1976 Buick 4-Door Hardtop

People restore automobiles for different reasons. This big Buick four-door hard top was purchased new by our customer's uncle and aunt in 1976. It was located in a barn with the transmission burned out, and the plastic bumper fillers were rotted off the rear. The color was boring beige, the fender and door trim had been banged into a few times, and the interior door panels were torn. But, "Uncle Henry Frank" was a low-mileage car, the rest of interior looked new, and the body had no rust. One door had to be replaced, and a donor was found in Washington. Parts for these cars are very rare. The body was disassembled and all the door jams were cleaned and painted this new exterior color. Fiberglass filler pieces were purchased to repair the rear between bumper and body and tail light and body. This was time-consuming. We were lucky to find NOS parts, including exterior door trim, wheel well moldings, and one hub cap. The rest of the hub caps were disassembled and each spoke was polished. All the stainless trim was polished as well as all chrome. The motor was cleaned and checked for integrity and then painted to freshen up appearance. The Buick Electra 225 was complete after a few months of rehabilitation, and driving these cars is the definition of big-cruiser comfort. The before pictures were lost in a computer crash.