73 Le Sabre Question

[Fred Rawling]

I have been offered a 73 Le Sabre 4 door, ex police car. It is pretty rough with a cracked windshield, ripped out radio antenna with lots of bondo around it and some other damage. The spedometer shows 5,000 miles.

That looks to me to be over 100,000 miles. The question is this. Is the rear end or transmission anything special because it was a police car? It looks like a parts car to me.

[66400]

SAVE THIS CAR! (please) A Buick police car is worth making an effort to save! It's an almost unheard of brand to have been a police car. Do you know what agency originally purchased the car? Some agencies may have purchased a ordinary retail car for their use. Does it have a certified speedometer? Police package cars commonly have a heavier duty transmission internals, higher number rear ratios, HD cooling systems, larger rear brakes, HD shocks and springs. This may not be true of this 73 Buick as I do not have a knowledge on this car. If its a true Buick police package car its most likely worth restoring regardless of current condition. After looking for a '60's to early '70's GM police car of some sort last year I finaly located and paid dearly for an ex CPH 67 Olds 88 police car to restore. Finding parts to restore this unit such as sheet metal (except hoods), glass etc is easy to aquire for '73 Le Sabres 4 dr sedans there's not a lot of demand for it.

Henry

[NTX5467]

Other than the possibility of some heavy duty chassis components (i.e., probably similar to the regular F41 suspension package of that era but with speical brake linings and maybe a few other durability items), I suspect there would be little difference in the specifications of a genuine Buick police package than that of a normal Buick with some wisely selected options (i.e., HD Cooling, trailering package, F41 suspension, performance rear axle ratio, PosiTraction, HD alternator). Where the genuine police package might be more significantly different would be in the interior trim (i.e., rubber floor mat instead of carpet, bucket seats with no center console, very plain upholstery vinyl on the seats).

I suspect that as with other GM lines and Ford and Chrylser, they would build a police package vehicle with any engine from a 6 cylinder on up to the top performance big block. The automatic transmission would be the heaviest duty one offered, regardless of engine size/power, though. Not every police department wanted a big big block V-8 gulping gas as it sat there as an accident report was filled out, for example, so smaller engines were in the mix too.

If that vehicle will ever be valuable, the documentation of its prior ownership will be important, just as finding a build sheet for it that might mention the COPO option code for a police car (similar to the famous "9C1" code for a Chevy police package, for example). As special as a Buick Police Car might be, I somewhat doubt, unfortunately, that it will make it a highly valuable vehicle in the future, but there also might be a member of the Police Car Collectors club that just might desire such a vehicle to restore. Everybody remembers that Kojak drove a Buick, even if it was not a LeSabre.

It could make an interesting restoration project if it was a real police car or even a cloned police car due to the fact it's a Buick instead of a Ford or Plymouth. Something to think about . . .

Personally, I've seen so many "D.A.R.E" police cars that are Mustangs or old Chevies that seeing a well-done Buick or even a Mopar police car would be something that would be neat and highly interesting. Taking some liberties with the exhaust and engine specs might help too, but not too wild either.

Just some thoughts . . .

NTX5467

[Guest my3buicks]

What engine does your 73 have in it? Buick police cars often used the cheaper model but with the more performance oriented running gear. Such as a LeSebre with the Wildcat or Centurion running gear plus suspension upgrades as noted.

[72Buickguy]

I have a sheet from Buick detailing the 71 Le Sabre Police Cruiser. It says the Police Package was option B07, available on model 5269, 4 door sedan. It looks like the option used the regular Lesabre interior. The option included heavy duty front sway bar and end links, HD springs and shocks, Fuel return lines, HD power steering gear, semi metallic front brake pads, 12 x 2 rear drum brakes, HD wheels, HD frame, and HD front suspension bushings.

Buick required that an automatic transmission be ordered ( 71's had manual as standard). The sheet lists the following options for the Police Cruiser; Y40 - HD cooling, N10 - Dual exhaust, P24 - 8.55 x 15 Police tires, K97 - 80 amp alternator, U11 - Police speedometer, U90 roof wiring harness, AU7 common fleet keys.

The top engine listed was the regular 455, not the Stage 1 or Riviera GS 455. Update - I found a sheet for the 72 Polics Cruiser. It's the same as the 71, except that Buick added option WE3, Riviera GS High Perfomance engine to the options list.

So it looks like the things that came with the police cars were mostly chassis stuff.