Barn Find, OH COOL!!

Bryce Frazier · Mar 26, 2014

I told all of you guys about my last little adventure at this mans house with all of the equipment, well right before we left I noticed a little car garage type building next to an old collapsed house (the barn is going to go down REAL soon!) and I asked the owner if there was anything good in it. He said, naaaahh, just an old car.

Well, when we walked by I stuck my head in and looked, it is a 1975 Buick Century, 4 door, with 18000 miles, and in PERFECT condition!!! I told my dad about it the other day and he got around to calling him yesterday evening, the guy told me dad that the electrical system had failed, but it was something simple like the radio quit, etc. Barry said, well what do you want for it, the guy hmmmmed and haaaaaed and said well, how about $300...

S O L D!

So, we are going to pick up our new car this weekend, it doesn't appear as though it is going to be as "boss" as my dads Elcamino and Camaro, but we think it has a 450 in it, so you never know!

It will be a little while before I can get pictures, but I will get some for sure! Bryce

dr sportster · Mar 26, 2014

That would be a 455. I would not get your hopes up too much on that engine as that was made right after the first gas crisis. But you never know.

Mike M · Mar 26, 2014

What area are you from ? Sounds like everyone is selling out around you ?
Buy it all up with those GOOD prices you've been getting and relist it make some money and then go get some more.

DaninKansas · Mar 26, 2014

Yeah, I remember some of the big blocks in cars from that time - at about 10K miles they started burning oil - by 50K you checked the oil everyday and kept at least a couple quarts in the trunk. Didn't matter if it was Ford, Mopar or GM. They all had lots of issues and the power was WAAAAAYYYYY down from just a couple years earlier.

Bryce Frazier · Mar 26, 2014

Well, this was just one farm, but it was in operation for over 100 years! They sold all of their big stuff, and we just kind of got first pick as to what was left! I am really excited about the car, dad and I are going to fix it up and probably resell it, unless mom falls in love...

Bryce

Jim in Ma. · Mar 26, 2014

Sounds like a deal - Try to get the Title.

Bryce Frazier · Mar 26, 2014

I'm not too concerned about it, after all, we rebuild engines for a living, soooo it's kind of right up our alley! I am excited to get it drug out of the barn and on it's way home! Bryce

Bryce Frazier · Mar 26, 2014

Opps, sorry forgot to mention that I am WAY up in North ID..

Bryce Frazier · Mar 26, 2014

He said that we are going to be the second owner, and that he has all of the ORIGINAL documentation for the car, sounds good to me too! Bryce

jimg.allentown · Mar 26, 2014

I'll add a few FACTS to what has already been posted....
First, at around that era, I was working in a Buick dealership in upstate NY. Very familiar with the cars.
Second, the model would have been a Centurion, which replaced the earlier Wildcat. This model was derived from using the slightly smaller LeSabre body with the larger Electra 225 engine. In this model year, it would have been a 455 cid V8.
Third, Beginning in 1971, GM lowered the compression ratios on most of their V-8 engines to 8.5. This was done to accommodate the introduction if EGR, which was mandated by the EPA to reduce NOx emissions. This did fairly significantly reduce the performance. Hwever, by today's standards, you might find it somewhat quick for a 4500 lb. car.
Also, this was the first year that had a catalytic converter on it.

Mike M · Mar 26, 2014

Mom had a 1973 Buick century and it only had a 350ci engine in it. I remember something like 13 MPG tops.

oldtanker · Mar 26, 2014

(quoted from post at 07:08:36 03/26/14) Yeah, I remember some of the big blocks in cars from that time - at about 10K miles they started burning oil - by 50K you checked the oil everyday and kept at least a couple quarts in the trunk. Didn't matter if it was Ford, Mopar or GM. They all had lots of issues and the power was WAAAAAYYYYY down from just a couple years earlier.

Yea HP went down in part because of them having to drop compression to burn unleaded gas. Another part of the drop was because they started doing the dyno with all accessories on and being driven by the engine.

Rick

k6zrx · Mar 26, 2014

Bryce,

That sure is a great find! Neat cars are still out there if you look. The price is one he!! of a deal. Getting all the original paper with it is really good. I found all the original docs for my 1948 DeSoto stuffed under the seat springs.

Be sure to check all the rubber parts, especially those you don't normally think about like brake hoses. They might be dry rotted, safety first!

Josh

waltdavies · Mar 26, 2014

Hey put it on EBay maybe you can get $200,000 for it. Giggle
Walt

1130Leo · Mar 26, 2014

I had a 1975 Buick Century 2 door, great car, it
had a 350 v-8, actually would get over 20 mpg on
the expressway... around town, about 14 mpg.. I
would like to find another one like mine, it really
was a great car.

Greenday · Mar 26, 2014

What the heck is a 450? lol

fixerupper · Mar 26, 2014

Sounds like a good deal to me. In your dry Idaho air it should be pretty well preserved. Jim

Tbone550 · Mar 26, 2014

we think it has a 450 in it, so you never know!

On the 455 -- those engines were about the lightest non-aluminum big blocks made, had very thin-wall castings. A very torquey engine. They had casting core shift issues with a fair amount of them, most visible in the lifter valley where you could see that the lifter bores weren't centered up on their bosses. I owned one like this, left it stock. This isn't a big deal until somebody decides to try to get high HP out of one and the cylinder bore is thin on one side.

Finally, if you have reason to do an engine rebuild, do the next owner a favor and deal with the engine's inherent oiling issues. Trying to remember exactly what they were now -- maybe not enough oil got to the heads? Or the lifters? An online search would show which passages needed to be bored out.

Rick Kr · Mar 26, 2014

Cool car, with a real cool price.

Growing up we had a 1973 Century, 75 was the last of that body style. Back then it didn't seem that cool, the older I get the more it is starting to look like a classic.

Rick

SDE · Mar 27, 2014

You should be be a nice guy and give him $500.

mj · Mar 27, 2014

Yeah, AND most of the car companies also retarded the camshaft timing as well. The 289 Broncos would smoke the 302s [b:69e616ad5f]unless[/b:69e616ad5f] the timing set was replaced with the 289 spec. set :wink:

Barn Find, OH COOL!!

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