Bicentennial Edition: 1976 Buick Century
Buick used the Century nameplate sporadically between 1936 and 2005. With the redesign of General Motors’ mid-size cars in 1973, the Century moniker was brought out of mothballs (it was last used in 1958). This was the period of the Colonnade body styles which eliminated true hardtops. In 1976, Buick joined in on the Bicentennial celebration by offering a trim option on the Century coupe – like the seller’s car.
GM’s intermediates were the last of the “big” mid-size cars from 1973 to 1977 which were downsized after that. A 231 cubic inch V6 engine was standard fare and that’s what appears to be in the seller’s car. It looks like a well-preserved machine, but the seller doesn’t provide any in history nor does he/she even indicate the vehicle’s mileage. The photos provided are few, too.
We don’t know how many of the 1973 Century coupes came with Bicentennial identification. The overall population was large at more than 93,000 coups, yet I don’t recall seeing any of the celebration cars then or now. Buick used all sorts of Patriotic-sounding names for their paint colors that year and this one may be finished in Potomac Blue with a contrasting white top and interior.
This might be a nice vintage car here on Facebook Marketplace. It looks like it could be worth the asking price of $4,500 in Flint, Michigan. But a lot more information would help you decide to bite would go a long way. If you like the Colonnade Buicks, does this one do it for you? Or would you rather have a 1976 Buick Century “Free Spirit” edition that paced the field at the Indy 500? Thanks for the tip, Barn Finder “Ted”!
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Comments
A nice silhouette in the 1st pic 📸
The “lack of info” thing has gotten so bad that it even draws complaints from our resident self appointed experts down here in comment-land who used to tell us that serious buyers (read as “better than you”) didn’t care & would get more info.
Cool ride that you won’t see everywhere.
We were Buick dealers in the 1970s. I ordered all the cars. Never saw a Bicentennial Edition.
This has the look of a dealer installed package. Throw a landau roof and some stripes on a basic Century and call it a “Bicentennial Edition.”
It was probably customized through Blain Buick on Clio Road in Flint.
a really nice looking car even with scant details. The 231 kills it for me.
Never heard of it. I followed stuff like this pretty closely for a kid. It looks like a garden variety Special with a quarter roof. The front end says ’76 while the color says ’75, or GMC truck.
It makes sense that nobody else has heard of the “Bicentennial Edition,” as the seller stated, “one of a kind.” He threw some red on a blue/white car and, voila! Bicentennial Edition.
She had a killer stereo, back in the day!
Beautiful looking car. Scant details about the past and current condition. And the price is beyond reasonable which raises further suspicion. Not that everyone is seeking a huge windfall unlike some of the other abominations that pass through this site. There are some good deals to be found and had.
Time for a nice LS +6 speed auto swap. Cap it with some borla tunes and who needs a stereo!
Would make the perfect garage mate…
Had a 76 Century. Nice looking car. Always loved the Colonades. The 231 odd fire was a mediocre powerplant. Full frame that saved my arse when I got cut off and hit a light pole on the North Conduit.
It isn’t stated if this has an odd fire or even fire. The 231 even fire became the 3800 to my understanding, and those are great.
“We don’t know how many of the 1973 Century coupes came with Bicentennial identification.”
None of the 1973s did, but some of the 1976s did. ;)
Nice ladies car. Sorry to Cadillac Diva if you see this, I’m speaking about boring ladies who don’t understand cars.
Bicentennial never was, now there was a 76 Buick Century Custom called a Free Spirit Pace car replica as per Shop Manual, Have one. Now that’s a great idea and a nice car motor now well, the long roof with side glass was not as common most had landau opera windows. This Could be a Buick Special