So often you will see a car advertised as a time capsule and when you look at it your immediate response is, “Really?” I’ve taken a long, hard look at this 41 year old Buick and I think that the term may be appropriate in this case if one question in particular can be answered. Listed for sale here on Craigslist and located in Alpena, Michigan, this 1977 Le Sabre comes with a clean title and is priced at $8,000. I would like to thank Barn Finds reader Dan B, Traverse, MI, for bringing this time capsule to our attention.
The 1977 Le Sabre was the first year of the fifth generation Le Sabre, and marked a downsizing of the model that most manufacturers were undertaking following the 1973/74 energy crisis. This saw the Le Sabre become significantly smaller than its predecessor physically and weight was reduced by between 700-800 pounds. This Le Sabre was delivered new to its owner in 1977 with a grand total of 14 miles on the clock. It is claimed that since that day it has clocked up less than 17,000 miles. As I’ve said in the past, I usually tend to treat such claims with a pinch of salt. However, this one may well hold up in the cold light of day. The car presents exceptionally well and everything gleams in the fashion that you would expect a car of this claimed mileage to gleam. All of the trim and chrome looks in fantastic order, and the wheel covers don’t have a mark on them.
The inside of this Buick presents just as well as the outside does. I did notice what appears to be some stretching of the material on the driver’s seat, but nothing appears to be discolored, dirty or worn. Once again it looks like this car has just been driven off the showroom floor. One curious thing that I did notice as I scrolled through the photos in the ad was that the car seems to have worn two different types of floor mats during the photo session. The seller claims that the car comes with its original mats, so that is a slightly strange one for me.
Well here’s something that you don’t see every day on a 41 year old car. That is the original instruction card for the turn signals and bright/dim function as shipped from GM. I think that it would be fairly safe to assume that this has probably been stored away with the other vehicle documentation (of which there is plenty) because I honestly can’t imagine someone driving a car 17,000 miles with that hanging there, or it would almost certainly finish up on the floor. The keys for this aren’t on a fancy key-ring, but are still firmly attached to the dealer’s key-ring that they were on when the car was delivered. What I find really impressive about the fifth generation Le Sabre is how much GM learned about efficient packaging with this model. This model was some 10 inches shorter than its predecessor, but rear legroom and trunk space actually increased.
This particular Le Sabre is a Custom sedan, and as such would have been fitted with the V6 as standard. However, this one has been optioned with a V8 which I believe is the 301ci version. Everything looks pretty stock under here and the seller claims that everything is original and that the only non-original item is the battery, which was replaced some 20 years ago. It is a little bit dusty under here, but I also see something that has me perplexed. To me it appears that there is gaffa tape stuck over the end of the cold air intake. I’ve even tried zooming on this shot and it still looks like the same thing that is virtually closing off the intake. That seems somewhat curious and is something that I would definitely want to get to the bottom of if I were seriously considering this car. The seller claims that everything is so original that the car still rolls on its original tires.
If someone were seriously interested in this particular Le Sabre it could present them with a conundrum. If it is the real deal as the seller states then it is an exceptionally low mileage example. The fact is that driving it any distance will impact on the value of it and undermine the major selling point of the car as it is listed now. The asking price is not what I would call outrageous, but there are a couple of little detail things that I’ve mentioned which I would want to clarify. This is actually a tough one, but maybe it belongs in a museum.
While beautiful, this Le Sabre Custom is not really that collectible, at least not in my mind. I would think whoever buys it would plan on driving it quite often, possibly even as a nice daily driver. I don’t know exactly why, but it seems that often times driving a car frequently that has sat the majority of its life, leads to repairing one mechanical gremlin after another.
Duct tape, to keep the Michigan critters out during winter….
What does “learnt” mean?
Sorry jw454. Bit of the Queen’s English just slipped in there, so I’ve changed it. There are so many differences in spelling and terminology between the Australian version of English and the American version, and as an Australian it is just natural that I slip occasionally. Sometimes I just forget to put on my American hat when I write these stories. The fact that you noticed tells me that you read the story which I’ll always take as a compliment mate.
Adam, I wasn’t aware you were not from the U.S.A. Here in the US over the past several years there has been a shift in thinking that proper punctuation, spelling, and syntax is no longer important. It’s now progressed to the point that even our school systems have thrown in the towel and are accepting that it. I just feel that it still is, and that a country such as ours should not accept that we’re in a 9 way tie for 9th place in the world for intelligence.
Reminds me of the 77 Electra 225 My folks bought new. It was a sharper looking car than this, imo. It was silver with medium blue velour interior. Iirc it had a 350 buick engine as my dad wanted to use it To pull his 26′ mobile scout camper, which it did well. Granted, we lived down on the Texas Gulf Coast with no big hills. He ended up trading it on an 82 c10 suburban with a 6.2 diesel that we put over 300 miles on. Then he had to trade his pickup for an 83 olds 88 for my mom because she “wanted her CAR back!” LOL
I bought a ‘78 base sedan as a summer beater in 1989, and mine was all green inside and out. Probably spec’d to pull a trailer, it had zero options apart from the Buick 350 and full wheel covers. You could watch the gas needle move at every kickdown.
I took drivers ed in a 77 Olds wagon. It was me and three other kids and the instructor. We had stopped in a parking lot to switch drivers and noticed that the brights were on. None of us knew how to dim them. Don’t know if it was the first year for the turn signal stalk to be used for brights control or not. But as a teen that thought he knew all about cars I felt defeated. After years of therapy I’m finally getting my confidence back…
Being the first year of the down-sized B & C body GM cars, these have an awful long way to go before they’re considered collectible, if ever. Produced in far too many numbers, these make excellent daily drivers and that’s about it. Clean as a whistle, I’ll give it that, but only equipped on an average level; no power windows, locks, or seat. I wouldn’t subject this beauty to the midwest winters by any means, but I would drive it daily in a dryer, warmer climate.
I drove this exact car in high school. My dad bought it new and my mom totaled it 4 years later, so I bought it from the insurance company for $500 and had it rebuilt (mostly front body work, no frame damage). Many memories made in that red velour cush mobile…
We had a similarly equipped 77 Olds Delta 88 sedan with a 350. $7,000 out the door new from Dill Oldsmobile in Chesterton, IN
I am a Buick guy and I belong to three Buick clubs but while this is a time capsule it is definitely not collectable . I hope he gets what he is asking and it goes to a good home but I doubt it . People think that just because they have a very low mileage very well kept vehicle it is automatically in demand . Not so . Too bad .
Oh my, this is a very good looking car! I can’t believe how nice it looks because of the age of it! All I can say is WOW!