So, the other day, I bought my first Buick. I'm planning to restore it over the course of the winter. Here's what I know about it.The previous owner (PO)'s father bought the car new off the lot in 1976. Since then, it had regular maintenance for its entire life up until it was parked and garaged in about 2000. 5 years later (2005 for those that don't know math), the PO gave it to his son to drive around. The transmission was replaced with a crate THM-350 (same as stock). His son didn't exactly burn rubber with it, but he didn't take care of it either. Since his son was in high school, he couldn't afford the gas, so he parked it outside.
It stayed that way until about 2009, when the PO drove it back into the garage with the intent of fixing it. He pulled the carburetor off and had it rebuilt by a local repair shop. he never picked it up. The car sat in the garage doing nothing, rags in the manifold until I bought it from him about a week ago. The auto shop still had the carb, so I bought it for $200. They rebuilt it, but did nothing to set it to what it was supposed to be, so I spent an evening fiddling with idles, mixtures, etc. until I got it idling well enough to stay running on its own.
I know the guy, so he has no problem with me using his garage to put it together enough to move it on its own. So far, I have put the carb back on and gotten it running, though poorly. It won't open the second set of barrels, but I'm working on that. Here are the total specs.
-- 350 Buick V8 with 45,000 original miles.
-- Rochester Quadrajet 4bbl, stock
-- THM-350, new, with less than 10,000 miles on it.
-- Not dents, no rust, but some missing paint on the body.
-- Rolling chassis (I even drove it out of the garage and back in with the carb not set right)
-- 100% factory stock, except for the crate tranny
I will put up some pictures later.
What I want to know from you guys is was it worth the $300 I paid for the car and the $200 to get the carb out of limbo at the shop? I think that for a running 1976 Buick with 45,000 original miles on it, it's not a bad price.P.S.This is also going to be my build thread, so expect lots of pictures, news, questions, and polls as time goes by.
It stayed that way until about 2009, when the PO drove it back into the garage with the intent of fixing it. He pulled the carburetor off and had it rebuilt by a local repair shop. he never picked it up. The car sat in the garage doing nothing, rags in the manifold until I bought it from him about a week ago. The auto shop still had the carb, so I bought it for $200. They rebuilt it, but did nothing to set it to what it was supposed to be, so I spent an evening fiddling with idles, mixtures, etc. until I got it idling well enough to stay running on its own.
I know the guy, so he has no problem with me using his garage to put it together enough to move it on its own. So far, I have put the carb back on and gotten it running, though poorly. It won't open the second set of barrels, but I'm working on that. Here are the total specs.
-- 350 Buick V8 with 45,000 original miles.
-- Rochester Quadrajet 4bbl, stock
-- THM-350, new, with less than 10,000 miles on it.
-- Not dents, no rust, but some missing paint on the body.
-- Rolling chassis (I even drove it out of the garage and back in with the carb not set right)
-- 100% factory stock, except for the crate tranny
I will put up some pictures later.
What I want to know from you guys is was it worth the $300 I paid for the car and the $200 to get the carb out of limbo at the shop? I think that for a running 1976 Buick with 45,000 original miles on it, it's not a bad price.P.S.This is also going to be my build thread, so expect lots of pictures, news, questions, and polls as time goes by.
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