With GM’s A-body redesign of 1973 that brought forth “Colonnade” styling, the Buick Regal was born. Initially an extension of the Century series, the Regal was poised to do battle in the personal luxury coupe segment already occupied by the Pontiac Grand Prix, Olds Cutlass Supreme, and Chevrolet Monte Carlo. This sweet ’73 Regal was a two-owner car before the seller bought it and spent a bundle on refreshing it mechanically. Located in Homer Glen, Illinois, the seller is looking to receive $18,000 for the automobile here on eBay. Hats off to Mitchell G. for another fabulous tip!
The Regal began strictly as a 2-door notchback coupe but was soon joined by a 4-door sedan, unlike its GM brethren. The moniker shed its association with the Century in 1976 when Buick promoted the car to series status. Regals were snappier than Centurys with a higher level of trim to baby buyers. First-year sales (1973) approached 92,000 units, and the 5-year Colonnade tallied past half a million cars, so Buick’s move in this arena was a hit.
Prior to the seller buying this Regal in 2024, it had been in the same family since new (grandmother, then the grandson). A blown head gasket at just 50,000 miles, sidelined after 28 years. It sat untouched until the seller came a-knocking (it had been repainted in 1995). It cleaned up nicely and made the local car show scene with its 350 cubic inch V8 (4-barrel carb, 200 SAE net hp).
The repair shop bill on fixing this thing up must have been in the serious four significant digits. These items include, but are not limited to, the gas tank, fuel pump, full tune-up, coil, upper engine rebuild, tires, and battery. Not stopping there, the carburetor was redone, and the brake hardware was rebuilt. The end result is a 52-year-old Buick that performs nicely and can probably be considered turnkey.
A very nice car, and if it had the 455 it’d be a real winner. Could you get a Regal with a 455? We had a 1970 Electra 225 convertible, and that was a fast car, particularly for something that was probably 5000 lbs…
This probably tips the scale at roughly 3900 lbs, give or take. Yes, you could get a 455 and maybe a 4-speed although the take rate would have been few. I like this one just the way it is, chamios color and all.
I had one of these back in the day, dark blue paint and dark blue interior, full of options, was a nice comfortable car for trips, not too hard to work on, I just had to put air shocks and white letter tires on it. (carry over from my hot rod days).
Ah the GM Colonnade cars. Talk about a lost decade. Mine not the cars. Awhile back a Pontiac CanAm was featured and I think that was the best looking of the bunch, but I do kind of like this Regal, even if that hard and shiny vinyl upholstery was typical back then. Definitely not worth the price, this is basically just a low mileage used car, nothing collectable.
REALLY FOX OWNER, perhaps the my being 93 years old and have driven many like this i think you are WAAAAY off the mark sir.
I was working at the Buick dealership in 1983. I got a 1973 Buick Apollo for $200 and hubby got a 1973 Buick Regal for $400. His was a dark red. Mine nutmeg brown. Both had 350 V8s both auto. As much fun as the Apollo was, I kept trying to get him to give me the Regal.
Feedback rating might say something
I blinked and cars like this (late 60’s – mid 70’s coupes in nice shape) went from under 10K to under 20K. There have been several examples of this on BF recently.
@PRA4SNW
I was a dumbazz back then. Not realizing you could get a 10 year old car for dirt. Best way to build a collection.
In 1986 I bought my 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood Talisman for $400.
Around 1999 I bought my 1970 Buick Riviera for $600. I forget what my ’71 Riv cost but I could afford it so it must have been under $800.
Everything shot up in the new millennium.
Angel:
I totally agree, and the last 5 – 10 years have been the worse. I used to use book values to determine what I could get a car for, but that has all gone out the window. You look at those values and then almost double them and that is what used cars are really going for.
Talk about the good Ole days have gone by ! Not to mention old whipper snappers lol I had a lot of laughs figuring out I’m the old man now!