Hi! I wonder, which automatic transmission was mounted in a 69 LeSabre? I thought it was the th350, but now I know of a car with th400. Thanks!
cars equiped with the 350/4 (did they put the BBB in a 69 LeSabre??) came with the th400 - the model is called the "400". - Bill
From my experience If the car has a 350 w/ a 2bbl, the trans is a 2 speed unit (don't know the name) that was similar to the Chevy Powerglide. I owned one in college and it couldn't get out of it's own way! You could take long sips of coffee waiting for it to reach cuising speed on the interstate. I believe that a big block was available for the Electra in 1969 and it would have been a 430; the 455 was used in 1970. I don't think a big block was available for the LeSabre in 1969. My family had several 69 LeSabres, and all of them were 350 CID engines. There are board members that have production books that could probably give you more information (Erik (Bad Boattail) - where's your reference books?).
No TH350 According to the Buick Promotional book from 1969, the standard transmission for the LeSabre was a 3 speed manual (column shift), while the 2 speed ST-300 (column shift-mine had this) was an option. As mentioned by 12 Lives, the TH-400 was apparently available with the 350-4bbl engine/LeSabre 400 option. There is no mention of the TH-350 trans being available for the LeSabre in 1969. The 2bb and 4bbl 350s were also the only engines available, with the 4bbl offering more compression, more carb, and a 50 more horsies. The Wildcat came with the BB (430 ci). I really liked the 69 LeSabre body style, and wish I still had that car. With the 350 2bbl and St300 trans, it would get over 20 mpg on the highway, and that was when I was a bit younger and had to be the fastest guy on the road.
The '69 LeSabre I owned in highschool was the 350-4 engine equipped with the Turbo 400 tranny "400" series badges on the fenders. :Comp:
I thought the last year for the 2 speed ST-300 in LeSabres was 1968, and that the regular automatic transmission in 1969 was the THM 350. Was the THM 350 available in 1969 LeSabres? Last year, I have seen 69 LeSabre 4 door sedan that had a 350-2 and 3 speed shift indicator. The 400 transmission was found in the LeSabre 400 but it was probably a lighter duty version than the one used in the Wildcat Electra and Riviera models. The big engines were not available in the 65-69 LeSabres. In 1970, the LeSabre Custom 455 replaced the base Wildcat model. Some 1970 LeSabres with 350 engines also had the 400 transmission (I removed the kickdown switch from one a few years ago) but they didn't have the 400 badges like the 65-69 models had.
Is the "LeSabre 400" the same as the "Custom" series? I am looking in the "Seventy years of Buick" book and there is not a word about it.
The only thing I can find about the Custom option for the 69 LeSabre is that it was apparently an interior trim option, while the 400 option was indeed the 350 4bbl/TH400 combo option. That's all the 1969 Buick promotional book has on the Custom option and it's not all that clear. There is no mention of the TH-350 being available in the 69 LeSabres, and it is quite clear on the engine and transmissions available. I know for a fact that mine had the ST-300, and am quite certain that it was original, as the car only had 27,000 miles on it when I got it. SharpSabre is right, it was a dog off the line. That's a lot of car to get going without the lower first gear of a 3 speed trans. The ST-300 was a two speed, but from what I've read, beefier than the Chevy powerglide (I've still got it if someone is interested). Another "oddity" of the 69 LeSabre, at least as mine was optioned (actually, mine was pretty much optionless) was the 10 bolt rear end. When I saw the 10 bolts, I assumed that it was a typical BOP 10 bolt as found in many skylarks, etc. from the era, but it ain't. It's apparently a special full size car 10 bolt. I'm not sure if it was available in the Olds' and Pontiacs, but it sure bogged down my project at the time attempting to figure it out (that was before I knew of this website). I suppose if this 10 bolt were worth talking about, a thread could be created similar to the one for the infamous 9-3/8" 12 bolt rear end, but its just a stinking 10 bolt.
BTail: They were a real challenge to drive, weren't they. Everybody behind you would get mad because you didn't get moving fast enough! My 69 LeSabre cruised fine on the highway, actually it was hardly working. It was awful to drive around town. I know that my LeSabre was TOTALLY original, my grandfather purchased it new. He even made the dealer take it off of the showroom floor because it was the only red one he had in stock. They moved a lot of cars that day just to get the car out for a test drive! Here's the kicker of this story. In 1969, when he bought the LeSabre, he traded in a 1958 Buick Special with less than 25,000 miles on it. Silver with a white top. He called it the "Silver Bullet" and it could run like a bullet, too! Guess what the dealer gave him on the trade? He gave my grandfather $200 because "the car isn't worth much because it's so old." Believe me, the car was mint, always clean and waxed. He was a senior citizen and never drove in bad weather. Guess what the dealer did with the car? Put it in the front window of the showroom, in a roped off area with signs: "Please don't touch this classic car." It would make me sick every time I went to the dealer for parts to see that car sitting there. So, that's how I know my 1969 LeSabre, which was given to me by my mother when my grandfather died, had a factory original 2-speed trans. BTW - As you can see, my love of Buicks is rooted in my family history! Paul
I was shocked to find the LeSabre didn't have a TH350 in 1969 so I checked the big "Chassis Service Manual" from 1969 and they are correct. It says the 350 was the only engine available in a 45 series car.(43 and 44 were specials, skylarks and gs's, 45xxx were lesabre, 46xxx were wildcat, 48xxx were electra, and 49xxx were rivs) If someone is interested in trivia it also says that the for a 3 speed manual car the standard rearend was a 3.23 ratio and the th400 and st300 were equipped with 2.93 gears. The Buick issued service manual does say that the differential is the same as found in the skylark 10 bolt rears, it is just a special housing to make it fit a full size car so all parts inside will interchange. All riv, electra, and wildcat cars in 69 had the buick 12 bolt and there were some canadian built cars that had the chevy 12 bolt.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the LeSabre 400 was a special towing package on the LeSabre that included the th400. I remember the first time I saw one in a junk yard and expected to find a 400 engine under the hood and was disappointed and confused by the 350.
Thanks for the great reply, this about the Chevy rearend is really interesting. There is a big thread about gears to the 9 3/8" axle, but if GM mounted regular 12bolt rears in Canada to the fullsize Buicks, they will be the choise for many fullsize HP guys. Wonder how common they are?
