My 73' Convertible

[rzepko6194]

Hello. I bought my 73' Centurion convertible last spring to replace a 73' Mercedes 450SL that I had just sold. I needed additional space for a new family member; a labrador retriever.

This is my second Buick. The first, which was also my first car, was a 68' Buick Wildcat that I bought for $150 in 1975. I sold it when I could no longer afford it's 8 mpg gas habit!

My Centurion is in pretty good shape. It was repainted about 10 years ago but is mostly original. So far, I've tuned it up, installed an HEI distributor and quieter mufflers. I really enjoy driving it and the mileage is surprisingly good at about 16 mpg!

I have a pretty eclectic collection of other vehicles; an 47' MG TC, 79' VW Beetle convertible, 37' BMW R6 Motorcycle and a 42' Harley WLA. My daily driver is a 5 series BMW.

Cheers.

John

[Centurion]

John, welcome to the Centurion forums!

We'll be excited to see photos of your Centurion. Please let us know if you need help posting them.

[Smartin]

Here is John's page in the registry:

*deleted*

EDIT: NOT John's car:laugh:

[centurion 455 ragtop]

John,

Good to have you here. It is surprisingly regarding the gas milelage. I tell some of my non Buick owning friends and they find it hard to believe, but it's true. My 73 Centurion has 2.73 gears out back which makes it a slug in the 1/4 mile but on the highway it cruises. Back in 2003 heading from NY to Flint, MI for the Buick Centenial Event, with three of us riding and the a/c going we managed just over 16 mpg and I switched between fill-ups using regular and super, the engine never pinged at all! Lower compression 73 motors you can get away with it at times using lower octane fuel. I do tow a racecar with it and the mileage drops down to 9-10 and I have to use the higher $$ octane fuel.

[rzepko6194]

John,

Good to have you here. It is surprisingly regarding the gas milelage. I tell some of my non Buick owning friends and they find it hard to believe, but it's true. My 73 Centurion has 2.73 gears out back which makes it a slug in the 1/4 mile but on the highway it cruises. Back in 2003 heading from NY to Flint, MI for the Buick Centenial Event, with three of us riding and the a/c going we managed just over 16 mpg and I switched between fill-ups using regular and super, the engine never pinged at all! Lower compression 73 motors you can get away with it at times using lower octane fuel. I do tow a racecar with it and the mileage drops down to 9-10 and I have to use the higher $$ octane fuel.

The most amazing part is the era from which this car was developed. My 73' Mercedes 450SL, with a 4.5 liter 200 hp V8, might get 13 mpg and that car "only" weighed 3600 lbs. The SL may have been a bit faster but not by much. So much for fancy electronic fuel injection and German engineering! :)

JP

[rzepko6194]

Here is John's page in the registry:

http://www.buickcenturion.com/1973/john_p/

I wish that was my Centurion!!

Mine is still listed under the previous owner:

http://www.buickcenturion.com/1973/greg_m/

Not sure how to post photos there. Can anyone help?

Thanks.

John

[Smartin]

woops! I'll get that fixed asap.

Send me some pictures through email:

centurion@buickcenturion.com