My Buick made a friend, a Tesla Roadster

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
10/09/2014 at 17:07 • Filed to: None

It is a beautiful afternoon here in Chicagoland, so I took my '74 Buick Apollo out for a quick cruise, before I have to pick up my daughter from daycare. There's a Tesla service center in my town, and when I drove by, there was a great looking little roadster sitting on the trailer outside.

There aren't too many vehicles more dissimilar than my Buick, and a Tesla Roadster, but I think they look pretty good together.

DISCUSSION (32)

jkm7680 > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 17:09

You should post about that Buick more often! Looks awesome.

Coty > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 17:14

Apollo: Way cooler name than Nova.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 17:18

Is that the service center on Grand? I think I've been near there before.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 17:19

Please post between a million and 2 billion pictures of that Apollo. It's too cool!

shop-teacher > jkm7680
10/09/2014 at 17:19

Thank you! I really haven't gotten a chance to do a whole lot with it, since I had my daughter almost two years ago. Fortunately, ownership costs are near zero (insurance is $100 a year, and registration is $6 a year, yes $6), so there's no pressure to get rid of it. One of these days I'll put the new suspension on it that it needs, and do some hoonage. I'm itching to get back to an autocross one of these days.

shop-teacher > Where have all the lightweights gone?
10/09/2014 at 17:21

No, it's just north of North Ave, and west of Rt. 83, in Villa Park. I can never remember the name of the street it's on.

shop-teacher > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
10/09/2014 at 17:21

Thank you! I don't think I have a million pictures of it, but I'll do what I can!

shop-teacher > Coty
10/09/2014 at 17:22

And way better looking than a '74 Nova, in my opinion.

jkm7680 > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 17:22

Sounds awesome! Looks like it's in great shape also.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 17:26

Bonus points for a brief oppo review.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 17:28

Good photos!

Where have all the lightweights gone? > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 17:41

Damn that's close. I work just north of Yorktown Mall.

Jedidiah > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 17:48

What motor is in the Apollo? It is easily the best looking x-body for that year

shop-teacher > Jedidiah
10/09/2014 at 17:50

Agreed!

shop-teacher > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
10/09/2014 at 17:50

Will do!

shop-teacher > Where have all the lightweights gone?
10/09/2014 at 18:16

Very close to that.

shop-teacher > Jedidiah
10/09/2014 at 18:19

Forgot to answer your question. It's got a Buick 350. Original motor, 27k miles on the car.

shop-teacher > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready
10/09/2014 at 18:20

Thanks! The old potato does a decent job.

shop-teacher > jkm7680
10/09/2014 at 18:23

Its a driver for sure, it has its pimples, but it looks pretty good too. The car only has 27k miles on it. It was repainted the original color by the previous owner, who was a body guy.

DeLM > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 18:40

I too am in the chicagoland area, spent this fine day cleaning out the garage so the NA has a home for he winter, hard to make room between the snowmobile and the jig for making kayaks.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 18:44

Kinja'd!!!

Is that a Buick Nova?

shop-teacher > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
10/09/2014 at 18:49

Basically, yeah. My friend calls it a Nova in a cheap tuxedo, which I think fits.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 18:51

Its brown, so I'd say its a Nova in a Corduroy Tuxedo

shop-teacher > DeLM
10/09/2014 at 18:59

It was a perfect day for that. I managed to get our camper winterized.

shop-teacher > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
10/09/2014 at 19:10

Hood call!

shop-teacher > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
10/09/2014 at 20:24

Whoops, I meant good call. Missed the edit window.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > shop-teacher
10/09/2014 at 22:32

I figured thats what you meant. Took me a second though

Coty > shop-teacher
10/10/2014 at 08:48

Can't disagree.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > shop-teacher
10/20/2014 at 10:36

O man I LOVE the Apollo.

I actually almost bought one about a year before buying the Montego.

You know me, it's gotta be just a touch weirder/rarer than the standard!

I'm sure you know this, but I'll share for the others that see anything about this car.

One of my favorite GM Easter Eggs:

Chevy N ova

Oldsmobile O mega

Pontiac V entura

Buick A pollo

shop-teacher > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
10/20/2014 at 11:34

Thanks! My Apollo is literally the only one I've ever seen in person.

That's what I love about the Apollo. It's unusual, but it's still mostly a Nova, so most parts are really easy to find. Of course, the few Buick only pieces are pure unobtanium (lookin' at you, bumper fillers).

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > shop-teacher
10/20/2014 at 11:40

Hahaha, YEP!

My Montego is the only 2 door I've ever seen. I saw ONE 4 door once, in terrible condition.

And it's all Torino/Fairlane underneath. With the added benefit of 302 V8 which was used in everything and shares parts with the 289/302/351 Windsor family.

LOVE Apollos though, just a cool car. Definitely post more about it!

What engine? What's been done? Exhaust?

shop-teacher > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
10/20/2014 at 13:42

I'm not certain if I've ever seen a Montego in person.

It has the original Buick 350 engine. It originally had a 2-barrel carb, but the previous owner put on a 4-barrel intake manifold off a '71 350, and topped it off with a Holley 650 vacuum secondary carb. Also converted it to an HEI ignition, took the smog garbage off, and installed dual straight pipes. The exhaust leaks a little somewhere (I really should track that down and fix it one of these days), but at full throttle, the engine sounds like it wants to rip everybody's face off. It's quite glorious, and really, it's the car's best feature.

I posted a review last week, with more pics and info.