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    Fuzzy match across codes, option descriptions, and model aliases. Every result is graded and, where the factory documents it, cited.

    Source document

    docs/rpo/buick/electra-c-body-fwd.md

    Interactive view →

    Rendered verbatim from the reference. Factory citations shown as ⛭ GM Heritage — …. For filtering, badges, and crosslinks, use the interactive Electra — C-body, front-drive (1985–1990) page.

    Buick Electra — C-body, front-drive (sixth generation) (1985–1990)

    The sixth-generation Electra was Buick's front-drive C-body car for the 1985–1990 model years, a two-door coupe and four-door sedan, the coupe dropped after 1987 (Wikipedia). The NICB VIN manuals list the Electra Limited and 380, Park Avenue, T-Type and Park Avenue Ultra (Wikipedia dates the Ultra from 1989); gnttype.org's 1986–1987 VIN tables and the 1989 NICB manual give the Wentzville plant. No GM order guide, data book, Heritage kit or service RPO list for this Electra is in the archive, and Wikipedia's list of related cars names no Chevrolet, so only engine codes are listed: Wikipedia's Electra, Buick V6 and Oldsmobile diesel articles and gnttype.org's per-year Buick VIN tables name and date them. The THM 440-T4 four-speed automatic that Wikipedia gives every year has no code in any source read, and no source read ties an option, package, paint or trim code to this Electra with a year, so none is listed.

    Codes

    Engines

    Code Description Years Models/Notes Confidence
    LK9 Engine, 3.0L V6, 181 cu in, 2 barrel 1985 the Electra 300's standard engine, 110 hp; Wikipedia's Buick V6 article gives LK9 to the 1985 Electra, and its Electra article drops the 3.0L for 1986; VIN code E from the 1985 NICB manual, which prints no RPO codes; gnttype.org's 1985 table does not list it under the Electra single-source
    LG3 Engine, 3.8L V6, 231 cu in, fuel injection 1985–1987 VIN code 3; multiport injection, 125 hp in 1985 (the Electra 380), sequential from 1986, 150 hp (Wikipedia); Wikipedia's Buick V6 article lists the 1985–1987 Electra for the 3.8 FWD engine and gives VIN code 3 as the LG3; gnttype.org's 1986 and 1987 VIN tables print it as the Electra's engine, but its 1985 Electra block is word for word its 1986 block (sequential injection, coupe body 37 where the 1985 NICB manual prints 11, no 3.0L or diesel), a copy and not a second source; no sibling-platform source dates the code for 1985 (Wikipedia's Oldsmobile 98 article names the 1985 Buick 3.8 without a code), so 1985 rests on Wikipedia alone and the row is single-source; 1988 is left out: Wikipedia's Electra article says the older VIN 3 engine was still in some 1988 Electras, but its Buick V6 article ends the Electra at 1987 single-source
    LN3 Engine, 3800 3.8L V6, multiport fuel injection 1988–1990 VIN code C; 165 hp, with a balance shaft; Wikipedia's Electra article names the LN3 from 1988 and its Buick V6 article gives it to the 1988–1990 Electra; the 1989 NICB manual prints VIN C for 1988–1989; gnttype.org's tables end at 1987 single-source
    LS2 Engine, diesel, 4.3L V6, 263 cu in 1985 the Electra 430; Wikipedia's Oldsmobile diesel article gives the front-drive LS2 to the 1985 Electra only, and its Electra article drops the diesel for 1986; gnttype.org's 1985 table does not list it under the Electra single-source

    Sources

    Factory documents (T1)

    No Buick factory document for the 1985–1990 Electra is in docs/factory-docs/ or docs/heritage-ocr/, and the brief lists no Chevrolet twin kit, so no row carries an [FD] or [HK] citation.

    Other sources

    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Electra — sixth-generation infobox, trims, year-by-year changes, engine list (LN3 from 1988) and production table (retrieved 2026-11-05 as wikitext, action=raw)
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_engine — LK9 (1985 Electra), the 3.8 FWD LG2/LG3 (1985–1987 Electra; VIN code 3 is the LG3) and LN3 (1988–1990 Electra) (retrieved 2026-11-05 as wikitext)
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_Diesel_engine — LS2 4.3L V6 diesel, front-drive, 1985 Electra (retrieved 2026-11-05 as wikitext)
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo-Hydramatic_125 — THM 440-T4 in the front-drive C-body; prints no RPO code (retrieved 2026-11-05 as wikitext)
    • http://www.gnttype.org/general/vin.html — per-year Buick VIN decoding tables 1983–1987 with each line's engine RPO code and plant (retrieved 2026-11-05); T3 by the owner's 2026-11-05 ruling. Its 1985 Electra block is word for word its 1986 block (coupe body code 37 where the NICB manuals print 11, sequential injection for 1985), so it is a copy and is not used to date 1985; the 1986 and 1987 blocks are used only for the engine code and the Wentzville plant.
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_98 — eleventh generation (1985–1990, front-drive C-body sibling): names the 1985 3.0L, 3.8L and 4.3L diesel and the 1990 LN3, but no code for 1985–1989; checked as a sibling-platform source and not used for a row, since it is Wikipedia like the Electra rows' sources (retrieved 2026-11-05 as wikitext, action=raw)
    • https://decoderpo.com/pages/L/G — GM-wide code dictionary (T3), no vehicle or year; not used for a row (retrieved 2026-11-05)
    • NICB Passenger Vehicle Identification Manual, GM sections (T4): docs/reference/nicb/nicb1985-gm.txt p.28, nicb1989-gm.txt pp.39–40 and nicb1990-gm.txt p.37, read on the page images — Electra series names, body types, engine VIN letters and plant