I really want to like this Buick. My grandparents had one of these when I was a little boy. Their car suffered the indignity of having its gas tank filled with water from the garden hose. It seems a little boy (who shall not be named) wanted to play service station attendant, and got a tanned rear end for a tip. This car brings back those memories, but, there is one glaring item that makes me cringe. Found in beautiful Mount Hope, West Virginia on craigslist, this 1969 Buick Electra 225 two door hardtop is offered at $4,000, a price low enough to pay for fixing its major flaw.
In this slightly darker picture, you can see what I am talking about. I have a theory about what happened. My guess is that the previous owner of this stately automobile cruised this land yacht down to the local lawnmower shop. There, surely against the reasoned advice of the shop owner and all of the mechanics, he commissioned them to weld up some home made side pipes and strap them to the bottom of this lovely car. I don’t condone unwarranted violence, but if I were passing by and noticed a local police officer beating him with a night stick for committing such a transgression, I would stop and offer the officer some assistance in the event his arm got tired before justice was done. Doing this is like taking your grandmother down to the local tattoo parlor to get a giant, prison style zombie tattoo plastered across her forehead. It is not something to be tolerated in polite society.
But I digress. When you look closer at the pictures of this very dignified car, you see that the condition is simply amazing. The paint looks great, the chrome appears to be factory fresh, and our old friend rust hasn’t even stopped by for a visit. This car must have been garaged for nearly all of its life. You just don’t see that many late sixties Buicks anymore, so finding one in pristine shape is really a treat.
Years ago, when I was young and in love with sports cars, I wouldn’t give a car like this a second glance. Now that my back aches a little more and my kidneys are asking why I decided heavy springs and fat roll bars were such a good idea on my Corvette, the appeal of a car like this is plain to see. These old GM luxury cars float down the road like the springs are made of marshmallow creme, and roll bars? This yacht don’t need no stinkin’ roll bars!
Even if you wanted to go fast around corners, the cushy seats seen above would never hold you in place anyway. You are left with a nice cockpit to steer this barge from home to work to the store and back home again. The interior on this Buick bears testimony to that mentality. Everything you need in this car is within arm’s reach, and it appears this one just needs a good cleaning to restore it to its former glory. Even the seat upholstery is intact, except for one button under the driver’s rear end. The weather stripping, however, seems to need replacement in a few spots.
The back seat is another story. Something happened back there. Maybe the Socrates that added the side pipes recuperated there after some kind soul punished him for his wickedness. One can only hope. However, the material is good old GM rayon. This stuff was made in the same plant where they made flak jackets, and can withstand a lot of abuse. I would imagine some time back there with a shampooing machine and some elbow grease would clean that right up.
The owner of the car, who got it from a trade with an unknown assailant with no class or aesthetic talent, says that the car runs and drives. He also states that his plan was to pull this 430 cubic inch engine and freshen it up. He doesn’t say why, but I’d guess it is smoking a bit. A liberal application of Marvel Mystery Oil and some careful driving may help the piston rings settle back into place. An engine that has been sitting for a long time often has problems such as this, but I wouldn’t be too hasty to yank the engine out just yet. Despite the speculated upon smoking, everything else in the engine compartment looks factory fresh. The cherry on top is the air conditioning apparatus, which shouldn’t need to much work to restore its frosty goodness.
So, when you add up what we have here, this looks to be a great find. Once you lop off those hideous, homemade side pipes, you have a real, honest to goodness, fantastic sixties cruiser here. These Buicks are not as flashy as Cadillacs, nor are they as spartanly outfitted as their lesser brethren from Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile. They are a luxury car for someone who appreciates their understated elegance and grace. I could see myself driving one of these around. Its not the car I dreamed of when I was young, but it is the kind of car I could enjoy owning today.
I hope one of you purchases this car. It is too nice to be let back into the clutches of barbarians such as the former owner.
The side-pipes I can deal with, be glad it doesn’t have wagon wheels and rubber-band tires.
Big giant wheels are ‘clown shoes’.
My speculation on the exhaust:
The exhaust needed replacement
Owner inquires as to availability at auto parts store
Owner is shocked at cost of replacement
Someone suggested a budget alternative
A long weekend of cleaning, a throaty exhaust system, Buick mag wheels and some redline tires….shazam cruise in style!
Amen. I can picture just that version of this beauty.
These cars look like they would just effortlessly float down the road. Are the side pipes actually hooked up? No belt on AC compressor. Alternator should have a double pulley with one drive belt going over the top to the AC compressor. Looks like alternator might have a single groove pulley.
Jeff,
Your story made me laugh. My dad had a 53 GMC Pickup that got the same water treatment. Unfortunately the hose would not reach so there were many trips between the faucet and the truck with a Kaopectate bottle. I probably should have used a different bottle because my dad really needed the Kaopectate when he figured out what happened. He had a $h!t fit that would not end.
Ha! I used to blast a garden hose up the tailpipe on my dad’s old Pontiac wagon every time he made us kids wash it! If we’d of only thought about the gas tank…
Wow. Toted a ass whooping for the water in the exhaust pipe. I have felt your pain. Literally!
My dad had the convertible version of this sled.I would be flat on my back…in the back seat…staring at the sky.No seat belts and no thoughts of anything other than what a beautiful day.
I have a 1967 Buick wildcat 2dr.hardtop that I’m the second owner with less than 60K. It’s sitting in my barn in Southeast Missouri. Had it repainted the original color and other than barn dust and dirt it’s factory. Have all the manuals, paperwork etc. and bunches of spare parts including a transmission, extra wildcat hubcaps and Any offers?
This appears to be kind of old, but you never know, if you’ve still got the old Wildcat, message me at: henningtax@hotmail.com
One day I need a land yacht. Here’s the saved ad with all the images in the mean time http://www.craigslistadsaver.com/view.php?name=1969BuickElectra225
Side pipes on an old land barge can be tasteful if done right, as seen on this ’62 Olds Super 88 that belongs to one of my henchmen.
I got hit in my 1984 Honda Civic S Hatch back. The Guy was being chased by the police and they clocked him at between 95 and 110 mph about the time he hit me. My Honda was at the same time shortened about 4 feet and launched about 200 feet horizontally airborne before I came to rest again. I did not land square and spun a 180 where his bad brakes caused him to hit me again destroying the front and engine.
My Honda was the first new car I ever owned. All the glass was broken and the doors fused into the body. I wear seat belts and always have. They saved me that day as did the structure of the Honda. My two passengers also got out with out a scratch. Massive back problems and whiplash but not a scratch.
The young man driving his grandfathers car was rushing to a local lake house to spend the weekend with his girl friend. Instead he got to spend a couple of weeks in jail. I have never like these big land barges since then. If I had not left plenty of room in front of me I and my friends would all be dead.
I have many great memories of cars and driving, this is not one of them. The Honda was almost exactly the same as the one shown on yesterdays Barn Finds.
I have laugh, water in the gas tank, my parents had a 70 and since new it did not need the help of water in the gas tank to not run, buick did fine from the factory building junk, the 1st motor blew up within a week, and the new gm motor that replaced it didn’t last a year! Lol what gm junk! That was when the unions thought they weren’t making enough off the backs of americans, ff that’s why we have cars that seemingly still cannot keep up with non union cars. I also remember the salesman telling us to bring the car back in a week so they could go through it and “tighten the bolts!!!” Lololol true story, no fake news here. Lol.
no politics Fran !
Was that policical? There is no other way to describe American auto industry of the 60’s on…sorry.
Your anti-union rant is political.
I will take the 5th on unions but people do forget how, shall we say, random the quality of cars was back then.
That’s why the over-restored trailer queen muscle cars crack me up. They are not representative of what Detroit actually pumped out at the time. They are essentially replicas built from a Year One catalog.
Anyway, this car seems like a nice genuine example of what a real late 1960s car might have looked like in the late 1970s. I don’t usually like these big barges but this is pretty cool.
My father’s best friend bought 2 New Buicks every year. A 225 for himself and a Lesabre for his wife. His last two were 1969 models and he passed away in December of that year. Asked why he didn’t drive a Cadillac, he would say, ” I only drive Buicks, my last ride will be in a Cadillac”. Every time I see these beauties I think fondly of him.
I just love the way you comment on some of these cars. “It is not something to be tolerated in polite society. ” I love it, and, I would be more than happy to hold the cop’s doughnut while he delivered said punishment!
A high school buddy ran his mother’s Pontiac out of gas and made the genius move of filling the tank with water. He was grounded but his parents appreciated the humor of the situation, called him a dumbass, and commuted the sentence a week later.
Buicks were classier than Oldsmobiles, but only by the smallest of margins. Buicks were built in Flint, Olds in Lansing. Lansing was the better labor market, Oldsmobiles were the better car. It’s a fact. You can look it up…
Nice looking land-yacht!! :-)
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I believe you are referring to “anti-roll bars” & not “roll bars”.
Anti-roll bars are located under the car, attached to the suspension, with the purpose of reducing body-roll when cornering.
Roll bars are a (usually added on) safety feature located in the passenger’s compartment, designed to provide additional protection to the driver (& passengers) in the event of a vehicle roll-over.
My relatives worked for buick. Believe me, they were told to work slower. Just sayin. The first step to recovery is admitting there is a problem, identify it and fix it. Just sayin as they say.
Ah as much as I like Buicks Electras with this 69 model in a convertible and the 75/76 Park Ave models being my favorite, I must jump in where the writer Jeff Bennett claims the Buicks are not as spartanly outfitted as their lesser brethren from Chevy, Pontiac and Oldsmobile? I’ll give you Chevy and Pontiac but Oldsmobile? You need to do your homework. After looking at this 69 Electra interior which looks rather plain, take a look at the 69 Olds 98 interior that I just posted. Gee, which one looks more “spartanly outfitted”? Oldsmobile was always a step ahead of Buick no matter what some folks claim the order being Chevy, Pontiac Olds, Buick and Cadillac. I put Olds above Buick in every way no matter what model. 98 was plusher than an Electra. An 88 was better looking than a LaSabre, a Cutlass was more popular and better looking than a Regal and while this 69 Buick has a 430 V8, A 69 Olds had the rocket 455. Forget putting a Buick GS up against an Olds 442. As I said, I do like Buicks and have several in my collection, however, they are not anything close to an Oldsmobile. Look at that 69 Buick Electra interior and look at this 69 Olds 98 interior photo I just posted. The 69/70 98 Luxury Sedan interior was plusher than the Cadillacs. Fact. If you look up new car prices over the years, you will also find where a similar Buick and Oldsmobile model were next to each other, the Olds base price would be a little higher than the Buicks.
That Buick interior looks like an old school bus inside next to the Olds 98 interior of the same year. I have a 69 Electra and a 69 Olds 98. The Olds is a much finer car in everyway.
Okay 225 here we go
My best friend bought a white Electra 2 door hardtop just like this while we were in school. It had unbelievable low miles and he paid a whopping $250 for it. Brings back memories to see this. Sadly like most all 16 year old kids destroy their first car. Jay was no exception. In less then five months it was sold for scrap.
My parents had 2 of them a 1964 and a 1970, prior to that we’ll during the 64 one my father also had a 62 2 door caddy, they were very cool cars, not well made though. The 70 Electra 225 drove them to buy fords.
When I was in 8th grade in 1970 I went to the same school as did Bobby Hull’s kids. (Hull was a legendary hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks.) He would show up at school to pick up his kids in a Buick like that one. He was really nice and would walk along the school bus and reach up to shake our hands on his way past. His kids however were anti social foul mouthed little stinkers.