unless I fell into real f*#k everybody type of money.
JMHO

 

[DJ Red Barron]

Barron,
You and I both know most people don't know what a GN is let alone a GNX,BUT when I tell the high school kids I have a black car that is like the one in the movie Fast and Furious,THEY know what I have!!!!!!!

No doubt about that Mark. LOL! The majority of the time I get "Whoa... Kick a$$ Monte Carlo bro!" and the rest of the time it's "Hey... A car like in Fast & Furious." Only a few times at all of the shows I was at this year did I run across someone who knew what a GNX was. And yea, I could have easily told all of them but one it was the real deal and they would have gone home and told whoever that they saw a real Buick GNX at a car show in Kansas City.

LOL, my last GN was mistaken for a Monte Carlo SS more times than I'd like to remember.

Gotta love that. I'm still considering a personalized plate of NTAMNTE (Not A Monte).

there are maybe just a few GNX replicas that can pass the eye as a real one...and only one that is 100% exact (mine) the rest are missing a lot....the car I have is original down to the Trunk code...and even the cowl plate that states GNX on it in front of the windshield...I myself can spot a fake in 5 sec....but my car I would think it was real and wouldn't question it...but I see about 10 GN's on the street a year so the chance of me seeing a totally done GNX clone is about one in a million....

And? Everyone here knows... Your car has every item a real X has (except a VIN number). And I would say your chances of seeing another completely done X clone are 1 in however many Regals of the body style needed were built deduct the ones destroyed or too far gone to do anything with. According to some on this board, that would only be like however many thousand I think.

And yes I PASS it as being real...real in a sense that ASC employed hourly men to build the 547 in a shop by hand assembly ..part by part...this is exactly what this car is....a hand built part for part GNX..in a shop...but it took 2 plus years to build this car unlike a week or less at ASC....the car I have has been torn down to bare metal and rebuilt from scratch....over 400 man hours put into it-----so in so many words I feel the car is as genuine as the real deal and should be respected as it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you use this logic then where do you draw the line. If I hire a master artist and supply him/her with authentic paint and a real dated canvas and they paint me a "Mona Lisa" so perfect that it can fool anyone...does that make it as genuine as the real deal and should it command the same respect as the original one? Just a different take on the debate on clones/copys/tributes/fakes. Your car is undoubtably a beautiful car and probably nicer than alot of real GNX's that are out there, it should be enjoyed and shown but never called a real GNX.

Exactly!

 

[GNXRegistry]

There ARE More Out There: Another Reason for The Official Registry...

AWESOME CLONE-- ONE OF THE BEST (BUT NOT THE ONLY ONE)
The car we’re all admiring and discussing in this thread is an incredible clone, among the best and I think it is an awesome tribute with workmanship that probably surpassed that of many authentic GNX’s. But it is NOT the only one that has been reproduced faithfully-- down to the very last detail. And more than once, there have been attempts made to pass one of these clones off as the real thing in private sales (fortunately, not this car).

WHY THERE IS A REAL REGISTRY
This is exactly why the OFFICIAL GNX REGISTRY at GNXRegistry.ORG was founded and remains faithfully supported by the most passionate in the hobby and this site-- most of whom are fellow GNX owners. Please see the top of the first page of the Fortunate 547 with a message from the founder of this very forum regarding the GNX Registry.

WHAT A REGISTRY IS NOT
You cannot authenticate a GNX or show its provenance by:
Peppering a site with unauthorized pictures…
Or endless musings and opinions or informational (or mis-informational) tidbits…
Or ramblings about a particular trunk sticker code…
Or lifting text from copyrighted publications…
Or pushing reproduction parts for sale…

The above do NOTHING to conclusively prove the authenticity or provenance of a GNX. All they show is the degree of creativity, skill, or dollars that an owner was willing to invest in building one for himself. And in the case of the clone being discussed, along with several others (that just aren’t pictured online), you have proof that the above supposed “tests” are invalid. Why? Because most of the great clones in question pass all of these with flying colors, and yes, some even have window stickers to boot!

THE BOTTOM LINE
The ONLY way to authenticate a GNX is by the VIN, period.

THE FUTURE OF OUR CARS AND THIS HOBBY
Down the road, your car is going to pass to someone else. So is mine. Maybe not in the next 5 or 10 years, but it WILL happen eventually. In the case of a GNX clone, down the road of time, a subsequent owner may “lose” the fact that it’s a clone even though you (or your heirs) may have been totally honest when you sold it. An owner after him may pick up a nice repro window sticker. And another few years pass quietly by and someday that clone might well be considered the real thing by a future generation of car nuts yet to be born.

This happened to the Shelbys for nearly two decades, with many “air cars” turning up hot and heavy in the 70’s and 80’s thanks to plentiful supplies of Plaza Fiberglas overstock and Ford parts counters brimming with NOS Shelby goodies (not to mention the repros that took their place in the late 80’s and continue to do so today). Same story, different marque-- “It’s the same thing, I built it just like Carroll did-- he took the plain 390 fastbacks off the line-- I just did it a few years later…” or “No difference” or the classic “It was a special dealer conversion!” Fortunately, the SAAC helped stem that tide with the Shelby World Registry and the provenance was preserved and clones (except for some of the rebodies and ‘halved’ salvage cars) were outed for what they were. Some nicely done cars, but not original Shelbys.

Again, nothing against clones (especially great ones, like this) and there is a practical side and maybe even a slightly greater enjoyment factor for the owners. I don’t even mind if the owner bites his lip or says “you tell me…” at a show-- no harm, no foul.

But the increasing accuracy with which these cars are being built is proof in and of itself of the need for a responsible, accountable Registry that has access to the VINs and maintains the history of each of these cars (in some cases all the way back to new).

 

[GNBRETT]

was built by KASH...this car is almost 100% identical to a GNX but with a $12-15k paint job ....the engine compartment looks like 1000k miles and the car looks like 5k miles overall......I own the car and it makes my friends 10k mile real GNX look like **** trust me ...........i have owned 3 GNX's over time and I as well think this tribute is a top notch build..................the original paint on those cars were just crap...the cost of building one yourself is more like over $40k with paint,car,labor and OEM parts.....

I have put this tribute car in 7 shows ...4 with real GNX's and everybody including the GNX owners thought the car was a 1200 mile original...that is what the odo says now...I have had Buick TR guys drool over it and diehard muscle car guys compliment it and tell me to drive it home and park it...it "should not be driven"

And yes I PASS it as being real...real in a sense that ASC employed hourly men to build the 547 in a shop by hand assembly ..part by part...this is exactly what this car is....a hand built part for part GNX..in a shop...but it took 2 plus years to build this car unlike a week or less at ASC....the car I have has been torn down to bare metal and rebuilt from scratch....over 400 man hours put into it-----so in so many words I feel the car is as genuine as the real deal and should be respected as it

I have seen many HEMI cudas and Chevelle LS6s sell for $100k plus that were tributes...why? because of the cost to original as well as the time and money spent to re-create a car is astounding....

LOL.....only a handful of guys would know this car is a clone...and that would be if you told them the car isnt real....they would then look...

Agreed. That was the best one to date imo. Especially with that low mile GNX dash. If your not gonna put the original dash with original SW guages then it aint no clone. That is the one part you MUST have imo.

 

[kna4977]

The clone in question is an outstanding example. I almost bought it, and somedays wish I had cause it would be much more guilt free to drive it. End of the day though it's not real........but you would have to look really hard to tell. Would also have to know a lot about them to be able to. One thing I believe that car doesn't have that real Xs do are the special front inner fender well fabrication that ASC did. However, super nice clone though that would fool probably 99% of people.

The value of a clone is not as defined which will never be a problem until it comes up for sale and no one really knows how to valuate it. If there's $52K in the car though, that would have bought a fairly decent driver/local show car quality real X that will have a solid value......but if you bought it at ~50 - 60 cents on the dollar......well then that was a pretty darn good deal. Lots of time, money and hard labor involved in that clone and it was likely worth every bit of that. Especially with the caliber of quality we're talking about here. Your particular clone was built how they really should have been especially in the paint department. Not hard to improve over the 80s all lacquer GM single stage paint finish these cars came with.

Think it's dishonest though not be upfront and/or misleading about the fact that it's a clone. I would be proud that it is what it is and that it is so close to the real thing. It's a work of art. Hopefully someone doesn't get screwed some day. In this day and age with information just a click away it is a lot less likely than it used to be and hopefully someone with the kind of money it takes to own a real one will put a good faith effort into research before they bite the bullitt. If they don't or are unwilling to, well then I guess they deserve to get screwed

 

[turbo87regal]

there are maybe just a few GNX replicas that can pass the eye as a real one...and only one that is 100% exact (mine)

Thats not true, wait untill I get a nice paint job. When I am asked if its real I tell people its a clone and always will (it like a compliment when they have to ask:biggrin. I have nothing to hide just look at my avatar and you will see GNX 548 on my dash and my tag does not hide anything either.

Yes, I have a clone and I built it because I wanted a GNX but did not have the money to buy a real one. All I am doing with my clone is bringing awareness to a rare car that most people would never have had a chance to see in person otherwise.

How many of us have ever been in the presence of a real 427 Shelby Cobra? I would say not too many, but we all know what they are because its the most cloned car out there.

I see nothing wrong with clones as long as when the time comes to sell you are honest and state that its a clone.

 

[davidf]

I would buy a clone less the badges. I love the look of the GNX but don't want one I have to be nervous driving on a daily basis. DJ Red Barrons car is truely the ticket for me. Would I buy a GNX if I could? Likely not. I'm a driver, not a collector. Can't justify pay 80+ grand for a buick and then have someone rearend me. Yes I would own a clone but would debadge it.

 

[GNregistry]

Rear Suspension is the only GNX part not installed, HRparts is better

At the end of GNX Cloning, drag race show car daily driver, the only GNX part missing is the rear end suspension, but later could be added... money is not the object... having personal satisfaction... that what I did is what I wanted... someone will drive it even if I have to give it away...

I have always said, that I WOULD GLADLY GIVE AWAY MY 2 BUICK GRNAD NATIONALS FOR FREE IF I KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER BE SOLD FOR PROFIT AND REMAIN IN THE CONDITON IF I STILL OWNED ... BY ONWER WILL TO ABIDE MY RULES BASED ON OWNERSHIP...

maybe one day I will have GNX and someone will get a deal of a lifetime...


enjoy, great thread but seems a little off topic compared to the origianl thread... the gnx quality of any car is how you preserve and maintain it... like a house or car...

I will keep the badges off and limo tint the windows and

add GNX CLONE to license plates so all KNOW IT!!!!

I am building daily driver GNX Clone with GNX Parts
GNX turbo shield, GNX SW Gauges, badges, stickers,

I have so many GNX car photos, it is easy to duplicate but expensive to buy parts, the idea is NOT -- Hey you could buy a real GNX for th same money...

my statement is that I do NOT want a GNX... I have seen owners stress and move it on and off the trailer... why... drive it like you stole it

I used to sit and watch, now after seeing all the guys and girls (Toni C) going fast with class, I want a drag/race/show/GNX clone for driving not storage...

GNX Clone is the bet promotional way of respect for the GNX, not the owners!

I want to clone a GN into GNX and drive it! then sell it, MAYBE!!!

Once I buy, I can't sell it...

 

[davidf]

^^^^^I will forward you my ship to address. You decide which one of your GN's you want setting in my garage.:biggrin: I'll pay shipping. It will not be sold.:wink:

 

[scot w.]

Why? I understand the fender flares and the wheels since the GN does look soooo much better flared out but why badge it? Someone will figure it out eventually. Are cloners frowned upon for that? Since I joined the forum I've seen various clones that Ray Charles would'nt pass for a GNX. By no means do I mean to insult anyone that has, I'm just curious.

The problem with your questions are that your thinking that everyone is trying to pass off there clones as real GNX's! Thats not the case with most of us, Some build there clones to mirror the original GNX and some build "There version" of the GNX!! Most of us build them to our liking and looks while also up grading the Dash, Wheels, Tires, suspension & brakes well past the capabilities of the 20 yr old GNX technology! So while some of ours Don't look Exactly like the original GNX it's more likely done to up grade to newer technology.

Some like the flares, Some don't! I'm not fond of them myself as I don't like the thought of cutting up my original fenders just to have them on...


Scot W.

 

[ThaBozz89]

gnx

people in new york state don't know what a Gn or gnx is so to me i dont care because if i was ur average person who had no idea what a gn or gnx was i'd probably come really close to making mine look like a gnx because my favorite color is black...And no i dont care about not having a turbo i just got the car because me and my girl liked it

 

[DJ Red Barron]

I would buy a clone less the badges. I love the look of the GNX but don't want one I have to be nervous driving on a daily basis. DJ Red Barrons car is truely the ticket for me. Would I buy a GNX if I could? Likely not. I'm a driver, not a collector. Can't justify pay 80+ grand for a buick and then have someone rearend me. Yes I would own a clone but would debadge it.

Thanks a lot david!

 

[slowcar]

true

If one day I decide to sell...ofcourse it will be sold as a "tribute" car......not the real deal.....the car I have does have the inner fender cutouts as ASC did....this car is pretty much as good as it gets.....again I hve had GNX owners look at the car and could not tell at all it was rebuilt....they looked the entire car over and complimented it ........

now in many years to come this car may be sold as a real X....that wont be on me.....but then again who really cares? it wont be on me....besides it is a badass car regardless that will hold value and go up ober time as the real ones do...the more costly a real one gets ....the more people look for a car like mine....

 

[theMonch]

The line should be drawn at the original 547 assembled by ASC are "authentic" GNX's and everything else is something else. Period.

I looked at a t-top GN back in Aug of 08 that had all of the authentic GNX parts transferred onto if from a crashed real GNX including the rear suspension assembly(The hardest part to get IMO). This car is not a authentic GNX.

The car in this thread is not an authentic GNX.

Clone = A car that has all points down the the smallest detail done to portray an authentic GNX. stickers, badging, components, chip programming, etc.

Tribute. Fake, Copy, etc. = are all of the other cars (including my own) that have some or most components, but do not attempt to even be able to fake out a purist that would be purchasing a GNX.

 

[kna4977]

.....the car I have does have the inner fender cutouts as ASC did........

Slightly off subject, but I'm not talking about the inner parts of the vents, but these (front wheel housing cutouts) instead.....I swear the builder said he didn't do this when I talked to him but I could be wrong.......

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/1512751-post67.html

 

[DJ Red Barron]

Slightly off subject, but I'm not talking about the inner parts of the vents, but these (front wheel housing cutouts) instead.....I swear the builder said he didn't do this when I talked to him but I could be wrong.......

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/1512751-post67.html

I have a set of those on my car that came from X-Ray.

With all of the other stuff that's on slowcars ride, I would guess he has them, too.

 

[tonys87]

The problem with your questions are that your thinking that everyone is trying to pass off there clones as real GNX's! Thats not the case with most of us, Some build there clones to mirror the original GNX and some build "There version" of the GNX!! Most of us build them to our liking and looks while also up grading the Dash, Wheels, Tires, suspension & brakes well past the capabilities of the 20 yr old GNX technology! So while some of ours Don't look Exactly like the original GNX it's more likely done to up grade to newer technology



MAN!
that was the best answer i read in this whole thread
whats not to like about the GNX look.