The. Buick. Century. Was. A. Nice. Car. In. The. 70s. But. When. Buick. Gave. It. A. Look in. 1982 it. Was. A. Pese. Of. Junk. Frum. 1982. Tho. 1995. I think. 2001. Was. The. Last. Yr. Just. Like. Ols. Cutlets. Sera. Pontiac. 6000. My. Mom. Had a 73. Grandprix
@@emeyer6963 compared to my granny he knows how to handle a car... he drives like a drunken idiot that smashes the brake and spins the steering wheel like a moron... if you think this tool has skill it means you have NONE and really shouldn't be on the road
Those that say these cars, and others of the era, suck at handling have never driven or have forgotten the fun of steering with the throttle. Manhandling them by throwing the weight around and pumping the brakes to make your own ABS lol Fun!
There were very few true muscle cars still being made by 1973. The 455 SD Trans Am, 340 Plymouth Duster, and 34O Cuda were really about all there was. 15 second 1/4 miles were pretty good for 1973
FOR 1973 ( the beginning of OPEC & emission controls) THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT OUTCOME FOR TESTING...THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE HUGE 'LAND YACHTS' OF AMERICA.
Is it mandatory that some schmuck has to comment about "how far we've come" and how shitty these old cars do everything? Can't you just appreciate the cool old review of a cool old car? No one expects it to perform like something 40+ years newer.
This car was amazing by 1973 standards for so many reasons, but especially the acceleration numbers. The EPA was a real pain in the ass by 1973. I think Buick deserved an A+ in 1973 for making the most of what they had to work with.
It was. And while it obviously won't brake and corner like a new car, a few minor modifications to overcome all the emissions crap will really wake it up. And I'm fairly certain NOTHING you can buy today will ride like one of these.
I call my all-white '73 Century the "Great White Boat". Gets steadier and steadier the faster I push it. That's a great feeling, to go from 55mph to 85mph on the freeway and feel (and see) the car just "lock down" on the road and squat there no shimmies no shakes as the needle climbs. She can't turn for crap, but man, can she go STRAIGHT!
I was thinking about the Grand Am while Bud was playing up how 'special' the Century GS was. Didn't the Grand Am come with the 455SD as an option? The Buick engine was a bit lighter but the Pontiac usually had better suspension tuning. I think that a limited slip diff and some modern performance tires would have made this much better.
@@keithstudly6071 They should have had it available, but apparantly the production supplier for the forged rods could not fill the orders, so only had the standard 400 and 455 engines available in Grand AM. Buddy of mine had a 73 with 400 - 4 speed. It was a smooth, powerful, and agile car, probably the best handling of the era for mid size cars!
@@gt-37guy6 my buddy had that same car in 1986 with a 455 and he broke that motor cold starting it at wide open throttle (yeah, it was stupid) ... spun the hell out of a bearing but the rods never broke and the SD was only good for another ten horsepower ... Super duty" just looked cool
I vividly recall as an eight? Year old in 1973 sitting in the salesman's office with my old man, he was ordering our new family bus, a 73 Buick Century Luxus station wagon, complete with wood paneling the chrome road wheels were not available on the wagons, but my old man made it happen and he did order the 350 4 barrel along with a few other choice options (with my "help" of course) ! , to this day I think to myself, how cool would it be to have a 73 GS 455 4 speed stage one, are you shitting me? How many of these were even made?, or still exist!???
They made 92 Stage I 4 speed cars in 1973. Search "My car Story 73 Buick Stage1" Lou Costabile. Guy in this utube segment has one....lucky, lucky man. Sorry this device is a pain to copy URL's.
I loved this video so much I bought the car.....no seriously, ran across a very rare 74 GS 455 last year and bought it. What a car! Mine is built up and stall converter, same white car though...not many 1974s made - the last year. So far getting 7 mpg or so....people in little hybrids just shake their heads.
@@SuperBlazer00 Yes, these were the cars I grew up with , Cutlass, Regal, Lemans, I had a 73 Cutlass Supreme that I bought in 82 for $100...It was a black 455 2 door, but had a cracked block. I put a Pontiac 350 engine in it...It had a TH400 trans with a 3.23 Posi axle. I loved the way that car drove, and the highway excelleration band was sweet. Sold it to another buddy who put a Olds 350 back in it and he drove is several more years, says it was his favorite driving car ever.
The Buick GS was the best looking of the four 1973 GM Colonnade performance models(GTO,Chevelle SS,Olds 442,Buick GS) Probably the most expensive of the four when new so probably the rarest of the four too. If I was buying a new car in 1973 it would be a 340/4 speed Plymouth Duster or Cuda or a 455SD/4 speed Formula Firebird. But the 73 Buick GS Stage 1 is a super cool car that you hardly ever see or hear about. Not as fast as a 70 Stage 1 Buick but pretty cool just the same
Just one more thing.. I grew up in the 60's and 70's. Heck, I got my driver's Lic in my dad's 1967 Plymouth Fury III. And "No back up camera..". There is a special place in my heart for all cars of this era. Gas was 45 cents a gallon, and front seats big enough to well..lol. This Buick in particular has more charm than some pathetic people mover SUV of today. In the parking lot, it's easy to try and open the wrong car because they "All look the same"... I could watch this all day. Gotta love that 4 bbl sucking air, and spinning the rear tires on a "4 wheel Drift" @4:55 is eye candy..🙂
This is a bona fide supercar. 15.3 et from C&T is fast. The GT 500 Shelby Cobra was only 14.5 for C&T. I looked it up and it got the same 30mph as the '69 GTX. CnT make it hard by testing 40, 45 and 50 60 and 70 and hardly mention quarter miles. For all the haters, the '73 GM's sold like crazy it was a record setting year of over 5 million cars sold in the US iirc.
It was fast for the 70s with all the emissions regulations added to it. Most of the 60s muscle before it was considerably faster. By the mid 80s performance finally started to come around with Camaros, firebirds and mustangs getting back to mid 14 second 1/4 miles with much lighter cars and smaller cubic inch small block V8s
great video. its good to see that there is still an interest in this fascinating era when U.S. made were the best performers and lfire breathing beautiful beasts. my true love is the mack truck and all other heavy diesel vehicles including super heavy buses both transit and cross country. I am dropping thia line to thank you for your interest and desire to preserve this most important of eras sir and to say that it is a pleasure to know that professional gentlemen such as yourself still exist. we as a nation are going thru some very tryong times in this new post 911 world and I want to thank you for showing young people that this country was great and was a leader in the automotive industry and that it is still great and will get to that point again..and very soon judging by buicks great lucerne and other products like the chevy impala cruze and volt. thank you for bringing back memories and for the smile! god bless you and your family this holiday season.
Damn, what a ass-kicking boulevard cruiser. Surprisingly great performance numbers for a 1973 vehicle period. Compression ratios and cam specs had taken a serious hit by 1973 due to emission regulations. 1973 was the beginning of the dark ages.........
Yeah, 1971 was the last really good year for American V8s for a long time. 1971 was the last year of decent stock cams and good compression ratios. Stock compression ratios fell off of a cliff in 1972.
@@clintonflynn815 380 lb ft Net, that would be around 450 using the older Brake HP rating - still allot of torque with low comp 455s ! Also Remember this car is heavier than the older Skylark GS cars by 300 lbs and the Gear ratio on this standard 455 model was 3.08 - more of a highway gear. Put some gears in the stock 73 and you have a much improved quarter mile.
Man oh man! I love these beasts. Nothing better than a v8 with a large hood. I had a Grande Marquis and it wasn't too fast but that v8 just makes you feel so good on highway.
Those are heavy cars, and a 15.3 quarter mile is pretty good in that rig, especially since it had a pegleg rear. You woulda thought that a Limited Slip diff woulda been standard on the GS.
I think its a good looking car. A friend of mine had a 1973 Buick Century with the 455. back in the early 90s and that car would beat some 5.0 Mustangs. it was a real sleeper
It would have been great to get your hands inside of that that low compression 1973 Buick smog engine 455. These engines responded so well to a mild street cam swap and a piston swap to get rid of those low compression smog pistons. These old Buicks made insane amounts of torque, too.
In high school, in the early 90s, I had a 72 Cutlass, my friend had a 72 Chevelle, another had 72 Pontiac Gran Prix (same GM body type as what would become this car) and another had a 72 Bug - just by happenstance and everyone being poor we just happened to all end up with 1972 cars. What I never got as a kid was what happened. The 72 models are great looking cars, all of them, and in 73 - it all went to hell. Except for the Bug, it never changed, apparently a curse from being Hitler's offspring.
While I've hated the Emission Control devices they were putting on these cars but I've always liked the style of the 1973-77 Colonnade GM cars w/1973-74 being my favorite years
Some of these '73 G S were equipped with the "Stage 1" 455...Buick's version of the Pontiac "Super Duty 455"; basically, a street legal race engine that was grossly under rated to keep the insurance co's from shitting bricks. It also came with a pretty purposeful handling package too boot. This must have been an extremely difficult time for all 4 of the automotive manufactures of this vintage. It's hard to imagine having the f'ing government tell you how you can build cars.
Its the best behaviour between musclecars I've seen in several Bud's series. So nice breaking, acceleratting and cornering on this antient tires. It goes like Jaguer XJS which is much modern
Prior to 1972, American car makers used the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) “gross” measurement of horsepower. Gross meant the figure was taken from an engine running on a test stand, with no air cleaner assembly, accessories or exhaust system connected. By 1971, car makers began reducing compression in many engines in order to meet upcoming emissions requirements and to use unleaded fuel. General Motors and Chrysler began advertising both gross and SAE net figures in 1971, derived from an engine tested with air cleaner assembly, accessories or exhaust system connected. The net ratings, which were applied across the board for 1972, were taken from the rear wheel so even though there was a drop in HP due to lower compression in 1972, the drop was exaggerated because of the switch from gross to net HP. The actual HP drop was much less than was stated. Higher insurance premiums played a part in all this too.
sae-net is the measure of both horsepower and torque with ALL the accessories, standard full exhaust, water & oil pumps,alternator,power steering all belted carb filter installed, & measured @ FLYWHEEL. Now, GM, has a measure of sae-net CERTIFIED.
For a fully smog-equipped land yacht in 1973, these are very respectable numbers. Now I know which smog-era land yacht to consider buying; this one isn't half bad in acceleration
my friends dad back in Oct 72, bought a 73 Century Regal with the GS455 and the sport suspension. it was ordered for the Buick dealers Sales manager, but his dad bought it out from under him. It was a hot car and his Mom said it was one of the best handling cars she had ever had. Well at least till she got her STS and then CTS, she's not driving anymore, I think she is 91 now! But in about 4 years, my friend wound up with it after She finished with it, he had it quite a while!
nobody knows the pleasure of the ride in such cars until he tries it. i got a 74 regal,still in manufactured excellent condition,you can see it in my video,the only thing is that i don't have the ''smog'' thing on it. i changed the spark plugs to splitfire ones, put high performance sparkplug wires, put a bigger opened airfilter put bigger exhaust with opened straight mufflers, now engine is a lot powerful and runs with ease,while keeping the car mainly at it's original specs.
no not as much although I agree cars tended to have softer suspension in general, they'd perform much better in that slalom though having independent suspension
Having independent, is not truly beneficial in a slalom as you might think! At any rate this was the 70's and that tech had not yet been perfected yet! so their was a huge grey area in regards to IRS vs live AXLE!
0-70mph times were very impressive for 1973 standards, it's even better than some of the lower powered muscle cars built in the high compression years.
Still got a special place for the colonnades I think they're awesome looking THIS IS THE CLOSEST THING WE'VE HAD TO A SUPERCAR SINCE BREATHING CLEAN AIR BECAME POPULAR LOL BUD YOU WERE THE MAN
270 Net HP!!!! Thats crazy for one of those big lazy V8's from the 70's with all the smog equipment. That kind of power wasn't seen on new cars up until about 10 years ago.
Yeah 270 net horsepower was a good number for 1973. One of the highest ratings on paper that year other than the Pontiac SD455 and the Mopar 440 I believe. I had a 73 Duster 340-4 speed and a 73 LeMans 455 4 barrel-auto. The 340 Duster was way faster though because it was much lighter. I believe the regular Pontiac 455 4 barrel was rated at 250 horses in 73 but the Buick and Olds 455 was rated at 270 horses
300 net horsepower , 1993 Corvette LT1. The same engine made 275 hp in the Firebird and Camaro due to more restrictive intake ducting and exhaust design . 260 hp in the Impala SS and Buick Roadmaster , because even though those engines carried the "LT1" designation , they had iron cylinder heads while the Corvette and Firebird featured aluminum cylinder heads . (which allowed more ignition timing since they were less prone to detonation ) I know its hard to believe , but 1993 was TWENTY-EIGHT years ago , and only twenty years after this Gran Sport was produced .
My brother and I was considering a 1974 GS with a 455 either the Stage 1 or not. Since we doubted it would still have the original motor in it, or in good shape. All the 74 455's had the improved oiling system and Stage 1 heads are easy to come by. We liked the 73's but wanted the 1-piece seat belt design...crazy huh? Other than that I think the cars are about the same. I heard you can run 10 to 1 comp. on these motors with the right timing curve and still use regular 10% eth. pump gas. I think with a mild port job and descent cam with all the emission stuff in place the motor would go 350 HP, 475 torque. The only down side isn't the drive trains, it's the option specific parts on the cars with little or no after market support for replacements. Plus I don't think they built many of them to begin with, still...we like them. Maybe a Century 2 door coupe with a 350 factory 2 bbl. would be the way to go, then "modify" it.
270 HP was net in '73, add about 60 to that for gross. i'd say gear ratio in that GS was 3.42 maybe a little higher, i doubt it though for a GS. they'd get better than 10 mpg if you drove them easy, average around 13 or so. it's not ugly...just different. with a few minor tweaks and maybe a stage 1 package(or not), those cars were awesome : )
true...I own a '76 Cutlass and my kid has a '75 Regal, both coupes. When someone added those "license plate brackets" to the bumpers it really changed the way the front end looked.
@ColbyJMeyer I like to see you stick 6 full sized adults, 4 full suit cases, 2 golf bags, in the Pantera. Buicks were known for their fantastic ride comfort too. On the highway, they were library quiet inside and had seats that were more comfortable than most living room sofas. I'll pass on the Pantera.
This was quite a sleek fastback styled car for it's time and pretty quick too, especially by 1873 standards. The GM intermediates were the betters ones and if ordered correctly could be a lot of fun
Ponchoman -New for 1873! haha....typo...yep you are right! Being a Pontiac Guy I bet a 73 Grand Am would fit that order. Great handling cars and EASY to wake up the stock engines by just finding a set of older heads! Get closer to 350 to 400 HP i these cars and you have a very special MACHINE! I have a 74 Gran Sport and she is around 420 HP (hi compression pistons, big cam / headers / intake)...it is a blast!
My pops has drove nothing but buicks since the 70s. He had a 76 landau with a 6 cylinder. In the 80s the 70s style buicks were considered ugly. We made dad drop us off a block away from the theater. Wish I had that same car now.
Whatever, the 1970s is better! Some of the 1973 Buick Century line can tow 6000 pounds with 455 big block V-8 from Buick and towing package too. Our 2005 Buick Century and 2008 Buick Lacrosse can only tow a measly 1000 pounds. Same too with my 2013 Chevrolet, same old 1000 pound towing and 100 pound tongue weight. I did tow 3 U Haul Trailers from California to Washington State and it did fine, however. Towed 1 850 pound trailer and 2 990 pound trailers too. First trailer, I did drive 50 mph for first 500 miles too. When I reached Gardinerville, Nevada I sped up faster to keep up with traffic, as I already hit 500 miles of towing too. Some dude got impatient one time on US 395 approaching Nevada state line on California side and almost got into a head on collision in front of me. He wanted to go 65 mph or 70 mph and I was only doing 50 mph for break in period too. After break in, I can do whatever speed I want. I did not tow with the Buicks, but they are generally 50 mph for first 500 miles and 55 mph thereafter. New cars need to tow again, like in 1970s!
+Bryan Tint Another thing, I did weigh the second trailer, it was 156 pound tongue weight, so the trailer could be 1500 pound loaded too. 990 pounds empty too. My 2013 Chevrolet towed it very good! It has a Cadillac 3.6L V-6 as well. My other rigs from Buick, have not towed a thing yet. Have a 2005 Buick Century with Chevrolet 3.1L V-6 and a 2008 Buick Lacrosse with Buick 3.8L V-6 as well. All are rated for 1000 pound towing and 100 pound tongue weight.
The 1975 Buick Century with Buick big block 455 V-8 can tow 6000 pounds with 500 pound tongue weight. Maximum for big cars, such as sedans, wagons, and coupes is 7000 pounds for the heaviest of full sized and mid sized cars. 1975 Buick Century with 350 small block V-8 can tow 5000 pounds with 500 pound tongue weight. The 1975 Buick Century can be upgraded to EFI, no problem. It runs on the same unleaded gas anyway. However, no updated Buick V-8s for 21st century. The Buick V-6 made it from 1962 to 2008. With EFI and advanced engineering, the Buick small block and big block V-8s will do better with basically the same catalytic converter. SUVs kind of suck anyway. However, for police rigs, only SUVs rule in towing, as Chevrolet does not allow towing with Chevrolet Impala nor Chevrolet Caprice for 2013 and 2014 or whatnot late model Chevrolet squads. Only Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Suburban can tow in squads. Civilian Chevrolet is rated for 1000 pounds. GM banned towing for Chevrolet Impala PPV and Chevrolet Caprice PPV. The civilian Chevrolet Impala can tow 1000 pounds with 100 pound tongue weight. I did tow 1500 pounds with 156 pound tongue weight. Towed like 4 different trailers from LA to Seattle. Even passed many solo cars on Lewiston Grade on US 95 with my 2013 Chevrolet. I did install cop tires and cop battery on my 2013 Chevrolet. Plus I added a cop oil filter AC Delco PF 48. Replaced that AC Delco PF 63. The battery is upgraded at AGM technology which is deep cycle/starting battery too. About 880 CCA or so. Or 885 CCA, cannot remember. It's on durable battery. Standard cop battery is just a 720 amp flooded starting battery. Mine is more heavy duty. Made for aftermarket cop use. I did upgrade my front brake pads from ceramic to semi metallic for my heavy duty use. Will upgrade the brakes further such as larger rotors later. Plus upgrade the bracket and caliper too. Will upgrade the rear brakes too. Make it totally cop brakes back there too. It's not larger, but thicker rotors in the rear. The only weak area for towing is the rear suspension, it sags a little. Car is rated for 1000 pound towing with 100 pound tongue weight. I towed about 1500 pounds with 156 pound tongue weight. Does awesome in towing! The 1971 Chevrolet can tow 7000 pounds with 500 pound tongue weight with big block 454 V-8 by Chevrolet. 6000 pounds with wagons. Sedans and coupes are 7000 pounds. The 1977 Chevrolet and 1991 Chevrolet are rated for 5000 pounds with 500 pound tongue weight. 2000 and later Chevrolet is 1000 pounds with 100 pound tongue weight too. Police Chevrolets are not allowed to tow, however. Police Dodge and Police Ford can tow 1000 pounds with 100 pound tongue weight too. Chevrolet dumps towing to Chevrolet Tahoe PPV, and Chevrolet Suburban. Plus Chevrolet Silverado 4X4. Silverado can be had with 6L or 6.2L V-8. You can install a 6.2L V-8 in a 1975 Chevrolet wagon, however. Or a 1975 Chevrolet sedan. The 1977 Chevrolet and 1991 Chevrolet can use 5.3L V-8 or so. They all run on the same unleaded gas. Same catalytic converter. Over the years, they did change the pellet catalytic converter to monolith converter, but it does the same job. Monolith is better, less drag, compared to pellet type. As for 1974 and older, should leave it stock for stock reasons at the pump! 1977 Chevrolet is powered by 350 V-8, which was a dog, but still good. The cop version is not faster, just more durable, which is better. The 1991 Chevrolet is 350 for cop use. 305 for civilian and taxi cop! 305 V-8 for wagons. I'd say 350 for sedan and 305 for wagon. 2000 Chevrolet is 3.4L V-6 for civilian and 3.8L V-6 for cop. A few civilian cars had 3.8L V-6. 3.8L V-6 is Buick. 3.4L V-6 is Chevrolet. 2006 Chevrolet was 3.5L V-6 for civilian. 3.9L V-6 for cop use. Both are Chevrolet V-6s. My model has a Cadillac V-6 which has more power at 302 horsepower and 262 pound feet of torque at 5300 RPM. 302 horsepower is at 6500 RPM or so. The 350 V-8 of 1978 made 270 pound feet of torque at 2800 RPM or 2400 RPM, but I cannot remember. They were lazy V-8s of the 1970s. Which is fine. Even that Ford 3.3L 6 cylinder made 75 horsepower with 145 pound feet of torque. Still better than our 2.6L 4 cylinder by Mitsubishi at 101 horsepower with 143 pound feet of torque. Torque is more important than horsepower, but horsepower helps torque to balance out fuel economy!
Did bully a Dodge Ram today with my 2013 Chevrolet. I used to own a Dodge Ram. It's a good truck, but I treat my 2013 Chevrolet like Dodge Ram of 1996. Same damn thing to me. We had 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 1978 Chevrolet, 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 1984 Dodge Caravan, 1991 Ford Taurus, 1996 Dodge Ram, 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue, 2005 Buick Century, 2008 Buick LaCrosse, and 2013 Chevrolet. They are all big Detroit tanks, and I treat them all the same. I do bully Dodge Ram today on I-405 in Washington with my 2013 Chevrolet. So funny! He was tailgating another car, and I only wanted to let 2 cars to enter my lane, not the third one, which was that Dodge Ram that was tailgating a small car. I pushed him back! He had to back off! 1970s cars are better, at least those stupid trucks have to pay some respect! I push them back! Don't care! I live in the 1970s! All big Detroit iron is the same! Should be treated as such! Old man's Detroit iron always rule! Dodge Ram owners should know that! I don't like young man's cars, such as economy cars nor sports cars. It's always old man's cars. Many of them are used in public safety, for being big!
@@bryantint1339 you are incorrect , sir . The civilian version of the 1977 Impala 350 used the LM1 350 , rated at 170 horsepower . The LM1 had 8.2:1 compression , a mild cam , and 1.94" intake valves and 1.50" exhaust valves . POLICE versions of the Impala , option code 9C1 , used the 205 horsepower L82 350 , borrowed from the Corvette . The L82 had 8.5:1 compression , a "performance" camshaft (nudge nudge , wink wink , stifled giggle !) as well as 2.02" intake valves and 1.60" exhaust valves .
@jungleguybest well if you look at the 1/4 mile times and see that the cars you describe are runnine 14 seconds at 100 mph.. that tells you they are getting to 100 miles an hour in roughly 14 seconds or slightly less! YES they run 0-60 in 5.3 seconds.. but they slow down alot after that! and also depending on the gear ratio!
@harddrivin1le that's what i was talking about,there's a lot of waste in these engines, but few tricks and you'll get a rocket. and remember some of those cars in years 1968- 1969 used to get 100m/h (160km/h) in 10 seconds or less, example: buick GSX, oldsmobile 442 HURST, chevelle 455.
my dad brought a new 1973 Buick 4 door with a 455 from the dealer it was parked out front I understood why when he got it home the A/C broke few days later it ran hot . engine felt like you were driving with the left foot on the break .. total dog . ate water pumps and Transmissions .. needless to say after I saw how the dealer responded I never bought a Buick
My 1st car was one of these. Little did I realize that it was involved in a flood, because it had all kinds of eletrical problems, and the vinal roof where it meets the windsheild was all rusted out, and whats weird, the vinal roof only covers half of the roof. Mine was the standard 350, 4bbl carb which ran fine. The whole car at the end was retired / scrapped in 1987.
I got in the car business in 73. It doesn't take a trained eye to see the Chevrolet Malibu in the car. At that time the different divisions were still building their own engines but that would change in 1977.
A lot got to be down to tyre technology, just lack of grip from small size and polyglass construction. You've got to give the test driver 100% for his skill. I guess most owner in the day wouldn't imagine driving thier cars this hard.
Just imagine what that car would be capable of with some higher compression slugs and the emissions crap ripped off. I think those engines were only around 8:1 compression.
I'm building a hot rod based on a 77 Buick Century Custom, with staple console shifter. It will have a Nelson Racing 509 in it and a whole bunch of other toys. I figure a 10 second or lower quarter mile. It should be fun.
