1960 LeSabre 4 Dr One Owner

[Pat0366]

I'm in the process of restoring the last car that my grandfather drove, his 1953 Buick Special. The last car he owned was a 1972 LeSabre. Gramps had his car serviced at a local garage in Rhode Island. I still have some of my vehicles serviced there.

Gramp's friend Jimmy started the garage with his brothers years ago. When my grandfather started bringing me there, Jimmy's sister, who, by the way, was a retired Brown University chemistry major, ran the office for them. Gramps passed away at the age of 95 and Jimmy, as he was always called, passed away a couple of years ago at the ripe young age of 101. He was still going to the garage six days a week almost right up to the end. If you stopped by you could find him turning brake drums or rotors or just holding court with some of the regulars who would stop by to chat. He had command of all the local and national issues, and a strong opinion on every one of them.

His nephew Jim now owns the garage. On May 27 I went by the garage and saw Jimmy's LeSabre out front with a "for sale" sign on it. I immediately pulled in and told Jim he should remove the sign and drive the LeSabre to the BCA national meet in Danvers in July. Jim's wife looked up the meet date and confirmed they were on vacation that week. Jim said it wouldn't be a bad drive.

This car is a one-owner, always garaged, unrestored original. A few years back they put a complete Kanter front end in. He's just put four new tires on it and dusted it off a bit. I went by the garage today and the car was there but it was no longer parked out front with the sign on it.

Would there be any interest in the car at Danvers? I'm not sure how much mileage is on it. The only thing I noticed missing on the exterior was a piece of rear side trim. This car was Jimmy's daily driver up into his nineties but was always taken care of mechanically and the body is in very nice shape considering it spent its entire life in the northeast.

I'd hate for him to take this car to Danvers on my advice and find there is no interest. Is there anything I should recommend to him? Do you have to be a BCA member to bring a car for sale? Please take the liberty to offer your opinions. Looking forward to receiving some good feedback.

Pat

[Thriller]

There is always a lot of variability to interest in car corral cars. This one, as a one owner that may be able to qualify for the unrestored class, could very well generate a lot of interest. There are many of us who like unmolested, well maintained cars.

That said, price is always a consideration. If too high a price is displayed, then a lot of people would walk by, regardless of their level of interest in the car.

Another point is that there will always be folks at a BCA National who appreciate a car like this for what it is - a one-owner original. That in itself is interest-generating. The other thing is that it may be more likely to find a new home with someone who really appreciates the car, as opposed to local advertising, where folks may think of it simply as an old car.

Frankly, it doesn't work for me due to finances and distance at present, not to mention that I have a couple local irons in the fire that I may need to snap up if the opportunity arises.