Earlier this summer, my wife and I were on a nice long walk in the summer in the evening. While on the walk, we went past this house, which of course immediately caught my attention. Along with that big 1976 Buick Electra 225 was clearly another vintage car under the cover. But what is it?
The 1976 Buick Electra represented the end of the era for General Motor’s last truly monstrous full-size cars. Not only were they physically large, measuring a massive 233.3” in overall length (comparable to a modern crew cab half-ton truck with a 5.5’ box), but it was also the last year that GM offered the big V8 engines. For 1976, this Electra 225 came standard with a Buick V8 displacing 455 cubic inches. By this time, engines had been detuned with mild camshafts, low compression and fitted with the rudimentary emission controls of the day. However, with the introduction of GM’s excellent HEI ignition system, and catalytic converters, by 1976 driveability had actually improved considerably from prior years. For is final year the 455 produced 205 hp @ 3800 RPM and 345 ft-lbs @ 2000 RPM (SAE net). While it seems laughably low by today’s standards, these engines were more than adequate to move these leviathans due to the fact that the majority of their power was available at low RPM.
The Electra 225 was the entry-level Buick C-body, with the higher level Electra Limited being the top-of-the line Buick. The Electra 225 4-door had a base price of $6527 and a total of 26,655 were produced, making it the 3rd most produced of the four Electra models.
So that brings me to the car under the cover. Anyone wager a guess at what it is? Being on private property, I wasn’t about to trespass and lift the cover, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what lurks beneath that cover. And so which car would you take? The big Buick, or the mystery car under the cover?
Further Reading:
The mystery car has to be a ‘62 Chevy, and while I like Impalas, of the ‘61 thru ‘64 Chevys, the odd numbered years were my favorites.
Since I was a big Brougham fan at 16 in 1976, I’ll take the Electra 225. 😀
There IS another car in these pictures. Is there any love for the Subbie out there?
Not a Subbie. The black car is a Kia Forte. That bucktooth grill gives it away
Yeah, it pixelates when I zoom in; and when I zoom in, I see an ellipse with what appears to be the Pleades (Subaru being the Japanese word of the famous star cluster in the constellation Taurus)… but as usual, I digress….
I don’t know my Japanese sedans all that well, having thought it was some sort of generic Camaccord or whatever… but KIA… yeah, that has an eleptical grill ornament as well.
Thanks for the ID, Leon!
Definitely no hate for Subbies here Rick, especially since we have one in the garage. And no hate for the Kia that’s in the driveway too, but just zero interest from me.
Nevertheless, you guessed the mystery car correctly first. I instantly though it was a ’62 Chevy when I saw it, like the majority here.
Mystery car. It looks like a 64-66 Imperial judging by the bladed fenders and the way the cover clings to the distinctive vent windows, but the rear mounted antenna is shaking my confidence.
I don’t see that sorta-Continental Mark spare tire thing (toned down on the ’66 but still raised in the center) in the trunk lid, so not an Imperial imo.
Yes I agree with the consensus that it’s a 62 Chevy, the rear mounted antenna fully confirmed it. I was looking way too hard at the roofline and ignoring glaring details like you pointed out.
I still pick it over the Buick 🙂
Well, I’m not very good at this but, I’m guessing a 1962 Chevy Bel-Air
Hmm, RetroStang Rick says there’s a Subaru in these pictures. I haven’t seen it yet. 🙂
I’ll take the Buick.
“Hi, my name is Chris C. and I’m a Buick enthusiast.”
“Hi, Chris.”
Between this and the wonderful Scottsdale posts it’s nice to see more Buicks. Give me the 225 any day.
Buck all the way, no time for the lowly Chevy under the cover.
BUICK!
I agree that the covered car is a ’62 Chevy. The Buick looks nice in that color but I’d like to find one without the vinyl roof – here’s a picture of one from the brochure.
I’m too observant for my own good but this is bugging me: where’s the front side marker light on the brochure Buick? Compare it to the right front view of CC car in driveway. Is it simply not there or am I nuts? Or both. A double QOTD mystery!
That’s a very good question. I wonder if it was airbrushed out of the brochure picture (by mistake maybe?). The Estate Wagon in the same brochure is also missing its front marker light.
http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/NA/Buick/1976_Buick/1976-Buick-Prestige-Brochure
That looks like a ’75 (despite being in the ’76 brochure – not impossible) and they were very well hidden that year. It’s in the lower edge of the bumper, easily visible on the car below. Perhaps augmented by a light in the grey below-grille slot wraparound section, but I don’t think so. Only reason I’m not ruling it out completely is that there’s a red taillight hidden in the clear-lensed backup lights!
Here’s one without the cornering lamps just so you know it’s not hidden in there:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/1975_Buick_Electra_225_%2824335959459%29.jpg
I too will take the 1976 225. As VinceC noted, the 1973 to 1975 models were neutered by primitive de-smog technology. Back in the day, years 1972 and back were the hot tickets on the used car market; I got a 5 year old 1972 Impala 350 2 bbl and it was a runner.
Now I can’t tell what’s under the cover and not being a gambler, I’ll stay with what I can see. Of course, if it is a 1962 Biscayne with a 409 2X4s, 4 speed, R&H delete, and dog dish hubcaps… well then, bummer!
Something that rare may be why it’s covered.
“She’s real fine my 409” 😀
Not many 409’s made it into Canada, but you never know. If it were a ’62 Bel Air hard top with a 409 with a 4-speed, it’d be one of my childhood fantasy cars. But judging by the roofline, it’s definitely not a bubble top. I still have a soft spot for the ’62 Chevy though. Maybe one day if I save my pennies and save my dimes… I can buy a 4-speed, dual quad, posi traction 409. 😉
Ooh I like those last huge Buicks, especially in that color. I’ll take it over what looks to me like maybe a full-sized ’65-’68 Mopar from the long deck lid but may be an early-’60s GM product (Olds or Buick? vestigial tailfin looks too big for a Chevy).
Also, in addition to the Electra 225 and Limited, wasn’t there also a Electra Park Avenue sedan? Or was that just an option package and not a separate model?
My Dad had a ’76 he bought when the dealer’s new ’77 came in. It was known as an Electra Limited Park Avenue and its own model I believe. Triple black every option, including 455 delete and small credit for 350. He traded his ’73 Electra on it. Never forget Mom telling Dad: “it’s beautiful honey but the old one was faster”
Your memory is playing tricks on. At no time was it possible to delete the 455 on these. However, by that time even the 455 felt like a 350.
The only time a sub-455 CID was available on C-Bodies was ’75, when Olds allowed the deletion of it in favor of a Pontiac 400. There were few takers.
I beg to differ with you. We had that car for 16 years. I worked on that engine it was a 350 4 bbl. saw the window sticker with my own 2 eyes. I may have misspoke in calling it a delete option as I recall a plant strike may have resulted in a 455 engine shortage. This is documented elsewhere
’62 Chevy. It is covered because the windows are down or missing. That’s my guess anyway. I would take the Buick and live happily ever after. Or until gas prices rose…
If it’s Chevy, then it’s got to be the Buick.
I would take the black 2010-2013 Kia Forte. I had a 2010 Forte and it was fun to drive and a great car.
Buick!
A friend has a ’76 Park in dark green metallic and it’s the personification of Peak American Luxury Car!
Wow you all are good. I saw the dip in the trunklid present under the cover and thought ’62 Chevy. Then I come here to the comments and that is the majority of guesses.
And my Uncle’s last Buick was a ’76 Electra Limited coupe. Had a series of Cadillacs afterwards but that Buick was always his favorite.
Bob
Great find Vince. That Electra is very nice. I was generally not a fan of any of the B Bodies introduced in 1971. I thought they looked too bloated and bulbous, even as full-sized cars. Not helped by the fact the Colonnades manged to appear somewhat leaner. However, I did like that window GM added to the sedan C pillars in 1975. It added a bit of airiness to an otherwise submarine-like overall mass of sheet metal.
Thanks Daniel, and I agree with your opinion on these big B/C-bodies. I generally like full-size cars, but I never cared much for this generation. When I was young, I had an interest in the clamshell wagons though. I wanted my mom to replace our more modern downsized B-body wagon with a big block powered clamshell. Fortunately she didn’t listen to me.
While I thought the 1971 B and C body GM cars were a big stylistic improvement (all 5 GM lines) over the 1965-1970 models they replaced, I also thought that there was a lot of wasted space inside the fuselage-style body. Case in point: my Dad bought a new 1971 Olds Delta 88, trading his 1967 88, and as an experiment, I took a standard-sized Kleenex tissue box, and was able to drop it between the edge of the front seat and the front door, which was closed at the time.
At first I thought it was a 62 Chevy, but after looking at the close up, the wheelbase looks to short & the roof line doesn’t look quite right.
It’s probably a sedan roof.
62 Chevy is my guess, too, from the center dip in the chrome and the antenna. The roofline puzzles me, unless it is a two door post (sedan). Why it is being kept with that big Buick I don’t know, unless nostalgia or it does have a 409 under there (in which case a two door post Biscayne or Bel-Air would make sense).
It looks like a 64 Buick Skylark under the cover. Too small to be an Impala.
Now that I look again, maybe a 62 Ford?
Hmm…is that a Pontiac 8 lug rim poking out from under that cover?
I was thinking that might be a ’61 Chevy wheel cover. But just a guess.
All I can say is I’m impressed with everyone!
Sometimes I can work something out but this one about all I could come up with is there definitely is a car under that cover!
Good job🤗
GM’s Brougham-ism was about to take a size hit for ’77 so being the Land Yacht fan that I am I’d have to take the ’76 Buick beastie instead of Undercover Mystery Car.
Hmmm. A 76-ish Electra or what consensus would have me believe is a 62 Chevy. Can I go double or nothing for the next Cc you find? 😊
No? Then I suppose I’ll have the Buick. The devil you know.
What? No Love for a ’62 Chevy or for a 71-76 full-size GM from JPC? Colour me surprised! 🙂
In 1976 the top of the Buick line would have been the Electra 225 Park Avenue.
The Park Avenue was an option package, not a separate model. There were only 4 model listings, the Electra 225 2 and 4 door, and the Electra Limited 2 and 4 door.
It only took a second for me to see “1962 Chevy”. As for trim, have to uncover it, to see if Bel Air, Impala, or Biscayne.
No, kids, in ’62 big Chevys were not all Impalas, as some on those ‘car restoration shows’ say. [And certainly not ‘muscle cars’]
If I may mutilate some metaphors:- “A pig in a poke by any other name smells just as sweet”. I would take the pretty one we can see; not the mystery vehicle under the tarp.
1967 Dodge Polara or Monaco
or 1967-8 Plymouth Fury sedan
Definitely the Electra. I had one like this, different color scheme, and loved it.