1976 Buick Electra Limited Landau Coupe with leather interior for sale

Hi all, as some of you will know I have been wandering parts of the US in a 1976 Buick Electra Limited Landau coupe - well, sadly it is time to sell my USA travel vehicle. So here is my ad with everything I know about the vehicle:


I have for sale an un-restored ’1976 Buick Electra Limited Landau Coupe’ with leather interior, in very good condition with 63,000 original miles on the clock, running the best, and last, of the Buick 455cid blocks (the much sought-after ‘blue block’ with the larger oil and water galleries) mated to a GM TH-400 automatic transmission.


These coupes are quite rare now, not just due to the fact that only one quarter of the Electra's made in 1975 and 1976 were coupes, or due to them being written off over the years because of all the bad drivers on the roads, but also because so many of the the 2-door coupes have been written off in banger racing - the 4-door version wasn’t suitable as they lacked the strengthening B-pillar.


I’m the second owner and have clear title in my name.


Looking at the quality of the body and low mileage, I believe that the car was always garaged by the previous owner and basically only driven on weekends and to church, and only in fine weather at that. There does not appear to have been any accident damage as all the panels look straight and I have found no evidence of color variation between body panels. I believe this is the original engine (I have tried contacting the previous owner as I have a copy of his original title but can't match a phone number to the address so suspect a deceased-estate).


I purchased this vehicle as my classic ‘travel the US’ car and it has fulfilled that roll admirably and has been a pleasure to drive.




This is a list of what I have had done to the vehicle, or I know to have been done by the previous owner:
- Viper car immobilizer / alarm system with remote
- 5x new Mastercraft whitewall tires
- new belts and hoses
- new brake hoses front and rear, slave cylinders and rear pads
- new water pump and thermostat and flush of the block and radiator
- new Fel-Pro blue sump gasket (previous owner - the rear main seal may have been replaced at the same time but I can't guarantee that)
- new rocker cover gaskets
- new O-ring between Distributor and block
- new fluids
- new battery
- new Centrelink
- new twin free-flowing cat-exhaust system
- new front shocks
- rear air shocks (previous owner)
- rust protection on the under-body and in the doors (previous owner at vehicle purchase)
- Re-building of the driver’s door arm-rest and matching the passenger arm-rest to same
- The original radio has been replaced with a Kenwood KDC-X595 with Pioneer speakers in the doors and twin subs in the rear deck. The amp was not in the trunk when I bought it but all the extra wiring is still in place from the battery lead back for good thumping sound.



Since replacing the old exhaust system with the new free flowing system, performance and fuel economy have improved significantly - although not the performance figures of the early 70's versions, it now gets up and boogies nicely (in part too because of the mainly highway 5,000 miles I've put onto it and the synthetic oil I'm running in the engine – any carbon or soot deposits from the little use previous, are being burned off and cleaned out).


Each mechanic who has worked on this vehicle has been very impressed at how well the vehicle has been looked after.


The only thing to do if you purchase this vehicle (apart from just enjoying driving it) would be to replace the vinyl Landau roof as it has split in parts around the base of the C-pillar and in the section under the rear window and repair the small rust blemishes starting to show at several points along the bottom edge of the vinyl (I have included pictures).

The paint work is in very good condition particularly considering it is nearly 40 years old – it is showing a few stone chips and loss of a patch of color from the driver's side headlight surround but that’s about all (picture included). The leather seats are all in very good condition – the only blemishes are a scuff mark on the driver’s side rear seat and a a light scuff mark on the passenger’s side front seat (pictures included). The interior head liner is in excellent condition as are the sun visors and interior trim. The crash-pad has a crack at the RH end of the pad and some cracking in the speaker area (picture included). All the chrome-work is in excellent condition. All the electrical components work well too – electric windows zip up and down quickly and smoothly; the electric driver’s seat works smoothly in all directions, the electric locks snap in and out quickly and the wipers work firmly and smoothly. Originally, there was also an electric aerial but at some time that has been replaced with a fixed aerial – the electric control switch is still in the dash though. All the lights and lenses are in excellent and undamaged condition and are all working. All the glass is in excellent condition.


I've put $8500 into the vehicle including the purchase price. I'm looking to negotiate a sale price of between $6000 & $6500.


I have taken this car to the Kissimmee Old Town car show several times and it always draws lots of nostalgic attention.

The car is currently located near Madison, FL.


Once I sell the vehicle, if my VISA time remaining allows, I am considering flying to Santa Fe and / or Seattle to visit friends. If the purchaser is on a reasonable route towards either, I would discuss assisting the purchaser in relocating the vehicle to the purchaser for a fee covering gas and simple accommodation.


I have also listed the vehicle on eBay with the option to withdraw the item if sold beforehand.


If you are interested, please reply to this Post.


Thanks, Stephen

 

That is one fantastic cruiser, best of luck with the sale :TU:

 

Thanks TurboV6 - much appreciated. It has been a lovely introduction to the biggest of the big C-bodies to say nothing of it being my first BB. 455 cubes is quite an experience even if the heads gave it the lowest compression ratio of the 70's Electra's. I'd love to drop the standard 70's heads onto it for an instant 325hp or drop the Stage 1 heads onto it for 380hp. Add the gains to either of those figures of the free flowing exhaust and I suspect another 30hp. Easy enjoyable power!

 

An A-body is a midget car like a Skylark, your model year 1976 Electra is a C-body.
Good luck with the sale :TU:

 

Does the air conditioning work?

 

Thanks Bad Boattail - I always thought it simply went down the alphabet from A, largest to smallest. So does it go C is largest, then B next largest, then A ... then???

 

Hi Austingta. Yes the A/C does work. There is a sticker on the A/C unit under the hood that refers to 'Freeze 12' and a date that looks to be 97). I had the A/C checked by a mechanic who I was referred to as I thought it could be colder. He checked everything with the A/C gauges they use and all came up spot-on. The cold air blows out of two vents in the lower part of the dash, directly onto the drivers and passenger's mid-section. I would call it 'cool' rather than 'cold' or 'chilly'. It is not as effective as my friend's 2006 Lincoln Towncar. On A/C max, it blows air only out of the two vents in the lower part of the dash - one for the driver, one for the passenger. The other settings blow the air out of the upper dash vents. If I can give you further info, let me know. Stephen

 

I've managed to get all the photos I have uploaded now - if any prospective buyer wants me to take photos of anything else on the car, let me know. Stephen

 

.. Ahh, the BallBlaster vents !

 

lol!

 

Sent the eBay link to my dad...

 

Thanks MD_76_Limited - much appreciated. I'm taking it to the GS Nationals in Bowling Green Kentucky - are you attending?

 

Unfortunately not :-(

Next year I plan on making it to at least 1 Buick event.

 

Thanks for pointing that out Bad Boattail - I've just read through a Wikipedia article that goes through the explanation and it turns out there seems to be no rime-or-reason to the designations. Far more all over the place than I realized.

 

I thought those were called Ball Froster vents.

 

A lovely car, and one I always wanted. However, my wife hates those things, and would have me propelled in front of a wall and shot if I brought one home.
Hopefully it goes to a good home, it looks like it's in beautiful condition and has been well kept throughout it's life.

 

And it runs mid 16s in the quarter mile!

 

True, very true...but...it'll go 300 miles between refuelings and pee-stops at 75 mph, which is something most 1/4 milers can't do. :grin:

And, it's so nice and quiet in there one can listen to and enjoy Mozart, or a mouse fart, depending upon your preferences.

 

Cool car, I don't think a whole lot of people realize what a nimble, good handling car these 71-76 B and C body's are. Yes, they're huge and heavy, but behind the wheel you forget that pretty quick. I've never been able to let go of my Pontiac for that reason, and every time I'm tempted to use it's spot in the garage for another Buick I take a good long road trip and I'm instantly reminded that it's the right tool for the job......Good luck with the sale.

 

You have a beautiful Electra convertible - I got to drive PBR400's convertible for some hundreds of miles and enjoyed it immensely. First time for me to really experience the joys of 'top down' driving. I hope to have a big convertible in my life at some point in the future.