I can't fix this really sweet '73 Buick Centurion! What's wrong with it & why can't I do the repair?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ก.ค. 2023
- This beautiful green giant has the CAR WIZARD 🧙♂️ in a pickle! He can't fix it! Ironically, the owner has even named the car "Pickles". Why can't he fix this 1973 Buick Centurion with the Buick Big Block 455?
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My brother owns a 1 family '71 Centurion. His is also a convertible with the 455. My great aunt bought it when she worked at Yale University, my grandfather purchased it from her in the mid 70's and once he passed my brother became the owner. He still drives it.
I was a service rep for Buick in 1973 and have a couple of minor clarifications for you. The upholstery is vinyl. Real leather came back much later after being discontinued by Buick in the ealry 60s. The fender "lights" are fibre optic and show status of headdlamps and parking/turnsignal bulbs. On sedans there were red fibre optics above the rear window showing status of rear lamps. the standard dash indicators also showed turn signal status. Great to see old iron still on the roadl.
Thank you, thank you!!!
You said everything I want to say. I did auto upholstery from 77 to 96. I have replaced hundreds of tops on those scissors type convertible frames. I rebuilt my own 75 pontiac bonneville convertible.
@@notfiveo I got my driver's license in Oct 72, about when the 73's would have been released.
I love the simplicity of using fibre optics like that! It’s foolproof
I was just getting ready to comment that the seats were vinyl! That's why they look so good. I wish they would bring vinyl back.
It's 50 years old and less problems than a 3 year old bmw 😂 love it 👍
And the problems are so much simpler too. BMW would faint at the idea of a manually controlled mirror these days.
No OBD2 on that old unit 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
you can easily repair the thing too, unlike the BMW
@@adotintheshark4848 I do all !!!! Yhe work on our 1983 Porsche 944 😁🚘🍺
@@elnyoutube123 Tell me what modern car has a manually controlled mirror. Those 70s GM mirrors sucked. The adjustment was so vague, that you constantly had to fiddle with it. I've owned numerous BMW's and not one has ever had a mirror failure. Nice to be nostaligiac and all, but for actual driving, I'll take a modern car over that boat any day of the week.
In my dad’s 72 Estate Wagon with the 455.4 his thumb had warn off part of “Buick” on the steering wheel and it just said “ick.” We all loved that car.
Know all about this - I have a 1972 Cadillac with a lot of the same equipment. Funny story, as the Wizard mentioned, the cruise runs off of engine vacuum. I was redoing all the vacuum lines once and made a mistake hooking it all back up, and the cruise control would floor the accelerator when you set it! 😆 fixed the mistake I made but that was a real “code brown” moment.
Code brown😂 I love it!
Lucky it was the malaise era with low HP.
@@farnthboy Lower horsepower, but still plenty of torque. They still moved - not like today's cars, but they could still catch you off-guard.
I've driven lots of cars from that era and yes, they could move. Especially when you see how massive they were. People look at them and think they are very slow and sluggish but if you know what your doing you can make those cars move and manuever them in surprising ways.
@dcerisano Where there's a will there's a way. The Buick Lesabre was a much more popular car and basically the same body. The works from one of those would probably be identical. You may not get the exact replacement part but with a little creativity an old car like this can always be repaired without losing the integrity of original parts.
It’s unfortunate that parts are not being reproduced or refurbished like they once used too. This is a seriously beautiful car!
I don't think that it's not that there's no one refurbishing or remanufacturing parts for old cars, there are parts out the wazoo for Mustangs and Camaros and the like, but there's just no market for something like this, they're too rare and just not very desirable, and those types of cars just get forgotten about unfortunately
If you own a car like that you should become cozy with salvage yards that you know has parts. I found that out owning 7 old Cadillacs. Also helps to get a parts catalog because sometimes on eBay you can find parts by the number. Someone buys old stock and lists it but they have no idea what the part is for. Just some part number. Also you should be aware of parts that might fail aand always be on the look out for those.
@@timw8228 agreed
@@MrCunningham4 agreed. It would take someone or a company to disassemble one and 3D scan all the parts.
@@timw8228you have to. I am a classic Cadillac guy as well, have owned as many as 8 at one time. There are parts that you absolutely cannot get. I have become comfortable with opening up parts that I would have never thought about opening up before. I just restored a C note horn. Why? Well who wants to pay $250 for a horn? Needed no parts, just cleaned it and put it back together.
Parts for these are available. You just have to know where to look and what other cars used the same parts. I had to that with my 78 Thunderbird. Had to get parts for a 75 Torino.
Sorry, Mrs. Wizard. That interior is vinyl. Buick did not offer a leather interior until 74, and only on Electra Limited and Electra Park Avenue. Granted it is a high quality vinyl, but actually pretty much the same as we had in our 75 Dart Swinger. Our family doctor traded in a beautiful 64 Riviera and bought a 72 Centurion.
probably Naugahyde. That stuff holds up well to cheaper vinyls.
Yeah. Obviously hasn't played with 60s and 70s cars. Should stick to cars for this century. Lotsa talking and no action.
That mirror was used from 71-76 on Buick and Oldsmobile C, B, A, and some E-bodies. The big convertibles like the Centurians were built on the B platform. There are a lot of cars built with that mirror, you should be able to find a decent used one out west where cars last longer.
or just go with a manually adjusted mirror (without remote). Should bolt right on.
We have LOTS of salvage yards here in AZ with an almost unlimited supply of non rusted parts. Working on classic cars requires a completely different skill set than working on late model cars. We use what is known as a Hollander Interchange Manual to find which parts are interchangeable between different years and models.
Exactly! This ain't no fabergee egg 😮
I would imagine that even if you can't find the matching style, you could find another GM mirror from that era and gut it to to fix this one.
@@dihydrotestosteroneyep. You don’t take your 50 year old car to just any repair shop if you need something other than brakes, oil change or tires
Yeah I agree with you about not opening up the top on the customers car for the very same reason. Unless you were doing some sort of mechanical work on the top that would require you to move the top up and down it’s probably best not to risk opening up a canna worms
I love the ride these old road locomotives had, nothing today is as smooth and comfy on the highway long term as these old full size luxury cars.
The Citroën c5/c6 will beet all of them (build till 2017 or s.th. like that). Otherwise a lot of stuff from Mercedes Benz will beat. Does not mean that the average person can afford it and modern Mercedes cars drive me mad (all the safety electronics are so enoughing compared to Mazda or BMW). But i do not car so much for comfort. I prefer reliable speed. Something only BMW offers in my domestic market. But i also have the suspision that BMW is kind of an old school company. The stuff that is not good enough for here is still fine for the rest of the world. That was at least the approach of german comapanies in the old days .... (including 1970th Mercedes Benz)
yeah but try and get it to handle. Like a hog on ice. Excellent freeway cars though.
They're tough, but not in a crash, a modern car would eat it for breakfast.
Well worth the time and effort to save these classic American cars. Absolutely beautiful cars
Comparing the 308's quad-cam V8 to the Buick's 455...didn't mention torque. While the cam's were nearly broomsticks, air pump on the front, dish-washer compression, and log-like exhaust manifolds, Buick's were still very good for grunt!
I enjoyed driving a 1972 Pontiac Grand Ville Convertible with this interior color for about six months before I turned it in for a quieter hardtop GTO. I felt like 'a million bucks' cruising in it with the top down. This was more or less 'my time' and 'my style' as a young man with some funds. This Buick is a good deal more elegant in the hood and grill...but I was working with a local Pontiac dealer to buy a new car or two each year.
I got a 73 drop top and to my surprise I get alot of attention here in Chicago when I cruise around the city
That car is too pretty!. The lines, the subtle curves. Thank you whoever owns this for allowing me to see it!
It may be beyond the Car Wizard, but old car specialists rework available parts all the time. The diaphragm is the same one used on countless GM cars and trucks of the era - it’s just the bracket that differs. That style of remote mirror was also used across countless GM cars - either fix this one or get the parts you need from another GM car. All of this is reason # 1,973,455 why Omega does not generally work on old cars
Yes, it seems like this guy has a limited skill set. Can't find parts? Really? Sounds like he doesn't really understand what interchangeable parts means! "My guy" can't find parts either? Really? Think you need a better parts guy! I wouldn't take anything into this shop!
@@devilsatan2973Nothing wrong with his skill set, working on old cars usually involves spending way to much time tracking down parts or modifying similar parts to fit - its a major time suck. Jay Leno's private Big Dog Garage has a 3D printer and a decent fabrication shop, but Jay has the millions to spend every year keeping his cars going and restoring them. There is a reason why old cars are a hobby - because they take a lot of time and effort that are done more out of a love of old cars than for any economic sense.
Had one of these with the 455, I averaged 11 mpg….
I recall driving this massive car in the early '80's as a 14 year old teen. I think it was a 1970 Dodge Polaris.
I was driving it down a dirt road at like, 50 mph. It just didn't really register the bumps - it "floated"!
I called it the USS Polaris - regarded it as a battleship. I think the car could have fit eight in the seats and five in the trunk!
It was massive and comfortable!
Model was the "Polaris".
the old cars dont recognize pot holes nor do you feel them driving over it, rides like a marshmellow on a cloud
Polara
@@stoveguy2133 "Spell check changed mine from "Polara", then and typing this. Caught it this time.
@@karltork6040 I think Polara is correct. Big floaty 1970 land yacht.
The 1971/1973 Buick Riviera also had fantastic styling. Best was the 1971 GS model. Love these GM models.
I pulled a 455 from a 70 Riviera and put it in a 82 Regal. They claimed like 370 horse and 510 ft/lbs of torque. I'm not sure but it made my Regal burn the tires any time I wanted. I may be a bad person because I got the Riviera from a dealer for $100 took the engine and scrapped what was left for $150 a couple of yrs later.
@@williamrosenow6176 You did well.
Had a 71 game.. I think 402 heads fit it ..
My dad had a 1971 Centurion 4 door (after turning in a 71 Riviera Boat Tail….sigh). Someone ran into the front grill, which had a specific waterfall design and cracked it. This was 1975 or so and the body shop could not find a replacement grill. They ended up installing a Lesabre grill.
So even in 1975, some parts were scarce.
IIRC-The cruise control parts for all B-O-P 455s are interchangeable. The primary differences are where diaphragms are mounted.
I had a’73 Cutlass Supreme I bought used in October’73. It came without cruise control, which was gaining popularity because of the OPEC oil embargo. I asked the Olds dealer if they could add cruise control and they could. Of the three optional cruise control units available, the factory cruise was the cheapest option, which I had them install. That was a wonderful car.
I had a ‘73 Centurion for 10 years….. Sold it in 2016. It was, really, a great car. 2 door coupe. Blue on blue on blue. I replaced all the suspension, front and rear, had a 2.5 dual exhaust with crossover and 40 series Flow Masters installed (sounded Awesome but cold startups were LOUD). Great road car. I had trouble with the cruise control too. Replaced as many parts as I could find (never thought of the brake switch though…) and it would work intermittently. When it did work, it would intermittently surge. Never did figure that out. None the less, it was a Great car and if I could get it back, I would.
My g-pa retired from a Chevy/Buick/ Olds/ Cadillac dealership after 40+ years... My g-ma always said, "we're a Buick family, not a Cadillac family "... And that's what we grew up in... My parents were married in a 70 GS Skylark... I remember crossing the country in those 80s Buick Regals in the backseat with my sister... I still, and will always, love those old Buicks...! The 59 Buick is my favorite...! Actually, any 59 GM vehicle is eye candy...! Thanks, keep up your awesomeness...!
The Pickle Convert is very cool. It can be a challenge getting parts on these cars, no doubt. I own a 74 Buick Century GS 455, and a few years ago a deer came out of nowhere and took out my drivers fender and front Headlight bucket / turn signal panel. Finding these parts was a two year effort. I finally located a fender out of Stockton, CA that had a 74 Regal Fender. The ONLY year that would work was 74! It was $600 PLUS freight! The Headlight bucket / turn signal housing in the front was even more difficult - as the more common Regal had a rectangular turn light, and the Century had a round light. I almost gave up when 18 months or so later one popped up on EBAY and I snapped it up for $ 150. It is back on the road now drive it as much as I can afford to drive with its 10 mpg.
I have fixed a number of those '60s-'70s remote mirrors with ten speed bicycle cable and crimp-on ferrules from bike shops, hardware stores, or the miscellaneous box. Really not too hard, and cheap, cheap, cheap.
I was thinking little lead fishing weights!
73 was the worst year for gas mileage due to emissions. I worked at at Toyota dealer and our owner had a Chevy wagon. It used a quart of oil every 500 miles and GM said that's normal. My dad bought a 73 Buick LeSabre with a 455. It sounded like a jet when it started.
Ahhhh.......the 70's...you were a kid, I was in early high school and had a Car DAD that just about bought a new car every year and/or older cars that were like new. That '73 455 four Centurion is in very good condition, especially for a convertible. Shows garage kept (even though I didn't see the inside of the trunk). I am sure Pickles likes her juice too. The 350's were gas guzzlers to say the least (in our '69 Impala, my '70 Impala, our '72 Monte Carlo and '72 Cutlass S to name a few) and working at a Chevy dealership before and after high school '73 to 76, those 455's......hope you had your own gas pump on the farm.
very very nice rare car Wizard! Thanks for sharing brother! This car really still wears original in every way! Parts are always the problem. Enjoy this video
Wizard there are turn signal indicators on the dash, AND on the fenders. The ones on the fenders were an optional repeater to tell you if the parking/head/turn signal was on, and if there was a bulb out.
I took my driving test in that exact car but in yellow.. it was my mother's car. The trooper doing the driver ingredient test was impressed I did a 3 point turn in it.
Wizard, you're Wife is a joy to listen to. Informative, vitality and funny.
You know what I like about The Car Wizard? INTEGRITY. I took my 2015 Juke RS NISMO to the local Nissan Dealer for a recall. They botched it, 3 times. The Service Manager said this to me "I'm sorry - we have never seen this vehicle model before!" Waaaaaaaa! Cry me a river bro. Are you kidding me? You are a freaking DEALER. I'm so lucky to have found a local repair shop with INTEGRITY. Thanks Wizard & Mrs Wizard!
I’m wondering if a small crimp fitting for a wire cable like those used on garage doors might work to fix the mirror. Perhaps even a small crimp on lead fishing weight might work in this situation. Good luck with fixing all the little problems!
That’s what I was thinking
It's possible that such a repair or getting the tools in there could damage the housing or mirror.
You could fix that other parts. Use part from a different car. Just keep the housing.
@@mitchellmerrill8459
Yeah it's fairly common for those style mirrors to have to replace the cable. It's doable.
IIRC I once used a welder to put a blob on the end of the wire for the remote mirror control. It lost range of motion but was good enough to position it for me.
Man that car reminds me of a 72 Delta 88 i once had. Maybe 8 mpg on a good day
My Dad had a 1969 Delta 88, 4 door….455 two barrel
I came along in 1973. My parents had a GM at the time. It was a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Holiday coupe. That Buick only has 55,000 miles 😮 love it!
Ah the 70's remember them well, graduated in 76. In the 90's I received from my father in law his 1969 Cadillac Coup DeVille. Was a great car, 472 CI, 400 turbo trans, spread bore Rochester 4 bbl carburetor also had a 2 piece drive shaft with CV joints not U joints. For a heavy car it moved. 1969 was the last year of a high compression motor, 10.1 compression ratio. At 136K miles it didn't burn oil, however it did have a couple of leaky valve guides and would suck some down if it sat and blow a small amount of blue smoke on start up. It had 4 speakers a dial cruz control and AM/FM radio that when you turned on the radio the antenna would rise up from the front left fender. An American Beauty. Thanks for the ride down memory lane Wizard, love love love these older cars.
Every time Mrs. Wizard says scroll over when doing the interior coverage section always makes me chuckle, it would be pan over if we are to use videography terminology.
Did anyone notice there’s no passenger side rear view mirror? That’s because those were an extra-cost option back then, even on nice cars like this (my 72 Cadillac doesn’t have one either).
The big 3 were fond of that money maker. Passenger side sun visor was often extra too.
There's a story some bean counter did the math on how it was say $1 per car for an ashtray or some other small interior item. He figured out the company could save XX per year and the part became optional.
Even Mercedes made those an optional extra. Passenger side mirrors are best obtained in Europe where, of course, they were the driver's side mirror.
@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 Everyone in Europe drives on the same side we do.
The UK drives on the other side.
@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 All of Europe is Left Hand Drive as per the US. Only the UK and Ireland adopted Right Hand Drive cars - which is technically not Europe.
@@spooley Pass side mirrors weren't' req'd by law in most states at that time. Curious fact--in the mid 1950s, it was illegal in Ca to use a DS mirror or turn signals. The law was either hand signals and/or look over your shoulder. Never heard of the pass side visor as an option after 1950 or so.
I had 75 Buick LaSabre with a 455 with a 4 barrel carburetor that was my first vehicle I love it when I step on the gas I love the sound of that carburetor sweet music 🎵!!!
A Buick Centurion in that exact color combination sparked my interest in obtaining a bright green convertible with white interior in top. The town where my parents and I lived in the early 1970s had a Buick dealer who sold a unusually large number of convertibles, and a number of those in the early 1970s were bright green with white top and interior whether they were Skylarks or Centurions. By the time that I was able to purchase my first new convertible in 1986, the only one that I could find with white interior and top was a 1986 Mustang, and even with a special order, green was not an exterior color option so I ended up with maroon. I had to wait until 2007 for my green convertible when I purchased a bran new New Beetle Convertible in Gecko Green with saddle leather interior and saddle canvas top.
The full-size GM convertibles of the 1970s are still my favorites, and I feel fortunate to have owned two. The first was a Pontiac Grandville Brougham Convertible in Onyx Black with white interior and top that was totaled in the flood of 1993, and the second was a 1975 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible in baby blue with matching baby blue interior and a white top that was stolen a couple of years ago.
I have had good results finding parts by joining Facebook groups specific to the car you are working on and posting what part you need. They are out there. Also Wizard, you don’t mention the massive torque those engines had, even in the smog era. Nothing like that Ferrari I’m sure.
Thats true and you are also comparing a ferrari to a buick. Its a car designed to just be a fast to where as the buick was designed to wear many hats.
As I remember some of those 1970's cars and trucks had huge bullet shaped magnets that was about 3 or 4 inches long. least that is what my late father always told me they was from. Come to think about it they was just slightly shorter then that of a .50 caliber machine gun round, and about the same diameter. Always remarked about how it looked like a particular type of medication you would give an Elephant. lol By the way Car Wizard, you should still be able to order that cruise control actuator if you order it for a 70's or 80's Corvette, as it is the same part.
Beautiful car and I agree it should be kept as stock as possible. Luckily back then the factories used parts that were simple and cost effective to make. But they lasted way longer than anything made today. With the proper shop I’d make you anything you need to keep this beautiful car on the road brother.👍
A couple sources, that might be the answer, for your Buick needs…The Buick Club of America, and The Buick Farm. Ive been a member of the Buick Club, for decades, and have dealt with the Buick Farm, for many years also. I’ve owned several vintage Buicks, and The Buick Farm, has always come thru. Thanks for listening.
The green paint is amazing...back when cars actually had character.
Agreed. Todays cars all seem to be painted using the 'German rainbow' colour palette - i.e. white, silver, grey and black.
@@georgebettiol8338 Hold on there cowboy, silver? That's getting too extreme!
@@AlvinBrinson Ahh - the German rainbow colour palette sadly includes silver and about 150 shades of grey.
@@georgebettiol8338 It's weird, they used to do all kinds of colours in the 70s, 80s and 90s, stuff like 90s BMW with purples and yellows or Mercedes in the 70s with various bright colours, by the 2000s it mostly went away, it's like the fall of the wall slowly sucked out colour in Germany.
@@Phantom_Aspekt 'Driving around' in western Europe is akin to viewing the world through black and white photography - i.e. charmless and bleak.
The Centurion ran from 1971-1973. In 1974 it became the Le Sabre Luxus.... two of my friend's Dads had them one had a 71 the other a 72 both were coupes.
Thank you Wizard and Mrs. These were the cars, 70s American Land Yachts I drove for the first 5 years of my driving experience. Years later, after owning Civics and Corollas, I went to drive one and know what they mean by yachts
Had a '72 version of these left to me by my Grampa. What a beautiful land barge. Sold it when I moved because I simply had not garage space for it. I miss it.
This car is sick. Im not much into older cars, but they really did a good job on the styling, it perfectly fits in the 70s style, but it aged perfectly. It looks old, but ina good way.
If it were me, I’d find a similar looking mirror with a slightly larger base to cover the factory mounting holes on the door. I understand that the customer may want to keep it all original though.
junkyard or NOS one from a another model buick
There is probably someone out there who knows how to repair those old obsolete cable mirrors.
Knowing how brittle those GM dashes can get, I winced when the Wizard tapped on the dash to get the speaker to work.
Pickles reminds me of the 76 Buick Electra my dad bought new. Enormous isn't adequate to describe how big it was. He had to add on to the back of the garage just so the car could fit and be able to close the garage door. It was truly like riding on a cloud.
My neighbor had one, and I had the biggest crush on her. Good old Marge would "floor it Marge" and do burn outs as I shouted for more.
I can only hear you saying “FLOOR IT, MARGE!” 😂
When I was a kid my Mom drove barges like that. Mostly Bonneville convertibles. It was all about the "boulevard" ride back then.
Recently, I took photos of this car's cousin, a beige '73 Pontiac Catalina conv, here in our town. The young man driving it said his father had it since new and restored it, probably just in time before parts become unobtanium.😕
Also, I looove this color! Back in '78-79, my 2nd grade teacher had a green '71 Olds Cutlass Supreme conv, if memory serves correctly. At that age, I wasn't too sure what to make of Ms. T apparently having a life of fun outside of Franklin elementary, but I knew I liked her car and wanted a conv for myself someday.
@Car Wizard I believe that there are 5 models that should all have the O5 1973 code mirror for 1973. Century, Regal, LeSabre, Centurion and Estate Wagon all had the same non remote mirror so you may get lucky on the other models.... I would get one that looked close enough and with matching cable length and transplant the cables to the broken one.
I am working in a 1968 Olds Delmont Convertible. Love the channel and Mrs. Wizards Ways are helping me with my first video coming soon! Thank you
Please let me know where to find it. Had a "Willow Gold Metallic" '68 2dr..
Good luck on the resto!!!
As I also approach 50 this year I’m of course ruminating over how long ago this was what the world looked like. My mom had a 2 door late 60s Skylark with a white landau top - much like the lady who drove it, was pure class (though also about 16 feet long, the car that is, sorry mom).
I absolutely loved the rich stink of gasoline present in every garage. Come to think of it, the thick blue CO2 laden exhaust also smelled pretty great to me as a lad.
Those were the days.
The air pump seen at 6:26, top left of the engine, is a noisy and power-robbing appliance. Pumps air jets into the exhaust manifold by each port, to reduce HC & CO. Back in the day, our family's mechanic removed this stuff from our big GM car. Seemed like a different car afterwards.
I took drivers ED in a brand new ‘73 Buick Century two door hardtop. Great car, it drove smoothly.
That car would have been $30,000 in today's money. That's crazy. No car of equal luxury would even come close to that today.
You could fix that mirror adjustment by simply taking solder and a soldering iron, hold the cable where its supposed to go and use the solder as structural support to hold the wire onto the mirror.
Or an old fashioned bicycle brake cable nipple soldered on the end of the mirror's cable?
JB Weld will also hold that cable in place, and allow it to function as designed.
@@0neOver0neThreeSeven
Bicycle cable end crimp....
It is difficult to
Remove the glass from the backing plate but it can be done. These are front surface mirrors.
Kansas City Auto Electric here, The cruise control diaphragm is a simple fix. Run a bead of crazy glue in the fractured rubber. This repair if done correctly will never be noticed and outlast the car. The mirror is another simple and common fix it is to spot weld using a tig welder the cable back into place. As far as the speakers make sure you replace them with 10 ohms and not the common 4 ohms. However, I have found most of the time if you pull the speaker and resolder the leads and clean the plug it will work for another 50 years provided the speakers do not demagnetize as they often do at this age. Also, the seats are not leather they are vinyl. The compression is also not 8.4 but 8.5 which is probably what you meant.
Thanks Mr. & Mrs. Wizard!
Nice Buick!! In the late 80's, my high school buds and me all had large 70's cars. Joking called ourselves a yacht club rather than car club. One of them was a 73 Buick Centurian coupe hardtop. Nice care. There was also an Olds 98, a 73 Monte Carlo and my own 75 Monte Carlo. Those old barges will always be my favorite type of car.
It would take time, but likely could take the guts of another similar GM mirror assembly and mount in the Buick housing.
I would have been about 11 in the latter part of 1972 when those probably would have been available. I very clearly remember a 1976 Olds Toronado my Dad had for a few years.
Now, that ‘76 was REALLY detuned! 12 miles a gallon in optimal conditions, really sluggish acceleration!
More likely 9 to 10
That is quite an improvement over my 73 Eldorado convertible I used to drive. 5300 lbs (another thousand over this car) and 7 MPG.
@@martyober4833 My uncle had a '76 Olds 98 TWO DOOR. Talk about a LONG door!. With the 455 and 2:56 gears in the back, he claimed he could get 20 on the highway. It would probably run 120 mph all day long (and he usually ran that fast). Don't know about the mpg, but I could get a solid 15 on the highway with a '68 Olds Vista Cruiser with the 2 bbl 400.
I think they actually got better mileage before they were detuned. I drove a 68 caddy 472 375hp and I would average 18mpg with a light foot.
@@robertkubrick3738 Me too. That detuned 500 was a gas guzzler!
The mirror cable fix is quite simple. You take an appropriately sized ball bearing and drill out the center. You slide the ball bearing over the end of the cable until it slightly pokes out the other end and then throw a quick Mig weld at the bottom of the ball fusing the two together. Even a cheap flux core welder will do the job. That's it! I've used this method to fix stretched parking brake cables that are no longer in production as well.
ALL Buicks manufactured BEFORE the 1977 models are beyond incredible!!
When I was working in a garage, in the early 1980s, we had a 1973 Centurion in for a timing chain replacement. This car was a convertible and was maroon. That thing was huge, we did other work on it as well. The timing chain job was the first I saw of it.
*Awesome video, Wizard*
Its a shame they dont build parts for these old cars anymore. I love watching junkyard videos and there are tons of old cars able to get a second chance…. People could invest in the business to bring them back, through new built parts. It would raise a whole new market nobody steps in just because of its cause; there are no parts…
Primarly the only cars that were economically worth restoring and making parts for from that era ere the muscle cars and sports cars.
use FUN TACK and a piece of styrofoam to fix the mirror in place
I honestly love American cars especially this era of car so classy and elegant such a shame they don’t make them like that anymore
On doing a second view of the radio it might not be factory, Delco always had it's name on the front from what I remember. Some dealers would put in after market radio's that looked factory but were much cheaper than the price of the Delco's and pocket the difference.
I remember the AM only radios had the letters B U I C K on the push buttons
Thanks, saved me typing it. Not a factory radio, Dealer "Mark up" special.
I believe the Buick was originally equipped with a vapor canister.
It’s down below the battery 15:09
You can also change the fiberglass filter for them.
My dad had a 1973 Buick century grab sport 350. It had many of the parts shared with other models and sadly it too is now hard to find parts for it. We used to look for replacement doors and other panels back in the late 1980s and early 90s. My dad got his new and said he only saw one which was a century sedan over the 40 plus years we had it. They made about 3600 of the century cars with two doors I think and far less were gran sport models. They are great cars and will last forever if you do the basic maintenance. I miss my dads car
"Its very old, and i don't want it breaking on me."
Amen, brother.
I would have been 24 when that one came out. Back when I was young, those types of vehicles were often referred to as land barrages just because they were big, but most of those big vehicles did have a smooth ride.
Land yachts is another term that is used.
When I replaced the radio and speakers in my 73 ElDorado convertible, I had an issue where the rear speakers (same location) were positive ground. Watch for that.
I was 14 when these cruisers hit the street....big beautiful rode like a dream
My dad had a 1974 88 Royale 2dr hardtop. It was midnight blue with a white landau vinyl top and a white interior. It had those same wire hubcaps.
My dad's buddy pulled the smog stuff off of it and plugged hoses with golf tees. He also readjusted the carb and it ran great. He flipped the lid of the air cleaner upside down so it would moan.
He had to take it into Oldsmobile for some warranty worked and they fucked up the carb. He was pissed!
7:20 Wow, Mrs. Wizard, you really drive fast! 🤣 Seriously, though, I wonder when the owner is going to want the speedometer fixed.
If you look closely, there's a little red line at the 0 mph mark. Is that the speedometer? I faintly recall something about the yellow marker being max recorded speed. Can anyone verify?
Replying to my own reply, I just found a forum that says the yellow needle is a safety sentinal. If the red speedo needle touches the yellow needle, a buzzer and some lights come on. Maybe to catch you if you fall asleep like Mrs. Wizard did, but with your foot on the gas. 😁
@@GMtech777 Oh, yeah, I think you're right. And there's a knob just under the clock that says "speed alert". Probably setting the yellow marker. I once was driven in an early 60's Buick Electra, which had a much older looking version of that type of speed reminder. I also just noticed something I completely forgot about those old speedometers; the needle partially blocks the odometer, and is painted black in that part. Memories!
The speaker issue could also be bad/corroded connections in the wiring, or dried up faulty electrolytic capacitors in the radio/amplifier unit itself. Blown speakers with fried voice coils are usually not intermittent. They don't work at all.
I have that mirror assembly, cables and all. I picked it up about 25 years ago at a swap-meet. I wanted a mirror for my Dad's 73 Limited [Electra] so he could see backing into the garage. I thought you could just turn the base bracket around and it would fit on the passenger's door. Nope. Been sitting in the garage next to the 73 Limited he bought brand new in Dec. 72. Gonna see if I can swap it for a pass. side one. Good luck trying to find parts, if not for Buick Club of America, I'd be screwed!
This video is proof that time travel is possible. Amazing car! Brought back so many fond childhood memories.
I hear that, even with my 93 cougar, it's like every time something breaks or needs replacing that piece is nearly impossible to find, and to add insult to injury it's like every part around the broken one is available, not the 1 needed
I miss my 93 cougar. Light blue, blue interior, wood grain, sunroof, digital dash…
A bicycle handlebar brake repair kit or something similar might work for the mirror controls. That, or you can crimp a stainless steel ferrule onto the existing cable if there's enough slack to work with.
What a dream boat! I had a 1970 Electra deuce and a quarter with a 455. Purchased Buick stage 1 accouterments.
Thanks for the memories. Those were new when I took drivers ed. 😂
They had 1973 Buick Century’s and a couple LeSabre’s at the school back then.
It's one of those classics that looks like it's doing 90mph, sitting still...
Hey Wizard & Mrs Wizard, wow, this beautiful Buick is really nice & brings back fond memories of years gone by. This is a nice change of pace for Omega!!! It's a shame that parts are getting so difficult to get for these old classics!!! Thanks for sharing this exciting video!!! 👍👍🙂
I saw one of these cars on a used car lot in Oregon in 1977. Metallic gold, 455, convertible. Gorgeous car.
It’s not commonly known but the Centurion was part Lesabre and part Electra. The mirrors are actually shared with the Electra 225. I enjoy Mrs.Wizards ways. Very nice content. I hope the factoid of the mirror will help.
This is why every shop should buy a 3-D printer, kind of like the one used by Robot Cantina, he is a former Detroit engineer, and he just makes parts from scratch using his computer printer, these are metal parts, not just plastic. Of course, you have to know a little bit of engineering, in order to use a 3-D printer, but you can literally make any part, for any car.
I was thinking the same thing. I would use onshape and engineer something and cnc or 3d print it. I don't think this is car wizards business model though. remember he said no old cars. I think he just knows this person and they've been a good customer.
Not everything used on a car can be reproduced using 3D printer. It depends on whether the item is largely decorative and subject to low levels of stress or performs a role that demands a 'certain level' of structural robustness' (e.g. fatigue strength).
You can’t just « make any part » sure it’s convenient for small finnicky and hard to find parts like the mirrors but you can’t print engine parts
What a nice Centurion. I'm sure you'll get it buttoned up to the customer's satisfaction. One thing that everyone fails to mention about big block cars of this era: even though the new SAE horsepower rating standards were changed, resulting in lower horsepower ratings, the torque figures were very similar. And that's what these large cars really need. I have a '73 Marquis Brougham with the 429 (4V) and it has plenty of smooth power, even though the horsepower rating is in the 212 range.
There is a salvage yard search website for old car parts that I use. Often GM used the same part across different models. The old Delco radios the components fail. Sometimes it isn't the speaker. I use M & R from MI to repair. The hood like that wraps over the front GM started using in '71 on some models. It eliminated a joint to align.
What do you do to keep that car up? Join a Buick (or big-body GM) owners' club? Go to the recycling yards every weekend religiously? Cross reference with other GM full-size part suppliers? Fab your own parts? Make a lot of noise on the restoration websites to show the demand for re-pop parts? That car is a beauty and deserves to be driven on sunny summer days and stored when the snow starts to fall! Good luck!
Look up Classic Industries..im betting they have parts for this or know who would..
I always love seeing this car, it's gorgeous. Keep in mind when talking about horsepower and those Ferrari engines, those have dual overhead cams and at least 4 valves per cylinder. I don't know about Buick in those days, but Oldsmobile considered building 32 valve 455 V8s. Look up the term OW-43. This was something I first read about decades ago. The resulting engine had about 700 horsepower at 7000 rpm. Anything you put it in would have resulted in senseless (and amusing) violence enacted on the tires. So that's my answer. That '73 Buick has only 260 hp because it doesn't have dual overhead cams and 32 valves.
The full-size cars of this era were just beautiful. Even when Dodge and Plymouth copied the GM design almost line for line (Bluesmobile) the result was fetching.
With his fabrication shop, you'd almost think Jay Leno has a business going there. Some side hustle...
You wouldn't need dual overhead cams to make power with that motor blueprinting the block to 455 stage 1 specs with that compression bump would be more than enough to humble any 308 Ferrari.
The Ferrari's don't have the torque of the Buick, and their HP costs 10x as much to make. But engine size regs for racing and registration in Europe is why they favor high tech small displacement motors. GM could have done it too, but their was no incentive.
The Ferrari 308 owned by the Wizard has 16 valves. The 32 valve 328 was released in 1982.
I remember those pace 123 cb radios from back then. Quite the useful radio to have.
I had a '73 Centurion... Never got better than 6 mpg with it. It was a fun ride.
Going from 15 to 6 mpg, how does that reduce pollution? That was a scam. I used to work in air pollution control back in the late 70s. Detuning created more smog and pollution, not less and also shortened the life of the engines.
Wizard seems to be catching some of the clickbait-itis that has infected Scotty for some years now. It's spreading! Let's hope Wizard's case does not become nearly as serious.