9th Sep 2007, 14:56
My name is Sean and I am about to buy a 1974 four door Buick Apollo and frankly I know nothing about them I have heard good things about them.
7th Jun 2008, 15:33
I am the proud owner of a '74 Buick Apollo as well. Fully restored in 1990 and given to me as a graduation present from my dad. My husband would also like to see me sell her because she we keep her in storage now, But I'll never sell her. Most people would kill to have their first car... I still have mine. Long live the Apollo!
27th Aug 2008, 10:30
I too own a 1974 Buick Apollo and wouldn't sell it. I'm almost done on a full restoration.
The Buick motor was rebuilt to 300hp, transmission was changed to 2004r which is an overdrive and will give me good gas mileage, differential changed to posi and 3.42 gears. It should be painted in another couple of weeks. I can't wait for next summer.
Although my Apollo wasn't my first car, it was the the car I passed my drivers license with. My dad bought it new in 1974 and let me use it for my drivers test. Sad to say my dad has since passed on and left me the car. That makes my Apollo really special for me.
15th Nov 2008, 11:32
I have a 74 Apollo, and started working on it until I got let go from my job. This car I got by accident for 500 dollars by an insurance company rep. The people that owned it had it in the drive way, and a tree branch broke off and smashed the top. Broke only one window, but my biggest problem is finding parts for a Buick Apollo. Only can interchange some parts from a Nova, but the hood, header panel, headliner and a few other parts are for Apollo only. Can anybody help me? I need a hood bad; mine is trashed. If anyone knows where to get one email me at hotrodpegleg@yahoo.com. Bone yard or new parts, any help will do. Thanks, long live the Apollo.
14th Aug 2009, 21:39
I cannot believe this!!! Divine intervention!!! God must be a motorhead!!!
I was the one who wrote two years ago about my '73 Apollo... Tonight when I came into the den, this column was on my screen! Nobody knows how it got there!
The real kicker...today, after seven months of nagging, I went to the tag office to get a copy of my (lost) title for the Grean Bean. My current husband sold the duplex where my GB was housed, and the new owners want to buy it for their 13 year old grandson to restore (sorry, eyeroll) For $500. While standing in line, I told him that I really really did not want to sell it. I have a 3 year old grandson, and I would love for him to have it!
And now, five hours later, this column mystically appears on my computer!
Now I just need to find a new garage... I already have the '68 Riviera and the '79 Volvo in my back parking! We live in the historic district, our house is 100 years old, so they fit right in!
Woo-hoo Apollos!
2nd Jun 2011, 21:17
I have a 74 Buick Apollo 4 door. I've never seen one in my life. I live in Maryland, and everyone thinks it's a Nova, and I love it.
13th Jun 2011, 22:28
I own a 1974 Buick Apollo 4 door. It is nice like others have said to see all the Apollo people :) It would sure be nice to start seeing some at some of the car shows. Mine happens to be my daily driver. Love my car, only paid $650 for it, and she has had very little work put into her since I bought her, and stills gets me from point A to B. Gotta love American Classics! My car sat for 12 years before I bought it, I am 25 years old and I am NEVER selling this car. I live in the Portland, Oregon area, and have actually seen several other Apollos come out of the woodwork out this way.
1st Aug 2011, 19:55
Bought my 1974 Buick Apollo in October 1973. It is the 350 4 bbl automatic hatchback.
In 1990 I parked it as I didn't need it anymore. My two sons drove it in the field behind my dad's house throughout the nineties.
In 2003 the hood latch broke outside, and I could not get the hood open to jump the dead battery off.
July 2011, went to a junkyard that had one in it and bought the latch assembly for the hood. Figured out how to get it open and hooked a jumper to it to see if it would turn over. It did, so have now got new tires on the Buick mags and ordered new brakes and new wheel cylinders and master cylinder. Gonna pull the gas tank to see if it's rusted before I start it up and run it. Only has 80.034 miles on the odo. Need surface rust removed and repaint, and new interior and headliner.
10th Aug 2011, 14:02
They didn't make a 72 Buick Apollo... only 73-74
It may have been built in 72, but would have been titled 73.
F Y I... Steve in IN.
13th Aug 2011, 21:52
You are correct, but Buick probably did not build any Apollos in calendar year 1972 because the '73 Apollo was not introduced until late in the model year (on 4/12/73), so the Apollo model was only around for the brief '73 model year and for 1974, before being restyled and renamed Skylark for 1975.
26th Aug 2011, 16:22
Hey I recently bought a 74 2dr with the stock 6 cylinder, it is my first car, and as I don't have a job, I don't plan to swap it out for a 350. I have the original 350 trans. I was wondering if you could help me out with that uncharted territory. All my research has run me into dead ends. What have you found?
Thanks.
Andrew.
12th Feb 2012, 09:53
My folks gave me my brand new 1974 Buick Apollo for high school graduation in April, 1974, and I am still driving it. The Apollo got me through college, grad school, and through many years of working until I thought I needed a new Buick Regal. I kept the Apollo, but left it at my folks' and rarely drove it.
I picked up the car in 1992 and did some minor repairs under the hood, and with a little effort, the car was once again running great. Since it had been left outside, the Apollo was definitely showing age, but I was once again making 400 mile trips in the car.
I made the big mistake of letting my niece and nephew "borrow" the '74 Buick Apollo in 1998 when they were having trouble getting to and from college. After driving the car for a few months, they said they were having electrical problems and they were getting tired of the dead batteries leaving them stranded. They parked the car in a field with a window down sometime in late 1998.
Yes, it was my fault that I didn't do something then, but I was very busy with work and family. When visiting home last spring (2011), I went to see the car. There she sat in the pasture surrounded by tall weeds, neglected for 13 years in full sun, rusting badly, and in horrible shape.
I called a buddy of mine that still lives in the area, and he came over with a trailer. With four off the rim flats, we finally managed to get the car out of the dirt and loaded on the trailer. We both couldn't believe it when the motor easily turned over after sitting out there for 13 years.
We pulled and cleaned the gas tank, changed the plugs, fluids, and some other minor work, and the old gal started right up. I've had to replace a lot of mechanical such as thermostat, water hoses, alternator, brakes, exhaust, new battery, cables, lights, etc. The alternator was more than likely the cause of the problems my niece and nephew were having, but of course, they didn't make the effort to get it fixed.
The original Mediterranean Blue Metallic paint with gold pin-striping is all but gone, but the original 350 V8-2 barrel is running great. The body is solid except for a rust patch on the left rear side and the rear bumper. The white bucket seats and the rest of the interior are all in very bad shape.
I will probably begin the outside restoration next summer, and wait until later for the interior. Right now, I'm having a blast driving what appears to be a "rust bucket" around town. It's definitely a head turner, but I'm proud to be the original owner and driver of this 1974 Buick Apollo.
27th Jul 2007, 21:40
Do not trash that Apollo! There is someone out there who will buy it and nurse it back to health.
My first car (in 1981) was a 1974 Buick Apollo. It got me back and forth between home (NJ) and college (GA) without much trouble. I kept it until 1988 when my sister "needed a car". She managed to kill it in short order.
Fast forward to 2005 when I found one on eBay that needed to be purchased. Haven't got it on the road yet, too many other projects, but it looks good in the garage.
To summarize, do not trash that Apollo!