Eleven weeks ago, someone dragged this 1976 Buick Free Spirit from its hiding place and plunked it down on Facebook Marketplace hoping to make a sale. Numskal found this one and passed the tip down to us, and thanks for that! The car sits in the Tacoma, Washington, area waiting for a new owner to slog it home and gussy it up a bit to get it ready to drive. Actually more than a bit. Everything’s there, minus the wheels, by the looks of it, but it’s all pretty crusty, and we don’t know what it looks like underneath. What we can appreciate is the seller’s honesty: “Floors need replaced but solid under console and back seat.” Oh boy, that’s more than a cosmetic resto you’re in for.
Why would you want to do that? The Free Spirit was a pace car replica made in a limited quantity—1290. But you’ve got a hill to climb in this case. The engine has 100,000 miles on the clock under the care of three prior owners. Surprisingly, it starts and runs, though between them, those owners have stored the Buick for 36 years. Let’s see—that means this car has been off the road since 1988. Most systems work, apparently, though the seller warns of electrical problems here and there.
This is one of those projects where the story and the history are as much fun as the cars. Just try searching for information on this one on the internet. Everyone from Hagerty to Motor Trend has written about this sub-variant, and not everyone agrees on the details, but that’s just going to make bench racing your new Free Spirit more fun while you accumulate parts to knock this unit down and put it back to right.
What more 70s vibe could you get than to name a car “Free Spirit?” In that same vein, didn’t GM have a “Spirit of ‘76” edition of a Chevy truck? Or think of Mary Tyler Moore in her big 1970s Mustang. This was smack in the middle of the age of the Marlboro man, that daredevil cowboy whose lifestyle as a rebel was confirmed by his enjoyment of a pack of cigarettes a day. So free, until the COPD kicked in, but who cared about that with a country busy celebrating its 200th birthday in 1976? If you’re inclined to relive that decade, you could do it after you drop $5000 (that’s the asking price here on Facebook Marketplace) and do a whole lot of refurbishing. You can be sure of one thing—you’ll have one of the keenest colonnade coupes out there.
I really wanted one of these as a kid. I like the color.
It’s got a nice steering wheel
I was 7 yrs. old and in 2nd grade in 76. We celebrated Bicentennial Day. I wish patriotic events were still encouraged in our schools and American car manufacturers still made patriotic editions. This car is cool, but it needs to much work.
This car is worth saving . Very rare .
All the options .
Even the spoiler still on it .
No joke . Someone who restores this will seriously be the only one at any show – any .. with one . And they are super cool
Free Spirit? Well, I’ll tell you, American “Spirit” has gone the way of common sense, MTM is gone after a wonderful career, along with the “Marlboro Man”, who died a slow, agonizing death, cost us billions in healthcare costs, and cars don’t advertise how the country feels anymore. Why should they in a sea of black and gray jellybeans? Pretty obvious as is. The Century was a nice car, I don’t think the graphics will mean much to most today. I seem to remember more graphics on these. I don’t see a lot of collectibility here, in the condition it’s in, will limit any interest. It’s still an old Buick, despite the fact, Buick had some of it’s most famous stock car racing during these times.
what’s it worth done? hard to get body parts for. Cost more to restore than you would get back yes, it’s neat but it has been beat down hard.
It’s not hard to get body parts depending on the body parts. I make all of the parts that normally succumb to rust. So there are likely no issues with getting the needed body parts. This car would be no more trouble to restore than any other.
I remember these. The decal job on them was “unique”.