Production numbers

[giterduun]

Hi everyone. I am trying to find out how many 1970 Electra Limited's were made in my color. I have all the info from the firewall plate and vin, but cannot seem to find a breakdown of how many were produced by colors and such. Any help would be appreciated...

[rocketraider]

I have doubts you will find that breakdown. What little info I have indicates Limited trim was optionally available on Electra Custom Coupe and hardtop sedan for $318 but doesn't break out how many of each got the Limited interior, much less how many in each color.

 

The folks down in Buickland may have better info.

 

*edit* 26002 1970 style 8457 Electra Custom Coupes built; 65114 style 8439 Electra Custom hardtop sedans built. No breakout on Limited. Info from 2nd printing Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975.

[m-mman]

Production information for old cars is a hit & miss situation. When new all automakers were required to report the the federal government but their reporting only mandated total numbers of a particular make. Sometimes they were reported by body style and trim. These numbers are readily available but they wont answer your question. 

 

For some years and makes the data exists and is searchable and can be massaged to answer questions about how many, in what colors, and with what options.The Marti reports for FoMoCo cars is probably the best example. The data is so detailed that Kevin Marti can create for you a "1 of 1" type countdown for your particular car. However even this data exists only from 1967 onward.

 

Some makes have original build information for particular cars. (Cadillac and Pontiac was good examples) but the information does not exist in a format that would allow searching based on individual elements. 

 

Chrysler kept all the detailed information at each assembly plant and I understand that much of it was lost and not sent back to Chrysler headquarters. This makes all the reports about "how many with what engine in what color" suspect in my mind. 

Automotive News (newspaper) used to publish annual books filled with data that would be of interest to the auto industry about how many, and how much but these figures were always listed in percentage. Applying them to other known figures could get you close but never an exact number. 

 

To my knowledge there is no detailed, searchable database for Buicks that would give you the exact information (color by model) that you are seeking. 

[giterduun]

16 hours ago, m-mman said:

Production information for old cars is a hit & miss situation. When new all automakers were required to report the the federal government but their reporting only mandated total numbers of a particular make. Sometimes they were reported by body style and trim. These numbers are readily available but they wont answer your question. 

 

For some years and makes the data exists and is searchable and can be massaged to answer questions about how many, in what colors, and with what options.The Marti reports for FoMoCo cars is probably the best example. The data is so detailed that Kevin Marti can create for you a "1 of 1" type countdown for your particular car. However even this data exists only from 1967 onward.

 

Some makes have original build information for particular cars. (Cadillac and Pontiac was good examples) but the information does not exist in a format that would allow searching based on individual elements. 

 

Chrysler kept all the detailed information at each assembly plant and I understand that much of it was lost and not sent back to Chrysler headquarters. This makes all the reports about "how many with what engine in what color" suspect in my mind. 

Automotive News (newspaper) used to publish annual books filled with data that would be of interest to the auto industry about how many, and how much but these figures were always listed in percentage. Applying them to other known figures could get you close but never an exact number. 

 

To my knowledge there is no detailed, searchable database for Buicks that would give you the exact information (color by model) that you are seeking. 

Ok, Thank you for all your time in response !! Obviously I dont have to have it, but it would be nice to know. My car is unusual in the fact that it received a painted black top over bamboo cream body vs the common vinyl top and being Limited... Thanks again, Steve. 

[giterduun]

Ok, Thank you for all your time in response !! Obviously I dont have to have it, but it would be nice to know. My car is unusual in the fact that it received a painted black top over bamboo cream body vs the common vinyl top and being Limited... Thanks again, Steve. 

[=diego=]

You should start here. They probably will charge you for research.

 

https://sloanlongway.org/automotive-research/

 

I also may have some info, but not exactly what you want.

 

For example, is your car 8457? 8439? 

 

5,232 Limited 2-doors and 18,625 4-doors built. I can tell you how many by interior option if you wish. I don't have any info on two-tone numbers.