A friend at work approached me today and asked me if I'd be interested in a 1965 Buick Electra 225. It's been owned by her parents for it's entire life, and hasn't been run since 1977.

Most of my experience has been in diagnosing and repairing modern cars and trucks, but I am really intrigued by a project like this. Think it's worth it? I figure the biggest expense at the moment would be buying a trailer to cart the thing around while I get it fixed up. Other than that, I would slowly hack away at it over one or two years. I told her I'd probably offer about $150 for it.....

What do you guys think? Worth it? Or should I pass on it.

 

Parts (other than wear items like brakes, shocks, filters and engine electrical) may be a little hard to find. Other than that, if it is complete and not rusted out, go for it. That Buick (and the Olds 98) is based on the Cadillac frame, but with a Buick engine. There is no smog emissions hardware except for a PCV and the TH400 transmission is considered one of the most rugged of all time. It probably has the 401ci "nailhead" engine, which has pentroof combustion chambers, not quite a "hemi" because both valves are parallel on one side. Dont be too scared, just because it isnt modern. Things like setting ignition points are easy to learn. Vacuum motors running the climate control system and cruise control are probably the most complex systems on the car.

Jim

 

We actually had a black '65 Electra 225 many many moons ago. It was a awesome car, it really just needed a carb rebuild to be just about perfect. And carbuilders today could learn a thing or two about the quality of the car - it has to be one of the best-built cars I've ever seen. I'd be driving it now if we hadn't sold it.

 

Okay...I have a question about leaded gasoline...

Obviously, the car was made to run on leaded gas, which is no longer available. I remember a friend told me a couple years ago that running an engine originally designed for leaded gas with unleaded would destroy the valve train? Is there an easy fix for this? Or do I have to replace the valves?

 

For about 20 bucks, you can buy a gallon can of octane booster. Add a pint to a tank of fuel, and you shouldn't have any problems. I had a 68 Olds for years that ran on that stuff..no problemo. I think the Buick has a 25 gallon tank.


Better get a looong trailer, that Land Yacht is 224.1 inches long.

 

Yeah, I stumbled on that fact when I was researching where the 225 came from in the name "Electra 225"!

I figure it would BARELY fit on an 18 foot car hauler, but I'd probably be best to find a 20 footer.

 

Valve recession from unleaded gas turned out to be more of a myth than reality. You will not be racing or towing with that car, so the engine will never see sustained high rpms. That engine was originally designed before highly leaded premium fuels were commonly available, but it probably does have a high compression ratio and may need help to run on 91 octane without pinging.

Jim

 

401 ci; 325 HP @ 4600 RPM; 10.25-1 Compression Ratio; Hydraulic Lifters.

Chevron Custom Supreme was around 100 Octane. Back in the mid 60's it sold for .035.9. Supreme was .033.9, and Regular was .029.9. I worked weekends at the Standard Station at Sepulveda and Moraga Drive in Bel Air CA. The station, (# 9528) is still there today.


BTW...I see OP has a Lariat 4X4...it's the same length as that Buick is.

My Olds was the same length as my 2004 Lariat 4X4, and barely fit in the garage.

 

> hasn't been run since 1977

I would squirt PB Blaster in each spark plug hole, actually fill the thing (it will foam out), let it sit overnight, do it a few more times/days, then see if you can manually turn the thing with a breaker bar.

If the engine turns by hand a full rev, then $200-$300.

Probably be a long road to getting it ready to start, even if the engine is good, never mind drive.

Good news is rebuild engine and tranny combo in worse case is only going to cost $1500 tops combined for this year car.

 

Thanks for the great advice everyone!

I was thinking that even if the engine is bad, I could buy an old small block off of ebay and shove it in there without too many problems. Not sure about the original motor and tranny, haven't gotten many details yet.

Are there any good places to buy parts for something that old? I can get many common parts from the local parts store, but some things are oddly nowhere to be found. I have yet to find a place that will have brake drums for the car! I can find brake shoes at any parts house, but nobody can come up with drums! Same thing with a radiator, although I'm sure if that were bad I could make a similar size unit work just fine.

Also, NumberDummy might know this...how much does this beast weigh? My F150 is supposed to be able to tow 9,100 lbs, but I wouldn't want to get too close to that for any kind of long haul. I figure the Buick would weigh somewhere around 4-5,000 lbs, probably putting the total trailer weight to 6-7,000 lbs. Any exact figures?

Thanks for all the replies!

 

Pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor News for parts sources. There is an outfit in NJ that has brake drums, wheel cylinders, hoses, along with suspension parts for just about everything domestic since the 1930's.

I thought Chevron Custom Supreme and Richfield Boron were 104 Octane. Those were the only ones that wouldn't ping in the 'vette-engined 1965 Impala. I do remember paying those prices for gas.

Jim

 

jimandmandy...heck it's been 40+ yrs since I worked at a gas station (on weekends only, the rest of the week was behind a parts counter). So I said around 100 octane because I couldn't remember exactly.


Kanter Auto is the outfit in New Jersey that has brake parts, and just about anything else. There's also a long standing Buick Club you might consider joining. Some GM cars in the 1960's used a special combination aluminum wheel and brake drum. Finding one new is almost impossible. Almost, as I have several NOS if you end up with that type of drum, and need one.



Hemmings.com will have info on Kanter, who began by selling Packard parts 40 yrs ago. I'm a Packard collector and have used Kanter several times. They are a fine outfit to deal with.


Buick "shipping" weight: 4,284 lbs for a Electra 225 4dr HT, the heaviest of the three 225 models made that yr.


Trivia: Did'ja know that David Dunbar Buick made his fortune, not from automobiles, but from the process he invented to attach porcelain to cast iron? Paraphrased old Buick ad slogan: When better bathtubs are built, Buick will build them!

 

One thing to consider ... After all is said and done, it will still be a '65 Buick, not on anybody's collectible (or desirable) list.

 

Partially true. Convertibles are at the top of the food chain regardless of who makes them. Hardtops are less desirable than a convertible but after the HT, there's not much else worth spending a ton of money on. I sold my 68 Olds Delta 88 Custom HT for 7 grand recently. It was a 3 owner car with 41,000 actual miles. Even the clock worked. Another plus, it was a special ordered car originally and didn't have the typical GM vinyl top that sweated, causing the roofs to rust out. It also had manual seat and windows.


While value guides can be very subjective, a 1965 Buick Electra 225 Convertible has a parts car value of $840.00. In #1 condition it's listed at $21,000.00. The 4dr HT is $500.00 for the parts car, #1 condition is $13,500.00


Things have changed in the collector car market since we were lads. Since very little that's made after 1980 is worth collecting and restoring, some of the less desirable cars from the 1960's have skyrocketed in price. It's all about supply and demand. Most of the high market cars are gone, so what's left? Who would have thought that a 1969 Chevelle Ragtop with the 396 engine would sell for 90 grand? Or a 1965 Rambler Marlin would bring 20 something. Crazy.

 

Hrmmm...interesting...

This one is a convertible, and to be honest, I expect it to be a complete PITA. How likely is the convertible mechanism to be in working order after not being used for 30 years? More importantly...how likely am I to be able to get the darn thing to work without spending years on ebay looking for parts for the top.....

I want it as a project...probably never spend the money to get it in perfect shape, but it would be nice to have it running right, with everything working, and looking reasonably good...