Well, no 1959 Buick has found me yet. I don't imagine one will. I imagine when one gets close, I'll have committed the money elsewhere again, like house repairs, furniture, and silly stuff like that. I thought I'd offer up an Electra convertible for an Invicta hardtop, but no takers. 1966 isn't considered a pretty year for Electras, whereas 1959 is hot everywhere all the time. Most people would tend to think a 66 Electra is "trading down" on a 59 Buick, so I'd go nowhere. A 1960 Invicta 4 door hardtop was my first collectible car. It was also a piece of flaming crap. I think it was possessed by an evil demon, all that car did was go stupidly fast but only after you called it every filthy name in the English dictionary. It did more to scare the bejesus out of me than any other car I've ever owned. The moment you even thought about restoring it, - red lights across the dash. I ended up more or less abandoning it in Mission BC in 1985. Nobody wanted it, and I used it to pay off a debt. It was pretty much shot by then, I think it ended up as a flower planter in Maple Ridge, which was a fitting end to a possessed car.
you never know. someone may have a sentimental affection for a 66 and would be oblivious to a 59 just depends on the person. I say dont give up on your dream. Funny story, colorful imagery and writing. Nice.
Once you've owned a convertible, you really begin to appreciate the hardtops more. I would love to have my Electra as a hardtop; - it would be quiet, air-conditioned to a comfortable temperature, sealed off from wind and noise, and one would get to enjoy the radio again. I miss those days... ...Sometimes. Convertibles are nice too, and styling wise, nothing beat a drop-top. I'm one of the lucky ones; in order to feel the wind in my hair I do not have to take off my shirt and lift my arms...that said, the women hate cabrios...but.... ...Get into one rainstorm, even better a thunderstorm, and then realize that the only thing preventing you from getting electrocuted by lighting is just a wafer thin canvass top that is threatening to blow away and that there may be bears out there... ...yeah, I don't know...I'll definitely trade one of my convertibles for a 59 Invicta hardtop...
I found out there are no ventiports on 59's. thats one of my favorite signature buick things I like. Also, centurions dont have them either.
I agree on your assessment of a convertible. I had a 73 Olds 88 455 conv for 28 years. I enjoyed driving with the top down. But, I don't want another conv, now.
Wife and I still enjoy our convertible. We don't take it out topless when its real hot. You tend to bake at traffic lights. When we replace the top, we want a lined one.
Heres a beauty 59, loads of pictures. 23K reserve still not met. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Buick-Other...2f74df87:g:q9YAAOSwepZXSQpG&item=361573441415
Yeah, that one is on my watch list too. However, for the car it is, $23K would be a bit on the high side of "OK". What does he want? It wouldn't surprise me if he thinks he can milk $27-30K out of it. I could never justify it, regardless of how much I like the car, which I do. So he can keep it; - if he comes down, then maybe I'll give him a call, but it would have to come down alot. The only problem is though, even $25K US in my funny little dollarettes is over $32K CDN. For that I can still get a half-decent modern car that I can use all year round instead of a garage queen.
I have owned my 1959 Electra -- an unrestored, original car -- since 1998. We have driven the car extensively on long distance tours, and it is a comfortable, reliable, well-built automobile. I like and appreciate both model years ('59 and '60), but, obviously, have a preference for the '59's. garybuick, did you see my separate topic from a couple of weeks ago regarding your '71 LeSabre?
I dont believe so no. I would like to though, can you put a link? UPDATE: yes I have seen it and am reading it now.
Love the pictures; - two of my favorite things in the world; 59 Buick and Lockheed L-1049G Constellation. It's also 2 of the things I will never have an opportunity to own, a 59 Buick or a Connie... Wow...Must be nice...enjoy the car, it's a beaut! If you ever want to get rid of it...ah, dang, I probably couldn't afford it anyway!ou:
I have a '59 Invicta coupe. It's kinda blown apart, but it's about 50% of the way back to life: all bodywork/rust repair done, body back on frame, suspension done. Lot more work to do, just starting back up on it after she's been slumbering for a number of years. Upgrading to 455/TH400.
I did own 5 59 Buicks. I was also a member of the 59 Buick Club, but left when I no longer had a 59. My 59s from first to last include 1959 Lesabre 2 door sedan (4411 model) with the factory 3 speed manual. I drove this car daily in high school. I paid $2200 for it and drove it home (had rust in the usual areas). The interior was gutted, but had all the parts. I painted and did some tlc on the dash, tuned it up, put new rubber on, and put dual exhaust on it. The easiest and cheapest way to get power out of a nailhead is the exhaust. I remember picking up the car from the exhaust shop and wondering how much the duals helped the power. With new rubber I dropped the clutch around 4000 rpm and the tires screamed and my right turn almost turned into a 360! I could feel a significant increase in the seat of my pants. I sold it before college and drove my very nice 56 Pontiac Star Chief Catalina. 1959 Lesabre 4 door sedan. It was a parts car for my stick 59. It was pretty far gone, but offered many hard to find parts for Kitty (what I named my first 59) 1959 Lesabre 4 door sedan. I purchased it in college as a project. It had a few nice options (6 way power seats, FACTORY floor mats, and the dynaflow!). I thought I was going up in the world til I drove it and realized I hate the dynaflow with a flaming passion. I pulled the clock out and put a 2 1/4 inch tach in its place to see how the dynaflow effected RPM. No matter how hard I put the hammer down RPM stayed at 2500 til about 35 mph. It was a absolute pig. It was nice to not feel it shift, but just to keep with traffic I had to slam the peddle down just to keep from getting flipped off when accelerating. I NEVER had to do that in my stick 59. Driving a stick is like having a lazyboy sofa with attitude, while the dynaflow was like driving a well lazybody sofa with no umph. I didn't do much with this car and it ended up a parts car for a later 59. 1959 Lesabre 2 door sedan. This car was a parts car through and through. It was mostly rust free, but lacked all legal documents and even the VIN. It was in a junkyard for decades so many parts were already missing. 1959 Lesabre 2 door hardtop. This was my expensive project. It sat on a sandy hill by someones house in Oklahoma for at least 40 years. It had aftermarket under dash AC, factory floor mats, and a few other goodies. The drivetrain was missing, but was fine with that because the motor from my 4 door was rebuilt to my wishes and ready to drop in. I discovered rot everywhere on this car. There was NO floor, rockers, bottom of 1/4 panels, trunk filler panel. It was rust gone wild. I figured well I have 2 parts cars and have every bit of sheet metal I need. I took it on. Needless to say by the time I stripped the car it was MUCH worse then I thought. Every seam, even the ROOF had rust out. I started to figure out I would have to replace over HALF the sheet metal on the car for it to be solid. I did some figures for time and money. At least 4 years and $35,000 to finish the car. I ended up getting a car that didn't need a frame off heart, lungs, brain, limb transplant just to be enjoyed. I sold off over half the parts I had (including rare or hard to find AC, factory floor mats, rocker moulding, 6 way power seats, power steering, front fender trim) The 59s are notorious for rot, and if you drag a project one home there are certain parts that are VERY hard to find if you need them. My advice is get one finished or buy one with ZERO rot.
