Thanks for that info "67. I don't think I'll be doing any significant performance mods on her. I love the low-reving torque machine she is. That HP though is quite amazing I must say. I gotta say, the equivalent Australian version of this car, a 1978 Ford Fairlane which as a 351ci/5.7 V8 Engine, which makes 217 HP @ 4500 rpm, and 316 lbs-ft @2200 Only 4 lbs-ft less, and it's a 5.7! Though I understand this virtually all to do with emissions control.
Nice car! I was wondering about the pedal arrangement too. Those cars ride really well but the handling isn't that great. No road courses for you!
I bet! I gotta say though, It feels tighter than my 74 Riviera. Might have to do with the shorter wheelbase, newer design etc. Anyone aware as to what the GVWR is for a 1978 Buick Electra? Mines in the shop and can't check at the moment, need it for the paperworks.
I've shown my mechanic these pictures, and he is flabbergasted himself! I think I'll send it off to an automotive engineer for further assessment, see if he can locate this extra door that you guys have found (you've all got real keen eyes) I know this is a bit of blasphemy, but I've made the executive decision to put an electronic exhaust cut-off on her, give her a bit more of a growl at times, and if I'm lucky, a little boost in HP and Torques! Though I don't think it'll be much.
Greetings from Melbourne in Vic. Nice car! How's the brake set-up in that RHD conversion? Does it have a brake bar from left to right side like mine does******? I'm gonna have that removed soon....... I hate lifting the bonnet (hood) and seeing the brake master cylinder/booster setup 5ft to the right of the pedals LOL **** literally a section of bar/pipe that connects the original LHD (USA) brake set-up to the converted-to-RHD brake pedal. 40 years ago this was permissible in state inspections. Thankfully we have moved on. Now older vehicles can stay LHD here and newer vehicles that need converting to be road-legal undergo a very professional but also very costly mirror-image swap. This happens to modern imports such as the Silverado, Ram, Camaro, etc.
G'day Dave, also a Melbournian myself! The conversion was done by Chapel Engineering, which I believe was pretty much as good as you could get back in the day. I've had maybe 2 days with the car at the moment, she's with the mechanic currently. Feels like a pretty normal setup to me. Do you have a photo of your setup for your pedals?
I'll try to get one at the weekend, but the dead giveaway is which side your brake booster is on. As you stand at the front of the car with the bonnet up, is it on the right (original USA) side of the firewall? Or the left, in front of your steering wheel? I'm pretty sure Chapel did my Wildcat conversion in the 1980s, as was mandatory then. Brake bar was the standard practice but thankfully things have moved on. I'd be interested to hear your choice of shop and experience with same too. I'm heading for a big shop bill myself next year. I'm down on the Peninsula. Cheers
Ah thanks, I did glance at that but not quite closely enough. Jimmy's Electra clearly has a brake bar like mine. That was how they did it back then.
Same in Aussie, mate. The Mustang has been a HUGE success since landing here RHD from the factory six years ago. Ford was shocked by demand and struggled to keep up for the first couple of years. The Camaro, Silverado and Ram are slightly more niche, higher priced and less demand, so they arrive here LHD and undergo the highest-quality mirror image conversions at dedicated small factories with long expertise in the field... no more brake bars these days .... but that adds $$$$ to the price. Try almost $US60,000 for the base V8 Camaro! The V8 Mustang GT is $US47,000. Performance versions of both get super spendy. Just shows what a deal Jimmy has found to get a really unique car. I look forward to his progress on these pages.
If you want more power (and can get away with it) remove the catalytic converter and replace it with either a high flow or straight pipe. The factory converter is your biggest restriction. You can either keep the factory style muffler or upgrade it. The cutout is only going to add noise. Patrick
Please Jimmy post some more pics when you get the time. Some of the dash itself and the engine bay which might show how it was turned into the RHD. We all in the US seem to have a fascination with this stuff Also just like Patrick mentioned, take out the cat and put a straight pipe in it's place. Again like he said it will just be a noise maker with the cut out.
Hello All, Finally got my car back from the mechanic today! She's had a good amount of work done to her. I'll post some pictures in the next 24 - 48 hours. Something interesting to note - the mechanic I use, who is very well versed in the Aussie/American classics (it's all he works on) and is a very experienced mechanic, claimed that this Buick had a TH400 in it... I told him that the 403's only came with a TH350, but he was adamant that it was a TH400 - it shifts like new mind you, so it could have been retrofitted? Though there was no paperwork suggesting this. Any ideas? I was thinking of checking myself, but I have no reason to doubt him. Anyway, she runs like an absolute dream, like she should with only 61,000 miles, very smooth, no squeaks, tight on the road, and when those secondaries open up... I find it hard to not put my foot down
Some more interesting news! I gave her the beans a couple of times over the weekend - started her this morning, and when in Drive, if I apply more than approx. 20% pressure on the accelerator, it will cough, if I put it down more, it will conk out, I hear a loud "CLINK" under the bonnet. It sounds like an issue with the throttle body, like the linkage is being overstretched then just cutting out. Sad, but just a teething issue...
And a final post, dunno if anyone is looking - she's all sorted now, and cleaned up a bit. Here's a couple of photos!
