1979 Buick Electra Park Avenue

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/4659104257.html

This is one seriously pretty Buick! :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

Growing up, my next door neighbor had a Buick exactly like that. I haven't seen one in a while, especially that nice.

 

He says it has "keyless entry." That wasn't available on any car in 1979. If it really has it, it's aftermarket.

 

Fairly common thing to do back then........we added it to a couple of cars we purchased.

 

Really? In 1979? Keyless entry didn't start to appear on cars until the mid-90s. The first new car I ever owned that had it was a '95 Pontiac minivan. I bought a Ford Taurus wagon new in 1990, and it did not have it. I had an '86 Dodge 600. No keyless entry. My father had a 1991 Acura Legend, a car that, if keyless entry was offered on any car at all, would certainly have had it and as as standard equipment, too. It did not.

I would assume it was when keyless entry began to appear as factory equipment on cars that enough interest would develop that kits started to become available to retrofit older cars. Certainly keyless entry was on no one's radar in the late '70s or early '80s.

 

My '90 T-Bird has the numerical keypad so you technically enter without keys and my '92 Custom Cruiser was built with a remote for the doors and rear glass. Aftermarket keyless entry modules were fairly common by the early '90s, perhaps earlier. Anybody have a vintage JC Whitney catalog.

 

We added it to the '85 Nissan 300ZX we bought new......

 

at least it doesn't have the el cheapo alarm where they drilled a lock cylinder into one of the front fenders...I saw SO MANY of those on B-body GM cars when I lived in Indiana from 86 to 94...that and chrome reverse wheels...like these:

 

I worked in insurance claims in L.A. in the early 80's, and I saw so much crappy work..........

 

Beautiful car for $5000.

 

Price drop to $4500. Gorgeous car!

 

Keyless entry was not available from the factory on these. What was, and it included power locks, was a factory alarm system. To set the alarm, you locked the car with the power lock button on either front door. To unlock, you had to use the key. That meant if a passenger stayed in the car, and locked the doors, they were 'trapped' until the key was used in an outside lock. These cars also had an optional locking gas cap that was an electric locking mechanism that gripped the stock gas cap.