I could not find the original long post about the oddly equipped early 70s Electras. I seen this 1972 Electra before, but did not realize that they showed the interior. Exterior wise, it has the light monitors, cornering lights, but no bumper gaurds. I noticed something very interesting on the interior photo. This is the Custom model I think, or at least it has the cloth interior and the "Custom" door panels like my old 72 Electra Custom had. I think there was three different types of door panels for the 72 Electra. One for the base, Custom and Limited. The interesting think I noticed on this Electra, is that it has manual crank windows. No power windows. I have seen these on the 74 Electra before, but not actually on the 1972, although I know that power windows was optional. It would be interesting to know this Electras other options, such as if it has auto-climate control, power trunk, power door locks or the rare gear shift wiper control (cant tell from the photo about the A/C or if it has cruise) it looks like it has tilt wheel. I have seen a 71 Electra before without A/C, which I think is probably very rare. Again, here is the car and it looks like a very nice one.<P>Marty, if you see this car- the interior looks very similar to the interior in your royal blue 72 Electra. <BR> <A HREF="http://www.countryclassiccars.com/cars/72belec.jpg" TARGET=_blank>http://www.countryclassiccars.com/cars/72belec.jpg</A> <BR> <A HREF="http://www.countryclassiccars.com/cars/72belec2.jpg" TARGET=_blank>http://www.countryclassiccars.com/cars/72belec2.jpg</A> <BR> <A HREF="http://www.countryclassiccars.com/cars/72belec3.jpg" TARGET=_blank>http://www.countryclassiccars.com/cars/72belec3.jpg</A><p>[ 05-04-2002: Message edited by: Shaffer ]

Actually, I do not think it could have the "Custom" door panels, as they have a full-length arm rest and the window switch is in the arm rest. The window crank could not be on that, so this must be the base Electra, which would make it even more odd, since it does have the light monitors and cornering lights and the cloth interior. I think most of the base Electras had all vinyl interior.

I recently looked at a base-level '72 Electra 225 2-door hardtop that had cornering lamps and automatic climate control, not to mention power windows. As noted before, customers could order these cars equipped however they wanted them, so there was tremendous variety in the way they were optioned.

Yes, it seems like a lot of cars of the early and mid 1970s was equipped like that.

You may recall that there was a MINT, 3,500 original mile 1971 Oldsmobile Delta 88 2-door hardtop coupe, that had NO air, NO tilt wheel, NO power windows or locks that was for sale on E-Bay a while back. Despite its rarity, I feel that the car would have brought a good amount of money in, if not for the lack of very important options. Back in the late 1980s we got my grandfathers old 1972 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale 2-door hardtop coupe, that had every option available. It had automatic climate control A/C, power windows, locks, cruise, tilt, vinyl top, the 455 engine and the optional wheels, as well as other options. The car was in MINT condition, and being about 14-16 years old, it was not wirth much then. My dad sold it for $50., just to get rid of it. A few years later I sold a mint 1971 Oldsmobile Toronado to my grandmother for $200. Although I paid $500 for it. My aunt wrecked it and it finally went to a junk yard in #2 condition, aside from a dented grille. <BR> [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif" border="0[/img]<p>[ 05-04-2002: Message edited by: Shaffer ]

Hey Tony: The Electra does have the same color and material as my Electra. It does have the base door panels though. I have seen that type of door panels with a power window switch where the crank would be. I don't know if that means that power windows were added at the dealership or it was a base Electra with power added as an option. This car looks like it is in great condition. On an unrelated note Tony there is a nice Pontiac wagon on "collector car trader online, about a 72 if I am not mistaken. Check it out!

It does look like a very nice car. If this is the wagon you are referring to: <BR> <A HREF="http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/3/4/22500834.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/3/4/22500834.htm</A> <P>it is a very nice wagon and only has 22K actual miles. It is a 1973 Pontiac Catalina Safari with the woodgrain option. Woodgrain was optional on all of the 1971-1976 GM wagons, except the Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon, where it was standard and not available on other the other full-size Chevrolet wagons. Even on the Grand Safari wagon the woodgrain was a option, which I did not know until about a year ago. I thought the Grand Safaris had woodgrain and the Safari was non-woodgrain. Same way with the Buick wagons. Woodgrain was optional. Oldsmobile as well. I would like to find a wagon as nice as this one. There is a 1972 Pontiac Safari wagon on E-Bay currently, but it has rusty rear floors. I e-mailed the owner, as I was interested in the car, but the rusty rear floors and it only having 2-seats, I decided to pass. My current wagon come from Raleigh. I was going to get my uncle to look at it for me, but it is a little too rough.

Hey Tony: That is not the one I was reffering to but it is a nice one. The one I was looking at was all white with no woodgrain and road wheels. I don't know how to put a link on this site. I see you do it all the time. Can you tell me how you do it?

I cannot find that wagon. I remember seeing a 1974 Pontiac Catalina Safari wagon on there last week that was white. To copy and paste a link: You have to open another screen of your internet. On my computer, I clicked on the address link until it turned blue - then I click on "edit", then click on copy. Then, open the page that you want to paste the link on, then click "paste". It took me forever to figure it out. Hope this helps.

I know this post is old and we have discussed this in detail in the past- but I find the way these old cars are optioned are interesting. Here is one I thought I would post. It is the top of the line 1974 Chevrolet Caprice Classic 4dr hardtop sedan. It is very oddly optioned. It has cruise, power door locks, am-fm-8-track, rear window defog, but NO A/C, NO tilt, NO vinyl top, NO power windows- which the last four mentioned- these cars typically have and do not have the cruise and rear window defog. The car is in the north, so it may explain the lack of A/C and the addition of rear window defog. Interesting I thought.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...794352&rd=1

What was the difference between a "Caprice" and an "Impala"? Was it trim level, engine size, options, etc? My father's '75 Impala looks almost exactly the same as that Caprice.

The "Caprice" was the "luxury" Chevrolet from 1965 thru 1996. The Impala was a similar car, but the Caprice had a more luxurious interior and more exterior chrome. As far as options go- back then on most cars- you got what options you wanted. I have seen rather plain Caprice's and loaded Impala's, but typically, the Caprice had more options. It was basically a trim level. When the Caprice line was added in 1965, originally as a "luxury option" for the Impala 4dr hardtop, there was also the "plain-jane" Biscayne (but I have seen some loaded Biscaynes in the past, but plain trim) from 1965-1972 (introduced in 1958). The Caprice "option" was so popular in 1965, Chevrolet made Caprice a totally different trim line in 1966- adding a 2-door hardtop and stationwagon with the simulated woodgrain- which was a first for a Chevrolet wagon. The Biscayne from 65-72 is a fairly rare model, mainly used for taxi and police fleets.

Then there was the "next step up" Bel-Air with a little more chrome (introduced in 1955) and lasted until 1976, except in Canada- where I understand that the Bel-Air trim remained until at least 1979. In 1955- Bel-Air was the top of the line, but Chevrolet renamed and reconfigured its car names in the 50s and 60s, because by 73, the Bel-Air was "base" Chevrolet.

When the Impala was dropped in 1986, only the Caprice remained- then Impala SS re-appeared in 1994- cancelled in 1996- then re-appeared as Impala or Impala LS (both nicely equipped) in 2000 as a FWD sedan, on the same basic chassis as the Buick LeSabre- just as it was from 1959-1985. During the 70s- the Caprice had a standard 400 cubic inch engine, where the Impala had a 350, but had the 400 as a option. Some of the Biscaynes and Bel-Airs had a standard inline 6-cylinder up to 1972 (except wagons- which ALL had V8) if I recall- V8 was standard on all for 1973. In the 60s, you could get any Chevrolet engine available in most any 65-70 Chevrolet car. From the small inline 6-cylinder up to the huge 427 V8. Most full-size Chevrolets in the 60s had either the 307, 327 or 350 (beginning in 68 or 69) however, the 6-cylinder, 396 and 427 were rarer engine options. Beginning in 71, the largest engine was the 454- which was a option, but mostly on the Caprice's.

This 74' Caprice would be the same chassis as your fathers 75 Impala, but there was a rear roofline redesign in 1975, but the windshield remained the same, as it did on all 1971-1976 full-size General Motors cars- except for convertibles- which had a different windshield- but it too was the same from 71-75 (I think the convertibles were not available in 76'?). The reason that this 74' Caprice is so rare, is because most ALL 1971-1976 full-size Chevrolets were equipped with A/C, especially the Caprice. Also too- many did not have cruise control or the rear window defog- which this car has. It also has power locks, but lacks power windows and tilt- which most had. It is a very unique car. I have seen some oddly optioned 1971-1976 Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Cadillacs, but this one is one of the more unusual models, but not as unusual as the 71 Electra a while back that also lacked A/C, or the 71 Caprice a while back that had ALL options available, but it had an extremely rare 3-speed manual with column shift. I am guessing it was a special ordered model, because I think that automatic was standard on ALL full-size Chevrolets beginning in 1971. Also unusual was the manual shift late 60s LeSabre someone posted a while back.

I also just noticed that this Caprice has the optional "split" bench seat- which I think is very rare for these cars.

I have discovered that the 60s cars can be as "oddly" equipped as well as the 70s. My 1969 Caprice 4-door hardtop sedan has the following options: power windows, power locks, tilt, A/C, factory am-fm, vinyl top, hideaway headlights, power disc brakes (power brakes were optional, as was the discs - so you could also have manual disc, manual drum or power drum), deluxe wheelcovers, turbo transmission and the 396 big block engine.......

I was looking at another 4-door 1969' Caprice before I bought this that lacked the following options that my car has: power windows, power locks, hideaway headlights, disc brakes (but had power drum), or the 396, but it had two options my car does NOT have- the very rare fiber optic light monitors on the front fenders and bumper gaurds.

I think it is neat..

Now here is another unusually optioned car- a 1971 Impala 4dr hardtop, with Comfortron (automatic) A/C, as well as tilt wheel. These were typically seen on the Caprice- and even on the Caprice- the Comfortron was a rare option.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...ssPageName=WDVW

75' Impala sedan (similar to LeSabre)- this one is equipped with Comfortron (automatic) A/C, tilt, cruise and cloth seat. In addition- this is an extremely nice car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...220950&rd=1

In comparison- here is a 74 Caprice convertible- NO A/C, NO tilt, NO cruise, basically- nothing.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...079100&rd=1

Most of the time those big upper level GM cars with no air started out as Northern or Canadian cars. The other case would be a dealer in a small rural town that sold to a lot of farmers. They often HATED cars with lots of options; many of those options we would expect on a car they wouldn't have anything to do with. So, sometimes the dealer ordered a car for "Farmer Brown" without air or radio just so he could make him happy. After all, the guy probably bought a new car every 6-8 years, but he may have bought a new truck every TWO years just like clockwork. And, the Ford dealer was just down the block waiting to get his business.....

Also keep in mind that up until the last few years, rental fleets and corporate fleets intentionally orders cars a certain way, such as full size cars with six-cylinder engines at a time when a 300+ cubic inch V-8 were pretty much the norm.


When you read a book that broke cars down by options, and you see 92% of all the models made in a certain year had air conditioning, now you know who ordered the other 8%!

You are right Reatta Man. The "value oriented" folks seemed to get the low optioned cars. I have also noticed that some of the "northern" cars are the ones that seem to be equipped without A/C and tend to have the other options- such as rear window defrost/defog. This was the case with a recent 1974 Chevrolet Caprice sedan that was on E-Bay recently. The link is actually a few post up. It had rear window defog (blower type) cruise control, power door locks and AM radio, but it did not have A/C, power windows, tilt wheel, etc. I think it was in Pennsylvania or New York. This was one of the rarer equipped Caprices I had seen in a while. The others were the NO A/C 74 Caprice convertible, and the LOADED 1971 Impala 4dr, with automatic climate control A/C, power windows, power locks, cruise and tilt - all of which were typically reserved for the Caprice models. I also have an original July 4, 1976 Midland, TX newspaper. I was looking at the old ads in the classifieds. There was a 1971 Chevrolet Biscayne (plain Chevrolet) that had A/C and power windows. I am guessing this was quite rare for the Biscayne- which was a rare car anyway- even when new, as what few were built, where mostly used for police, taxi and rental car fleets. The old man that has the 1000s of old cars about a mile from here has a 1971 Biscayne sedan and if I recall, that car had A/C and that was it. It has been about 4 years since I have seen it, as well as the 60' Electra convertible that he had- which has rusted to a hull. My dad said that back in the 70s, he had a 1968 Chevrolet Biscayne Brookwood stationwagon, that had factory A/C and it had NO other options. I recently saw another 68 Biscayne wagon with factory A/C - which I thought was unusual.

BTW- another ad that caught my eye in the old 1976 newspaper was a 1970 Buick Estate wagon. "1970 Buick Estate Wagon, like new, very low actual miles, 1-owner, garage kept, $1000 obo". Where is it now?


There were only very few 4dr 1972 Electras ordered without A/C. The percentage was extremely low, as expected from Buicks flagship sedan.

Sorry for my obsession with the 1972 Buicks, but I ran across another what I think to be unusual 72 Electra. We have not seen many like this, but know they exist, because there was another one focused on a while back.

Here is another base-level 1972 Electra 2-door hardtop without some of the popular options on these cars: NO: power windows, power locks, cruise, tilt, FM radio, etc. Looks like the only option is A/C and AM radio. All-vinyl interior as well.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...ssPageName=WDVW

In contrast- here is another nice Electra, despite some heavy trunk rust scale. A 1972 Electra 225 Custom Limited 4-door hardtop with several options, including automatic A/C, but no cornering lights.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...ssPageName=WDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...TRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

This one did not sell the first time around. Will be interesting to see if it sells this time. Obviously had a major trunk/rear window leak, hence the trunk rust. I later noticed on the description that this one also has the rare gear shift wiper option. Looks like a high optioned car from what I can tell- minus cornering lights, light monitors, wide rocker trim and I think it even lacks cruise control from what I can tell.

Here a/c wasn't popular in the seventies. I have seen many Electras and Rivieras without it. I even saw seventies Cadillacs without it.
Rear defrosters were very popular however! The 72 Limited on Ebay also lacks it.
The most strangely optionned Buick I have seen so far was a 68 Wildcat 4 dr. H.T. that had very few options. It had a radio delete plate, clock delete, no rear defrost, no remote mirror or any common option like these but it had tinted glass (Like A/C, it is a relatively rare option in 60's Canadian cars), power windows and vacuum power locks but no power trunk... I have seen very few 68 Wildcats with power door locks and this is the only one I saw with base trim.
I ordered the domestic and export car report for the 75 Electra Limited 4dr. (model 4CX39) and posted some of the information about the number of cars and % of total number with most options. Here is a link to it: http://v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=14417&goto=nextoldest

Its just the opposite down here in the southern USA. Most had A/C, but the options such as rear defrost/defog were rare. One exception I know of was Marty's (72Electrafan) 72 Electra- which had auto-climate control A/C, as well as the rear window defrost (heated rear window)- which was a first I had seen on a car of this vintage. There was however recently a 74 Caprice 4dr sedan- equipped the way you mentioned. It had rear defog, but NO A/C. It was a New York car, which probably explains it.

That is a interesting link on the 75 Electra. I guess that info came from the same place that this: http://www.72electra.com/1972%20PRODUCTION.htm 72 Electra came from.

I learned a lot from that site about my old 72' Electra 225 Custom 4dr. It was a "normally optioned" car, with A/C, power windows, power locks, cruise, tilt, power seat, cornering lights, bumper guards, bumper strips, door edge gaurds, side protective strips, gear shift wiper button and vinyl top covering.


I would like to order this info for my 73 Grand Ville. While I think my car is probably "normally" optioned - I did learn something new about options on my 73 Pontiac yesterday. I had ordered a 1973 Pontiac sales brochure and while looking through the Grand Ville information, I discovered that there was a "Custom" option on the 73' Grand Ville, which added thick cut-pile carpeting (like the carpeting my 72 Electra Custom had), as well as rear lighters, handles on the front seat backs (like the Electra Limited), and upgraded cloth upholstery- all of which my car has- except for the upholstery, because my seats have been recovered. Would be interesting to know how many actually had that option. I guess it was sort of like the difference between the Electra Custom and the Limited. I would also like to know how many lacked cruise, because my car does not have cruise- which seems unusual, because most I have seen have this option. My car also lacks the following options: cornering lights, power seat, auto climate A/C, FM radio/tape, deluxe wheel covers, guage package, driver visor mirror and power trunk release. It does have bumper guards, bumper protect "strips", door edge guards, side protective trim, power windows, power locks, tilt wheel, AM radio w/dash speaker, 4-season A/C, overhead dome w/map lights, passenger outside mirror, passenger vanity mirror, vinyl top covering, and as mentioned- the "upgrade" Custom option. There are other options it lacks, as well as others it has, but I cannot recall without looking at the brochure.

That 68 Wildcat you mentioned sounds like a very interesting car.

I ordered this information from the Sloan Museum. I don't know if they could help you with your Grand Ville since I think they only have information regarding Buicks. It still might be worth a try...

Have you ever found canadian Pontiac litterature? The Canadian Pontiac model are quite different from the U.S. models! The Grand Ville was available only in the convertible body style here. In the 1960's the common full size models were the Strato-Chief, Laurentian, Parisienne, Parisienne 2+2, Parisienne Custom Sport, and Grande Parisienne. They were powered by Chevy engines but, unlike the smaller Beaumonts, they did look almost identical to the U.S. Pontiacs exept for the pre-68 models that had Chevy-like wipers. In 68 they adopted (like all the full-size GM cars) the concealed wipers that were first introduced on the 67 U.S. Pontiacs. In the seventies, there were still different names but the Strato-Chief was dropped. Laurentien and Parisienne models remained and Catalina was also added to the Canadian lineup.

About the strangely equipped cars, this remembers me that I have recently seen a mildly customized 74 Chevrolet Bel Air in a local car show that seemed to be very well equipped... It still had it's origial interior and had power windows, locks and Comfortron a/c just to name these... Not very common options on an base model here!

Shaffer, here is something that will probably also interest you! It's from my 75 Electra glove box.

Thanks. I did not realize they only specialized in Buicks. It may be worth a try like you said.

I did recently see a 1973 Canadian Pontiac brochure. Here are Canadian 73' Pontiac emblems : http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...;category=33643

The Canadian brochure I saw actually included the US and Canadian models, because in addition to the US models- such as Catalina, Bonneville and Grand Ville- It also had (forgive my spelling on these models) Laurentian, Parisienne and another model- which I forget- perhaps Grand Parisienne? If you scroll down a bit on this page-
http://www.classicpontiacs.com/seventies/b-bodies/1971/index.html
you will see a 71 Pontiac Laurentian- which I think the the equal to the Catalina. I am guessing that the Parisienne was the equal to Bonneville and perhaps the Grand Parisienne was equal to the Grand Ville? I am not sure what Canadian lines were offered for 1973. Do you recall if the 70s Pontiacs still used Chevrolet engines?

Here is the homepage of the 1971-1976 Pontiac website that may be of some interest:
http://www.classicpontiacs.com/

Thanks for the link with your glove box decal. I had forgotten that your Electra was equipped with airbags. Just before I bought my 69' Caprice back in October, I was seriously considering a 39K actual mile, yellowish colored 1974 Buick Electra 225 Limited 4dr, with the rare airbag option for $2300, but shipping was going to be another $600. I regret not buying it now. It had every option available. Ironically, there is another local dark green 74' Electra Limited 4dr setting at a local auto body repair shop. It looks very nice and original. Initially, it was covered with dust- I think it had just been removed from a barn or garage. The plastic material- or whatever it is by the rear bumper is gone. I have been thinking of checking on it.

Also- forgot to mention, my grandmother had a 1974 Oldsmobile Toronado back in the late 70s thru late 1980s. It also had the airbag (air cushion) restraint system, but I do not remember much about it.

Here is that "plain" base model 72' Electra 2dr listed again as well. No power windows, no power locks, no tilt, vinyl seats. Does have A/C and AM radio.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...ssPageName=WDVW
interesting car to say the least.

The Grande Parisienne (Grande, not Grand) was more or less the equivalent of the Grand Prix. It was produced starting in the 66 model year and replaced the 65 Parisienne Custom Sport. In 68, the 2 door models had the "astro ventilation" which means it had no vent windows. There were also 4 door Grande Parisienne models. Here is an interesting link about the 69 Canadian Pontiacs http://memturbo.com/pontiac/

Thanks for that link. I will read up on it. It would be very interesting to me, because I used to own a 1969 Pontiac Executive Safari stationwagon.

Its interesting that the Grande Parisienne would be more like the Grand Prix, which was a 2-door car- similar to the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Was that for the 60s models? Do you know what the "top of the line" 71-73 Pontiac 4dr was called?