1986 Buick Le sabre

tfvesquire · Sep 9, 2015

tfvesquire submitted a new Garage Item:

1986 Buick Le sabre

The wagon restoration project releases me from what became a 6 year nightmare and an albatross around my neck until I was able to make it right in my mind. The following details my epic journey to give my dad the car he wanted at the cost of many years, too many online searches and junk yard scavage hunts for parts.

This wagon was originally bought for my dad after his first new wagon (1990 Buick Estate Wagon) racked up 400K miles and literally rusted away. At about 370K miles on the odometer, he purchased a replacement Jasper long block and installed it in the '90. After it became apparent there was no saving the '90 due to the extensive rust out and deteriorating wiring, he asked me find him a replacement mid 80's to '90 Buick Estate Wagon that was rust free and he could drop his new engine into. What began in my mind to be a simple search for a high mileage, but still decent condition estate wagon turned into an epic that lasted 6 mos. After searching everywhere within 300 miles of Chicago and finding nothing but rust and more rust, I lead my search down south to North Carolina.

I found his 1986 Lesabre Wagon from a local autodealer who listed it on Ebay. After sending me about 80 photos of the car, I finally agreed to bid on it and purchased it for $1,950.00. The photos looked great, the paint appeared glossy, all the parts seems to be there, there was not major dents or damage shown and best of all, no rust. After the auction, my dad sent the seller a non-refundable deposit of $850.00. The last words I said to my dad before I left was "I'll be back in two days with your new wagon....."

After almost blackmailing my best friend to take a little road trip to pick up the car, we set off on a Friday afternoon with him smoking weed (seriously) the entire trip. Needless to say, I did all the driving down there -- about 14 hours non-stop. When we pulled up to the seller's house, it was immediately apparent that my good intentions were about to put my patience and my decision making skills to the ultimate test.

For lack of a better term, the car was a complete pile of crap. The paint was dull, cracked and dead everywhere. Every piece of rubber was dried out and cracked, the bumper fillers looked like broken saltine cackers, the headliner was bleached from dark blue to white. All the stainless trim was faded. There was a wooden stick used to proop up the hood, the hood fire insulator was torn and hanging on by three or four clips. All four tires had the flattest spots I have ever seen on a car with the tires being cracked and checked as well. About the only good thing so far was that the engine fired up and ran without blowing oil and/or skipping.

I quickly pulled out the photos I had downloaded and printed out and thought how the "F" could this be the same car? Were these photos taken 30 secs after he hosed it down to make it shiny? Were they taken 25 feet away with a wide angle lense? Every square inch of this car needed attention. My hung over best friend took one look at the car and said "there is no way your dad bought this POS." My sentiments exactly. Being a staunch car guy I thought quickly to myself, 1. how in the hell was I going to get this thing fixed up and 2. if I decide not to go through with this deal, how was I going to get my dad his $$ back and where was I going to be to find another wagon for him? He was going to be crushed if I called him and told him the horror scene that I just witnessed. I had to make a decision and fast. My friend was throwing a fit in the guys driveway calling this guy every name in the book under his breath. And, I still had to pay the balance from the auction before i could get the title in hand. At that point, I pulled the seller aside and told him my concerns based on the photos and info relay to me. He basically acted like he was standing next to a brand new Ferrari and said there was nothing wrong with the car and kept telling me how someonehe knew just spent $14K restoring an estate wagon like this one. Clearly, I was not getting anywhere with him. After surveying the scene again, I thought, I can ue the parts from the '90 to rebuild this thing. My friend thought I was insane and kept trying to talk me out of it. I was literally between a rock and a hard place. If I tried to cancel the deal, they guy would never give up the deposit to my dad. On the other hand, would I be able to restore this car to a usuable vehicle that I could be proud of?

In the end, I paid the balance, took the title and didn;t even shake the guy's hand, wonderign if I had made the right decision. After stopping by the local Ace Hardware to cut a set of keys (I even had a set of the black, rubber head OEM keys with me, I was that confident about the sale) I tightened up one of the wire wheel cover security bolts that was tumbling around inside the cover, gassed it up with premium and we began our trek home. My friend shaking his head the whole time.

With a set of walkie talkies, we headed onto the highway and and after giving it a few hard pedal mashes to blow out the carbon and cobwebs, everything seemed to go smoothly until about 50 miles down the road. Suddenly, the temp light popped on and the car started to chug. I pulled off at a rest stop and shut it down just in time to see steam come from under the hood and a river of coolant spill from underneath the engine bay. When I got the hood to stay up with the trusty wooden stick, I could see a large crack in the upper hose inlet on the radiator. I caould also see that some dillhole had actually tried to super glue a crack at the inlet and due to the heat and pressure from highway driving, it finally gave way. So, now we are 50 miles from the seller and over 700 miles from home at a rest stop with a busted radiator. At least it wasn't raining, right. Luckly, we were wable to locate a replacement one for $100.00 10 miles away. Bought it, along with coolant and a set of line wrenches to remove the trans cooler lines. Top one, no prob. The bottom one was so corroded, I had to carefully use vise grips and pray to God I didn't strip it or worse, break the line. After 1 1/2 hrs I was able to install the radiator (in a rest stop parking lot mind you) and once again we were on our way.

Flash forward another 40-50 miles. Now, the car starts to cut off whenever the gas is pressed enough to keep it up to highway speed. I pull over and suspect it is because of the missing air intake hose that is making the carb not run right. I fab up a makeshift intake hose from four bottles of water taped together and try again. Still cutting off. I can only keep the car at 30 mph on the highway and had my friend tail me with the blinkers on for the next 5 hours, but we only got about 40 miles down the road because we kept having to pull over and try someone else. Meanwhile, it is getting dark and w are starting to go through one lane construction through the mountains, Yes, the mountains!! Finally, I am totally exhausted and I decide to pull off the road to the nearest motel and get some sleep. The next morning, we decide we have to tow this thing home on a trailer. Luckily, my friend drove his V8 Jeep Cherokee. We get a Uhaul trailer for $300.00, load up the wagon and it's off we go. I have never trailered a car on the highway and never through the mountains. Several times while descending a "hill" I looked out the passenger side window and literally saw the rear end of the trailer fishtailed to the point where I thought we were going to flip over and off the road, down into a gorge. We were able to finally get it home with no other issues and from that point on, the wagon continued to deteriorate.

Noone would touch it, not even Maaco!! My friend the body guy said we couldn't pay him enough to take on this project. Every time I brought it up to my dad, he just took one look at the car and didn't know where to begin. Over the next few years, I spent countless hours searching for replacement parts. Just about every parts car I found was almost completely gutted of the parts I needed. I bought one piece at a time online and was able to locate about 99.9% of the parts I needed. Now, all I needed was someone to do the bodywork and paint.

Quote after quote was astronomical. $5K, $8K. Even though I was willing to strip the car, remove the woodgrain and even put the new decals back on, no one wanted to tackle this. Finally, the only guy I let do bodywork for my family caved and agreed to take on the bodywork and paint. the rest as they say, is history. I think the photos speak for themselves, but I know there is a story behind every restoration. From one car guy to another, I hope this inspires other members not to give up no matter what obstacles they face. It can be finished one day before you know it if you are fortunate enough to have luck on your side one in awhile.

Take care!!

Ted
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tfvesquire · Oct 24, 2017

I have to resurrect this thread because even after I spent a boat load of energy and time rebuilding my dad's 86 Lesabre Wagon 7 years ago, we are back to it looking like a POS with all the woodgrain peeled off, rust starting to creep along the door edges and lower fenders, front bumper fillers cracked, front seat broken, wiring deteriorating, AC system shot, heater core leaking, engine hard to start....should I go on??

Flash forward to the present and dad wants another Buick to replace this ailing legend, but tells me, "if you can find another wagon, I'm just saying, I'd like to get it." After answering a ton of local ads (not going to do a road trip for this ever again!!) for Lesabres, Park Avenues and Electras ranging from 1995 thru 2005, I stumbled across this 1986 (seriously!!) Electra Estate Wagon that was being used by a movie crew as a background vehicle during shoots. Same dark sapphire blue with dark blue interior. The owner bought it from an old man whose wife passed away and apparently it was her car. Always garaged kept and after looking it over, I was blown away that there was no rust, just some surface rust on a couple of the door jambs. The entire drivers side did not have even one door ding. However, on the passenger side, it looks like someone dropped something on the top of the RH fender. Minor scratch that has surface rust only so my plan is to have my PDR guy pop it back smooth and then touch up the paint.

The right rear quarter has a few dents and creases though. Looks like someone either backed into something or someone got too close and brushed the quarter. The woodgrain (original) is still intact so I'm going to try out my hammer and dolly skills to smooth it out as best as I can. There are only two pieces of woodgrain trim missing on the bottom of each quarter (which I just so happen to have tucked away from my last resto) The rear tailgate looks untouched. The stainless trim doesn't have any dents or dings just needs to be polished.

As for the interior, for a 30 year old vehicle I was expecting it to be worn and the drivers seat to be threadbare and the bottom cushion to be flattened to a pulp. NOTHING!!. Not a stain, tear, not a burn mark, not a crack in the dash. Wow. The only things I need to do to the inside are to fix the power door locks (probably a fuse), replace the headliner (already bought the replacement material). reattach the rear view mirror and thoroughly clean the seats, carpets and windows. Man, even the AC still blows cold. Haven't checked the stereo, but that is an easy swap if needed.

The engine bay looks tidy, but will need some cleaning. One sensor (I believe the engine temp sensor) is broken off, the carb probably needs to be rebuilt and will need new valve cover gaskets. The CEL light is on but I haven't run the codes yet. The engine starts and runs smoothly. No drips or leaks while it ran. I drove it around the lot and it shifted fine. There is no trailer hitch, so I'm sure the transmission has led a pampered life compared to being used to haul a trailer up and down hills. Even the automatic rear leveling system works.

I will need to replace the typical wear items: bumper fillers, tires and brakes. I plan on swapping those from his current wagon since he recently put new tires and had the front brakes redone. Depending on the corroded mounting bolts I will try and swap out the bumper fillers since they are the same color. I will post some photos after I pick it up this Saturday as is and after I work some magic. If I can get the rear quarter reasonably smooth so I don't have to repair it and re-decal it this will be my find of the century for my dad. Replacing the front and rear headliners will instantly transform the interior and make it brand new again.

Almost forgot, I need to locate a replacement fender turn signal indicator housing for the driver side. I think I located one, but if anyone happens to have one in dark blue metallic please contact me.

Like they say, "Just when I thought I was finished they pull me back in..."

Ted

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1986 Buick Le sabre

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