1990 Buick Century Custom review from North America

When I first bought the car it had a few minor things that were wrong with it.

1) OEM spark plugs were still installed.

These were pulled out, and new Bosch Platinum plugs installed. (This got rid of much hesitation, and missing) This task took nearly 3 hours to complete, and required my climbing on top of the engine to reach the back set of plugs.

2) Brakes were toast. Rotors needed to be replaced, and new pads installed. This task was completed in under 2 hours.

3) Stock radio had to go... BLEH! This was replaced with a Sony CD/MP3/WMA player, and a wiring harness kit. This task took the better part of 2 hours to complete.

4) The seat backs are starting to wear, and learn a little too far back. This has not been repaired yet.

5) Headliner is falling down... Solution? rip the whole thing down :P.

6) The paint is shot on the hood. Needs a full repainting... but, there isn't a dent anywhere on the car.

Evidently the stock 3.3Liter engine was damaged sometime well before 103,000 miles. Someone replaced the 3.3Liter engine with a 3800 series II engine (block numbers point to a 1993 Pontiac Bonneville.

While this does seem to improve the performance... It didn't seem to bother the gas mileage. Which typically ranges around the 28 MPG mark.

In the straight line this car is QUICK! A lot more performance under the hood than one would guess.

In the corners... well this is where the Buick name, and the soft suspension tend to take over. This is NOT a sports car. The suspension would have to be totally reworked to make this thing handle well in the corners.

Overall, I would have to say that I like this car very much. I have looked around a bit, and I have not seen any 2-door models running around these parts, and images of them are hard to find even on the web. If anyone out there has a 2-door... give a yell.