“Hit it, Edge!” is the command that I always associate with a 1961 Buick LeSabre – more on that oddity to follow. That said, this LeSabre does take me back to my high school years as I had a friend whose father drove one this same color (it was a convertible, however). I remember my friend’s car looking tired at the ten-year mark, but that’s hardly the case here as this example is claimed to be in “mint” condition – and it looks it. Langhorne, Pennsylvania is where you’ll find this 60K mile example, and it’s available here on craigslist for $29,900. Two thumbs up to T.J. for this tip!
Buick’s ’61 hierarchy placed the LeSabre at the bottom of the totem pole, bested by the Invicta and then the Electra 225/Electra. LeSabre’s body styles ran the gamut with two-door hardtops, sedans, convertibles, and four-door sedans, hardtops, and station wagons. Our subject LeSabre hardtop is one of 14,400 assembled in ’61. The seller claims that his car needs nothing, and that appears to be the case. The finish and chrome plating are deep, the stainless trim is bright and attached, there’s no sign of rust, and everything seems to be aligned as it should be.
The cheerful, stripped upholstery is not exactly what I expected, but research indicates it’s the correct pattern. Anyway, it’s absolutely spotless and shows like new – it’s so clean, I would assume that it’s the result of a redo, but the seller’s comment of “mint condition” leaves me with the assumption of originality. The seller suggests, “Incredible condition inside exterior, and the underside.” Well, I’d agree with that claim for the inside and the outside, and I’ll have to take his word for the underside. Back to the interior, it just oozes 1960s GM style, and that’s a fine characteristic to be oozin’.
A 364 CI “Nailhead” V8 working through a Dynaflow automatic transmission (“Turbine Drive” as it was now referred to) provides power, though there’s no mention of running or driving characteristics. The 364’s power rating would be 235, 250, or 300 depending on the engine’s compression ratio and carburetion. Though a little grimy, the powerplant and engine compartment appear to be very original and not messed with.
So, back to Edge. Edge was the name that a high school friend used to refer to his father, though I never knew why. They would pick me up to attend a high school basketball game or some other function, and my friend would blurt out, “Hit it, Edge,” and Edge would stomp on the accelerator pedal. I’m not sure what powered their Buick, but it would get up and go pretty well for a heavy car. It didn’t possess a powerful or throaty exhaust sound; it was more refined, as one would expect for a Buick, though I did get a lift in it once when it sounded more like Christine after a night-long rumble at a burned-out gas station. I was told that Edge had hit a half-open manhole cover and knocked the exhaust system askew. Anyway, that’s my association with a ’61 Buick. Back to our fine example, what do you think of the $29,900 price? This is a fine specimen, but I’m not feelin’ it; how about you?
And still rocking a generator!
Can’t believe that hugh trunk! That ride is beautiful looking. Don’t like the black walls but, double pinstripe white would look great on it. And dual exhaust would be nice. I would get it professionally detailed and enjoy going to car shows. I can’t remember the last time I seen one in this condition. Maybe add AC for those hot summer days. Good luck to the next owner. 🐻🇺🇸
What a nice car. 29 is pushing it but It will find a good home. 300hp will slug that around just fine.
Clean machine! What a beauty! Nice review Jim.
Any of the bubble top GM cars of that era look amazing, all that glass looks so good. Early to late sixtys GM was building some good automobiles, that’s all I got on that.
Yes GM USED to build good cars
Needs nothing? Well, it needs whitewalls and a realistic price.
Hagerty (who is typically high) puts a CONCOURS example of this car at $21,800. Assuming that this car isn’t concours and is, let’s say, “excellent”, then the Hag will tell you the car is worth $15,100.
It seems the asking price is about 14K too high.
I’d posit that it’s worth whatever the seller and a willing buyer agree to. Yes, I think $29,900 seems too high but you never know…
JO
Its a steep price but I agree with Jim, it only takes two parties to agree on a price. It’ll be interesting to see what happens. I hope it goes to a good home.
Great write up too Jim. I enjoyed it.
Cragars and a little “Rake.”
That would be sweet.
With the upholstery and trunk re-done in non-factory correct material, this car, while in excellent condition, is not in CONCOURS condition. Assuming that the definition of CONCOURS is taken as 100% factory-correct original. It would NOT garner 400 points at a BCA National.
If you’re not in a hurry, it’s the right time of year to reach high on the price. If someone really wants it, you might see an above average hammer.
For sure some period correct dual slim-line whitewalls would do it wonders…
Very nice Buick, my 54 Century sold for much more but $20. maybe a bit high.
Love this Buick, but not the price. Agree with others about swapping the black walls with white wall tires, and adding AC. I had a 64 Lesabre 4 Dr Hardtop with factory AC years ago and she was a creampuff and pleasure to drive. $17k is a more realistic price, IMO.
Cadmanls said:
“Early to late sixtys GM was building some good automobiles, that’s all I got on that.”
I couldn’t agree more.
New cars styles for Joe six pack and me are BORING!
The way they look no longer makes me desire one.
p.s. I had a convertible 61
I never understood why Buick used this front-end style for only one year with the big cars (1961), and two years with the smaller ones (like my ’62 Special). The lines that start at the windshield and end at the headlights are very stylish, and in my opinion much better looking than the bulbous look that came for all models starting in ’63.
I had a four door hard top like this one when I was young.loved it but some person took both doors one night while I was have a couple of pints at the legion and got rid of it because I couldn’t afford to fix it since that person never left his/her name and of course no witnesses…
Be still, my beating heart! But for $29K? A hard pass.
I’ve always wanted a ’61 Chevy. This is even better!
in 2015 I sold my Electra for 15K and it was NICE
One of 4440. Seller is reaching
As others have posted about the tires it does a disservice to the car and the price doesn’t command it. Fortunately easy remedy. Just thankful some young wannabe design engineer hasn’t customized it.
Love this just too much money.
Okay here goes: Opinion time. I like the blackwalls. I am old enough to remember when most cars; even more upscale cars like Buicks had blackwalls. Whitewalls cost more. My Dad considered them an unnecessary extravagance. And a person had to give them a special cleaning to keep them looking good. So some folks went for the blackwalls. Of course by the time this Buick was built; whitewalls were really gaining traction, pun intended. I’m Not saying that this car wouldn’t look good with period correct whitewalls. It would. It’s just that the blackwalls feel “right” to me. Especially with this really neat color scheme which I like a lot. Personal preference. Enough about tires. To each their own.
As to the asking price; well I decided a few months ago to stop passing judgement on sellers asking prices. A seller has a right to make their ask whatever they want. Since most of the people who inhabit this site ( including me) are immersed pretty deep in the collector car hobby; we have a fairly good idea of what a lot of these cars are going for. Now I can’t really say what a 1961 Buick in this great condition is actually worth. I’m not Haggerty or Hemmings valuation service. But I trust my instincts and I can tell you that I can be right on. But I also have been not even close more times than I care to admit. You never know. I play a game where I try to guess the asking price before reading the article. I had this Buick at about $18-20. So many factors influence pricing. In the end the right price is what a seller and buyer agree to. The way I see it, if I’m not making an offer then my opinion on the asking price is completely irrelevant. But that’s just me. If someone wants to point out that they think the seller’s asking price is overly ambitious or a product of sniffing too many lead inclusive exhaust fumes; then by all means have at it. This is a really nice car and one that is far from ubiquitous in the TriFive Chevy kind of way. I like that. I’d love to own it. But that’s not possible right now. GLWTS.
Well said, CarBob.
I personally am no classic car value expert, and that’s why I use the interwebs and Hagerty to get some kind of direction on the value of cars I would consider buying.
My comments on vehicle values on this site are not really opinions. I simply report on what other sites/insurers are saying the values of particular classic cars should be.
And usually, I don’t comment on value unless there seems to be some obvious anomaly, which, in this case there seems to be.
I see and can understand what you are saying. I’m going to stir the stew some here. When looking at rare cars you’re looking at rare parts availability also. And IMO shouldn’t drive up astronomical asking prices. After all the main reason we buy cars is to enjoy driving them. And I’m going to sound oxymoronic here for a moment but the value is in the sum total of the parts not necessarily the labor. I tried explaining this to a kid that wrapped his beloved hotrod around a telephone pole and thought he could recover part of his loss from the custom paint and bodywork he had invested in his car. Now I have to ask is their anyone that would pay him more because he had $1000s invested in the cosmetics? Appearance and presentation is important. Especially when you are expecting to get top dollar. A good friend has an El Camino that he built beautifully to outrun almost anything on the street. He can’t sell it to save the planet. The color kills it. He loves grays and browns not necessarily in combination. But no one is going to invest more money to paint it again a desirable color too. But I keep my 2 cents to myself.
Blackwall tires would work better with some period correct, Cragar rims. And Bubble top GMs are hard to beat.
Exactly!
This is one of those times I realize I am not in sync with most of you and I let my feelings over rule my best judgement. The price may be a little high, so just shop around and find one cheaper. Shouldn’t be too hard just check some local used car lots. If I had the opportunity to purchase this car, I would of course hope to get it for a little less. But in the end I would buy it for the asking and not kick myself later because I am cheap and there won’t be another one anytime soon.
As Rex said, it needs some white stripe tires. Sweet looking Buick.
A number of my [late, sadly] friends had these in the early-to-mid 1960s. Nice cars, great performance and quality. The price here needs to come down about $11,000-$12,000 — particularly given the fact that this one needs period-correct whitewalls, detailing of the engine compartment, and the stock-correct radio-antenna. Lovely interior; however, I don’t care for coupe bubble-tops: if this one had four doors, I’d want it in my driveway: I LOVE like-new, entirely stock sedans of this era!
This car has had the Buick lettering removed from the hood, as well as the LeSabre script removed from the front fenders. It’s in great condition, but not stock.
This car has had the Buick letttering removed from the hood and the LeSabre script removed from the front fenders. It’s in nice condition, but not stock.
My parents bought a 61 Le Sabre convertible off the showroom floor….fawn with a white top. It had single strip wide whitewalls but not total whites. One day dad and I went up to the post office in our small town and as dad opened his door a guy came around the corner and took it off. We picked it up off the railroad tracks and stuck it in the trunk. Dad drove the car with no door for weeks awaiting the repair parts to come in. Times sure have changed.
I grew up in Langhorne, PA. Wish I was still there to go see this. Also wish I still had the ‘63 Wildcat my grandparents gave me in 1970! Love those old Buicks!