1977 Buick Regal

The Regal joined the Buick in 1973 as an upscale mid-size personal luxury vehicle. Initially, the two-door coupe, known as the 'Century Regal Colonnade Hardtop coupe,' shared its styling with its Century parent but distinguished by unique taillight lenses and grilles. The 'Colonnade' pillared hardtop roofline and windows (greenhouse) was shared with the Cutlass Supreme, Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, and the lower-priced Buick Century Luxus coupe. A sedan body style followed in 1974 and the 'Century' designation was dropped from the Regal for 1975.

Compared to the lesser Century models, the Regal interiors were more luxurious with bench seats with center armrests and cloth, velour, or vinyl upholstery. There was woodgrain trim on the dashboard and door panels and door-pull straps. A 60/40 split-bench seat with armrest was optional, and for 1975 and 1977, the Regal coupe could be ordered with the S/R option that added reclining bucket seats with corduroy upholstery.

The styling introduced in 1973 would remain mostly unchanged through 1977, albeit the coupes received a substantial facelift in 1976 that included rectangular headlights.

1977 Buick Regal
1977 was the final year of the styling introduced in 1973. 1978 would bring all-new styling, a downsized platform, and a new 196 cubic-inch V6 engine. The styling introduced in 1978 would continue through 1987.

Styling updates to the 1977 Regal were similar to the Century, receiving a new grille and header molding. The coupe's grille was new but similar to previous years' design with small vertical segments segmented into six sections by a narrow vertical bar and two horizontal strips. The quad headlamp design and parking and signal lamps were similar to the previous year's design. The sedan continued to have a unique design with slight updates to the grille that was now divided into four sections by single horizontal and vertical bars. The grille was flanked by vertically stacked rectangular headlamps and vertical signal lamps. The 'Regal' nameplate was located at the lower corner.

The interior instrumentation was recessed in simulated woodgrain paneling, housing two large dials positioned directly in front of the driver.

The Century and Regal Coupe rested on a 112-inch wheelbase while the Century, Regal sedan, and station wagon used a 116-inch wheelbase. The Regal coupe came equipped with an overhead-valve V6 with a cast-iron alloy block and head, 8.0:1 compression ratio, four main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, a two-barrel Rochester carburetor, and delivered 105 horsepower at 3,200 RPM and 185 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 RPM. The sedan used a 350 CID V8 with a two-barrel Rochester carburetor, five main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, and delivered 140 horsepower at 3,200 RPM and 280 lb-ft of torque at 1,400 RPM. A four-barrel carbureted version of the 350 CID V8 was optional and delivered 155 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque. Another version of the 350 CID V8 had 170 hp and 275 lb-ft of torque. A three-speed, fully synchronized manual gearbox with column shift was standard on the Regal coupe and a Turbo Hydra-Matic was optional. A Turbo Hydra-Matic was standard on the Regal sedan. Steering was by a recirculating ball with power assist, and stopping power was by power front disc and rear drum brakes.

The Regal S/R Package included a large center console with an aircraft-grip shift lever, headlamp dimmer in the turn-signal lever, white-wall steel-belted radial tires, Rallye steering wheel, and reclining bucket seats with new black velour fabric. The Regal S/R Coupe package was priced between $432 to $499.

Items on the vast optional equipment list included Highway Economy Package with a specially tuned V-6 engine and a Hurst hatch roof with a similar style to the Century Custom coupe. An electric sunroof was a $394 option on the coupe, air conditioning added $499, tilt steering was $57, power windows ($108 through $151), Soft Ray tinted glass ($54), and a tinted windshield $43.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2021