Big, beautiful, and blue is how this 1965 Buick Electra 225 rolls, and it does it in top-down mode! Based on the description, it sounds like a survivor-grade car that has only seen a folding top replacement. The recorded mileage is 14,571 but there’s no claim to that reading, so we’ll have to run with the “well-preserved” notion. Located in Syracuse, New York, this Whammer-jammer of a top-drawer Buick is available, here on eBay for a current no-reserve bid of $12,300, with twenty-six bids tendered so far.
No doubt about it, the Electra 225 (225 inches in length) ruled the roost at Buick for many years. In ’65, four body styles were available, a two-door hardtop and convertible as well as a four-door hardtop and sedan. The convertible Electra saw production of 8,500 copies while Buick, in totality, mustered a total output of 600K units that year, putting it in fifth place behind Plymouth, Pontiac, Ford and Chevrolet.
The Midnight Blue finish on this convertible appears to have held up well, GM’s dark laquer paints were notorious for oxidizing and going gray but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. One of the quarter panel’s lower portions is said to be displaying some rust bubbles but that issue is not evident in any of the included images. The chrome plating and stainess trim shows perfectly and there is no indication of dents or crash damage – it’s really a perfect exterior presentation. How’s the top? No idea since there are no included images of it in the raised position, but as mentioned earlier, it is supposed to be a replacement.
We’re told that the interior is in good condition but it’s not photographed which seems foolish – it’s sitting there with the top down, why not move in a little closer and snap it? Something to hide? Hard to say but it is suspicious. The seller does state that he has additional images available, so that’s good to know but having them included in the eBay listing would greatly help with the sale. Anyway, the upholstery should be a wide-ribbed vinyl with a fold-down armrest, in this case finished in white. What little that can be glimpsed presents well. Of note, the seller claims, “AC is complete and blows but I never use it“.
Another faux pas is no engine image. We know it to be a 325 gross HP, 401 CI V8 connected to a Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission but that’s about it. The car is said to “run and drives great“. I wish that I could tell you more but that’s all there is.
So, “Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?” as the tag line goes? Sure, but I’d like complete images first so hat I knew what I was buying, right?
What a gorgeous cruiser! I loved the big Buick drop tops, had three in the 70’s, and would love to have one today, unfortunately it won’t fit in my garage. Can’t wait to see where the bidding winds up.
I don’t think it would fit in my driveway, let alone my garage.
I still can’t imagine hanging those fenders 8-10 hours a day in a hot factory building with a foreman yelling at you to speed it up. No thanks.
The paint tells me that something untoward happened to the right side. I’d want to take a look
Crusty Ramblings:
Yep, this is the car Linda November sang about,,when she wasn’t doing Meow-Mix commercials, that is. Beautiful cars, now the “Crusty” part,,how some clunky, rattly door, faded old pickup is worth more than this fantastic car, doesn’t make a lick of sense, Coo-Coo, Coo-Coo( spinning finger around ear)
Play the song “Detroit Made” by Bob Seger it’s about this car, great song !!!
Nice car to keep. They are creeping up in value, and can be had for a steal of a price if you’re lookin. Had the pleasure of a 69 coupe/green, and a 70 convertible/black. Both great used cars with healthy 455’s. Knew of a person with a 76 225 sedan and it was stunning.
I can visualize this car in the local town celebration or Christmas parade, leisurely creeping down the main drag, perhaps with the Fair Queen riding in the back or the Mayor riding in the front. If you haven’t participated in something like this, it’s a lot of fun.
Turn down the exhaust tips please, and thank you.
The tips are the easy fix here.
I’m watching it with interest as I have a convertible land yacht (’66 Bonneville) & am interested in where this goes.
I’ve had three Electra 225s over the years and nothing rides better, period.
I was willing to settle for a ’65-67 225 if a Pontiac could not be had, but fate smiled.
I still miss those big Buicks.
I had a red one back in the late 60s. red with white interior. I think I have subscribed.
Gorgeous car, my dad bought one brand new. What a land yacht, it was a two door hard top. I had just received my drivers license and was in awe of the sound system with “reverb” right along with an air conditioning system that you would achieve meat freezer temperatures. It was the first car that my family owned that had A.C., power windows, a fully adjustable power front seat and toggle control side mirrors. The ride was so smooth you could run over a Volkswagen and never feel it. Lordy, the Reverb mode on the sound system made it a “chick magnet” that accelerated 16 year old male hormone levels to heights unimaginable!! There wasn’t a girl in my school who didn’t want to listen to music in the back seat.
I have the junior version of this beautiful Buick, the A body Skylark in blue with a black top and interior. The ’65 is the best year and had the best full width taillights setup. I added the sequential mods to mine, a very nice addition to the nice design from GM in ’65.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Electras, at least until 1985. I had a ’79 2-door version with the Limited trim option (I can still remember a popular snide lampoon about that trim level: “Limited to what?!”). Despite valve trouble in its engine I loved that car, to the point that I even added to it with extra creature-comforts it didn’t have originally (using stock parts from organ donors), and additional trim accents to include extra “Limited” plates and Electra shields, and reproduced “Electra 225” plates in the cursive-script font used from ’67 thru ’69 (I got permission from the owner of a ’67 model to make clay impressions of her car’s nameplates, which I then baked and used to press my own nameplates), just so nobody could ever use that lampoon line on me again. I miss that car, though I’m mainly a Lincoln man myself; I liked my ’79 Electra’s looks more than any other car, even the Lincolns, of that year. I’d say the Electra (before the 380s) would be one of the top-three non-Lincoln cars I would own without reservation. ‘Course, if I ended up with one as old as this example, I’d have to do something about that outside hood latch.
Reminds me of a 66 4dr Electra 225 in coco or coffee brown, years ago in long Island I’ll love have one.