I have just purchased a 60 Lesabre 2 door sedan. I have done a little searching about the size nailhead it may have in it. It seems there are two different opinions out there as far as if a 401 was offered in a 60 Lesabre. Would anyone happen to know the best way to tell a 364 from a 401? Would the metal tag on the drivers door jam shed any light? I will post some pictures I shot of the car as soon as I get them downloaded. Car has 80 some thousand miles and was parked in 1987 due to reverse gear going out of the automatic trans. Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.
Thanks Judd. I'm going to trailer it home next week, so I'll check it then. Trying to decide if I want to try to get it running and lower it and make a cruiser out of it or see if someone would be interested in it for all the really nice trim parts. Thanks again.
In 60, LeSabre received only the 364 engine. It was available as 2 bl hi-compression, 2bl low compression (reg gas), and 4bl hi-compression. Engine numbers for 1960 hi-compression 364s begin with 3G; low compression 364s start with L3G; and 401s in 1960s begin with 4G. VIN tag on door hinge pillar tells only the series (4=LeSabre, 6=Invicta, etc), the year (G=1960), and the assembly plant. No info on the engine, and amazingly, there is not even info on body style or model! (VIN does not distinguish whether car is convertible, wagon, or whatever!) Body tag under hood (on firewall, above brake mstr cyl) tells body style, original colors, and some limited info on options. It also tells the plant the body was built in---not always same as the assembly plant! Again, no info on the engine. Sorry to hear about reverse...apparently a common problem on Buicks of this vintage and 1960s in particular. Many used ones I've seen have had the same problem (or had it repaired). Good news is that it's a simple fix with a small part. Bad news is you've got to pull the darn tranny out to fix it! As I point out in my website, my Dad's 60 Buick lost reverse when it was only a few years old. Back then the warranty was 90days or 4000miles, so he got to pay for it himself.
Very nice car 1Lowlesabre!! That is the first picture I have seen of a post car that has been restored. It sure sits nice, what did you have to do to get that stance? Thanks for all the information Greg. It is a 2 barrel carb, I will get out to where I have it stored and check the engine numbers. I had no idea they made high and low compression engines in the same year and size engine. Were the high compression engines more rare than the low-comp? When you said the reverse problem was a fix with a small part, what item is it that usually causes the reverse gear to go out? Thanks again guys, I learn more every time I'm on this web site. Larry Damm
they had the low compression for people that wanted to use low grade gas, it was differentiated as the wildcat 375E. the higher compression one (not the 4 barrel) is the most popular and the manual transmission one was the least
this is by far the best site I have found for info and facts about '60 Buicks :TU: http://hometown.aol.com/equipoise60/60buickhomepage.html
