Buick was an enthusiastic entrant to the  Jet Age “fins and fancy” contest of the 1950s and early 1960s. The Skylark, Le Sabre, Invicta, and Electra were worthy candidates. These last three designs were generated by Bill Mitchell, new to the Harley Earl team inside GM, as a response to Chrysler’s “Forward Look” flying off the pen of Virgil Exner. The Electra hit the market in 1959 with extravagant fins, a return to ventiports, and slant-set quad headlights. Later cars saw subdued fins and an elongated turbine look to their flanks. Here on craigslist is the top-of-the-line model, a 1961 Buick Electra 225 convertible for sale at $11,500. This car is a forsaken project; the seller indicates he has no time for the job. The Electra was apparently named after Electra Waggoner Biggs, a wealthy socialite and sister-in-law of General Motors chief Harlow Curtis; the “225” referred to the car’s length in inches. Street vernacular turned this into “deuce and a quarter”. This car is located in Winlock, Washington; bring an air tank because the tires don’t hold air for long. Thanks to Eric B. for the tip!

Electra 225 models in 1961 benefited from a 401 cu. in. nailhead V8 whose horsepower rating of 325 bested most of its competition. Unfortunately, this particular engine does not run. Even more unfortunately, it has been partially disassembled for reasons unknown. The parts are with the car, however, and the seller indicates the motor is numbers matching. The car does roll but as we will see, needs everything. It comes with the Turbine Drive automatic transmission and should be equipped with power steering and power brakes.

What we can see of the interior isn’t terrible, but clearly, some freshening is in order. The car’s odometer indicates just shy of 59,000 miles, and while it’s remotely possible that’s original, the vinyl seat faces and carpets look stained and faded in places. The steering wheel has seen better days, and I’m willing to be that the gauges we can’t see don’t work. The rear bumper looks like it might have towed something at one time. Still, all of this is to be expected in a project, right?

The sellers of two of the last several cars I have written up take pains to say – no mouse smell! But then, they are rusty! Frankly, I would rather have mice than rust, but to each his own I guess. Price guidance is on the button for this one: Gooding sold a car exactly like this in 2020 for $35,200. Given that, what would you pay for this example?