JoelsBuicks Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 My uncle bought this 68 Electra 225 Limited in December 1969. It was the family car for the next 10 years and then used rarely for the following 4-5 years. Around 1985 it went into a barn (good roof but only one side) where it sat until now. In the summer of 2015 my uncle was on his deathbed and unable to speak. He asked for pen and paper and scribbled “give Joe the Buick.” My uncle knew I was a Buick fanatic. Back in high school and college we were close. I moved away upon graduation and we didn’t get to see each other much through those years. I kept the Buick in that old barn because I had no better spot for it. Fast forward seven years and I decided to bring it home. My 16 year old boy has become enthused with the car and so I’m giving it to him. There will be more to say about this car later. Right now, I see only surface rust in very few places. It’s straight and the black interior is very nice. It has 115,000 miles. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 That's a nice story and the car certainly looks like it should clean-up pretty nicely. It's good that your son is excited about the car - that's half the battle. I have always liked those wheel covers! With all that room inside and 430 power, that car will comfortably eat-up the Interstate! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 Wow! Smart son. Good luck. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usnavystgc Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 I love this car, does it run and drive? What's the interior condition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhach Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 I love stories like this. A bath and a coat of wax would probably make a huge difference. Got any interior pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 Seems like I can’t take a good pic these days. The interior has no cracks or tears and doesn’t show much wear. I’d say that 2 hours of serious cleaning and it would be very impressive. I did notice that the rubber seals above the door windows are all cracked up. Also, the rubber door seals are deteriorated. The vertical seals between door windows are both bad. I hope all of this is available. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 WOW she is gorgeous ! I love ! It's a very nice story and I'm glad your son has it too . I own an Electra 69, and I bought it for my 18th birthday in 2013 I can't wait to see the story continue for this very beautiful Electra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 9 hours ago, usnavystgc said: I love this car, does it run and drive? What's the interior condition? It doesn’t run and that will be at the top of our list. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 4 hours ago, sebastienbuick said: WOW she is gorgeous ! I love ! It's a very nice story and I'm glad your son has it too . I own an Electra 69, and I bought it for my 18th birthday in 2013 I can't wait to see the story continue for this very beautiful Electra Thank you! I began reading your well-documented journey on your 69. It reminds me a lot of the 70 Electra that Dad bought in ‘71. Same gold color or very close, maybe ours was a little browner. I was 7 when we got that car; it replaced a VW beetle. That big 455 would get up go. I learned to drive in that car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 I love the cloth/vinyl interior; it looks so much more elegant that all vinyl. It does look like it's in very nice shape. The steering wheel and dash likewise look great. This car reminds me of the '67 Lincoln I bought from an older co-worker when I was living in Sunnyvale, CA in 1981. He was second owner and they had no kids. The black cloth interior was flawless - I don't think anyone ever sat in the back seat. It was silver with a black vinyl top like this Electra. The top, however, was very nice and looked as new following a cleaning and some vinyl dressing. The paint on the hood and trunk lid was burned-through to the red primer. The paint on the sides, however, looked fine. It had 110K miles on it and ran like a Swiss watch. I drove that car cross-country and my wife remarked at the time that it was as if you put your livingroom on cruise control... Anxious to see this Buick brought back to life! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usnavystgc Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Awesome, this should make an excellent land yacht. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 3 hours ago, EmTee said: it was as if you put your livingroom on cruise control... I’m definitely going to quote her! Shortly after my uncle passed I went to visit the car, mostly to make sure that it was positioned in the best possible place to keep it out of weather and sun within that building. I’m no fan of car covers so that was out of the question. At that time, the vinyl roof looked good excepting very few tears and very minor peeling. In the last 7 years the tip completely deteriorated but the metal below feels very solid. my opinion is that the vinyl top really adds to the luxury “look and feel” and I’m going to encourage my son to restore that feature. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 5 hours ago, JoelsBuicks said: It doesn’t run and that will be at the top of our list. I need to clarify this overly brief response and say that the car was driven to the barn and as we’ve all heard it before, “it ran when it was parked!” Honestly we do not know if it runs. We put a battery in there to operate the drivers window and tried the key and got no response whatsoever on the starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Please give my congratulations to your son on his appreciation of this great Buick and family heirloom and taking it on as what I think will be a fun and rewarding project!!!!. And what a great garage he will have to work on it in. Lucky guy!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 2 hours ago, MrEarl said: And what a great garage he will have to work on it in. Lucky guy!!!!! My only child! That poor kid will someday have to deal with all this stuff. Oh well, he’ll also inherit a backhoe. He might just dig a big deep hole and you know…… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 Unfortunately I found rust. Inside the trunk there is a metal flange that holds the trunk seal. It is completely rotted away for about 12” of length. The trunk floor seems solid with only surface rust upon first inspection. I don’t know why only this spot. As rust repairs go, this will be easy. Hope this is all; we’ll get this car on the lift soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) Back to better things. Door panels are nice! Nice but filthy. Edited December 21, 2022 by JoelsBuicks (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 Lots of cracked rubber seals. I sure hope these are reproduced. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 There’s a couple small cracks in the steering wheel but it still looks good. I was expecting an AM/FM radio - don’t know why. That visor mirror is one like on my ‘60 Electra. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 A couple pics of the engine compartment. It’s very dirty there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 (edited) I finish this evening with a question. There are two holes on the drivers side of trunk lid as seen in the pic. Would this have been an emblem that said Limited ? The other side of the trunk says Electra 225. Whatever, it’s gone. thank you all again, Joel Edited December 22, 2022 by JoelsBuicks (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 1 hour ago, JoelsBuicks said: I finish this evening with a question. There are two holes on the drivers side of trunk lid as seen in the pic. Would this have been an emblem that said Limited ? The other side of the trunk says Electra 225. Whatever, it’s gone. thank you all again, Joel My guess would be dealer emblem. Love the car! That's something I would've loved to work on when I was 16. A much better first project than my 51 was! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 41 minutes ago, Edwin The Kid said: My guess would be dealer emblem. I bet you’re right. I never knew the dealer to drill holes but I’m sure some did. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 19 hours ago, JoelsBuicks said: Thank you! I began reading your well-documented journey on your 69. It reminds me a lot of the 70 Electra that Dad bought in ‘71. Same gold color or very close, maybe ours was a little browner. I was 7 when we got that car; it replaced a VW beetle. That big 455 would get up go. I learned to drive in that car. Thank you very much , the Electra 70s are very beautiful too, I love them. The front and some details are not the same as my 1969 Electra, but it looks like it . I can't wait to follow the work on this beautiful Electra 68 6 hours ago, JoelsBuicks said: If it's like for my 1969 Electra, I found the door seal (but I haven't mounted it yet, so I don't know yet if it's exactly the same), but what can't be found for mine it's the exterior "window seal" seal that can be seen in your photo 6 hours ago, JoelsBuicks said: In this photo, I kept the original long seal because it was in good condition and I couldn't find it new. But the large "rectangle" seal at both ends of the car that you see in your photo, I couldn't find it new. 6 hours ago, JoelsBuicks said: For the AM/FM radio, it was optional depending on the purchaser's order at the dealership if I'm not mistaken. On my Electra the car radio had been removed and I did not have one. And I put the radio as an AM/FM option. But yours is very pretty too, and the interior is magnificent . My little advice that I give you is to be careful when you disassemble the seals, and keep them all because you can't find them all new. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 (edited) Good news is the A/C belt is still in place -- so there's a chance... You'll need to look at the fuel inlet on the Q-Jet. I see there's an in-line filter now. That can be good news or bad. Good if he installed it to avoid having to remove the 1" nut on the carburetor body to change the filter at the risk of stripping the threads. Bad if the threads are already damaged and there's a big glob of JB-Weld holding it together. Edited December 22, 2022 by EmTee (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 (edited) 13 hours ago, EmTee said: I see there's an in-line filter now. There was a recent attempt to start this car by one of the grandsons. He added this filter and changed fuel hoses and I noticed the spark plugs look new. He told me that he never got the starter solenoid to kick and he quit the effort as a result. That was the same result we got when we put in the battery. BTW, I have a suspicion that this inline filter was likely a replacement for one that was there already. My own experience is that if you are having particles/trash/rust in the fuel system, that little filter in the Q-jet will plug quickly. Although the tank looks pretty good underneath, I suspect it may be bad inside. This seems to be standard fare for my old Buicks. At a minimum a good chemical cleaning and possible coating is probably in order. Edited December 23, 2022 by JoelsBuicks (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 16 hours ago, JoelsBuicks said: Unfortunately I found rust. Inside the trunk there is a metal flange that holds the trunk seal. It is completely rotted away for about 12” of length. The trunk floor seems solid with only surface rust upon first inspection. I don’t know why only this spot. As rust repairs go, this will be easy. Hope this is all; we’ll get this car on the lift soon. Without any proof I will offer that someone once told me: the rubber seal cracks, deteriorates, and then holds moisture. The seal is available. I am sure a patch can be sourced and with your skills, you will make it look like it was never a situation. Thats a beautiful car. The hubcaps came on a 67. Not sure they were original to the 68, but again, I do not know for certain. I know I think those are the best hubcaps and I eventually found a set to put on Dad's 65 Electra. They are just beautiful in their simplicity. Good luck. Be prepared to take the car back when Junior finds out what it will cost to keep it fueled up. 😃 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 Just remember, the rubber in those tires is just as tired as the rest of the seals, etc. If they’re 7 years old, replace them no matter what they look like on the outside. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 23, 2022 Author Share Posted December 23, 2022 5 hours ago, RivNut said: Just remember, the rubber in those tires is just as tired as the rest of the seals, etc. If they’re 7 years old, replace them no matter what they look like on the outside. Oh you should have told me that about 10 years ago when I was trying to use tires that were 32 years old and looked great. Shortly after inflating to proper pressure every single tire completely blew out catastrophically. The last one to go was a trailer spare in the back of my pickup. Everyone of those tires had very rusty steel belting. For the record, I’d bet the newest tire on that car is at least 35 years old. She won’t get on the road without a new set. Interestingly, they were all holding air. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 23, 2022 Author Share Posted December 23, 2022 8 hours ago, JohnD1956 said: the rubber seal cracks, deteriorates, and then holds moisture I looked closer at this area and sure enough there was seal damage and it was holding moisture like a sponge. How on earth that moisture ever got there is a mystery but….? I peeled up more of the trunk floor bottom today and it is solid but it needs cleaned and recoated. Thanks! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 (edited) Don't hesitate to make a video while the Buick is restarting ( I like to watch "will it start?" videos of cars ) I just saw this video ! I'll watch it later great restoration projects Edited December 23, 2022 by sebastienbuick (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 Too bad the narrator of the video didn’t do some better research before talking about cubic inches and torque. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 1 hour ago, RivNut said: Too bad the narrator of the video didn’t do some better research before talking about cubic inches and torque. I haven't watched the video yet, but is it beautiful Buick will be restored ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 1 hour ago, sebastienbuick said: I haven't watched the video yet, but is it beautiful Buick will be restored ? I don't think you will see that one start up. And I doubt it will be restored. And when you see the video I am sure you will be more interested in the car on the left side of this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfconsult Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 On 12/22/2022 at 8:54 AM, JohnD1956 said: Without any proof I will offer that someone once told me: the rubber seal cracks, deteriorates, and then holds moisture. The seal is available. I am sure a patch can be sourced and with your skills, you will make it look like it was never a situation. Thats a beautiful car. The hubcaps came on a 67. Not sure they were original to the 68, but again, I do not know for certain. I know I think those are the best hubcaps and I eventually found a set to put on Dad's 65 Electra. They are just beautiful in their simplicity. Good luck. Be prepared to take the car back when Junior finds out what it will cost to keep it fueled up. 😃 Those hubcaps were in fact available in both 67 and 68. I had mine polished by @Smartinon this board several years ago and they still look like mirrors! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 There's a local guy with a black '62 Electra 4-door that had some oddball, non-original wheel covers when he got it. Someone saw it at one of the weekly cruise-ins and gave him a set of those wheel covers that they had sitting in their garage to put on it and they immediately improved the look of the whole car! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 31, 2022 Author Share Posted December 31, 2022 My son and I have been eager to get the Electra up on the lift. The recent very cold temps have a way of getting in the way as neither of us are worth much below freezing. So, we took advantage of the recent break in the weather and took a look at the underside. I’ll get some more detailed pics likely tomorrow but I’ll preface those by saying that we found no rust through except for the muffler and rotten tailpipe. There is lots of surface rust on structural components and no rust on floor pans anywhere. There’s lots of undercoating peeling away back by the tank and the tank itself looks good. we anticipate tank removal, cleaning and probably internal coating - but maybe we’ll be lucky. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelsBuicks Posted December 31, 2022 Author Share Posted December 31, 2022 This car has some blemishes. The very front of the car has experienced a light but consequential impact. There appears to be a missing piece at the center of the front bumper. I think most of this can be straightened - I don’t yet have a rechrome on my mind. Can you imagine what that would cost? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 (edited) Looks like @60FlatTop's neighbor has one! https://buffalo.craigslist.org/pts/d/brockport-vintage-1968-buick-electra/7570681366.html Same one listed on Ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/275433963519?hash=item402124bfff:g:o3QAAOSw4-1jBrWu Edited December 31, 2022 by EmTee (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 I don't know if on the 1968 model it's like 1969, but on my Electra 69 the body supports (where there are the silent blocks) behind the rear wheels were in poor condition, and it would be the same problem on Electra that I saw. So I helped redo the supports. I will try to find pictures And then I grinded the welds and sandblasted the underside to repaint it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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