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SledZeppelin

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Posts posted by SledZeppelin

    1973 Centurion Convertible 455. Hello everybody!

    in Me and My Buick

    Posted

    Thanks for such a nice invitation, I may just do that. Unfortunately SledZep won't be making it unless I drag it up there, but I don't think anyone goes to those things to look at cars that don't run. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Lincolns are cool, as are some Pontiacs (Bonnevilles, Catalinas) and some Caddi's (who doesn't love an El Dorado 500 front-wheel drive convertible?). I'll have to admit that I am THIS close to cashing out some holdings to get my Centurion running again.

    Salado in April sounds very nice, especially with our overcast cold this week in Austin. What's the group y'all hang with there? (Heck, what's the occasion for that matter?)

    I'd like to get the Centurion owners' group down to Central Texas for that, maybe there'll be a few there.

    Buicks in the movie 'Used Cars'

    in Buick - General

    Posted

    yeah, that movie's full of gems.

    Rudy asks if the bodywork guy really turned the firehose on the nuns protesting their sexy commercial, body guy replies with "Oh yeah! Knocked those motherf---ers right on their a-s, too!"

    "In my day, when you bought a politician the son of a b---h stayed bought!"

    Buicks in the movie 'Used Cars'

    in Buick - General

    Posted

    Strange you mention that: while it's not yellow primer my car does have an original yellow coat underneath the brownish orange it has now (perfect for Texas football games and a HUGE rack of horns on the grille). Speedometer is in fact frozen, maybe Kurt got to it after all, plus the back bumper's a little misshapen. I know it was a common part on the full-size GM's that year, but I'd have to think it would be an expensive one because the lights are in the bumper. What a drag . . .

    "But Toby likes it, don't ya Toby?!" "WOOF!"

    Buicks in the movie 'Used Cars'

    in Buick - General

    Posted

    This is a classic Robert Zemeckis comedy with Kurt Russell as the flim-flamming used car salesman trying to jam national TV broadcasts and run for state senate.

    A classic shpeal Kurt throws out to bag a sale is on his car: Buick Centurion Convertible. It's a rapid-fire snow job that talks about the gas savings among other things. A real hoot!

    There's a chance I actually own this car as it's the same color and when I got it it had a big dent in the driver's door just like the one made by the sucker's head that Kurt lures onto the lot with a bill on a fishing line. There are also some Riviera's and such in the film, it has a huge scene of cars lining up to make a full mile bumper-to-bumper.

    Great stuff!

    No first gen Riviera's at Barrett Scottsdale?

    in Buick Riviera

    Posted

    Where do the big cars go for auction? I hardly saw any wagons, Riviera's, or '70s Cadi's/Buicks in general. Is Barrett-Jackson dominated primarily by small '60s-'70s muscle car owners? I saw comparatively few restored luxury vehicles or big cruisers/passenger wagons. I saw a 1950 Cadillac fully restored get almost NO attention on the block and go for only $33k! The announcers on Speed Network pointed out that price maybe covered the body and paint restoration!

    Stupid Auto Ads

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I thought this thread would lampoon the admittedly easy target of silly, irritating car commercials that run incessantly. I was forced to get by with nothing more than network/local affiliate TV for a few years, and there's no question that truck ads (and their infuriating jingles) are the most insipid, grating TV commercials of any kind.

    Let's rehash some of the most recent offerings:

    "I Want to Drive a Truck,"

    "Ford is the Best in Texas,"

    "Better in Texas, Better in a Dodge,"

    whatever that monkey Toby Keith sang about,

    "Like a Rock"

    and now, a perversion of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" that runs INCESSANTLY!!!!

    The Buicks of Barrett-Jackson's 2007 Scottsdale Auction

    in Buick - General

    Posted

    Hi Centurion, love the screen name.

    I've only found one Centurion on the Barrett-Jackson website but don't know if there's a way to search their entire history. Are Centurion's so rare? I've seen some '70s-era Cadillacs and such go across the block but the muscle cruisers (as I like to call them) certainly seem underrepresented. What do you know about their reputation among classic car traders?

    Thanks!

    My 72 73 and 75 Buicks

    in Me and My Buick

    Posted

    What fine cars! And to live in the Netherlands, too! I'm officially jealous. I grew up with a '76 Estate Wagon (lookslike only the front end changed from '72) and had a ball in Leiden, Rodderdam, and Amsterdam when I studied in Paris in 1992.

    1973 Centurion Convertible 455. Hello everybody!

    in Me and My Buick

    Posted

    Hello to the AACA community!

    I'm a severe Centurion enthusiast ever since first laying eyes on one, which is the one I own now. I knew from the moment I saw the helmet hood ornament it was an unusual car, and the looks of the thing just blew me away. I've always loved what I've learned are called "boulevard cruisers," but most especially the big, luxurious muscle cruisers of the early '70s. For some reason they just reminds me of big hair, Foster Grant's, wide lapels, live oak trees, St. Augustine grass, and Ladybird Johnson.

    My neighbor uncovered this old gem and I knew right away I found the car I would have to own. Little did I know that a financial pinch on my neighbor's part would land it in my lap for $1k. It ran at the time though it has an exhaust leak where a manifold bolt is missing. I knew it was the car I would prize because I had always loved '70s-era Buick convertibles after seeing a guy in high school drive a '78 or so LeSabre ragtop to school. I just thought they were more unusual and less pretentious than the Cadillac ragtops of the same vintage (which are a close 2nd favorite).

    My fondest memories of Sled Zeppelin's days as a driver are taking it to Texas football games (it's a brownish burnt orange) with a huge set of Longhorns bolted to the grille, a Longhorn flag propped up in the roof well, and a 73 jersey across the windshield at the tailgate parties. I also drove it to Hamilton Pool outside Austin and to the airport to pick up my girlfriend at the time when she came to live with me. It was my "Friday car" to take to work once a week, and I'm sorry to say it has sat without starting for several years now. I wish there were some kind of historical preservation society or government Americana history agency that would help fund its restoration.

    It's a piece of automotive history!

    I have always loved big Buicks, even from my limited tactile experience with them compared to many enthusiasts. My folks had a '76 Estate Wagon which I thought was good lookin and only the '69 Sport Wagon compares in my book.

    Since buying it I have rediscovered one of my favorite movie monologues, from Kurt Russell in "Used Cars." It's a classic and the only movie I know of that extols the Buick Centurion Convertible by name. He is a salesman trying to sell his Centurion to a meek soul, whom he has lured across the street and into his car door with a $10 bill on a fishing line. It's a priceless mile-a-minute shpeal about the glorious car and the statement it makes (the line about gas savings is priceless).

    I have a pet suspicion that I own this car. The color is the same and looks for all the world like the car in the movie right down to the shape of the dent in the driver's door made by the rube's head.

    I'm enjoying the forum already; thanks for hosting!

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