Surprising amount of mile on this one, the 2 early carb'd 3.8's I worked on would not run right long enough to go 1/2 that distance! Once FI arrived they were much better runners!
The ad says 134,000 kilometers, which is about 82,000 miles. These couldn't be expected to go half that distance? Only 40,000 miles before problems set it in? Doesn't seem right.
I've heard some rumors to the same effect - that these early Turbo 3.8's had a tendency to self-destruct. I don't know for sure, but it is a really unique ride. I think the only thing that'd be rarer would be an '80 Century slopeback Turbo
40,000 is about right. I owned a 79 Turbo regal that I bought used with around 6,000 miles in 1981. It ran well for about a week. But even then it used a quart of oil for every tank of gas. I won't say I babied it as I tended to do alot of street racing back in the day. (Young, dumb. & imortal! Plus there was a lot less traffic compared to today) But I didn't modify the car, kept it stock as I intended to use it as a daily driver. It burned a piston at around 12,000 miles, fixing that is when we found the porous intake manifold. It had several thin areas on the underside that were open to the lifter valley. Explained why I always suspected a vacuum leak but could not find one. It caused issue under boost and just before the piston burnt it started leaking oil out the rear main & oil pan gasket. Fuel Injection, electronic controls. They made more HP, Ran better and longer, even got better MPG. You notice you don't see many Carbed Turbo Buick's up for sale. I am sure they made some good ones, but I never saw one. Mine, and the T-Type my older sister had were nice cars, as long as you didn't expect them to take you on a long trip with no issues. That said I also owned an 85 Grand National. It was a very Good car!
This one deserves points for surviving 40 years and still looking good. Also, super high option. I don't think I have seen a Regal of this era with the fiber optic lamp monitors.
I agree, it is very stock and complete, even still has the stock air inlet and filter housing. Those were replaced on my car before I bought it. The owner said it was cheaper to replace the entire filter box with an aftermarket air cleaner, than but a replacement air filter from GM. The only thing I don't like about it is the bench seat and column shifter. IMO these cars need bucket seats and a floor shifter. But that is just personal preference. I ended up selling my 79 to a guy that had almost as many issues with the V6 as I did. He ended up putting a Buick 350 in it and drove the wheels off of it. It was still running that way 10 years later.
Turbo cars from this era were plagued with all sorts of problems, the mechanical controls combined with primitive electronics didn't help. It's pretty cool to see a full gauge package on a car from this era!
