Option spotting

[Robroy]

Encouraged from some other members in this forum I invite those of you that are interested to spot the options on my Centurion.

I bought this car on Ebay August last year after totally having fallen for it. The 11 dec I could finally pick it up at Helsinborgs harbour and drive it home from there (one hour drive). It had by then travelled half around the globe from Washington State to Sweden. The car was sold new in Portland Oregon and then owned by the same gentleman until he due to high age needed to move to an elderly home. His nephew then bought it and had it for a year before he put it on Ebay. These people were the kind that you dream of buying a car from, people that have nursed their vehicle like a baby and kept it for a lifetime. Since I am that kind of person myself, it was a nirvana to buy the car of my dreams from my own kind.
Apart from replaced front fenders, this baby is totally un-restored and just very well kept after.

Now to the options, I can tell you the one’s I think I have of which are;
- AC (installed at the dealership)
- Cruise control (after market and installed at the 80’s)
- Tilt steering wheel
- Sonic original radio

The one’s I know I don’t have are;
- Power windows
- Central looking
- Power seat
- Dual exhaust (plan to install this)
- Rally Wheels (have a nice set waiting in the trunk)

I have uploaded some picts that I got from the seller who was a photographer by the way. I have not got to take any pictures myself yet, since the car has been in my garage with a pile of snow outside the garage door since it got home.

The cowl plate’s numbers looked like this:
ST 73-48P57 X110/09 BC
TR 448 A65 24-B PN


So maybe you can help me fill in the gaps, take me to the Centurion School….

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Wow Nice score there!. Very clean inside and out Centurion. You can tell its been taken care of by just looking at the rubber bumper strips, they look new!! Take great care of them cause you cannot replace them.Now you have to start checking e-bay for the 5 note horn. They are usually under 100 bucks (US) sometimes you can find them for a lot less.


Best of luck and fun times with it!

[Centurion]

Robroy, that's a beautiful Centurion!

Wallace Buick is a famous, long-time Buick dealership located on Sandy Boulevard in Portland, Oregon. I visited this dealership on many occasions during the 1970's, and my sister purchased a new Buick there in 1974.

Your car has a vinyl roof, which was an option on 1973 Centurions. The car also has bumper guards, the Buick carpet savers and rear handy mats, and door edge guards. The car has the remote control outside rearview mirror, which I believe remained an option in 1973. From your photos, I believe that the car also has tinted glass. I see that the car has a clock, which indicates that the car has the Accessory Group.

The car's protective bodyside molding is an after-market (non-factory) item that might very well have been installed by Wallace Buick when the car was new. I once discussed ordering a new Buick with Wallace during the late 1970's, and the dealership was most eager to sell me their own protective bodyside molding rather than the factory-installed molding. I recall seeing numerous '71 - '73 full-size Buicks in the Portland area with this style molding.

If you have an opportunity, you might wish to take some closer photographs of the instrument panel, since that will enable us to see any other options.

You have found a very wonderful Centurion! Congratulations.

[Centurion]

I see that I missed a very important option!

The car is equipped with the optional 455-cid engine. The 350-4bbl engine was standard equipment on the '73 Centurion.

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Robroy, that's a beautiful Centurion!

If you have an opportunity, you might wish to take some closer photographs of the instrument panel, since that will enable us to see any other options.

You have found a very wonderful Centurion! Congratulations.

Lighten up the shot Adam

[Robroy]

Thanks for all encouraging comments and interesting info, especially about Wallace Buick dealership in Portland:xyxthumbs: . I have uploaded some more picts.

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Great shots!!! Hey guys notice the door striker is painted. I can remember some time ago that was a question up for discussion, if it came painted or not.

[Centurion]

Robroy, thank you for the excellent, additional photos.

You might find it of interest to know that historical information regarding the Wallace Buick dealership is currently on display with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Please click on this link, and be certain to check out the various links from this page:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_609.html

[Smartin]

Great shots!!! Hey guys notice the door striker is painted. I can remember some time ago that was a question up for discussion, if it came painted or not.


The item in question was the door wedges in the convertibles, I believe.

[Robroy]

Wow Nice score there!. Very clean inside and out Centurion. You can tell its been taken care of by just looking at the rubber bumper strips, they look new!! Take great care of them cause you cannot replace them.Now you have to start checking e-bay for the 5 note horn. They are usually under 100 bucks (US) sometimes you can find them for a lot less.


Best of luck and fun times with it!


Thanks for all encouraging comments Rick:)
Could you please explain what a 5 note horn is?

[Robroy]

Brian,
Thanks for the link to the historical information regarding the Wallace Buick dealership. Interesting reading.
I noticed you live in Puyallup Wa. I bought my car in Kennewick Wa. I had hopped to ship the it from the Seattle port, but they strongly advised me not to, since this port had a bad reputation in the car shipping business. I checked with two separate shipping companies who said the same thing. They took the car to LA instead on a carrier, cost me a 1K but the car arrived to me without a scratch.
I actually spent my vacation not so far from you in 2005. Two old friends of mine live in BC Canada, one in White Rock/Vancouver and the other in West Bank/Kelowna.

[Smartin]

He's referring to the 4-note horn, which is an option that adds two notes to the standard two-note horn. It sounds really nice.

[Robroy]

Do mean that kind of horn that plays a melody?
or the type with just a stronger sound due to more horns? (for noisy big cities)
Was this an option?

[Smartin]

Just a stronger sound, no melody.

[The German]

Do mean that kind of horn that plays a melody?
or the type with just a stronger sound due to more horns? (for noisy big cities)
Was this an option?

Hello Per (ROBROY),
I`m very new here too because I`m owner of a white Centuion `71 Convertible since 11/2006. I bought the car from Adam (Smartin here in this forum) , shipped it to Germany and now I`m learning things about my car by doing, by reading in this forum and by reading in a special book: The 1971 Buick Service Manual ! I think that this book is a must-have for everyone who is owner of such a vehicle-treasure like a Centurion.
You can buy such books in special stores in USA or on ebay-motors. It costs 20 - 80 $$ depending on the quality.
In this book you will find everything that is necessary to know about your car.

I found one, but it`s not in good quality:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1973-BUICK-RIVIERA-LESABRE-SERVICE-SHOP-MANUAL-BOOK-73_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6761QQitemZ110095451 759

Wait some days - I`m sure someone will offer a better quality.

On the other hand you got a nearly-new-car !! So I hope you will not need that manual in the next months !

Enjoy cruising in coming sommer.
______________________

Rolf

[EEE]

That car looks super clean.... What kind of tires are you putting on the rallyes? Thin white wall, wide white wall, raised white letters, black walls ?

[Robroy]

Hello Rolf,

Thanks for the tip about Buick Service Manual.
I got lucky since they had left one in the trunk of my Centurion. I agree with you that this is a very good manual. Being a Technical Editor myself, I’m impressed by the high standard in this, especially considering the age of it. I use it a lot.

I remember reading about how you bought your Centurion from Adam, but I can’t recall seeing any pictures of it. Could you please send me link or upload some photos, I’d like that. I bet it’s a real looker.

I nearly bought a turquoise Centurion convertible 71 myself here in Sweden. They asked for 90 000SEK= aprx 12600 USD and it appeared to be in fair condition. Then I saw the two door Hardtop 73 on Ebay and could not resist it.

Speaking of cruising, you haven’t considered coming up north to one of the Swedish car cruises/ exhibitions this summer? There are plenty of them since the interest for classic American cars is very big here. You could basically go on one every weekend. The biggest is the Power Big meet http://www.bigmeet.com/index.html
I went on that one some years during the 80’s, but it’s bit too big for me and bit to far north also. I live in the south near Malmo.
They say the one in Rattvik is rather nice http://www.classiccarweek.com/eng/index.html


Thanks again Rolf and good luck with your Centurion

[Robroy]

The car had almost new Toyo 235/75/15 with a thin white wall. I inteend to move these over to the Rallys, soon I hope. The snow is gone here now.

[Bob Alberini]

Per,
I have a couple of follow-up questions about your car.

When I first documented it while it was on ebay, I noted that the car had tinted windshield only and not full tinted glass. Was I correct in this detail? The side windows will be marked "soft-ray" glass if they are tinted. If they are not, then you won't find the soft-ray wording on them.

Also, the number you recorded off the body plate is shown as 110/09. Where you are showing the / should be another number in that position. Would you mind checking and correcting that detail?

Thank you!

[Robroy]

Hi Bob,
Yes, I think your observation was correct. Only the upper part of the windshield is tinted. The windshield looks so good without any dings, so I reckon it could been replaced since the car have 135k miles on its neck.
The other windows looks like they are not tinted to me, but then again I have had the car standing in the garage since it got home. I will look for that soft-ray mark on them.

Let me get back to you regarding the body plate number, I’m at work right now.

I appreciate your help Bob, thanks!:xyxthumbs:

[Robroy]

You were right Bob, the / was a 7.:o
So the correct body plate should be as below;

ST 73-48P57 X110709 BC
TR 448 A65 24-B PN

Thanks

[The German]

Hello Rolf,
...
I remember reading about how you bought your Centurion from Adam, but I can’t recall seeing any pictures of it. Could you please send me link or upload some photos, I’d like that. ...

Hello Per, up to now I only have pictures of my Centurion from Adam, because I made no photo by myself before stowing the car into the garage until springtime. I added some of Adams pictures to the story now. I hope they will give an impression that this car is a beauty too.

And thanks, Per, for your information about those big meetings in Sweden. The links are great; I have never seen such a lot of different big classics at one location. I`m sure I`ll come and visit one of those giant meetings once.

Rolf

[Bob Alberini]

More on the tinted glass, Per. Actually, your entire windshield is tinted but there is always a darker tinted band at the top. The marking on the tinted windshields reads "Shaded Soft-Ray" and that wording is seen on the lower right hand side of the windshield. If the side glass is tinted, it will read "Soft-Ray" and the wording on the door glass will be roughly above the door handle and close to the interior door lock. The one shot of your car with the passenger door open makes the glass look very clear and that is why I suspect it may have the tinted windshield only. Sometime you'll have to check that one out.

Also, what is the build date on your car? This is also located on the body plate and will be a two digit number followed by a letter and will be toward the bottom of the plate.

[Robroy]

You are right again Bob, I have checked my windshield a bit closer and in the middle at the bottom of it, you could read SHADED SUNEX. I guess that’s tinted alright
The side glass was marked
SAFETY PLATE
SOLID TEMPERED
which should mean that these are not tinted. I took a sheet of white paper and just held it behind the glass, and it looked like clear glass.
There are probably different levels of how tinted the glass is. Take look at the Le Sabre on the picture. Looks very tinted.

I found the build date on my body plate which is 01C. How should that be interpreted?

Thanks

[Bob Alberini]

Thanks for confirming the tinted glass situation, Per. Guess I haven't totally lost my touch. I'd say the tinted glass you are showing on that 68 is typical for a car with full tinted glass but I should add -- for a factory installation only.

The 01C on your body plate means the car was built the third week of January, 1973.

[Robroy]

When you say full tinted glass, do you then mean that all glass are tinted on the car?

[Bob Alberini]

Yes, Per, that is correct. Full tinted glass means that all windows are tinted. If you look at the 73 order form in the registration sectiion, you will note that option L1 is for tinted glass (meaning all windows on the car will be tinted) while option L2 is for the tinted windshield only.

I suspect that your windshield has also been replaced at some point because Soft-Ray was General Motors name for tinted glass. The term Shaded Sunex, which you indicate is on your car, would indicate a different product than the original.

[Robroy]

Thanks for helping me clearing this one out.
Feels good to be able to consult such experts as you and many others on this board. I learn more and more about my car all the time.

[Robroy]

Rolf,
I checked out the pictures and your car looks just great! Noticed this time that you got a different type of steering wheel, and option I suppose

I need to do a correction regarding the Spring Cruise in Ystad the 12 May, I said 100-200 cars, it should be 1000. I estimate 700-800 of them are old American classics.

These summer cruises and exhibitions come every year, so come and visit when it suits your plans. I can help you with information when the time comes.

[Smartin]

The steering wheel on Rolf's car was not an option on the Centurion. It came from an A Body (Skylark/GS) and I thought it looked good, so I installed it. He has the original steering wheel with the car, though.

[The German]

Per, in addition to the answer of Adam I give you the link to the different steering wheels for Buicks of the early 1970´s :
http://www.buickcenturion.com/info/steering_wheels_1971.jpg

You can find this and more information on this side : http://www.buickcenturion.com/
with the showed link >>Centurion Info<< at the bottom.

And, Per, thanks again for your information about those summer cruises in Sweden. This year I have to many other events to visit in Germany and close around, so I will come to Sweden next year. I will ask you for details at the beginning of 2008.


Rolf

[Robroy]

As some of you perhaps remember I bought my car from the nephew to the original owner. Since the nephew only had had the car for a year and only driven it like 800 miles, I could consider myself as the second owner they said.
After I got the rally wheels on and buffing up the paint this summer, I took some nice pictures and sent along with a letter to John (the original owner). From his nephew I knew he was in his mid 80’s and had a wife who was seriously ill, so I thought this would be an encouragement for him since he had the car for 32 years and maintained it VERY well all those years.

I had almost forgotten about it when a small package from him showed up in my mail the other day. It contained an owner’s manual in mint condition among with a letter and some other documents concerning the car. He had even saved the tags that I assume have been hanging on some of the controls inside the car when it was delivered.

One of the documents was some kind of invoice (see below) with all the options listed. Surely you can imagine my excitement reading the first line :shocked: (High Performance 455 Cu. In Engine W/4) however the option code was A9 which should be the normal T-code 455-4 and the real “High Performance” W-code engine should be A3 according to the New car order forms here on Adams registry, so my pulse went down again.
So I guess the explanation is that the dealership has been careless with the denomination “High Performance”, or what do you think?


I have earlier posted some of this info also on in http://www.buickcenturion.com/forums/showthread.php?t=382 on Post 18, but decided to continue here to avoid messing up someone else’s thread with this subject.

[Bob Alberini]

Per,
It was very nice of you to write to the original owner and his small envelope contained some nice treats for you. What you are looking at is the ORIGINAL WINDOW STICKER that had been affixed to the window when the car was new. You can't be that!

Being less familiar with 73s than 72s, I can only guess that since the 73s came standard with the 350, Buick considered the 455 an upgrade and even termed the base engine "high performance". It is not high performance in the terms we are thinking of. Perhaps someone who has a 73 with the true high performance 455 and a window sticker can advise you of the wording on that one.

On the upper right hand corner, you will see two sets of numbers. The first one, two numbers-three numbers, of that group indicates the Buick zone and the second one is the dealership number. The number next to that, two letters followed by four numbers, is the number affixed to the original order form when the car was ordered.

It was truly such a nice gesture for the original owner to send it to you. If you have any more questions about it, feel free to ask.

[Robroy]

Being less familiar with 73s than 72s, I can only guess that since the 73s came standard with the 350, Buick considered the 455 an upgrade and even termed the base engine "high performance". It is not high performance in the terms we are thinking of. I have the same assumption which most likely is the case

Wow, Window Sticker….I never could have figured that out myself. It was full of hand written calculations on the backside, so I assumed it had to do with when they calculated the total cost of the car.

Appreciate your help Bob :beers:
You really are our Centurion detective when it comes to fact & figures and the history on our cars, needless to say it is very appreciated by all of us

[Bob Alberini]

Thanks for the very kind words, Per. It is fun for me to be able to help my fellow Centurionaholics when I can and these kinds of things are right down my alley.

Did you notice that the window sticker confirms that your car was built with tinted windshield only? The L2 option is right there and we were perfectly on target.

Also, if you look beneath the order form number, CL 9630, there is your body number, 110709! Neat stuff huh?

One thing I would like to do is to be able to order all the 73 Centurion information from Sloan so that we would have all three years completely covered. We have 71 and 72 but nothing for 73. When we purchased the other years, it was $30 per model but I don't know if that has increased or not. If there is enough interest, I think we could all chip in a small portion and be able to do this very reasonably and then know everything about all three years and thus help out you 73 guys too.

[Centurion]

Per, I noticed from the window sticker that your car was originally delivered to Armstrong Buick of Gladstone, Oregon. The car carries a license plate frame from Wallace Buick of Portland, Oregon.

Gladstone is a Portland suburb, and I suspect that your car might have been part of a dealer trade. Perhaps the original buyer of your car had a long-term association with a particular salesman at Wallace Buick, so worked with Wallace Buick to locate the car he wanted.

If you received additional documentation that the car was, indeed, purchased at Wallace Buick, this would be interesting to see.

Portland's "big three" Buick dealers at the time were Wallace Buick, Armstrong Buick, and Braley & Graham Buick.

If I remember correctly, Smartin's former '71 convertible (now owned by The German) was delivered new to Braley & Graham and used by Buick's Portland Zone Office. Rolf and Adam, perhaps you can correct me if I have the information wrong.

My Centurion was delivered new by a fourth Portland-area Buick dealership -- Royal Moore Buick of suburban Hillsboro. When my father purchased it new, he also closely considered a '71 Centurion at Wallace Buick.

It's interesting that a number of our cars have a "Portland Connection".

[Robroy]

Did you notice that the window sticker confirms that your car was built with tinted windshield only? The L2 option is right there and we were perfectly on target..
Yes, I thought the same thing. We had that one covered all right.:xyxthumbs:


One thing I would like to do is to be able to order all the 73 Centurion information from Sloan so that we would have all three years completely covered. We have 71 and 72 but nothing for 73. When we purchased the other years, it was $30 per model but I don't know if that has increased or not. If there is enough interest, I think we could all chip in a small portion and be able to do this very reasonably and then know everything about all three years and thus help out you 73 guys too.
If all the 73 owners on the board would share this cost, it wouldn’t be that much per person.

[Robroy]

If you received additional documentation that the car was, indeed, purchased at Wallace Buick, this would be interesting to see.

None of the other documents (see the pict below) give any lead about which dealership it was sold at as far as I have been able to see.
However the Build sheet says Armstrong Buick in Gladstone too, but I guess that doesn’t help much.
I could ask owner or his nephew next time I have contact with them.

Appreciate that you share this information Brian and I agree with you that it’s interesting that so many Centurions seems to have been sold in that area.

[centurion 455 ragtop]

One thing I would like to do is to be able to order all the 73 Centurion information from Sloan so that we would have all three years completely covered. We have 71 and 72 but nothing for 73. When we purchased the other years, it was $30 per model but I don't know if that has increased or not. If there is enough interest, I think we could all chip in a small portion and be able to do this very reasonably and then know everything about all three years and thus help out you 73 guys too.

Bob

I do not mind purchasing the info will do it asap in fact.:xyxthumbs: Just need to know how to go and do it and what to ask for exactly. Can you steer me in the right dircetion here. No need for guys to chip in, and I will freely share the info with others. Have a 73 Centurion as you know and I feel it is the forgotten child of the bunch. I would agree that the upgrade engine for the '73 is the 455 as the 350 engine was in fact the standard available engine. Making the 455 an option for the car.

Thanks

[RFortuna]

Rick,

No need for you to bear the cost alone. I recently aquired a 73, and I'd be glad to pitch in.

Randy Fortuna

[Bob Alberini]

Rick,
I will have to do a little digging for you but I think I still have the information from Sloan. At least, I think I can point you in the right direction.

But I do have to agree with Randy. If we can get a group of us to pitch in, we can make the cost a bargain for all the information that is received. I know I'd be glad to chip in and I'm sure there are many others. If prices have not changed, and I don't know that, I can see the possibility that we could get the cost to perhaps $5 per person and that'd be a steal for sure. You don't have to own a 71, 72 or 73 to find this information interesting and important! Give me a few days and I'll get back to you.

[centurion 455 ragtop]

I checked the Sloan site and just found this link. Not sure but I think this is just for an individual car history.

https://www.sloanmuseum.com/research_form.html

[Bob Alberini]

Rick,
The items we need are the Daily Car Report (71 terminology) or Car Report (72 terminology) for domestic and export production for 1973 models: 4BP39, 4BP57 and 4BP67.

I may still have the phone number for Sloan but if I do, then it is in a different place and I'll have to dig it out for you. You may be able to contact them via e-mail too but I don't know that for sure. We got the information for the 71s and 72s in 2004 so pricing may not be the same. At that time, it was $30 per model.

These are computerized reports that indicate all the information for these models at the close of production and they tell us every piece of information that is available. Obviously, they are invaluable.

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Thanks Bob, I emailed Sloan this morning asking for that information.

[Robroy]

Thanks Bob, I emailed Sloan this morning asking for that information.
How did it go Rick? Did you hear from Sloan?

[Bob Alberini]

Per,
Randy Fortuna did contact Sloan about this same issue several months ago and was told they would get back to him in four to six weeks. I checked with him several weeks ago and, so far, he had heard nothing and was planning to follow up with them again.

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Same here.:( They never returned my inquiry.

[Robroy]

If I understood correct, Adam got in more donations this year than required to run the site. Maybe the surplus could be used to finance getting the 73 info? Just a thought….:coffee:

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Per

I have no problem on footing the bill. I would have no problem sharing/donating the information to you guys. It's just that I cannot not even aquire the information. I have tried and got no reply either by e-mail or snail mail.

Well this Monday we are expected to get hit with about 10" to a foot of snow. Work will be light this week so I may stay home if we get hit with it, so while the kids are shoveling snow I'll make some calls to Sloan. Maybe if I can actually speak to a person I can get some results.

[Robroy]

Per

I have no problem on footing the bill. I would have no problem sharing/donating the information to you guys.
Rick
That’s very generous of you and if that’s what you really want to do, you should of course do so.

One or several phone calls is hopefully the medicine to steer up the interest at Sloans.
Some people still don’t take e-mails seriously :spank: .
Keep us posted!