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My 1964 Electra 225 convertible


Guest BJM

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http://montana.craigslist.org/cto/904449973.html

In 1996, I purchased a 1964 Electra convertible. I was in Columbia Missouri at the time. My girlfriend and I drove over to get the car for $900. It was red, was a one owner car that the estate sold to the seller who sold it to me, with no intermediate transfer.

It has the original and tired 425 2 x4 motor, positraction, auto headlight dimmer, power windows and black bench seat interior. The estate kids told me that Dad ordered it like that to tow an Airstream.

No tilt, AM radio. Power Seat.

Now for the bad part. It was heavily rusted - especially the pans. The 425 still started well, but had tons of blow by. I had to clean the plugs every 1000 miles or so. The heat did not work, nor the wipers. I was not mechanically inclined at the time. (or now, maybe)

The back window was plastic and fogged, and I had never owned a convertible before, so the 1st time I lowered the top, the rear window cracked and I ended up replacing it with Home Depot clear plastic.

I daily drove this car for 1 1/2 years. I remember most working at Pearle Vision in the lab until 9pm, getting off, and climbing into that convertible with the sunsetting behind me, and just having all my stresses waft away behind me as I headed home.

There is nothing like a big bodied convertible for that sort of convertible feeling. I have driven Porsche and Mazda convertibles and felt claustrophobic and focused on driving, not even close to these big bodied open air cars.

The rust was so bad, the seat would not move forward. I had to put a pillow behind my back to move me close enough to the pedals (I'm 5'4") I put new brake shoes on the front and a shop bled them for me.

Around 1997 I traded the car for a 1964 LeSabre with a 401. The seller was Neal - this guy who advertised religiously in Hemmings Motor News for years - always tons of overpriced projects but cars you just HAD to have. the 1964 LeSabre convertible was not one of them but I was attracted to the straight body (or so I thought) and what I thought should be a 300 engine (for economy sake)

Although I loved the big block, it needed rebuilding badly. I had previously owned a 1964 Riviera, also a daily driver, with a 425 that eventually stopped running, so much blow by and weak inside the guy diagnosing it said it needed a rebuild. Eventually, it would take several minutes to get that car to start, so I traded it.

This crept into my mind on this Electra convertible. Plus all of the other things that needed fixing. I communicated in writing with Neal and we agreed a direct swap, which given that my 2x4 motor alone was worth $1500 at the time, probably was not a good deal. I paid $750 to have a new convertible top put on the Lesabre I was trading for. It was a title for title swap.

Here is the rub. I had to drive the Electra to Whitehall, Montana. Neal would have his car prepped and ready to drive back. I took some vacation and prepped that Electra the best I could, literally a case of oil in the trunk.

Going down the road was like a Route 66 dream. It floated along and I tried to keep in tune with the blips. It never missed. I had to work to keep it under 75 mph, both for oil consumption and tickets purposes - until I hit Nebraska.

I stayed over night the 1st night in Wyoming and called to make sure the LeSabre would be ready. In Billings, Montana about 100 miles or so frm my destination, the old girl felt really tired. I added the last of my oil and was averaging about 50 miles per quart of oil. I gingerly throttled it going up inclines as I hit the Rockies.

When I pulled into Whitehall, I called Neal. Then I saw my car (the 64 LeSabre convertible) drive by and my heart sank. It was basically a junk yard car and Neal didn't bother dragging it out until he thought I was actually serious about the transaction.

They had thrown a 401 from a Wildcat in there and had been tweaking it to run ever since. That, my friends, is a different and sadder story.

I felt like I had finished a long journey. I can not say it is for the faint of heart, driving beat up old Buicks across territory with town spreads of 50 miles or more, and minimum services at that - but when all cylinders are firing, the top is down, all is truly right with the world.

Rest in peace old friend, I miss you dearly.

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A sad tale indeed. That's why I keep that 69 Electra around and don't try hard to sell it. It's a closed car but I fully agree with you, there's not much like a big bodied buick.

So what's the status of the Lesabre?

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I have seen that car for sale for a while. Man, it is sad that it is your old car. Tough to see something so cool in such sad shape. Looks like he did the trade, then drove it into the yard, and that's it.

I also remember you had a 64 Wildcat convertible, too, and a complete set of NOS outside moldings. Do you still have the moldings? If so, I am in need of them in a bad way.

Matt

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Thanks Matt and John.

John, I trade/buy/sell cars pretty fast. I have owned about 60 cars in the last 14 years. I had to laugh, unbeknownst to you. The 64 LeSabre convertible was solid but in bad shape. I don't know how, but I drove it home. The interior was toast, the body was multi colored and here it had a brand new black convertible top.

I sold it to a Buick collector from the Detroit Michigan area. I drove this car to the Buick National Meet in St Louis - 1998? Might have been 1997 but I think it was 1998.

It stood out like a sore thumb. I remember driving that car to the drive in event, and actually parking it in amongst restored Buicks. It was embarrassing.

Matt - the 64 Wildcat was sold to a buyer from Swedan. The NOS stuff I had went with that car. I wish I had kept that car. At the time I had a nice 1-2 Buick collection of a 1961 Electra 2 door Bubbletop and the 64 Wildcat.

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