1970 Buick LeSabre

Aaahh Buick LeSabres, a make and model that I've always had a deep appreciation for. Especially remembered by many as the family four-door sedan, the tri-shield LeSabre of almost any year was a consistent great seller for almost FOUR DECADES! Eat your heart out Toyota Camry, these were REAL cars! Just like my gone but not forgotten 'ol '65 LeSabre, this 1970 example has quite a few similarities. Overall the length and width are about the same, and also applies for similar sleek GM designs as well. Even the style of the hubcaps on this '70 look really close to my LeSabre.
Looking back to the summer of 2003, I as usual spent alot of time car spotting, and discovered this lovely deep red beauty. Sparkling clean on most Montreal streets is rare, and this Buick looked as though it had recently rolled off the assembly line! Did I mention how it's rare I see old cars that are really clean parked on any street? Although this car looks mint, I just noticed that the rear bumper on of the pictures looks to have either been dented, or pushed in. For a long time the Buick was parked on LaSalle Blvd. in the Verdun municipality of Montreal, and area that yours truly recently moved into. One of the reasons why I chose Verdun was not only for its charming antiquated buildings, but it's somewhat numerous old cars as well. You'll be seeing alot of reports on cars I've photographed on the streets here in the near and not so near future.
1970 Buick LeSabres as with its expensive counterpart Electra 225, got their complete restyle a year earlier. Although they were nicely restyled and had an Oldsmobile resemblance, I believe the grille / headlamps treatment were better styled for 1970. A 350 cui. V8 of at least 260 horses was standard power for LeSabre, and would eventually become an optional engine for many G.M. makes in the years to come. Now if you wanted real power for a '70 LeSabre, you would be partial to the bigger 370 horsepower 455 cui. V8 that was optional in the LeSabre "Custom" series. These cars had a little more bright work than base models, and also featured slightly more plush interiors. LeSabre customs cost about a hundreds bucks more than the base model. Aside from the four-door hardtop, 1970 LeSabres were also offered in a Four-door sedan form, and two-door hardtop in standard model. A convertible was only available in the Custom series.
Though most people paid more to have an automatic transmission in their LeSabres, a manual gearbox was still standard equipment. As with other Buick models, 1970 LeSabres could be ordered with a number of options. Some of these were....Automatic Climate control, Remote control outside rear view mirror, four or six way power seat, electric trunk release, Tow master trailering package, rim mounted horn control, and a few other usual extra cost items.
I've seen a few '70 LeSabres over the years, 2 two door hardtops in excellent condition, and this the only four-door hardtop seen. It somewhat represents Buick's past domination of the mid-priced field, as the maker paced fourth in highest volume of cars built and sold in 1970. Like my friend Karim's '70 Delta 88, these Buicks were excellent cars as indicated in Phil Edmunston's 1979 used car book "Lemon-Aid". Even though LeSabres were ten years old at the time the book came out, here's what Phil had to write about them..."Excellent body construction, little rusting, excellent brakes, fuel, and ignition system." "A good buy with V8 offering best economy." Note the V8 he was referring to was a 350, as book says V8 gets 17 mpg average.
So you might think to yourself that this car is worth about $4000-$7000 right? Although that's probably true, I saw this Buick for sale locally online for just $2000 last year. As you might imagine, it wasn't for sale long. So if you ever though about buying a very reliable classic Buick that gets somewhat decent gas mileage, you might want to consider one of these babies. They are after all, true high value G.M.s!
Photos of various size available at a reasonable price.