1976 BUICK ELECTRA 350?!?!?!

Does anyone know how to find the production numbers for how many 1976 Buick Electras were built with a 350 instead of the standard 455? I am looking to buy a second '76 Electra but it has a factory 350.

 

I'm not sure of a 350 in a 76 Electra. I never saw one and I worked at the Buick dealer during that time . 77 they came with a 350 as the 455 was gone by then . It is possible there were some but ..... a real special order

 

I have only seen 1 other in my life for sale in Alaska. Because of a strike at the engine plant that built 455's, the 350 was a credit delete option on the Electra. My other '76 is a 455 but the black one I am buying has a very late '76 build date and was equipped with the Buick 350 4BBL. I know they are super rare but I'm curious how to find the numbers.

 

Actually, the 455 in my other '76 seems barely adequate, I can't imagine how it's going to feel having 50 less horsepower and 50 ft lbs less torque. However, the car is one owner with only 30K miles and has almost every factory option available including the self-level suspension

 

The reason behind the 35o in the 76 Electra was the GM strike, 455's were not available so the 350 was substituted, as mentioned above, it also came with a price rebate. I have driven a couple of the 350 Electra's over the years and for a cruise vehicle or even a trip vehicle as long as you are not carrying a large family or a ton of cargo is adequate. You just have to realize that everything will be leisurely, and you plan accordingly when pulling into traffic etc. Not sure what's wrong with stangslayerws6s6's LeSanre
but have driven several 76 455 Electa's from around town to long trips and there is plenty of power when needed, it's not a 71 or 72 Electra but certainly more than enough.

It had nothing to do with fuel mileage, it was supply issue

 

That was the same time GM was putting Chevy and Olds motors in every thing. Some Pontiacs had Olds engines any others across the board . There was a big outcry from owners that bought a certain brand car and found out it had a different GM line engine in it . Then there was the fire at the Trans plant that had GM slamming any trans they had on the shelf into any thing that came down the line .

 

I worked at an Oldsmobile dealer at the time, and between the diesel fiasco plus the non-branded motors, our customers were not happy.

Nice looking car!

 

From all I have found the 350 was not able to be ordered, the credit was given to the cars that the 350 was installed in during the strike. They must have held back enough 455's for the Rivieras to not suffer the same fate

 

That’s interesting. My parents ordered a ‘76 Electra when they heard the ‘77s were going to shrink. (Neither wanted a little Buick). Ours arrived with the 455; in late winter/early spring if I remember correctly. I’m not sure how Dad would have reacted had it shown up with a 350 and the dealer said ‘here’s $160 for the inconvenience.’ The salesman might have limped away with a sore nose and his check in a place less comfortable than his shirt pocket. Not sure where the keys would have gone!
Patrick

 

I owned a '76 Electra with the 350, it was ok, they came with a 3.08 gear verses the 2.56 w/the 455
Neither engine was a powerhouse, the 455 was smoother tho.

 

The option sheet also shows the Olds 260 baby engine available in the Skylark. Guessing that was a debored/destroked Olds 350? Sort of similar to the Chev 262 that was available in '75/'76. Have never seen one in the yards, it must have had very low production numbers.

 

The 260 Olds was the biggest pile o' crap ever unleashed on the world. 105 hp and my Cutlass with a perfectly running one and 2.73 gears got 9 mpg. The intake port is the width of your pinky, and 1/2 as tall. The carb is something like 200 cfm. I used to get mine spinning on the ice, to 100 mph on the speedo, then hit the dry pavement. It would squeak one tire for about 6 inches, then bog down on its way to a 22 second 0-60 time. When I tore a 350 Olds out of a delta 88 to replace it, we held it to the wood until it seized before we pulled it to try and blow it up. It'd start knocking and seize, you'd let it cool 5 minutes, and it'd fire back up. We repeated that about 10 times before giving up. Only engine I ever saw without enough power to properly blow up. I got video of the attempted vehicular suicide, but my phone won't let me load it. I'll see if I can from my buddy's phone.

 

Those small displacement V8's during that time were pathetic, same with the 301 Pontiac.
The only upside to those V8's verses inline or V6's were they were smoother operating.

 

That, and if you threw a glasspack on one, it at least sounded "right"......

 

LOL, reminds me of a 79/80 whatever Pontiac BoneVile my buddy rented from Ugly Duckling rental car, white 4 door, light blue pillow interior, 301, test pipe and a GLASSPACK! YEAH BABY