1976 Buick Electra Limited 455 V8

Discussion in 'Wet behind the ears??' started by stangslayerws6, Mar 1, 2018.

  1. GSX 554

    GSX 554 Gold Level Contributor

    The mounting is different. 72 uses the bracket mounted to the outer door skin . This mirror is the later style that has the 2 studs that go thru the door skin
     
  2. stangslayerws6

    stangslayerws6 1976 Buick Electa Limited

    I bought that thermometer mirror off EBay. It was my most exciting find during my restoration. It is a NOS piece which is unheard of with these mirrors, so the plastic was not faded and the chrome was not pitted. I usually bid for NOS parts for my Electra, but this was SO rare to find NOS that I immediately did the "buy it now" option. $400 later.... Here we are lol
     
  3. stangslayerws6

    stangslayerws6 1976 Buick Electa Limited

    How funny. I saw the identical twin to my Electra when I was 9 years old. I mowed the yard for my neighbors up the street and they had one absolutely identical to the one I bought. I too BEGGED my mom and dad to buy that car and it never happened. (Back then my mom drove a 1973 & 1978 Buick Estate Wagon) I see that you have a 1979 Trans Am. I started my car collection many years ago. I too own (3) Trans Ams & a GTO. We must have been seperated at birth lol
     
  4. pbr400

    pbr400 68GS400

    ...So did they put the horse into the Riv’s trunk?
     
  5. stangslayerws6

    stangslayerws6 1976 Buick Electa Limited

    Huh? lol
     
  6. stangslayerws6

    stangslayerws6 1976 Buick Electa Limited

    Funny you would say that. My only MUST HAVES when I was looking for this car was white paint with red interior and the Buick Rally wheels.
     
  7. PGSS

    PGSS Gold Level Contributor

    Too Funny:) It all started in 1966 when I was 4 and my parents pulled into the driveway with a brand new 66 Wildcat..The Buick love was started!! In 1976 about 4 miles or so away I swear I almost daily walked to a small Buick dealership that had a 1976 Electra Limited that was a cream color and stare for hours through the window after them getting tired of me walking in so many times. I was amazed at the window sticker just hitting $10,000!
    I would never of thought there was another young KID to have a Electra passion of all cars!! My mom had gotten sick and a new Electra wasn't in the cards unfortunatley..
    Always a GM guy and Pontiac a 2nd place as next favorite GM the 79 TransAm was given to me buy my brother in law, which was really nice and lucky. It has no T tops which I prefer and a vinyl interior which I can live with..
    Growing up with Wildcat and as a kid bragging of it's 401 nailhead, and when I was in high school it was kinda strange that down the street from my house there was a 66 Skylark GS parked in a lot during the day, I had never seen one but knew of them. Was such a coincidence how I found it and ended up buying it..Cards were in the right place I guess, drove it daily for 8 years or so..
    What have you found for tires on the Electra that are the smoothest riding? I liked the look of I think they were "Uniroyal Royal seal tires" that had a double lined white wall??
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2018
  8. pbr400

    pbr400 68GS400

    In the video, the woman backs a Riv up toward the stable while a man leads a horse out. She pops the trunk about the time the man and horse reach the car, then a moment later the camera shows the power antenna raise as she starts the car and drives away.
    Patrick
     
  9. stangslayerws6

    stangslayerws6 1976 Buick Electa Limited

    When I bought the 1976 Electra 2 years ago, it had been in a car collection in Ohio for MANY years. It only had 54K original miles on it, and it had what looked like brand new Goodyear whitewalls. When I got the car transported back to my home state and started working on it, the first thing I did was take it to my local tire dealer to have the tires rotated and balanced. When he got the car up on the lift he walked back up to me and said "Im not touching those tires" I asked him why and he said "Come look at this". When we got back to the car he showed me where the tread was separating and said look at the manufacture date on these "new looking" Goodyears. The tires were manufactured on 1983!!! I decided to put new tires on it and went with the ONLY brand of tires still available with whitewalls. They are a cheap Japanese tire but will do for now. The next set I will go up one size and get the wider whitewall that they offer from Coker Tire. The car has the dealer installed air shock option on the rear and rides like your on a cloud. I don't think that ride quality is ever going to be determined by the brand of tire on a car weighing well in excess of 5000 pounds lol
     
  10. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    one of the nicest ones out there im sure . love the huge "boatness" of it . well done mate .
     
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  11. PGSS

    PGSS Gold Level Contributor

    Oh yeah didn't cross my mind that the day of 15 inchers are getting rare and neverless white walls. So you have 225's now?
    Still though going to 235's or L's in the day sweet! Those tires are so big they instead of hitting the bumps they just roll over them:)
     
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  12. My3Buicks

    My3Buicks Buick Guru


    I have actually seen these pretty regularly in my searches for other various year mirrors and have bought a few over the years for the "just in case" collection.
     
  13. My3Buicks

    My3Buicks Buick Guru


    To add to that, it's not as easy to install the studded ones on the 72 as one might imagine, the later doors are set up to allow access/holes into that area, you will have to drill holes large enough to get into the access to that area to tighten down the studs. Been there, done that once.
     
  14. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    its looking more likely that its more trouble than its worth . I am trying to keep it all original anyway
     
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  15. My3Buicks

    My3Buicks Buick Guru


    An excellent place to invest rather than the thermometer mirror would be the Buick accessory right hand mirror that is correct for the 72 Electra, they are hard to find and not cheap when you do, but SO nice to have. I couldn't find a good close "pretty" picture of the RH mirror on my old Flame Orange Centurion, but this is a good close up shot taken after the fire. They rarely show up especially NOS, we snapped up any we found long ago.
     

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  16. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    funny you should say that . not long after buying the car i went looking for a RH mirror . really miss not having one there and is so useful when parking in the garage . i did find one but its not an exact match to my LH one . i think it may have been from a couple years newer . it was only $50 and i can live with it until a correct year one comes along at a good price .
    i heard it was an option that very few people chose back in the day . weird how two mirrors are an option . wouldn't do that nowadays .

    [​IMG]
     
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  17. MD_76_LIMITED

    MD_76_LIMITED Trust the process...

    Very VERY beautiful ride!!!
     
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  18. PGSS

    PGSS Gold Level Contributor

    You should know:D MD_76, are running the original modded 76 motor?
     
  19. MD_76_LIMITED

    MD_76_LIMITED Trust the process...

    I am not. I had a 72 core rebuilt, with 72 heads as well. I painted it blue to match the original '76 color though. My original '76 block is sitting outside in the elements. I was thinking about getting it cleaned & prepped by the machine shop and just preserving it. Maybe one day.
     
  20. stangslayerws6

    stangslayerws6 1976 Buick Electa Limited

    Yes I will be going to the 235s next time around.
     

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