Wow, this is a nice one. I don’t say that too often to open up a Barn Finds post, and if I do, it’s usually about an oddball vehicle. This 1965 Buick LeSabre Sport Coupe is most definitely not an oddball, it’s gorgeous. The seller has it posted here on craigslist in equally gorgeous Yakima, Washington and they’re asking what seems like a bargain: $6,200. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Rocco B. for sending in this tip!
Buick’s third-generation LeSabre was all new for the 1965 model year and they were offered until the 1970 model year. They came in a four-door sedan and four-door hardtop, two-door convertible, and two-door hardtop as in this Sport Coupe model. I wish we saw it with the windows down. You can see what looks like rust appearing at the base of the rear window, hopefully it isn’t too bad and the seller mentions that there are “no rust holes.”
White wall tires would have looked nice on this car, otherwise I wouldn’t change a thing on the exterior. Not that there’s much to change. GM’s B-body also gave us the Buick Wildcat and several other General Motors models. The seller gives a lot of photos and I don’t see too many flaws on the exterior, do you? Well, other than what appears to be some rust on the lower rear window trim.
Period road testers didn’t care for the very low and deeply-recessed gauges, which forced drivers’ eyes too far down, thus taking them off of the road longer than they should be. Just think if 99.9% of drivers in 1965 texted while clogging up the left (texting) lane as they do today (not bitter), then they would really be taking their eyes off of the road for long periods of time. The seats have been reupholstered and they look perfect both front and rear. I assumed that this Sport Coupe would have a nice fabric material on the seats. What we see of the trunk looks good, with a couple of detached wires, are those for the trunk light?
One area they don’t cover too well is the engine, they only show two extreme closeup photos, for some odd reason. It’s Buick’s Wildcat 310, a 300-cu.in. OHV V8, which had 210 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque when new. The seller says that it’s a good runner and if it runs as good as it looks, this could be a winner. Hagerty is at $8,100 for a #3 good car, how much would you pay for this LeSabre?
Can’t remember last time I saw one of these. Got a great original air cleaner! Sorry had to get that out, it is an air car, not sure if it’s still intact as the pictures of the air cleaner seem to obscure the engine area. Solid little engine in there although it moved the Skylark much easier. But this is in quite nice condition from what I can see and now just finding a buyer to appreciate it. Not a Camaro or a Monte Carlo SS! lol
I have to agree with Scotty; this Buick seems like a pretty nice car for cheap money. The exterior looks really good as does the interior. While the engine may not be the most potent for such a large car, it’ll do nicely for a daily driver. Get the A/C up and running and enjoy. I do like that it’s a model seldom seen, that has a lot of appeal to me.
Looks like a winner to me.If it was closer I’d check it out and maybe pick it up do a little work and a spit shine to it and flip it. Look better with pencil whites.My aunt had a 65 Wildcat convertible red w/ a black top and interior and my cousin ran into a fire hydrant at 18 yo being stupid and totaled it.She was NOT happy .
What a sweet ride!
Looks ok for the price, but I would be really careful about the rust issues on the car and would not buy it unseen or with clearly better pictures.
The rear window definitely got some rust and also on the passenger side behind the rear wheel housing. Considering this, I would need a lot of pictures from the underbody and frame to check, if its not a rust bucket.
You’re right about that rear window. You can see where someone has tried to fix leaks there but it was not that unusual on this body style.
Nice looking Buick! …I know that the “market will bear what the market will bear”… but for 1/9 the cost of the 66 Impala in today’s feed (albeit an SS396/4sp in somewhat better condition) I don’t think you can go wrong on this LeSabre!
It has the nice fastback body style, but like a previous commenter said, I’d want to check the underside for rust. And it is strange we don’t get overall pictures of the engine.
Good thing this is the low compression 2-bbl engine. The stock 11:1 compression on the 4bbl version is tough to fuel properly.
This may also have the Super Turbine 300 two speed automatic since it only has the 300 engine.
My buddy’s ’65 4bbl 300 came with the switch-pitch 400 I believe. He had a toggle switch wired to the transmission to control the torque converter manually to help with the massive pinging on takeoff.
This year/body design brings back memories! In the 70’s, I had a ’65 Buick Skylark, one of my favorites and longest held cars!
How about the Chevy pickup in the back ground 56 and 55 they for sale?
Nice car and the ride is so much smoother than a Chevy.
This one cries out for set of thin white walls mounted on Buick Rally wheels!
GLWTS!! :-)
235 Dimes.
yes! I thought pencil whites too but forgot the buick ralleyes.One of gm’s best looking factory wheels imo.That would really set this car off.
The modestly priced good ones always seem to be thousands of miles away.
Amen!
Non original wheel covers. Look like Cadillac wheel covers.
My friend’s parents had one of these, new, same color. Never saw another till now.
This car will be the “one that got away” for me. Grandparents bought one new in ’65 – two door, frosty green color. See it here: https://youtu.be/G-ajzo5o7k8?t=352 along with their ’59 Chrysler New Yorker. This film must have been when they first bought it. They drove that Buick until about 1990, using it on nice days to get groceries or on the weekends. Sold it for something like $300 with 61,000 miles (I later found out) because my grandfather couldn’t drive it anymore (he was 87) and no one wanted it – and being only 14, I didn’t have my license and wasn’t interested in old cars at the time. Was able to track it down about 10 years later under a tarp in someone’s back yard in tough shape. I had my own classic car then (’62 Buick Special) and living in an apartment, couldn’t have a third car. Heard from the owner a few months later asking if I wanted it, said I couldn’t. Have no idea what happened to it.
The thing I remember most is being embarrassed (as a 7-year-old) being in that car because it was so huge, so I used to lay down in the back seat (it just had lap belts) to avoid being seen. I remember the nameless knobs on the dashboard and the plastic seat coverings, and oddly my ’62 Buick (which I’ve owned now for 25 years) smells exactly the same as that LeSabre did. Obviously now, I have the room for it if I were to ever find it. I still have the VIN number but no idea if it still exists or able to even see if it’s registered. Would love to find it again.
Beautiful car. I love the full-size coupes that GM put out in the mid-1960s. I had the Oldsmobile variant of this car (a Starfire with the 425ci engine) and a ’65 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 convertible with a 421. Now, if I had only held onto those I could have added this Buick for the hat trick! Right now I have a 1965 Bonneville coupe which I believe is a wee bit longer than these others.
Another car for memory lane( full of potholes and washouts today), just about everybody knew someone that had a ’65 Buick. I’ve mentioned many times, Linda November did for Buick what Dinah Shore did for Chevy. “Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick? A ’65 Buick”,,,played on TV at specific times. Football games, Wide World of Sports, well, any sports venue, as that was their target audience. Single men who had good jobs and lived at home. The next car usually bypassed the Oldsmobile, and went for the Caddy. It’s how it worked in America then, and you know what? It worked. You bettered yourself financially, and a nicer car was a direct result of that. From a time when there really was a difference in cars, all appealing to a wide range of buyers, for a multitude of applications,, unlike today, where,,,well, you know the rest. A great find.
I learned to drive in a black four-door with a black fabric interior. That car was so hot in the summertime. I always liked the deep gauges. My dad’s had a little warning monitor you could dial around to a certain place on the speedometer. It would sound if you exceeded whatever you set it on. My dad thought I wouldn’t move it for highway driving, but he was wrong.
This car will be the “one that got away” for me. Grandparents bought one new in ’65 – two door, frosty green color. They drove that Buick until about 1990, using it on nice days to get groceries or on the weekends. Sold it for something like $300 with 61,000 miles (I later found out) because my grandfather couldn’t drive it anymore (he was 87) and no one wanted it – and being only 14, I didn’t have my license and wasn’t interested in old cars at the time. Was able to track it down about 10 years later under a tarp in someone’s back yard in tough shape. I had my own classic car then (’62 Buick Special) and living in an apartment, couldn’t have a third car. Heard from the owner a few months later asking if I wanted it, said I couldn’t. Have no idea what happened to it.
The thing I remember most is being embarrassed (as a 7-year-old) being in that car because it was so huge, so I used to lay down in the back seat (it just had lap belts) to avoid being seen. I remember the nameless knobs on the dashboard and the plastic seat coverings, and oddly my ’62 Buick (which I’ve owned now for 25 years) smells exactly the same as that LeSabre did. Obviously now, I have the room for it if I were to ever find it. I still have the VIN number but no idea if it still exists or able to even see if it’s registered. Would love to find it again.
For whatever reason, I can’t post a YouTube link to a home movie my grandfather took of that ’65 LeSabre when it was new … does this comment system automatically root out hyperlinks?
I keep looking at these pictures and thinking: 425, dual 4 barrels, switch pitch turbo 400………
Yup. This one needs a 425 4bbl more than anything to really cruise in style.
My Grandparents had a silver LeSabre/Wildcat engine we took immediately to the St Louis Arch as they were just building it, WONDERFUL CAR!!!!!!