my 71 Convertible-Project

[turbojaeger]

Hi everyone!
I think it´s time to post the story of my Centurion...

I´m working for the German Airforce - in New Mexico. :beers:
That´s why i had the chance to get my big red baby.
When i came here in 2005, one of my buddys on work drove this Centurion and after i saw it the first time, i told him if he ever want´s to sell the car he should ask me!
The big day was in november ´06, when he had to go back to germany. There were a few other people that wanted this car and offered him more money but they wanted it just for fun and i planned a restoration. That´s the reason why i´m driving this car and not my mastersergant..:moonu:

I drove the car a few month and looked for parts :user:
before i started the restoration.

It will take a while until it´s done because it´s not in the best condition-had an accident in the rear, trunk, fender and floors are rusty and the interior had problems with the new mexican sun- but it´s going on.
Slowly but going...:coffee:

And when it´s finished, i´ll take it with me to germany - but i think i´ll have to make some new friends who have gas stations, because the gas-price is almost 3 times higher than in the US..:Dou:

After all, i´ve realized that "love on the first sight" really exists -
the evidence is in my garage...


Joern

[turbojaeger]

Some pics from the last days...:bawl:

[turbojaeger]

and the last ones..

:eek:

someone had defnitely too much bondo at home...

[dewbers]

Too cool Joern! Welcome to the funhouse.... take advantage of the expertise that is here my friend. Great looking car. Need some TLC (tender loving care for all our foreign readers!), but all in all, it looks good. Love seeing another lady saved for another generation. Keep us posted so we know what you're doing. Will have some nice "before" shots, along with some "during" shots while you're restoring. Can't wait for the "after" shots!! The wheels really give the car a "mean" look! :beers:
Thanks for sharing!

I think it's great that we have some many "international" owners. I've lost count, but there are a bunch on this site...

Hey Joern - I just thought of this and figured I'd ask now. (someone else would have sooner or later!!) Bob Alberini and a few others are "registering" as many Centurions as possible. Would you be willing to share your VIN # & your cowl tag info as well? With this info, the guys can tell you quite a bit about your ride. (ie, where and when it was built, factory options, including the color and a bunch of fun stuff!) Talk to you soon!

[Robroy]

Very beautiful Centurion! I love that color combo.
It is absolutely worth spending some time and money to get it back in good shape.
Besides, if you should decide to sell it when you get back to Europe, you will have your money back guaranteed, but let’s hope it’s a keeper ;)

[Bob Alberini]

Hi Joern,
It is always great to add a new member to the family and the family is definitely increasing in size. Welcome aboard and I know we'll all enjoy seeing and reading about your progress with the restoration.

Unfortunately, Steve knows me all too well. I've documented Centurions for over 35 years now and I bug every new member about VIN, body plate information and the option list so be sure to register your car for the register and I'll be glad to offer any assistance I can from the numbers end. Feel free to ask any and all questions on the site because there is some really terrific help here and the folks will do their best to assist you.

[dewbers]

That black and white picture is just too cool! Soon as the weather breaks, I will be taking a few of those shots so see how it will turn out! Good stuff Joern!

[The German]

That´s really a very nice car, Joern !

Hope to see it sometime in Germany ! BTW: what´s your home region in Germany ? I´m really enjoyed to have another German Centurion enthusiast at this forum !
I´m sure you read it from the other answers to your thread : here you will find several friends of those big Buicks and a lot of help with information to every problem you might have. I could give you information how to import the car to Germany and if there are some special questions left regarding the inspectors tests in Germany (TÜV) I could perhaps answer it, because I passed it in July this year.

I guess you will not drive so much miles every year so that the mileage will be not a greater problem in spite of the high gas price; on the other hand you could do the same as Michel (MichelHaak from NL) did : build in a LPG-unit !
But first you have to do the restoration - that´s work enough - and your car is worth it !
You will have a "head-turner" afterwards !:xyxthumbs:

Good luck !
_____________________
Rolf

[turbojaeger]

These are the car´s numbers:
VIN: 466671X200371

Body-Plate:
ST 71-46667 X01140 BDY
TR 465 67- E PNT
08A


And the paper below.
Sorry for the condition- i found it between the trunk-floor and the gas-tank:confused4:

Thanx for every information you can give me...


@ Rolf:
I´m from the north (Bad Segeberg in Schleswig-Holstein)
thanx, i´m sure i´ll need some help with the changes for the german f****ing
inspection:Blasting:

[dewbers]

The "paper below" is your build sheet Joern. Very rare to have one of these. It tells quite a bit about your car. I know Bob A is getting his bifocals on right now trying to read the info. (no offense meant there Bob!) It's a shame it torn, but it does appear you can still get some valuable and fun information from this. Sit tight till the more experienced guys get a chance to digest this. Bob, Brian and Adam will be checking in soon, I am sure.
It's going to be fun watching you restore this lovely creature. Between you and Cole, we're going to have fun helping you guys bring these babies back to life! Enjoy it !

[Bob Alberini]

Hi Joern,
Steve knows me all too well. I'm at the age where tri-focals might actually help but I'm still fighting going that route. At a quick glance, your car is definitely interesting. It is a very late build as 08A indicates it was assembled the first week of August, 1971 and perhaps the number beneath the VIN on the build sheet (upper RH corner) may give you the actual date (08-02 maybe) but I can't quite make it out. Perhaps in person, you can. There were 1199 71 Centurion convertibles built at the Fairfax (Kansas City) plant so yours reflects that it was close to the end with body 1140. Also, if you look at the 71s registered, yours has the highest VIN number recorded on the site from the Fairfax plant and is, so far, the only Fairfax car that is over 200,000. Unfortunately, someone along the way did change the car's color. It was originally built in beautiful Burnished Cinnamon (same color as Adam's coupe) with a Sandalwood convertible top. Burnished Cinnamon was the second most popular color on 71 Centurion convertibles with 290 units built trailing only Fire Red with 367 units built. 102 Burnished Cinnamon cars were built with the optional paint stripe although I don't see where your car was built that way. The Sandalwood convertible top came on 354 of the 2,161 total 71 Centurion convertibles so that accounted for 16.38% of the total built. Your car's white interior was the most common one ordered on 71 Centurion convertibles with 909 (42.06%) built with it. If you'd like more information on the option totals and percentages, feel free to ask. I did note that your car did also have the optional chrome wheels and it is too bad that those wheels apparently are not with it (personal comment on that one). I hope you find some of this information to be of help and interest to you.

[turbojaeger]

Thanx Bob,
that´s really interesting! didn´t know how much information
is in these numbers...
I still have another set of the chrome-wheels,
got them from ebay just in case i get problems with these
ones in germany, but i hope not :confused4:

what tire-size is the right one on these wheels??

i´m thinking about the color-combination when i´m finished...
the white interior is in good shape and i like it,
the top needs to be replaced but i think i want a dark one
but the biggest question is the main color...
red, silver,a soft/creamy yellow,.......:bawl:

any ideas??? :coffee:

[MichelHaak]

Not red, everybody is painting them plain red it seems. Just choose an exotic but stylish color. I love Adam's (smartin) car color. Maybe flame orange is something for you?

[Bob Alberini]

Glad you enjoyed the information, Joern. It is great to be able to help out on information like this. The cars originally came standard with H-78-15 tires or J-78-15s were an option but in terms of radial tires, the 225-15 would be the standard replacement or the 235-15 if you want a beefier tire. I'm running 225s and Keith has 235s and they both do just fine.

The color issue has to be yours. I'm a purist and would love to see it returned to its proper color and with its proper wheels so that pretty well tells you where I'm coming from. You have to go with what suits you. I'm sure Adam would opt for Twilight Turquoise if he had the chance.

[turbojaeger]

i was thinking about the original color but that´s not what i want..
looks like brown from far away and i don´t realla like brown that much-
even not shoes;)
has anyone posted a chart with all stock colors?

the skylark-yellow looks interesting...
orange is a cool color too but i want any stock paint.

what is Twilight Turquoise??

[The German]

Joern, have you seen this site ? : http://www.buickcenturion.com/
With the links left hand you will have the possibility to look for several Centurion pictures and get ideas what colour could be the best for you. The link "centurion info" in the underline of the site will give you some more general information about Centurions.

Most I like the colour combination of Randy´s convertible with its cream top !:
http://www.buickcenturion.com/forums/showthread.php?t=409&page=2
And your red with white top is very nice also; ... but If you prefer a black top my colour would be dark green like Bob´s or Randy´s 4 door hardtop – very elegant (!): http://www.buickcenturion.com/forums/showthread.php?t=409

For the German inspection you need a data sheet of the technical control department (TÜV) of Germany or from the Buick-Club of Germany. This paper has all technical information (also about the tires) for the license which you will get for your car after the examination; I wrote those data into a jpg file and so you can see it here.
In spite of having that sheet I had problems with the information given to the power of the motor: they will only accept PS or kW not hp ! In my case I reached to get the paper without any other documents regarding that data, but it was very difficult and a long discussion. It ended up with writing 166 kW into the paper which is too low but for me it does not matter. On the other hand I guess it would be wise to prepare that point carefully !
_________________
Rolf

[Robroy]

It ended up with writing 166 kW into the paper which is too low but for me it does not matter.
166 kw sounds just right. I have an 160 kw engine in my BMW which represents 218 Hp and our 455s have 225 Hp if I’m not mistaken.

[The German]

The 1971 Centurion had 315hp, Per, and with the other exhaust system and better ignition than original I guess it has more hp than before. Have a look to the data table given in this article :

http://www.buickcenturion.com/info/centurion_mag003.jpg
______________________
Rolf

[Robroy]

The 1971 Centurion had 315hp, Per, and with the other exhaust system and better ignition than original I guess it has more hp than before. Have a look to the data table given in this article :

You are right Rolf,
The 455 had 315 hp with the method they used for measuring horsepower 1971 and earlier which was without exhaust, water pump and other engine accessories. From what I’ve learned from the v8-forum, the drop from 315 hp in 1971 to 225 hp for 1972’s was apart from lower compression mainly due to the way of measuring power. So my guess is that TUV wanted to go on the 1972 method since that’s more or less how it’s done today.
Remember reading somewhere that the 1972 method gives a 25% lower HP rating than the prevoius one.

Added a bit later:
With the dual exhaust, stage 1 heads and all other of Adams engine modifications you might have close to 300 hp anyway and as you said its only numbers on a the paper

[The German]

Per, as I read your answer I remembered that I have heard or read some time ago that the way of measuring power of a car was changed; so I assume you are right. I didn´t have it present in my brain when writing my answer - excuse my mistake.
But anyway - for me that are really "only numbers on a the paper".

On the other hand : Joern has to prepare this special question b/c I´m sure that he has to give an answer to the inspectors and perhaps they want something written on a paper they could trust ! Perhaps there is anyone out who could give an exact answer or a link to a special information site regarding that problem ? :user:
_________________
Rolf

[Robroy]

On the other hand : Joern has to prepare this special question b/c I´m sure that he has to give an answer to the inspectors and perhaps they want something written on a paper they could trust ! Perhaps there [B][COLOR="Blue"]is anyone out who could give an exact answer or a link to a special information site regarding that problem ?
Rolf,
I googled “SAE net” and got several hits, the link below leads to one of them.
Check out the two first in the beginning, SAE Net and SAE Gross. Those were the two I was talking about.

http://neptune.spacebears.com/opine/horsepwr.html

[Bob Alberini]

Joern,
If you want to see what Twilight Turquoise looks like, check the thread in this same section that Adam posted under "My First Car -- 1971 LeSabre 4 door sedan". It's about ten from the top and you'll get a real good idea how this great color looks.

[turbojaeger]

ok that color is REALLY cool!!
thanks, now i have 4 colors in the inner choice
instead of 3 :Dou:

good that i don´t have to decide it now-
there will be dozens of hours in the garage till that moment
:coffee:

[The German]

Thanks for the link, Per. I guess that´s interesting for many of us and perhaps it will help Joern to get through the German inspection.

Happy New Year for all !

Rolf

[dewbers]

Good info Per!!

Joern - I went with the beefier 235 tire and the ride seems to be a better. At least in my opinion. (More rubber on the road) I tried the 225 which came on the car, but when I went to raised white letter, I opted for the bigger tire. Part of the reason too is that I am carting my entire family around (4 kids + Mom and Dad) and wanted to "stabilize" the ride. I am very pleased... Good luck.

I like the Turquoise too! Sharp color with the white interior! What other colors are you considering?

[Smartin]

Two of my favorite colors...

This looks especially nice in a convertible with a white interior and white top:

http://www.buickcenturion.com/1971/twilight_turq_vert1/


And, of course, Jerry Handlos' burnished cinnamon convertible:

http://www.buickpartsdirectory.com/rides/handlos_centurion004.JPG

[turbojaeger]

i tried to find a sheet or chart with all original centurion colors-
without results...

has there been any darker blue or navy blue?
a few days ago i've seen a oldsmobile from 1970 in royal mist blue,
a really beautiful color!!!
:cool:

the next thing i'm thinking about is the top color.
the old one was white and looked nice but i thought
a black one would be easier to clean.

what are your experiences with the pro's and contra's of the top-color??
:confused:

[Centurion]

Buick offered a very beautiful, very dark blue on the '71 Centurion called "Nocturne Blue".

You can view a sample on the color chip chart:

http://tcpglobal.com/autocolorlibrary/cgi-bin/search/searchpic.pl?1971-buick-pg01.jpg

I have seen a spectacular Nocturne Blue Centurion convertible from British Columbia, and it was very striking. Unfortunately, we do not appear to have any photos of Nocturne Blue examples in the Centurion Registry.

[Centurion]

Joern, I am unable to locate an image online, but the 1971 Buick full-line brochure includes a photo of the Electra 225 4-door hardtop finished in Nocturne Blue, as I recall, so you might want to look for one of the brochures to see the color on a full-size Buick.

[turbojaeger]

thanx a lot Brian!
that's what i was looking for!

the stratomist blue is what i wanted!
a kind of blue,powerful like the fire-red.
that with a black top and white interior....:Brow:

[Phil Genario]

hi joern, welcome! thats anice car, if you do the restoration correctly as it appears you are, i would go with the burnished cinnamon color,as it will be a nice enough car to keep it as close to factory as possible.its not like the factory color was ugly or something. that color was probably one of the nicest colors offered in 71,and it was a brand new color that year.one look at that convertible in the burnished cinnamon, and also adams coupe says it all. phil

[RFortuna]

Color is a personal taste sort of thing, but I agree with Phil and Bob. Burnished Cinnamon is gorgeous! It would be my top choice if I were lucky enough to order a new 71!

Randy

[turbojaeger]

the burnished cinnamon looks good-
Adam's Coupe is an eyecatcher but i think
it's not a color for me.
maybe i'm too young but i want a powerful color
like the fire red or stratomist blue.

green and brown tones are not my colors:confused4:

@ Keith:
i'm a little afraid of keeping a white top clean,
specially with all the dust and sand here in the desert.
but when i think back to my mustang that had a black top
it wasn't better than the white top of the buick...
but after a sandstorm looked the white one always like
2 years without washing but was easy to remove.

and in germany won't be that much sandstorms:laugh:

[turbojaeger]

i found this GSX in strato mist blue and i think this
color will be my personal favorite...

http://barrie.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAdLargeImage?AdId=21699853&img=http://kijiji.ebayimg.com/i1/05/k/000/77/d6/b022_18.JPG

[The German]

i found this ... strato mist blue and i think this
color will be my personal favorite... ...

Nice color, Joern. This will be very good with a black or a white top !
______________
Rolf

[Phil Genario]

hi joern, the stratomist blue is a great color, if you decide on that . you obviously have time to knock it around.just think about the top color carefully.you have white pretty much dominating as far as interior goes.i hear what you say about a white top, but as keith said ,it wont be that tough to keep clean.if you went with a black top,i think it will look strange with the white interior glaring at you, and you may lose the effect of the bold color. if you did go with black and you were not happy its a very expensive mistake.i just put a new top and window in my 72 and it was $1,800 ,so a top isnt cheap as you probably know from having a conv already. so check it out.what do the other guys on the board think! phil