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My first classic Buick


parkertom

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I have poking around this forum for the past little while. Yesterday I just got my first classic Buick. Now, I have owned plenty of Buicks over the years, Regals, LeSabres, and even a Rendezvous but all were 1986 or newer.

So, finally I picked up a 1960 LeSabre 4 door hardtop that was advertised on this forum. Body is solid overall with a few minor issues in the usual areas. It runs well, but the interior will be in need of some serious work.

It has less than 78,000 miles on it with a little over 500 of those being driven in the last 17 years.

i look forward to digging on to freshen up the engine and work on the interior. I am sure I will be asking for help/resource suggestions from some of you that are familiar with the 60s. I also just submitted my BCA membership.

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Thanks everyone. I am pretty happy with it so far, only frustrating part has been working with the DMV on the YOM plates.

i am already planning on the 2016 meet, nice that it will be in PA and closer to me.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have been putting some time in on the LeSabre. Pulled all four wheels and tires to inspect the brakes. Wheel cylinders all look good and brake shoes have plenty of life in them. Only issue is that the front drums seem to have worn down through the lining. So, will either need to have them relined or get steel replacements for the original aluminum drums.

Waiting on four new tires to arrive and looking for a spare wheel. When extra wheel is found, I will clean and paint them all before mounting the new tires. I think I will keep one of the current tires for my spare in the trunk.

Also working to collect a few items the car is missing and preparing to tackle the interior this winter...new carpet, kick panels and upholstery for the seats.

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That's a nice straight car. Plan on getting a lot of pleasure from it.

I see you have other old cars so I am not going to preach about betting your life on the four jack stands. You must have other support when you are actually under it.

Bernie

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  • 1 month later...

Beautiful car! Love my 60 LeSabre! Mine is also a 4dr hardtop. I'm enjoying the cooler temperatures, as I am getting it out everyday! It brings so much joy to the older folks who see it. I haven't made the jump to radial tires yet. I hear they will make the car drive like a dream. Enjoy!!

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Tom,

Radials are eventually in the plan for my 49. Any grooves in the road and it has a mind of its own.

I've always liked the 59 and 60 Buick, but my preference is the 60 with its bold body sculpting.

Great looking car and enjoy!

Geoff

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Thanks Geoff. The bias ply tires that were on it when I got it were somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 years old, so I don't think I can judge the ride on them and I don't have much experience driving on other bias ply. But, ultimately I will be driving this car a good bit so the radials seemed the best choice.

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  • 9 months later...

Well, it just passed a year that I have had the LeSabre. Figured maybe I should update the post. Completed new front drums, bearings, etc. New tires all around and got the brakes adjusted.

 

Over the winter I realized that it was leaking antifreeze. So, after some investigation I replaced the gaskets on the water crossover and thermostat housing. I also went ahead and installed a new thermostat, radiator cap, heater hoses and points.

 

When I took her out for a test drive, I returned home just in time for antifreeze to pour into the passenger compartment from the heater core.

 

So, I bypassed the core while ordering a replacement, but still found antifreeze on the top of the engine. Looks to be leaking from the intake gasket.

 

So, I went ahead and ordered new intake gaskets, push rod cover gaskets, valve cover gaskets, carb gasket and a carb rebuild kit.

 

While I am taking apart the top end, I figured I may as well reseal and clean everything up.

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I did use sealer on the bolts.

What I have is a puddle of antifreeze at the rear of the push rod cover. It doesn't show up right away, seems to show up after sitting for a while. It gets to be enough that it will drip off the rear of the engine and puddle on the floor.

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Water is there at the back of the engine because of air-flow and gravity, not because you have a leak there.  There is absolutely no water in the intake.  I would keep looking in the area of the thermostat housing and the water manifold at the front of the engine.

 

BYTW, you will want to replace your heater thermostat while doing your heater.  If it starts to leak, it will get the carpet wet as well, I believe - much like your heater did.

 

Think about getting one of those cooling system pressure testers.  It is basically a radiator cap attached to an air pump that allows you to pump some air into the system to bring it up to operating pressure (whatever your radiator cap reads), and check for leaks.  This way, the engine is cool, there is no air moving under the hood, and you can see exactly where the leak is coming from and fix it without burning your hands... 

 

This is especially handy on mid-50s Buicks like mine, with miles of heater hoses doing various jobs. 

 

Interstate maps of the day even included a section on Buick heater hoses.  So count your blessings, it could be worse...

 

You have a nice car there, and I'll look forward to seeing it in PA.

 

Happy wrenching!

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Thanks for the help. To be honest, we weren't too sure whether coolant went though the intake on the nailheads or not.

 

I will clean things up and do a pressure test to see what comes up. Will give the hoses another tightening as well.

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  • 1 year later...

As I watched this car being loaded into the trailer this evening, I thought of this post. I see now that it has been quite some time since I updated it. It was good to read this and recall some of the items I sorted out in the 3 years that I owned it.

 

I sold my first classic Buick recently through an eBay listing and it left tonight on its way to Germany. I never got around to redoing the interior, but I was able to sort out the brakes and engine issues to make it a reliable driver.

 

I bought a 60 LeSabre convertible last summer, so I will have to start a thread on that.

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