Value a '70 lasabre for me(pics) hope this is the right place for this. right up the street fom me a 1970 lasabre 2dr just went a for sale sign in the window. he wants $1500. its be respraied but some bubles are starting on the lower rear quarters and front fenders at the bottom behing the tires. it had a vinal top but has almost disinigrated to nothing exposing the original lighter green. the paint on the deck and hood has compleatly faded to surface rust. the intreior is kinda ratty but not too bad, has a cover on the front bench. the part that intrest me is that the fender badge reads "455" (automatic, th400?) so im thinking it might be worth it depending on running condition, spoke to him on the phone and he said it runs fine but who knows. he had it f/s back in NOV for $2000 but it didnt sell. i know some pics would help and i'll definatly try and get some. zoom in on the rear 1/4 area around the tire and youll see what i mean, otherside is the same, none of the shts of the inside through the glass would take. looked like i was taking a pic of a mirror
Once the 69/70 full size body show body rot in the quarters and lower fenders (ie the bondo bubbles you are seeing), they usually are pretty bad in the trunk floor, floors, and sometimes frame. The LeSabre 455 for 70 was a neat factory sleeper to be sure, but it sounds like the condition of the car is highly questionable. There is no aftermarket sheetmetal available. I suggest looking underneath at every crevice. But from your initial description, in my opinion, sounds like a car you should walk away from. Good luck!
Everything Dan said is correct about the sheet metal. Same issues I'm dealing with. If it has a "455" badge on the rear quarters, it's the only year that Buick declared a unique trim level for a 455 in a LeSabre. For all the other years your choice in trim level was either LeSabre Custom or LeSabre Limited. I would really like to know if it has A/C. Did you look under the hood? Does it have air? If it doesn't have air, it's a rare bird. Please keep us posted. If you decide not to buy the car, I may be interested. Any possibility you could get some pictures? Where are you located in Delaware? Paul
im actually about to ride up now and take a few shots. im located in newark delaware, about 1 hr south of philly down I95 and more than likley im probably not going to get it, I hate body work lol, but from a distance it looked nice. i didnt look under the hood and probably wont be able to. its in a shopping center parking lot and not at the guys house so its not like he can come out and show me
Before 1979, there was no such thing as a LeSabre Limited. You either had a LeSabre or a more luxurious LeSabre Custom (or LeSabre Luxus in 1974 only instead of the LeSabre Custom) In 1979, the LeSabre Limited replaced the LeSabre Custom but it's later in the eighties that the Custom name was reintroduced to designate the base model. As for the 1970 LeSabre Custom 455, it replaced the 1969 Wildcat with base trim. It even had the same model number as the Wildcat had (beginning by 46 instead of 45). Like the 1969 Wildcat with base trim, the 1970 LeSabre Custom 455 had the same interior as the LeSabre Custom but the base 1969 Wildcat had the same exterior trim as the Wildcat Custom while the 1970 LeSabre 455 had the same exterior trim as the other LeSabre models. Unlike the former "400" package that was available on all the pre-1970 LeSabre models, the LeSabre 455 was a separate model rather than an option group and available only on the more luxurious LeSabre Custom.
Most any running vehicle is worth $1000 to me. Being that it's a 1970 (if it has the original motor) it would be a large valve, high compression motor,with no air polution equipment. It would be driveable anywhere. It looks like a decent project car. Some better photos would be good though. :TU:
so what do you guys think? to me I feel like its only a $800ish dollar car IF it runs good, tags expire 4/28 so i'll have that to look foward to also. i know he's not going to bite if i come at him with half the asking price though. btw its still there. it looks like all around the back tires into the lower rear quarters on both sides is going to need a metal transplant along with the bottom rears of the front quarters. who knows what the floors and trunk pan look like. If anybody else is intrested shot me a pm and i'll give you the number, probably shouldnt post that info up in the public.
Chit who gives a damn about the rust in front of the front fenders and to the front of the back wheel and the support connection on the trunk, how's the damn engine run and drivetrain work, what's the mileage? Sounds like a wildcat in lesabre clothing or somewhat, depending on condition, if it was up here in Maine with less then 130k I'd be looking at it seriously, I'd try to pick it up for a grand or the asking, if the frame was good and do some body work on it. How's the interior? 70 lesabre with a 455 is something that I would seriously consider up here in Maine for 1500 and not pass unless it had some serious problems.
actually the rust is in the BACK of the front fenders lol as far as running condition i have no idea, same with millage. i doubt its that low though. im trying to set up a meet with the owner so i can get a better look. the interior looks ok for being almost 40 years old. there is a wal-mart style cover over the front seat though. the bumpers and body look pretty straight so i dont think its been in any serious collisions.
Can you look into the windows at the dash? Any A/C vents on the dash? All 70 LeSabres had 1 vent at the far passenger side, so you're looking for vents in the middle of the dash. Or, can you see if there is an A/C control left of the steering column? I appreciate any help. I'm trying to confirm something that the Sloan Museum told me about my car. Thanks!
I'd probably snatch that thing up right away if it was close to me, but I like them.:TU: Look under the rear of the car at the four body mounts there. If they're present, you're in good shape. There are two right behind the rear wheels, and then two more at the very end of the frame (back of the car.) The ones by the rear wheels rust out quickly. Also look at the frame in the back of the car. If it's had a life where the steets are salted, it may be bad. Also look if the inner quarter panel is still attached to the outer quarter panel while you're checking the body mounts. You can also just pop the hood and check out the engine. The hood latch is right above the front licence plate. You may want to check if the rust under the battery (on the passenger side) has gone thru the core support and inner fender, of if there is still metal there. The only other major problem area is the fender bottoms, which rust up an away. If they're not rusted, the car is likely solid; if they are rusted, see if it's just the sheet metal or if the actual skeleton of the fender is bad. You may as well check the body hole caps on the floors too, as they sometimes rust a bit. As has been mentioned, there's no sheet metal fully reproduced. You can get patch panels for the rear quarters of pretty good quality from a place in Canada, along with some other parts, but no full panels. Bring a magnet and run across the car with it looking for bondo. Also, these cars have distinct body lines, so look for waves or squiggly lines. If the body is in good shape, as well as the drivetrain, it's worth the 1500 (or more.) But shoot for a grand anyway. :TU:
Do you know what is going to happen to the car if he doesn't sell it? When I bought my Electra, I just waited for the guy to lower the price. It was junky looking when I got it, so that scared a lot of buyers away. I was probably one of the only people who looked at the car. I waited until he dropped the price, then I low-balled him again and he accepted. If he couldn't sell he was going to donate it. The guy probably hasn't had too many people looking at it; if you want to risk someone else buying the car, you might think about waiting a little bit. I probably wouldn't pay 1500 for it, but someone might think it's totally worth that. If you wait he might lower the price again to maybe 900-1000.
I agree that the frame needs to be checked for rot. There is a lot of boxed sections in the frames of those cars. My 69 LeSabre (pretty much the same car-and no AC, or 455 for that matter) was rotten on both frame rails at the bends to go over the rear axle, both in front of and behind the axle. Where the frame narrowed up in front under the firewall was also rotted through on the drivers side on mine. When I bought the car, we could actually wiggle the rear bumper up and down. J.C.Whitney sells quarter panel patches for these cars. I bought some 16 years ago for my LeSabre, and they extended from the rear bumper and wrapped around the rear wheel. They ran from the bottom up over the "waist" line. Mine had a 350 2bbl. I was preparing for a 455 swap, but it never happened. It would have really woke up the old bird, I think. The cars are lighter than it would seem, I think mine only weighed about 4000#. Not an option on the thing. Very bare bones. It was a cool car. Nick
Most 1970 LeSabres built in Switzerland and Belgium came without A/C. So they're not really that rare.
sorry for not up dating this post, i literally came 10 mins too late to buy the car, he had just sent it to the crusher :bla: :bla: J/k when i got there, $1500 in pocket. the new owner was driving offou:
