My Cars

I love having this Buick Park Avenue. When I worked at Buick I would have never imagined myself owning one. Like my father before me I always bought the lower priced Chevrolet. Actually I love the Chevy also. I first learned to drive with a new 66 Chevy "Bel Air" model with a 283 cubic inch engine. My brother who was the original Buick historian in the family, always bought new Buick's. Both of these automobiles are well detailed "top to bottom".

This is a special "Celebration" model Buick which is why it has the rare two tone paint. The hand painted pin stripe of the Hopi Indian flute player (I think) was added by the dealer under a special campaign.. The (Kokopelli) drawings date to 500 A.D. This symbol is found in Arizona & New Mexico. This Buick was bought new in Arizona. The lower gold paint "is" listed on the paint code under the spare tire cover. The Buick was built at the Lake Orion plant in Michigan. The Chevrolet was built at the Van Slyke rd. factory in Flint Michigan. The Buick with the air ride suspension has a very smooth ride, whereas the Chevy has a bit stiffer suspension, due to the fact that I added station wagon (cargo) springs at the rear (for more lift) and  it also has a Poly-graphite front suspension now. They are both fine highway cars but the gas mileage is the main difference. The Buick on average is 23 mpg and the Chevy is 15 mpg. The Chevy also burns premium. I wish the Chevy had a 4 speed automatic instead of the 2 speed powerglide, but the powerglide is the preferred transmission (almost bullet-proof) and is still being built (after market) to this day. The Buick 3800 (engine) also has the "Bullet-Proof" reputation. The best thing about taking care of the Buick is the way it was originally built. The undercarriage has aluminum and galvanized metal plus plastics which do not rust. Also the body being submerged in a dip-tank at the factory keeps moisture from entering places it should not be. I have now done the Chevrolet like they should have done in 66. Like all car guys "I HATE RUST". The Buick took me two months to find on the web. It was fresh off the truck from Arizona and I purchased it in Greenville, Michigan. The Chevrolet was purchased from my next door neighbor in Kawkawlin, Michigan in 1995 when she was 93 years old. I am the second owner of both vehicles. The Chevrolet has one Buick accessory. The (knee-knocker) tachometer is from a 1966 Buick Gran Sport which my brother always had me transfer into every Buick he bought until his 92 Regal which had a built in tach. Besides sentimental reasons the original Chevy tach. (of this type) usually sells between 3 to 5 thousand dollars. The Buick version is less rare and sells between 5 to 8 hundred dollars.

 Follow this link for all the photos. Gerry Godin Myspace