1973-1974 Buick Apollo                 page 3

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From Norway! OK, no more whining about how hard it is to find parts here in the USA, if Ronny Roelvaag can keep his car running, so can you! This trooper writes in:  "Hi, I am sending you some pics of my 1973 Apollo. It has a 350/2 engine, but I am changing to a 4 barrel carb and a T/A performance Intake manifold. The car is under restoration, and I have made some manipulated pics ( in red -Ro ) just to give myself an idea on how it will look when I am done. You can visit my friend's homepage for more Apollo pics at: www.supermodz.rocks.it   Enjoy!!!!  Ronny Roelvaag, Sandnessjøen NORWAY rroelvaag@hotmail.com   (hint: once at the site, click 'buick posjecktet' , then 'buick foto' -Ro)
Ronny's color-manipulated photos at left.


This Decatur, Illinois car is in almost unbelievable condition...check it out!!!  Here was the ad copy:
"1973 Buick Apollo.  2 Dr. Pillar Coupe. One owner. 350 V8 Engine with 2 BBl. Carb.  Turbo Hydra-matic 350 Transmission. Power disc Brakes, Power Steering, AM Radio, Whitewall Tires, Air Conditioner, Outside rear view sport mirrors with left side remote control.  Convenience group:  Door Jam switch, visor vanity mirror, engine compartment glove box, ash tray, courtesy, & luggage lamps.  Chrome Plated Wheels.  Custom Vinyl Roof - Dark Brown.  Color:  Brown Metallic.  Front & rear carpeting.  Vinyl bench seats: light brown. 
This was my Grandmother's car.  It is all original with 47,662 actual miles.  It has always been garaged.  It has original paint, has never been in an accident or had any body work.  There is a very small amount of rust around the side moldings and the air conditioning does not work.  Everything else is in excellent shape.  I have the original title and paper work.  This is truly a little old lady one-owner car!  This car is 30 years old but in great shape!"        I saw the car go up for sale again; hopefully it went to someone who won't wreck it...
I almost rang up mom and dad to have them pick this one up!  This Lodi, Wisconsin car had its roots in Nebraska, judging by the plates.  I've included the rear shot because the driver's side rear molding has torn away and you can see the actual metal underneath.  Like the Olds Omega, the Buick had a rubberized cap that held the license plate, side markers, backup- and taillights.  I'd be curious as to whether the Nova taillight cutouts are under there!  Some ad copy:  
"This is a 1973 Buick Apollo. It has a 350 V8 engine...It is in pretty good condition for 30 years old. The mileage (42,097) is actual. ...There is some surface rust around the wheel wells, but the metal is solid, it is not rusted through....My wife's Grandmother inherited the vehicle in 1986, where the title shows 22,263 actual miles. Grandma put 19,834 miles on the car over the next 17 years"
   
Thank God for all those little old ladies who bought these cars and took care of them all those years!  :-)
Captured by Roving Ro's toy digital camera.  The car was nice and shiny, but had some major front end damage.  >Sob<  I actually spoke with the owner by chance at a gas station, the car is a '73.  Forgot to hand her the pontiacventura.com business card!

There are some amazing cars out there.  Check out the blue beauty, and how about the Hundred Dollar bargain...don't you wish you lived on the west coast??  There's a lot of old iron in decent shape still to be discovered, restored, and admired.

For a spectacular car like this, you would have expected a lot more e-bay interest, but as I recall there were few offers.  Hopefully the price shot up after my back was turned :-)
The taillights in particular give the '73-'74 Apollo a totally cool look from the rear quarter.

The sales ad contained the following details:
"350 BUICK ENGINE  -  350 TRANSMISSION.  TA PERFORMANCE INTAKE MANIFOLD, CAM SHAFT, AND VALVE COVERS.  PAINT IS GOOD, INTERIOR IS GOOD, CHROME IS GOOD"  It was being sold by CLASSIC CARS ETC of Owensboro, Kentucky
 

Press kit photos, rounded up by Autolit.com.  You can see those weak leaf springs starting to sag already in the third picture...
(L) Score one for originality...I think.  This odd-looking '74 Apollo originated in Oak Harbor, WA and is painted to resemble a rootbeer float (at first, I thought it was supposed to remind us of a Holstein cow...) Maybe the former owner worked at a retro soda fountain or drive-in?  Note that the taillights have been altered, too.  Now we can see where the tail panel is cut to accept the Buick lights.

(R) Craig Geske ( c_geske@earthlink.net ) contributed shots of his slightly weathered '73 Apollo.  The big photo has kind of a hazy, surreal look to it, and it's not just those big import-style pipes out back! I think it's a cool shot...
"...Here is another non-Nova car for your pic site, it is a hatch car with rare Suncoupe roof, option slider roof, and under the hood is a Buick 455, and buckets and console inside, shift on the floor, GS steering wheel, Rally wheels..."

A dose of gorgeous new paint guarantees that this Apollo owned by Alfred Prince ( alfredprinceii@yahoo.com ) will catch everyone's eye.  Alfred is thinking about kicking off a car show for Apollo owners; maybe drop him a line if you're interested in pursuing the idea.
This '73 Apollo was also featured in our ads, and actually appears in the Apollo section back when it was for sale for $100.  The seller who took these shots told me the owner gave him the car for a lot less than that, but he put in quite a bit of work to turn the non-runner into the gem you see here.  Sure, there's some surface rust, but I'll bet the body is still solid as a rock.
The 1970's 'bathroom fixture' color may no longer be 'in' for your house, but it looks great on this Buick!

Nice touches that came with this complete car were the TH 350 automatic trans, front disc brakes, power steering, factory front & rear sway bars, sport mirrors , and Buick sport rims. Jeff converted it over to a 4BBL, installed a bunch of new parts under the hood, and removed the A/C.

  (L) Queen of the Parking Lot? Yes, when you've only got eyes for the X-body  :-)