Fancy yourself in a Buick convertible? You could do far worse than this restovivor 1963 Electra convertible with 116,544 miles! Wearing a repaint dating from the 1970’s and with only a few non-visible corrosion issues, this one’s almost ready for summer cruising that’s right around the corner. The big Buick can be found in Eagle River, Wisconsin and is up for sale here on eBay, with bidding well below $3,000 but the reserve isn’t met yet.
That’s a lot of sheetmetal! The relatively flat sides and merely hints of tail fins illustrated that we were in the 1960’s now, not the 1950’s. Gone were wraparound windshields, two tone paint schemes and lots of chrome accents; in were sleek lines and clean elements. There is some rust in this car, but it’s confined to the floorboards and trunk floor; items that can be patched by the home restorer as things will be hidden under the carpet and trunk mat.
Believe it or not, those tires are bias plies, there’s no telling how old they are but I’d replace them first thing. The seller tells us the paint is thin in spots, but this is what I would call a driver, not a show car. That being said, fix a few things and I wouldn’t be afraid to park it in a local show anywhere!
While the claimed original leather upholstery looks a little weathered here, I think reconditioning can work wonders as I’ve seen excellent results. There are a “few small tears in the bolsters,” though. I sure hope someone makes this work rather than replacing it! The dash looks fantastic, so there are no issues there. You’ll need to source and install a new top to replace the original one (!) and there are some other issues, as the dash and interior lights, windshield wipers, power seat, heater fan, radio and clock all don’t work at the moment. In North Carolina, you have to have wipers working to pass the state inspection, although they aren’t required for a car this old.
The original “Wildcat 445” is under the hood (note, that is neither displacement nor horsepower) and while it leaks a little from time to time is quite intact and powers this large convertible nicely. I can easily see this big Buick in service as a summer family cruise machine whilst being sympathetically repaired. Is this the car for you this summer?
I learned to drive on a 63 4dr (and drag too with the dynaflow in low ) along with a 59 Nash Ambassador pushbutton complete with full continental kit and angle rear trunk antenna what a great time and great cars. I beat the hell out of a lotta stuff with that ole 63 (and the ambassador) till the dynaflo died and had to be rebuilt yup it was dad’s car Sure do wish I had it back and a rag top like this would be a plus sitting right alongside my signal red GS 400 4spd original 75621 mile rag top
re: EBay listing base-Electra
oxymoron