1977 Buick Electra Limited Coupe 2-door 5.7l, Project Car, No Reserve, Florida on 2040-cars

THIS IS A PROJECT CAR.  Dare to be a little different with this antique and the nice part about this car is it is a solid and inexpensive classic car that still gets a lot of attention and is really fun to cruise in.  Please read the entire listing as it should contain all of the information you need to make an informed decision to move forward with this investment.

The basic information on the car is that it was a one owner (grandparents) car purchased new in Florida and then I took it over around 6 months ago and did title it in my name and register the car as an antique.  I use the car several times a week and it is currently tagged and registered.  The car is a 1977 Buick Electra Limited and has the 1/2 vinyl roof with matching white leather interior.  Car is very original less the radio and the air conditioning.  This Buick was equipped with your normal power options including windows, steering, brakes, and locks.  The Electra did come from the factory with air conditioning and the Heavy wire wheel covers and front fender accent vents. I hold free and clear title ready to be signed over to new owner.

The condition of the car is fair and it needs extensive work to be perfect.  I would consider this car as needing a mechanical restoration and minimal body work restoration along with paint to be in showroom condition.  I want to start with the negatives so that you can get an idea on what you are working with:

Body:  the negative with the body are that it has some smaller dents in the passenger door and the door is repairable as the dents aren’t bad enough to warrant a replacement.  There is a very small and narrow dent on the deck lid.  The car is its’ original blue color from the factory and the paint is faded and has sort of a dull matte look.  At first I thought the paint was original, but in looking at the rear of the car I noticed one spot where the paint chipped and there was some blue paint underneath it leading me to believe that they may have had a repaint many years ago.  I vaguely remember maybe in the 80’s a repaint but regardless, it was a good one and there are no waves in the paint it is just faded from sun.  The moldings on the side of the car are shot but still attached, the passenger side door molding was super glued back on many years ago and is now starting to come off and you can see some superglue residue on the door.  The vinyl 1/2 roof is in good but faded condition.  There are no major tears or problem areas, it is presentable but could maybe use a pressure wash.  The passenger door does not hang and shuts flush the driver’s side hangs just ever so slightly as every once and awhile you have to shut the door twice—but it still shuts flush.

The remainder of the body is straight.  The headlamps and tailamps are in working condition there is a cracked turn signal lamp on the front driver’s side, but the light itself is still operational and the rear tail lamps are showing their age, but are not missing any pieces and still operational.  All of the emblems on the car including the hood ornament are sun faded to the point where seeing the original Buick Symbol is difficult.  The grill is all there and has a slight crack in the upper left-hand corner.

Interior:  The interior is in fair condition and as you can see from the picture there is a tear on the driver’s side seatback.  The white leather held up pretty good over the years just has some fading and staining over time.  The blue carpet has no major tearing but is used and has stains.  Things like the plastic pillar moldings have begun to disintegrate from sun, use, and age, but everything is intact.  Both doors are now missing the red reflectors near the door handle so there is an opening.  The dashboard is in pretty good shape, there is one small crack the front and the built in speaker grill has some cracking in the center of the dash. 

Trunk/cargo:  Trunk is complete with the original working jack and spare tire, carpet.  The cardboard factory material around the lamps and latch has begun to disintegrate with age but is still there.  I included one picture of the car jacked up with the antique front bumper hitching jack to show it worked.  I changed the oil on the car and utilized the factory jack.  The trunk has an automatic pop button in the glove box and that still works.

Options:  Simply stated, not many of the options work on the car anymore.  The car was equipped with clock near the glove box and that is inoperable along with the speedometer and odometer.  The speedometer stopped a year ago and stopped at about 125,880 miles.  Grandparents used car a few times a week as their normal driver and used for store, bank, and church visits—all fairly local to their Tampa house.  I feel the car still has under 130,000 miles on it.  The gas gauge still works fine as do all of the dummy lights on the top of the dashboard.  The Gen light is in perfect operating condition and I use it to determine when the car is warmed up and ready to go.  The door lock/unlock switches work only intermittently so I lock the car manually.  The driver’s window switch works to move the window up and down and the windows on the car do go up and down, however the passenger window switch is how you get the passenger window down as the passenger switch ON THE DRIVER’S side does not work or at times works intermittently.

The ac/heat switches do not work so you cannot turn the air conditioning or heat/defrost.  I assume it is the fan switch or motor.  I know they were using the air conditioning 2 summers ago, but at this point I consider it to be inop.  The belt and compressor are still in the car but it looks like the setup has been updated or added to as there are some aftermarket wires coming off of the compressor. 

Motor:  Motor is the original Buick 350 4 barrel.  The Motor is going to need rebuilt even though I drive the car at least twice a week.  Motor knocks at startup until it warms up, and then intermittently knocks during acceleration.  It mostly knocks when you are accelerating in first gear.  There is no oil light on and no loss of power and the car cruises really nice at highway speeds.  I drove the car on a cruise the day I took these pictures (Sunday the 26^th) on the highway at 70 or so and it rode just fine.  I use a speedometer app on my iPhone to tell how fast I am going.  I changed the oil a month ago and the oil is still clean and no particles in the bucket or concerns.  I think the motor is just getting tired but it is drivable still and quite reliable.  PLEASE REMEMBER I AM RECOMENDING REBUILD OR REPLACE FOR THE MOTOR.   I checked with my mechanic  that I use for my other cars and he advised a Chev 350 4 bolt should align up with minimal work—maybe just motor mount replacements but he was not sure if new motor mounts would be needed during a motor replacement.

Suspension:  Car creaks when driving at times.  Shocks, struts, bushings I believe are all very old.  Still smooth on the road, but let’s say you are in a parking lot doing 10mph and go over a speed bump, car will creak when going over the bump.

Positive stuff about the car.

1)      Does not leak any fluids

2)      Transmission is perfect and shifts firm and smooth, no sloppy or delayed shifts

3)      Has a working aftermarket Jenson radio and none of the original dash looks cut during the radio install.  The problem with the radio is they did not ground it to a constant so when you turn off the car, you lose all your station presets etc…  Also, it has a tape deck and I don’t know if that works anymore

4)      Tires are perfect, they are newer 15” prime wells

5)      Body is straight and free of any major rust.  Floors, doors, trunk solid.  Panels line up and the car is untouched.

6)      All wire wheel covers are present and in very presentable condition. 

7)      Windows work along with all lights, signals and brake lights

8)      Glass in good shape and windshield wiper motor works fine

9)      All moldings present

10)   Interior complete less the reflector lenses on the doors

11)   Car was driven every day for about 34 years and maintenance its’ whole life.  I still use a couple of times a week

12)   New exhaust 

13)   Very original car and has original keys and owner’s manual

Terms of sale:  Please pay a $75 non-refundable deposit at end of sale.  You have up to 14 days to pick up the car in Florida where I live.  If you need longer, ask me prior to bidding.  My residence is in St. Petersburg Florida close to 1-275 and the Gandy Bridge.  Basically I live right near the Derby Lane poker facility and Grey Hound track.  Pick up the car in person with cash or arrange for your own delivery and have the driver pickup with cash.  I will not end the auction early and the car is not for sale locally so bid to win without worry that car will be pulled from site.  I had it listed 2 months ago on Craigslist and received tons of interest, the problem is that I did not have time due to work schedule and travel for work to handle of this interest and the no shows and crazy questions and trade offers that go along with advertising on Craigslist.  Please bid only if you are serious, please check with your spouse to see if you are allowed to have a project car prior to bidding. 

Ask any questions you want that are not above.  If you want closer pictures of something, ask me and send me your phone number or email so that I can text or email the pictures to you.  I have the car at my residence and will do my best to answer anything that you feel I forgot to include in the listing.  The car is sold as is, where is with no implied or written warranty.  It warrants reiterating again that this is A PROJECT CAR.  Needs work before you drive it across the country.  If you live local to the Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater Area and want to see the car before you make the investment—reach out to me through eBay and I will do my best to show you the car after 4pm only.   If you are local, I am confident you can drive the car home as I use it for local trips and have had it on the highway before.