An Australian travelling the USA in a 1976 Buick Electra Limited 2-door Hardtop

Hi everyone,

I'm an Australian who has just bought a 1976 Buick Electra Limited 2-door Hardtop to travel America in. It is in really excellent condition with 58K original miles on the clock. I have done all the preventative maintenance on it that I can think of, including changing all fluids; flushing of the radiator, block and heater core; replacing all belts and hoses; replacing brake hoses; replacing all filters; replacing the tires and replacing the exhaust with a freer flowing twin system. I purchased it in Cleveland and have just headed off on my journey and am now in Washington DC before heading south for warmer climates (or Route 66 weather permitting).

As this is my first Buick, I do have some questions about the car and will post them in the appropriate areas.

Look forward to talking with you.

Stephen

 

I think this is a super cool road trip!!!! Have a blast!!! Take lots of pics and vids and share them!

Here is another road trip thread:

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?166273-US-Road-Trip-Places-of-interest&highlight=Road+trip

 

Welcome aboard from NY. Like you I will be headed south after the 1st to warm sunny FL.

 

Have a great trip.
If you come through Texas stop by and have a beer

 

Welcome to V8 Buick. Years ago we sold our old motor home to a group of 4 Australian guys who then used it to tour the US and then sold it before they left. I'm sure they got their money's worth, as opposed to jet plane rides and taxis, and saw a lot more that way.

 

If you get into North Florida on I- 75 give me a shout when u get close to the state line.

 

Thank you all for your welcomes.

I will be travelling towards Texas and Florida (just don't know the order yet - if the weather holds up parts of old Route 66 may be on the cards) so will get in touch with you Briz and you Carmantx when I'm heading in that direction.

Thanks too Sean Buick76 for that road-trip link. I like that map idea - I bought the Rand McNally's large scale travel map book to mark my route on, so will look to them photograph that as well.

Have a good journey GS Fred. I'll be leaving Washington DC on Monday or Tuesday - if you want to catch up on the road somewhere let me know your travel route and we can see if we are likely to cross paths somewhere.

I'm currently in Washington DC working my way through the Smithsonian Museums - an exhausting but very enjoyable experience.

I have created a travel Blog of my world trip that I am going to publish in the next day or two - if anyone wants me to include them in those Blog notifications please advise. I say this because I'm just aware of how time consuming it is keeping the Blog reasonably up to date - as there is no 'better half' to assist me, having to also create the same in the Forum is likely to be highly time consuming.

I have a question to ask (and will post it in the engine section as well in case it's more appropriate there) - one of the things I'd like to do on this road trip in the US is to sit with someone who is pulling down an engine and then rebuilding it. I understand the working of an engine and know most of the parts and their purpose, but have never been in a position myself to strip down an engine and go through the re-build process (same for gearbox and diff). Do any of you know someone who has a project rebuild on the cards who might be willing to involve me in it?

Happy New Year to you all and again, thanks for the welcome.

 

Cleveland? who did you buy the car from?? got any pics?

 

That sounds like an awesome trip! If you pass through or near Atlanta let me know! I'll buy the first round.
Patrick

 

Hi Patrick, thanks for the hospitality - I do expect to go through Atlanta at some point, so will take you up on the offer.

 

I purchased it through a dealer in Amherst - ignoring the dealer, it was a one owner vehicle with 58K miles on the clock. I was lucky to find an old school Buick mechanic about 2 miles down the road from the dealer who went over it with a fine tooth comb and came away highly impressed with the state of the vehicle - he believes it was a weekend car, only been driven on sunny days. There is no rust underneath (treated with under-body protection) and it looks like the insides of the doors have had some form of treatment too - we had the door panels off to get the drivers arm rest repaired, so had a good look. There are no rust bubbles showing under the edges of the Landau top either (I've had a Landau roofed car before, so know they are prone to rusting). The only spot of rust we found was in the upper front edge of the driver's door - presumably moisture getting stuck there. Funnily enough it's not the same on the passengers side. The mechanic suggested preventative maintenance so replaced all the belts and hoses; replaced the brake hoses; replaced the tires; replaced all fluids and replaced the rear brake pads; did a radiator, block and heater core flush and I had the front shocks replaced with Munro Sensa-track shocks to ease the pogo-ing and replaced the Center-Link so the wheel alignment could be done. Everything works except the electric aerial 'cos it's been replaced with a fixed one. Oh, and it came with a new radiator, new front brake pads and new dissy-cap, rotor, leads and plugs!! Interior is really good - very little wear. Drives well (particularly once I upped the tyre pressures to 36 psi and stopped the tire squirm) and I getting 14 mpg around town and at 65 on the hwy!! I do have photos - now isn't that a lot of car to love!!

 

Shes a beauty. I had one just about like her when I was 19, a set of Buick road wheels would make her perfect!

 

Gotta love that couch pretending to be an automobile front seat!

 

Wow really nice looking car!

 

Very pretty car. Are you shipping it home after the trip? As for the 'first round' just PM me when you have an idea of your Atlanta plans.
Patrick

 

Nothing beats a road trip in a Buick cruiser like your beautiful Electra. Enjoy (try to avoid interstates and you'll find the most beautiful spots) :TU::TU::TU:

 

"Buick road wheels"??? Would you clarify (mine has what I believe are the original steal rims and caps)

 

Thanks 75Riv - on that note, if any one has favourite routes they want to share or places to visit, please feel free to share them. It's a big country and even with travel guides etc, a bit of local knowledge is ALWAYS a good thing.

 

Hi Patrick, I don't know about shipping it home - I have thought about it, but there are several problems if I do that not the least of which is driving a LH drive vehicle in a RH drive country. It is even harder to get use to than just getting use to driving on the other side of the road (and I say that knowing people do get use to it - we have lots of classic LHD cars in Oz). I just don't think I want to go that path. I suspect I'll sell it before I leave. Stephen

 

Thanks. I like it a lot too.