I created my account here several years ago and have been lurking off and on since then, but I think it's now time to introduce myself and explain why I'm here. So...my name is Matthew, and I live in the northern suburbs of Atlanta GA. My history with Buicks isn't all that impressive - when I was two or three years old (1972-1973) my parents bought a '67 LeSabre as the family car. That was the only car we had for a while, then we added a '73 Vega (good job, Dad) to the mix and the Buick became my mom's daily driver. She really liked that Buick, and when it became too tired to continue sometime around 1980, my dad managed to find her *another* '67 LeSabre to replace it with. That carried on until 1984 when it snapped a camshaft, and that was the end of the Buicks - we got a shiny new '84 Olds after that. Fast forward to 2019...I've been wanting an older big GM to fix up for a while now, and the stars have aligned such that I should be able to pick one up next year. For a long time I wanted a Cadillac, and then for a while an Impala, but I keep finding myself checking out early 60s Buicks. I bounced a few possibilities off my wife, and I finally found one that we both really liked: the 1960 Invicta/Electra/LeSabre. So I'm starting to watch sales online to get an idea of what the market looks like, and hopefully by the middle of next year I'll be able to find the right one. What's the right one? Ideally in the low to mid $20K price range, solid body, a runner with hopefully with the original engine. Paint and interior don't have to be great, but I'd like all the original interior parts to be there. The end goal would be to restore it (if necessary) to daily driver status. I'm also open to the idea of paying less for a car with good body and blown engine, and swapping in something modern and nice. Anyway, that's me, and that's the plan. Thoughts, comments, suggestions? This forum has been a great source of information, I'm looking forward to everyone's take. Matthew
Welcome aboard from NY. I'm not a big car guy, but there are lots of members that are that can give you answers to alot of your questions. Fred
Welcome! If you’re new to the old car hobby, I’d suggest buying the nicest car you can afford while keeping a few grand set aside for upgrades and emergencies. Decide which body style suits best (two door, four door, convertible) and go from there. Mid to late ‘60s and early ‘70s Centurions, Electras and leSabres are great values. The older you buy the more expensive and challenging parts and proper service will be to find. You may find that driving one that’s not your first choice is better than buying your first choice and wishing it ran. When you find a candidate, post it up here for critique. Good luck! Patrick
Welcome and good hunting! I think making up your mind on how you want to use the car (as you have) helps in looking for a good candidate to buy. Show cars are usually expensive to restore and it seems less likely that you would want to make one a daily driver. Rust is the primary enemy that most of us battle in bringing one of these cars back to life; finding the common rust points and avoiding extensive body work will lessen your end costs and leave you more funds to upgrade the drive to something reliable and fun. Generally speaking, it costs less to buy a car with most of the restorations already complete than doing your own. Congrats on choosing a Buick and enjoy chasing these /GM classics!
Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm really looking forward to getting into this soon... I'm not exactly new to the hobby, but neither am I an old hand at it. In 2010 I inherited my grandfather's 1980 Ford F-150, and I've been maintaining and improving it since then. It wasn't in terrible shape, but he stopped driving it in 1996, and after he passed away in 2000 it hardly moved at all. So it took a bit of work to get it back on the road, but now it runs great and I've just finished with restoring the interior. Hopefully next year it gets paint. So I think I'm ready for a bit more of a challenge, and with my dad and brother being professional mechanics of one stripe or another I'm pretty sure I can do it. I'm still undecided on body style. I don't want a convertible, and I'm pretty sure I *do* want four doors. What I can't decide on is bubble vs. flat top. I'm kind of partial to the bubble, if only because the car we had prior to the first Buick was a '60 Catalina bubble, and I actually do have faint memories of it even though I was only 2-3 years old when we got rid of it. But those flattops are pretty cool too, so it may come down to whichever one comes up for sale first. And...I really do like the Centurions, those were the first Buicks I looked at when I started thinking about getting a project car. But remember that bit about the wife? She hates hates HATES the '70s barges. This is going to be MY car so she doesn't exactly have veto power over it, but I'd much prefer to get something she likes as well. And she was very positive when I showed her the Invicta, so I think that's what I'm going with. I will say that I know myself, and if I ended up settling for something less than what I really wanted just for maintainability purposes, I'd regret it forever. Everything you say is true. And it's not impossible that I'll spend more than what I said above on a car; my wife's car is just about paid off, which means that it's my turn for a new car. The new car budget around here is roughly $35K, so in principle I could spend that much on a pretty nice (but not show-car nice) Invicta and still make the case to my wife that since this is going to be my forever car, we're coming out ahead (or at least even) in the long run financially.
I have a '61 LeSabre 4dr. flat top/hardtop I could be convinced into selling IF the offer is right. Around 60K original miles. Needs some interior work. Fabric is available at SMS. Buick Rally's, A/C delete car. Runs good, DynaFlow doesn't leak, new KYB shocks, front & rear sway bars, etc. Located in SW Ct. Tom T.
Hmmm, I hope I didn't come across as acting as though I thought I was being put down. Everything said here has been good advice and I'll be considering it all. And I'm sure Tom's '61 is quite nice - I like that style as well. And if I just can't swing the right '60 maybe I'll try for his '61 or another as a consolation prize - but I know that if I settle right out of the gate for one, I'll regret it forever. But that's just me. We're very different in that respect - I wouldn't be looking at it as an investment at all, but rather as transportation first and foremost. I don't expect any other car I own to have value in the long run, this one will be the same way. The way I look at it I'm paying (a) for the ability to get from A to B, and (b) the pleasure of driving something unique and interesting. Anything past that, such as whatever it might be worth to my wife or son after I'm gone, doesn't even really register.
The 1960 model is an excellent choice in vehicles, I sure like your taste. Though I am a little biased! I guarantee maximum head turns and thumbs up from other drivers. Way more than my ‘72 Skylark
That's a beautiful car - is that a factory color combo? In my mind's eye my perfect car is Titian Red, but I could definitely go for whatever it is you have there.
The body paint is original! Called “gull grey”. But I added the bright silver to the roof and trunk - a Nissan color that is a bit purple to blue, like the gull grey. Custom pinstriping in silver and cobalt. Its bitchin’
I have a 61 Electra coupe I would consider selling, once you give up on finding a 60. Pretty clean car, was from off restored twenty some years ago.
So I'm still a few months away from being able to seriously consider making an offer on a car, but what do people think about this one? https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/58403227 I'm most concerned about having a solid, complete body and this one seems to have that. I am confused by the reference to the 'original 389 V8' engine in the description, as I thought all these cars came with the 401 in 1960, and I'm not aware of a 389 nailhead in any case. Also, are those fender skirts factory equipment? I don't think I've seen those on an Invicta anywhere else. Finally, there's no reference to how well the car runs, so that's a big open question at this point.
Looks great. However all those pics are dated 2008, so what does the car look like 11 years later. Just Wondering.
The first pictures are all 2008, yes. But if you scroll down far enough that date disappears and the car looks a little more faded, so I suspect those are more current. Also, the car seems to have only gone ~90 miles in those 11 years, which makes me further question the mechanical condition...
Non Buick/Nailhead people are all over the place in describing cars/engines. It's a 401 Nailhead, if the engine is the original or correct engine. And the air cleaner is correct for the '61 Invicta. If it is still in "no-rust" condition and the engine runs and transmission is in decent shape, it would be a good candidate for what you say you're looking for. But you need to visit it in person and if you can, have a knowledgeable Buick/Nailhead person go with you. (or meet you there if they live near Houston) I like the 59/60 B bodies. Prefer the '59, cuz ,"Angry Car".
Car has been for sale since at least March of 2017, as I have emails with a few friends about the car then. Interior looks to be original and correct, but standard and not with many options. Maybe they ordered the Invicta to tow something, and wanted the 401 instead of the smaller engine that was standard in the LeSabre. Skirts are aftermarket and ugly! Not sure why they repainted part of the engine, but it looks like they bought the wrong color. Maybe had a valve cover leak or head gasket repair? Paint job appears to be just so so. I would have thought this would be a mid to high teens car at best, but they are hard to find, especially Invicta's.
That brings up another question...is there any reference out there as to what options were available on these cars, and (ideally) how many cars were built with those options? For example, I'd really like a factory A/C car (living outside Atlanta A/C is pretty much a requirement, especially where my wife is concerned), but those seem to be as rare as hen's teeth.
