Buick only built the Centurion for three years from 1971 to 1973, each of those available in a convertible, and a 2 door or 4 door hardtop. In 1973, the Centurion didn’t even have its own unique grille as before and shared it instead with the Lesabre. My dad’s last new car was a 1973 Buick Lesabre Custom, and while it was a 4 door hardtop, this car still stirs a bit of desire. Here is a 1973 Buick Centurion Convertible for sale here on Craigslist in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Fordguy1972 for finding this car and letting us know about it.
This is one of those cars you want to say “WHY?”. The car is advertised as having only 29,835 miles, but its condition would lead you to believe far more. Yes, there will be those of you who will say it’s turned over at least one time, and maybe it has. Still, the car apparently hasn’t been resting in this garage for too many years. Due to its top and Bamboo Cream paint condition, it’s seen a fair amount of time sitting outside. There is some rust at the bottom of the rear trunk lid, but I can’t tell if it’s surface rust or has eaten through. The hood especially is very faded and does show some surface rust. It will certainly need a new convertible top, but it does operate properly. I think the back glass is OK, but its hard to tell with part of the top over the glass. This car was special ordered with every option including wire wheel covers and light monitors on the front fenders.
The interior does show some rips on the passenger front seat, which is unusual because we usually see those on the driver’s side. So maybe that 29,000 miles is true and something resting on the passenger seat caused the rips. This Centurion has power windows, power door locks, power driver’s seat, remote control outside mirror, Buick floor mats, contoured litter bin, and covered storage bin on the transmission hump.
The original owner didn’t stop checking boxes when it got to the engine, a wise move. This car has a 455 4-barrel engine. My dad’s had a 350 4-barrel and that was about the slowest moving of any car our family ever owned. This 455 is mated to a Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. The car runs great. It has had the brake lines replaced as well as the hoses, starter, alternator, and dual exhaust. There were only 5,739 Centurion convertibles made in 1973. Even though this car needs some work, you can’t beat the price for a seventies GM convertible. The seller is asking only $3,999. You better grab this one quick so you’ll have time to get the work done before those warm days of spring call you to ride with the top down.
This might sound like blaspheme from some but this would make an awesome low rider….. just saying.either way its a good find and needs some love, I hope for the best for the seller
Is this still available I WANT IT
Used cars.
Who else loves that movie?
Awesome movie. Seen it a dozen times and would love to see it again today.
Oh yeah!! The medium blue Centurian ragtop the highschool kids were driving.
Always liked and wanted one but cash
around here has become scarce. Are
you sure it isn’t 129K instead of 29K?
Looks even worse than the car used
in Used Cars as it wasn’t eaten up with
rust like this one is. Makes me wonder
how well the floors and trunk pan have
survived almost 50 years of life in the
rust belt. In New England, the stuff they
use on the roads would rust an oak tree!
Nice ride when new though, Buick had it
goin’ on back then. Their engineering was some of the best around at that time. If you look at the old Bud Lindeman
drive tests on YouTube, you’ll see what I
mean when you see the road test of this
very car. Hmmm, wonder if it’s got that
quadraphonic stereo too?
Complete steal at that price! A couple weekends worth of work and you’re on the road in something that is rough enough to leave the top down in the parking lot of Denny’s, while you and your five friends head inside.
For comps, I’ve had my 75 Grandville convertible since 1989, it was an 87k mile car then, and I paid $3200. I remember the carb being wonky in the early 90s and instead of rebuilding it, I went to the Pontiac dealer where I used to work and ordered a brand new quadrajet for a few hundred dollars. Real money back then, but something you could never do today.
Only expensive items are related to the top. The scissor top cars have a gearbox that’s Several hundred to replace, and parts cars are long gone. Hydro-e-lectric in Massachusetts is the best source for this. Lots of the small bits can usually be found in Ames Performance.
Lastly, the interior plastic parts in these tend to disintegrate. I would like to develop a system where I could 3D scam a part, fix the cracks and holes in cad, and 3D print a new one. I actually looked into it and the hardware, especially the printer, was cost prohibitive.
In the late 80’s, I was gifted from the original owner a 73 LeSabre convertible that had fallen upon hard times. It needed everything, and being pre-internet I really scratched for parts. The front clip was pretty wasted, so I found a 74 LeSabre that was in pretty good shape, and swapped the front ends. The angles matched up perfectly, and unless you peeked at the rear lights, the car was mostly recognized as a 74. Had the big 455ci V8 and full power. The kids were young then, we took a road-trip from Sarasota to Chicago with the top-down a good part of the way. For what I put into it, in the end I realized I could have purchased a pretty nice survivor. But the experience of having to rebuild *everything* was one that has since shaped my car-buying decision. Good memories, though!