Introductions first, I suppose. I'm from upstate NY and, as the title says, I'm very new to Buicks and while I've helped work on a couple of older cars, I'm pretty new to them too. I'm a crappy driveway mechanic. I do my own brakes, oil & such, but I don't have much mechanical experience. I am looking to change that. I have to say, when I was younger, I always equated Buicks with old ladies... Heck, my grandmother has an '05 LeSabre in her driveway now. I was always looking at the chevelle's and the camaros, but now that I'm evidently an old lady in a 35 year old male's body, I've started really liking the old buicks. While I don't have a one right now, I've been looking around and am currently going to take a look at a 1973 Buick LeSabre 4-door hardtop ( no post ) with a Buick 455. I hate asking questions in my first "intro" post, but when I go take a look at it, is there anything I should really take a close look at? I know to check body work for bondo with a cheap magnet, checking the frame & floor boards for rot and obvious issues like that. I also know that some cars have specific things to keep an eye out for. Does anyone know anything specific that I should look for? I would be buying this knowing that it needs work ( anything that old would ). I'm just hoping to avoid an expensive problem I could have discovered before buying it. Hopefully I'll be more involved here & tinkering with a shiny new(ish) LeSabre.
Just an update. It's getting picked up on Saturday. The guy had it on the road as a winter rat... he's selling it because it won't fit in his garage. I'll have more pictures & post it in the "Member Rides" section when I get it home.
Welcome from Alberta, Canada! The biggest thing to worry about with the 455 is oil pressure. If the oil light flickers or comes on when idling once it's warm, that's the motor's way of telling you that it's time... get ready to rebuild it.
