G'day All, I posted a while ago, as I purchased a 1974 Riviera. Now I've found myself a 1978 Buick Electra "Limited" with the 403 Olds engine, and 61,240 original miles. Got it for $9500 AUD (that's approx $7350 in Yankee dollars) She rides much nicer than the Riviera, and seems to have been treated well, though she has her gremlins. She's gonna need some very minor rust repair and a few other oddities fixed up. What can anyone tell me about this Electra? I know there was a lineup of 225, Limited, and Park Avenue? I did some research into this, and I believe the Limited was mid-range for 1978? It's funny, that a car from "78, rides better than pretty much any modern car. It's a shame cars aren't created for this level of comfort anymore, it really is something else. It was converted to RHD by a bunch called "Chapel Engineering" which did all the LHD to RHD conversions for the American machines that came into AUS back in the day, and did the best conversions in Victoria (the state) and probably the rest of the country. Engine number appears to be: 48E102032 - does this mean anything to anyone?
I think of the Electra series during that time as top-of-the-line. Having said that, the Base-Limited-PA can be considered really nice, even nicer, and sort of over the top. PA's were much less common back then, but eventually overtook the Electra series to become the top-of-the-line series for Buick in '91.
Nice Electra and good color combo. That plush red is something else. Yes very comfortable long distance cruisers too. Just not much of a muscle car....
G'day Mr. Nailhead, I'd love to see that documentation outlining the options and prices. Thought I'd also show ya'll the original ad from 1990. The previous owner owned it since then, till approx 2 months ago. I'm the third owner! According to the ad she's got Cruise Control... I'll have to have a look around the dash tomorrow, see what I can find.
Nice Electra, and yes, the cruise in those days was pretty basic but it worked well enough. It'll be the signal stalk, feel for a button, if it's there, run it up to 80 km/h and hit the button; - if it works, a light will come on, and the car will drop off and then surge up to speed. If it doesn't work, all the cruise servos were the same from 1969 to about 1982, so it should still be easy to get whole set ups out of a wreck.
Thanks for the info gents. Who would have thought, the Cruise Control works! Happy days. I also thought it was a little odd that there were no badges indicating the car as a "Buick" or "Electra" or "Limited" on the boot lid (trunk in US of A language). I've seen a few Buicks the same year or very close with badges on the boot, and others with none at all. I had a look and couldn't see any holes where a badge used to live. Did they decide not to use badges for the 1978 model year Electra's? I'm gonna have to find a badge to put on the trunk, I think it'll make it look more complete.
https://www.guyswithrides.com/2020/05/11/1978-buick-electra-225/ This ‘78 is an Electra 225; looks like the Limited’s script superceded the Electra 225 on the rear quarters while the BUICK badge stayed on the right of the decklid. Patrick
Cheers for that. I've ordered a couple of emblems that are able to be stuck on. I know they probably aren't for the correct model, but I'll be putting the "Buick" badge on the right hand side of the trunk, then the "limited" on the left hand side. Think it'll look alright?
I concur with NH67 regarding the shield; most common appears to be to the left (in front) of the BUICK emblem. The cars were built by humans, though, some may be reversed by happenstance. Also agree that the Limited script (x2) will look most correct. If you see them online but the vendor won’t ship to you, post up or contact me; I can get them and mail them to you. Patrick
G'day All, Thanks pbr400 - we actually have a lot of Buick trim pieces here in Australia - I've just purchased a Buick shield emblem. Nailhead in a 1967 - My Buick is currently in the shop for repairs - I'll grab the full VIN when I can, and post it here Also ordered the "Limited" in scroll! Took me a while to find out that didn't have the pins on the back, and was just a stick on. I'll make sure I use quality glue...
LMAO, I'd feel like a retard driving with my legs crossed The more I look at the pic the more I laugh
"67! Sorry for the delay, just got her back from the mechanics, she's had a good amount of work done on her. VIN: 4X69K8E102032 Let me know what magic you can make from this VIN I'll sitting on the edge of my seat Thanks very much!
Just did a bit of googling, and came up with the following: 4 - BUICK X - Electra Limited 69 - 4 DR K - 403ci V8 8 - 1978 E - Linden NJ
