1985 LeSabre Collector's Edition

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307

We had a Buick Electra (1981) growing up with the same interior. I used to get lost in that backseat. I was curious about the engine until I reread the post and saw that this one was still a 307. Growing up we had mostly Olds and Buicks and most were 307's and they were all well used by the time we got them. The 307 seemed to be pretty worry free and when it was time it would just go. I also remember that it did not not like revs as my dad discovered trying to free a stuck Cutlass Brougham from ice in the driveway. The Electra, which was my favorite of the bunch died from a loose timing chain that ultimately led to a dropped valve. We've also had a few Caprices with the 305 Chevy motor as well, and they're great but tend to burn/leak oil much worse. I don't think any of the 307's we had were oil hungry. the O/D is fun when it kicks in too early as well with that lug-lug-lug sound at 35 which they all did along with the exhaust flange gaskets that always leak. I miss being able to find a B-Body on every lot. It's hard to believe that it was THAT long ago that these were super common. Anyone remember the Citation?

-Tim
 
i almost got an'84 hurst olds about 10 yrs ago,it was listed
at $2500,said to be in good shape,"runs but needs engine work"
-already sold when i called about it,those have the 180HP
"H.O."version of the 307,STD version in '84 was 140HP IIRC
which is pretty modest for 307 cubes,but torque was rated
at 240FT LBs at a mere 1600rpm,so a stump puller down low
stock cast iron crank shaft is known by racers to be kinda
weak,but that is not a factor at all with stock engines.
307 also saw duty in some '85-90 cadillacs.
Yep,i remember the citation-heard of a recall due to rear
brakes"locking up",but it was pretty revolutionary for an
american car when intoduced in '79 and a lot of people
seemed to really like them-there was even a X-11 version
with an"H.O.6-60"2.8V6 of 135HP '81-83
 
Chevy Citation

The full size B and C body GMs were MUCH better cars than the Citation was in my opinion. My uncle was a mechanic and I can remember how much he hated working on the X bodies (Citation and its stablemates.) We never had one but knew several people who did. The early ones had a lot of issues but the platform did get better later on.

The X body evolved into the front wheel drive A body (Chevy Celebrity, '82 - '96 Olds Ciera, Buick Century etc.) This became a very solid platform and many can be seen on the road today.

I too miss the large rear wheel drive cars. There is nothing like effortless V8 power and a cushy ride!

Andrew S.
 
Home At Last

I brought this 'yacht' home yesterday; a totally different animal from my Jeep Patriot. It was a 40-mile highway drive so I had an opportunity to experience it at 65 mph. A very smooth ride for sure. One of the tires might be out of balance as there was a vibration. I will need to get accustomed to the torque converter and the automatic overdrive, otherwise it is a great car. It also fills up the carport.
Lawrence
 
Greg,

My mom had that very Park Avenue that you have! Is it Fern Green? I think that was the name of the color. It was a great car! I remember the stereo cassette / radio. It had a little badge under it that said "concert sound".
Great Car you have found!

Brent
 
That was my first car...

When I turned 16, my grandmother gave me her car....which was a 1985 Buick LeSabre Custom. Vinyl top and all...lol. That 307 burned so much oil, that I started getting used oil at junkyards. Other than that, it ran great! Unfortunately, the frame corroded and broke by the back wheel on the driver's side. That was a common problem with the Fisher Body's that ran in the salt belt states.

Also wanted to say that the Bonneville did not use a Fisher Body up to the 90's. The Bonneville switched to the FWD unit-body construction for the 1987 model year. I believe it was also Motor Trend's Car of the Year for '87 also.

Aaron
 
Wow - Memories of some great GM cars

Lawrence -

Thanks for the cool post, and congratulations on a neat car! I hope you enjoy it as much as the car will appreciate having you for an owner.

This thread brings back a whole era of memories for me. I was NOT a car nut at all when I got my learner's permit, in fact I was afraid of driving and not that interested when I first started. My Dad's company car at the time was the only car I was allowed to go near, as my Mom had an Alfa Romeo and there was a Jag XKE in the garage as my Dad's toy. Dad's company car at the time was a one-month old 1980 Pontiac Grand LeMans. Not a well regarded car, especially not by him as he hated the 265 cu. inch V8 that "couldn't get out of its own way", which I heard on a multiple times per day basis. He was right though, but this was in Denver, where you loose up to 18% of power due to altitude, just around town. In the mountains it gets progressively worse.

The Pontiac opened a whole new world for me, and I quickly learned about ALL the current GM products, their recent differences to past models, and even got into some 1970s stuff. I wanted a 1976 Nova so badly!!! As I said though, a whole world opened up. My dream car at the time if not a Nova would have been a 1981 Buick Regal two-door or a 1980 Chevy Monte Carlo. I didn't care that the cars weren't stellar handlers or well endowed with power, I just loved them anyway.

Well, the Pontiac bit it hard one day as my Dad, pissed at the car as usual, floored it on his way to the airport and the throttle spring broke (with only 40k miles on it). The rest of the gorry details can remain un-said, but the car was a mess as were 6 cars in front of it.

The replacement was a 1982 Olds Cutless Supreme sedan - one of my favorite cars of all time. I absolutely adored that car. It was a slow-poke with it's 260 Olds V8 and 3-speed automatic. They discontinued that engine mid-year and we should have opted for the 5.0 with the 4spd auto, but since the Pontiac carnage, we had to take what the company could find on a lot. The car shared a lot of the same neat GM-ish traits that your Buick has from that era. It felt solid, it was somewhat like driving a floating sofa, but was also stylish and caught a lot of eyes in its heyday. Ours was painted Light Jadestone - that seafoam green color that was everywhere at the time. It had Olds SuperStock wheels, and to me it could do no wrong. We'd take my Dad to the airport on Monday or Tuesday morning (mom did usually) and I'd get him Friday afternoon and we'd have the car to drive all week. Kept the miles off the Alfa and my Mustang.

Dad liked that car even less than the Pontiac, but I loved it. I quietly held back tears when we turned it in on a 1984 Thunderbird. The T-Bird solidified our acceptance of Fords in my family, which was monumental as my Dad had been anti-American cars at the time, but I'll never forget that Oldsmobile. Would love to find one as nice as this Buick, and that's saying something from a guy who has owned more than 15 Fords! I believe you saw a bunch of them when you were at my house Lawrence.

As to the X-bodies - since we were in Denver, those cars were highly popular out there with their affordable front-wheel drive. Our street had 11 houses on it, and we had 4 X-bodies in a matter of months after they came out - a Pontiac Phoenix, two Skylarks, and a Citation, all 1980 models. They pulled through snow well, that's about all I knew of them at the time. I don't remember when I last saw one on the road.

Gordon
 
very nice

These were so plentiful once upon a time. I have gotten used to a more taut and responsive ride quality, so I don't think I could drive one every day, but they are nice to look at and ride in once in awhile.

My step-grandmother had an Electra of this vintage, white with tan leather interior, and the notorious GM Diesel. It was very nice though, with the option sunroof which I think they called AstroRoof then.
 
Nice car, it looks really clean!

A friend's neighbor has a '84 LeSabre Limited that's still not too bad but it's far from being as clean as yours.

Are you sure that the accelerator pedal on your LeSabre is hinged to the floor? I have that in my 1960's Buicks but I thought 1970 was the last year for floor-mounted gas pedals in fullsize Buicks. My 35 years old 1975 Electra has a suspended gas pedal. And it has airbags too!

philr++3-13-2010-01-16-48.jpg
 
Second Look

philr - I stand corrected about the accelerator pedal. I took another look and it is suspended, it just looks like it is hinged/attached at the floor (I think that was the intent of the design). But - this car does not have air bags. GM did not make them standard on all cars until after this one and if they were available as an option, this car did not come equipped with them.

Lawrence
 
Yay for all-original non-"Pimped" cars. 1985? Antique? Jeez.

I also had a Chevy Citation. Was my first car. Mine was a stick and it wouldn't go into 2nd gear. I had to wind up just shifting into 3rd. Otherwise, it had a v6 and ran well.
 
We had a low-end Chevy Citation (1983) that was a terrific car. Never the prettiest girl in the room but that car ran like a champ. It was outstanding in the snow, it could go up and down our steep hills with no complaint. I can't even count the number of appliances I hauled in that snatch-back!
 
Phil -

All three of your Buicks are close to my heart. The only two you are missing (in my book) would be a '70 GS Stage 1, and a 71 or 72 Boat-tail. Attached is the Buick I grew up with. Unfortunately it is no longer in the family.

The amazing part is each of your cars were highly optioned. I've never seen a tach in a '67 Riv before. Too cool! I could go on for hours about Buicks, but I'll hold back at the moment. This is somebody else's thread!

Ben

swestoyz++3-13-2010-18-11-37.jpg
 
A '70 GS Stage1 would be on the top of my list but I can't afford that! A good friend of mine owns a '72 Riv GS. It's a nice car too!
 

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