. My mom and dad bought this sweetheart of a car new off the showroom floor. 350-4, TH400, 2 door. Dad gave it to mom as her car-primarily to go to the grocery store, the doctor and church. He also put a hitch on it and we pulled various campers on summer vacations. Years passed, mom got a new car and the Buick sat neglected. . In 1988 I married my own sweetheart (Tami) and we undertook the task of getting it on the road again. Highlights: Bored 30, Poston and T/A parts, Holley, HEI, NASCAR radiator, dual exhaust, shift kit. Repainted it the original color (blue on bottom/silver on top). Had a ball with it and even placed 3rd in the very first (and only) show we entered. . In 1993 we returned the keys to Dad just before leaving the U.S. for a 15 year investment in West Africa as Baptist missionaries. In those intervening years, the car has sat, uncranked and unloved. A hurricane deposited a huge oak limb on it, damaging the drivers side rear fender and trunk. Both front and rear windows developed leaks, causing major problems. The interior is now rotten, brittle and sun bleached. The body has significant rust damage, the tires are flat and cracked, and the fungus growing on the body panels doesn't want to let go. . But, there is hope. I invite you to follow along as my wife and I revive the dead! We welcome any suggestions. I intend to do all the work myself in a modest home garage. Plans include custom interior, body massaging (with new paint), front disk brakes, 200r4, 3.73 rear (10 bolt chevy) and a 550+hp 455. . I have not located another 68 Lesabre with a 455 transplant. Those of you who know Buicks realize this is a challenge... the engine bay is 3" shorter from firewall to radiator. Some fabrication required! . Enough typing... I'll post some photos of what I'm starting with soon. Give me some feedback... I need some encouragement! :Comp:
Welcome aboard! Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. After your 10th post, you'll be able to upload images...sounds like a big project! Sorry I can't help you with the question about the BBB in the LeSabre that year, but you're right; it's gonna be a snug fit. Devon
I appreciate you all coming alongside me on this journey. I don't feel quite so alone while standing beside my '68. I thought long and hard about a dual turbo setup for my 350. It certainly looks nice when you open the hood!:kodak: However, it adds a level of complexity (and expense) that I'm not up for. Plus, others have done it. If you know of someone with a BBB in this particular model - please tell me. I'd appreciate avoiding the pitfalls inherent in this type of project. I think, though, (and silently hope ray I'll be the first! No pics until I post ten times so just be patient with me as I detail the steps. Tomorrow I will try and post my most recent setback - a failed attempt at rechroming the tail-light housings. David
I sent the pot metal tail light housings to a chroming shop in Florida in May. After several lame excuses, the shop returned them to me in November with my wallet 1K lighter. Imagine my surprise when I opened the box to see .... pits and holes all over the front and several huge smears of JBWeld on the back. I was disgusted. A heated one hour phone call got me little other than thoroughly ticked off. During the Turkey Rod Run, I stopped by Advanced Plating and talked with their representative. For a cool 2 grand he could bring them back to life. Don't have the extra cash for tail light housings. Anybody have a good suggestion? My best thought is to run a thin layer of body filler over them and try a can of "chrome" paint.
You could also contact a powder coater in your area. Show him what you got, and ask him what he can do for you. They have "silver" powder coat if you want to retain a close to chrome look. There are some pretty wild other powder coat colors too. If this is your first project, keep your budget in check. Maybe careful cleaning, sanding, spray painting may be for you. Keep in mind, just a set of "550+hp 455" ported heads alone are going to cost you more than those tail light housings cost to "bring them back to life". ....unless you do it yourself. What do you intend on doing with this car?? ElectraJim
Hold the horses or more here.. Be patient and you will find those parts from somewhere else for a lot less. George Nenadowich (sp.?) (board name?) also lives in Florida, and he is out at the yards all the time, then it could even be local. Write down a list of what you need and watch ebay and the "parts for sale section" here on the board. Put up a parts request thread in the "parts wanted" section, and someone who is parting or has parts for your car will check in and let you know what they have. Patience is key when it comes to getting parts at a decent price.
I have found the tail light bezels on ebay and by contacting parts suppliers around the country. You can post a "parts wanted" on ebay too. Look in the BCA Bugle and you will find several ads for parts. Be careful about condition - always ask for NOS. The ones I found were NOS and cheap - like $100 each side. 68 225 cars have similar bezels but they are different. The LeSabres are not that valuable and the parts are usually less expensive than, say, a Stage 1 car. I would try to get your money back from the plating shop - thats a rip! The parts should have been done correctly or not at all. - Bill
Three questions for all of you. To start off, does anybody have suggestions about which Ford housing might fit my car? o No: The rear bearings needed replaced, gear oil was oozing out of the seals and I wanted to change to a different gear so I decided to go ahead and pull the rearend on one of my days off last week. I'm in conversation with someone about building a rearend based on a Ford 9" housing, welding on my axle tubes and using my axles (28 spline). I need a Ford housing with upper control arm mounts and a center section that accepts 28 spline axles. It would be really nice to find a positraction setup and I plan on a 3.55 or 3.73 gear set. Any suggestions? I also spent about 3 hours opening the passenger door. Easy you might say... NOT! For some reason, the latch mechanism would not release from the striker. After serious labor efforts I succeeded in convincing the door that it was better off open than closed. Now I need to buy a new latch mechanism. My wife picked out some seats in the local boneyard from a Pontiac Trans Sport Montana and we started the process of putting them down in place of the bench seat. Do you think anyone wants the original equipment front bench seat or should I junk it? o No: While under the car, I stripped it of all brake lines, front and rear. I'm collecting parts to convert to front disc with stainless steel lines all the way around. I haven't picked up a master cylinder yet. Any suggestions for me on that? o No: That's the latest on my end. Stay tuned for the next installment.
After verifying dimensions, it looks like the rear end in the 68 LeSabre takes the same internals as the 68-70 Skylark. More details coming soon.
I've spent the last week researching drivetrain options. Transmission: I have almost decided that using a 4L80 with a manual valve body will be my best option. I've read dozens of articles about building a performance 200/700 but I just don't feel confident that either one will hold up to horsepower and a full-size heavy-weight LeSabre. Rearend: Planning on 28 inch rear tires (diameter) with the 4L80's overdrive, I'm thinking around a 3.3 to 3.5 gear for the rear would be just right. As posted earlier, the 68 LeSabre takes the same internals as the Skylark. My rear axles are only 28 spline, though, so I'm looking to swap the entire rear end. I'd like to retain a 5 on 5 pattern so I can keep my rims. What do you think about a Ford 9" ?
The 200r4 can be as strong as your wallet is deep. It's really the perfect transmission for a street/strip car. Go ahead, use a different trans, *more 200r4s for me!*:laugh: :bla:
Deciding to start somewhere (anywhere?!) I pulled the rear and blew it apart. After purchasing bearings & seals, a 3.42 gear and a posi, I'm getting ready to put it back together. Next task....replacing the lower 5" of the door panels. Anybody know where I could locate door skins?
So you ended up using the original rearend housing? Where did you find the 3.42 gear/posi? As for the doorskins, you're going to need a 4X8' sheet of .036" thick or so steel and access to a very wide sheetmetal brake for starting the bend where it rolls around the inner door. I use .041" thick, better to go a little thicker for the welding. Finish the bend with a doorskin crimper during installation. Been through this on my 76 LeSabres.
Thanks for the wise counsel on working the doors. I'll post some pics of what I'm up against next week. I had really hoped to locate something "pre-made" but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. As for the rear, after a month of measurements and photos, we decided that the B-Body center section is the same as the A-Body. It appears though that the overall width and axles are different. I bought a carrier from monzaz and a 3.42 made by Fabcraft (I think TA is selling the gear now). I'll be cleaning, painting and assembling the rear end this weekend. Here's a related thread: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=160230 David
Sounds like a rather ambitious project! Consider that you will need a custom set of headers for the engine. The 68-70 lesabres have a sort of "x" frame cradle under the engine making headers very difficult. As for your sheetmetal needs... I'd keep my eyes peeled on ebay for a donor car. I'd imagine the 2 dr goes for more but a near perfect low mileage 69 4dr goes for less than 4 grand. If this should also be the case for your 68 you'd have all the parts you'll ever need. Good luck and enjoy the journey!
One tiny step forward... two back.ou: The firewall edge where the windshield sits was rusted out. I tried to remove the windshield without breaking it. Three edges and almost halfway across the top... CrAcK...... time to hunt another one. :ball: BUT... I got the windshield out. The back window came out fine and I was able to sand and prep the channel (with the help of my wife who is fully involved in the project!). We painted the rear end yesterday and began assembly today. The races are a little too tight for me to drive in so I put them in the freezer for tomorrow. I decided to replace the lower 4" of my door panels. I had the door marked, a jig set to cut a straight line and fired up the compressor for the angle grinder. The compressor wouldn't come on. An hour later (to disassemble the compressor closet, take the motor off, etc) and it looks like the capacitors are dead. Too late to go to the store. And it's raining....... I was almost discouraged today. But thinking about all the fun you all have is keeping me going! :TU:
After a couple months away from the garage, we were able to put a few hours into the '68 this weekend. Over the last two months, we've finished building the rear end, painted it and are ready to purchase tires. We want to put the widest possible and knew that fender massaging would be good. However, the daunting task of working the rear fenders was frightening. I've attached a couple photos of the passenger side rear fender. Our nemesis, Mr. Rust, has pretty well devoured a significant portion of the metal. These are a couple of the before pictures. Tami and I made some good progress but I'll keep you in suspense until next weekend. It's looking much better!
