Shervinator

Thanks!

Any idea where on the car I could find the build sheet?

Thank you! Yes, please keep me posted.

I reached out to the Sloan Museum a few months ago, and if I recall correctly they don't have anything this old. Similarly, the GM Heritage Center's records for Buick only go back to 1982.

I took off the rear bench seat bottom, but I didn't find anything back there. Might it be in another location?

I was trying to fix the driver's door lock cylinder today, and I ended up taking off the door panel. Hidden underneath for 43 years was the original build sheet (or "Body Order Broadcast" in GM's parlance) that had been taped there by a factory worker. I couldn't believe it. Can anyone help me decode these letters and numbers?

Thank you. I'd love to see those order sheets and price sheets if you're willing to share them!

Very close! One of the things that made my search even harder than it should have been was the confusing array of colors from GM. For the 1978 model year, Buick offered two very similar shades of green: Light Green (44) and Medium Green (45). Both were metallic. Simple enough, right? Most people would think that if GM were to continue offering colors with those names the following year, nothing about them would change. Wrong. 1979 Buicks were also offered in Light Green and Medium Green, but this time their color codes were 40 and 44, respectively, and the hues themselves were totally different. "Light Green" wasn't even metallic anymore. To answer your question, it seems my grandfather's car was Medium Green (45), not Light Green (44) like in that photo you posted.

As it so happens, my mom has a pretty photographic memory! So while most moms wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a '78 and '79, mine actually will. She's not a car enthusiast, but she's very detail-oriented (guess where I got it from). When I bought the 1979 Buick Interior Trim Materials and Fabrics booklet several months ago and showed her the sample for the Park Avenue's seats, she said the type of material was wrong and instead pointed to another sample in the book that had wrinkles in it. I was confused and figured she must have been mistaken, since this was obviously the only material available for that model. It was only when I later saw the seats of a '78 (wrinkled crushed velour vs. the smoother velvet knit cloth in the '79s) that I realized she had been right all along. For reference, here's the upholstery of the '78 Park Avenue: And here's the upholstery of the '79 Park Avenue: Not much of a difference to the naked eye, but the material is totally different. I imagine the crushed velour is even comfier than the velvet. But that's okay... like I said, I'm trying not to stress too much about the year difference. Until I can find a '78 in this color combo (if one still even exists), I'll be happy with the one I have.

Thank you! I've always wanted to own an old land yacht like this, and I'm glad to finally have one on my hands.

Sorry if this is the wrong part of the forum, but I'm looking to have the RPO codes on this cowl tag decoded for me. It's for a 1979 Buick Electra Park Avenue Sedan. The codes are as follows: BODY BY FISHER 79 10D 4CX69 H 090711 44E 44L 11T L AV7 B90 CB5 Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone, my name is Shervin, and I just bought my very first GM vehicle. It's fittingly a Buick, and even more fittingly a Buick Electra Park Avenue Sedan. The reason I say that is because my grandfather was a Buick man and special-ordered one new while he was the President of the National Iranian Oil Company during the late '70s. All throughout my life, I have heard about that car and how marvelous it was. It had every option available and rode like a cloud. When the Iranian Revolution took place, my grandfather retired and gave the car back to the company. For my family, that car still remains a symbol of the last example of opulence and splendor before things changed. They never saw it again. For years, I've been researching every model year, color code, option, and trim level using original literature and photos, to try and find out what his was like. He passed away in 1989, and there aren't any photos of the car either... so all I can rely on are the 42-year-old memories of my mom, and of my great-uncle (his brother) who drove the car extensively. After years, my conclusion was that the car was a 1979 Buick Electra Park Avenue Sedan, in Medium Green (44) with Green Velvet-Knit Cloth and a Green vinyl top. I went on the hunt for one in exactly those specs, but I couldn't even find a single photo or mention of one online. I even decided I wasn't going to be picky about the color of the vinyl top. But there were simply zero examples on the internet, past or present. There were a couple of Limited Sedans, as well as a few 225s, but no Park Avenues in that year and color. Three weeks ago, I received an email that one was for sale in my area. I jumped on it and bought it. The car isn't perfect, but it won't take too much work to get it there. Here are some photos... Now, here's where the story gets interesting. After I bought the car, I video-called my great-uncle to show it to him. And when I did, he said it didn't look like my grandfather's! Perplexed, I did a week or two of additional research and came to the conclusion that his was a '78, not a '79. I bought the wrong year! In all my research, I had gotten confused between the slight model year changes and color code switching that GM was known to do. Oh well. I'll keep this one and make it as nice as I can until I can find the right spec (a 1978 Buick Electra Park Avenue Sedan in Medium Green (45) with a green crushed velour interior and a green vinyl top), exactly like this. I still plan on surprising my mom with it for her birthday in a couple of weeks. That should be interesting. Thanks for reading!

Great thinking. I did take a look at those brochures. Factory metallic green exterior colors offered for '78 Electras were Light Green (44) and Medium Green (45). Both look awfully similar to each other, to the point where I sometimes can't tell the difference. For '79, they just made one metallic green (more yellowed, less turquoise than the previous year) and called it Medium Green (code 44 this time, to make things even more confusing). They added another color called Light Green (40), which wasn't metallic. Very creative with names and codes, GM was. But I had no idea colors from other makes could be ordered that easily. $50.00, even in late '70s money, seems like a very small sum to ask for something that would inconvenience the factory. Were all '78 and '79 Electras made at the Flint plant? If so, what else was built there at the time?

Correct—however, those were specifically Buick Skylarks badged as the Buick Iran (and made by GM Iran). The Electra Park Avenue in question must have been manufactured in the US. But I wonder if they would have made colors at the Flint plant that differed from colors offered for the US market.

That's an intriguing thought. I had never considered the fleet idea. I don't believe there were too many green-on-green-on-green Park Avenues ordered by the company, if there were any others at all. As far as I know, the car was basically his personal car bought and paid for by the company while he was employed there. Does that sound like it would have qualified as a fleet vehicle?

Thanks for the heads-up, I just emailed them.

Hi everyone,I have a very specific and obscure query that I'm sure has never been asked here before. I'm wondering if anyone might have any information, data, or literature pertaining to Buicks made for the Iran market in 1978 or 1979, just prior to the Iranian Revolution. It might not have to be for Iran specifically, but maybe at least for the Middle Eastern market.The reason I'm asking is because my grandfather, who was then the President of the National Iranian Oil Company, special-ordered a Buick Electra Park Avenue Sedan new in 1978 as his company car. Whether it was a '78 or '79 isn't clear... I personally know all about the cosmetic differences between those years, but my mom's memories from 42 years ago aren't quite as vivid as they used to be. I've showed her photos of both '78 and '79 examples, and I've gotten conflicting answers as to which one it was. She has even said that the shades of green offered (at least for the US market) aren't quite right. My grandfather passed away two years before I was born, so unfortunately I can't ask him.I'm just trying to find out whether the options, colors, trims, or anything else were different for the Iranian market. The car was metallic green, with green velour upholstery and a green vinyl top. It was returned to the company upon his resignation in 1979, and it was never seen again.Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. I have already emailed the GM Heritage Center, but I haven't heard back.Thanks!