The LeSabre was Buick’s full-size family car from 1959 to 2005. It was not an automobile normally thought of as a performance machine, but Buick attempted to give it that image with the 1987-89 T-Type package. Production numbers weren’t huge by Detroit standards, but nearly 16,000 copies were delivered, nonetheless. This example from 1989 looks good, but since it’s resting on concrete blocks, we wonder about its mechanical health. A tip brought to us by Mitchell G., this somewhat rare machine is located in Schenectady, New York, and is available here on craigslist for $9,500.
T-Type was a designation that Buick applied to several performance cars in the 1980s, most notably the Regal-based mid-sized automobiles. The most famous of the ones in that circle was the Grand National. But the end came for these rear-wheel drive cars in 1987-88 and the last Regal T-Type was built in 1986. Perhaps Buick thought the idea would work just as well on a larger product, so the LeSabre T-Type arrived in 1987. It was a 2-door sedan like the Regal, but a vehicle that weighed a few hundred pounds more. That extra weight required more out of the 3.8-liter, fuel-injected V6 that was rated at 165 hp.
Several color choices were offered, and we suspect black was the one most often ordered. After selling 4,123 of the LeSabre T-Types in 1987, sales increased to 6,426 units in 1988 and then 5,389 more in 1989, the car’s final year. These vehicles were as well-optioned as the Regal T-Types, so you ended up with a far fancier car than the LeSabre family sedan would offer. The seller’s ’89 edition comes with no details and few photos, so the car is expected to sell itself.
For an auto described as being in “excellent” condition, the photos suggest otherwise. Outside in the elements sitting up off the ground implies a vehicle that doesn’t run and hasn’t gone anywhere in a while. Yet we’re told the Buick runs well, so a personal inspection is suggested before getting serious about making a deal. The odometer reading is said to be 92,000 miles and the seller is willing to consider serious offers.
When I was fresh out of college, I went to work for a Buick dealership. The ’87-’91 LeSabre were coming in on trade, and they were hot merchandise – as were the same era Electra/Park Avenue. It was rare to see a Coupe – even more so the T-Type. But when they did, I grabbed them as a demo. I dug the red gauges, and the radio was similar to what was offered in the Pontiac, with Buicks ‘Concert Sound’. I distinctly remember driving a white T-Type, and a Ruby Red Limited Coupe. Nice rides that knocked down 32 mpg highway.
I remember them well too. A friend of mine had a maroon LeSabre T Type that I got to drive and work on a few times. These were great looking and driving cars, and that stellar 3.8 Buick V6 was the icing on the cake! I wanted to buy it badly when he sold it, but having 3 little kids at the time ruled it out.
Wish I could find a nice one closer to me in the Midwest!
Well, 1st, their idea of “up on blocks” differs from mine, as cinder blocks and wheel removal are what I’m used to, not up on PATIO blocks. For a FWD, these were actually really nice cars, the motor was one of the best V6s, still, the public just didn’t embrace FWD Buicks then. I think it’s a shame this car sat outside, although I doubt for very long.
The eternal, for me, question, how did we ever go from really nice, comfy cars like this, to what we know of todays cars? Well, I’ll tell ya’, imports. That’s right. Again with the imports, but you must admit, US cars took the imports path. It’s all about what sells, apparently, the rest goes out the window.
I agree Howard this is not “up on blocks “ as that infers to me no wheels and blocks keeping the chassis out of the dirt. This looks more like they did not want to park it in the grass and have it sink with the spring thaw
It looks pretty goo overall especially the interior
That is a clean example of a very hard to find car. I had one similar to this but it wasn’t anything special but it served my family well for almost 300 K miles before we turned it over to the local junkyard. It still ran fine. We just didn’t have the room and situation demanded we move it right away. It was unfortunate because it still could’ve been a great car for someone. Oh well….what do you do?
Always admired the style of these, thought they had at least the looks to be a credible successor to the Grand National/GNX, albeit not quite the chops to back that up; too bad about the FWD, and the supercharged 3800 didn’t arrive until this bodystyle retired, tho’ that’d be a sweet swap to consider, bringing power into the Grand National ballpark at last.
When I was younger a used car lot had one of these but in silver and a late 1980s early 1990s grand prix wish I could have gotten them both
Many city ordinances require vehicles require vehicles be parked on a “hard surface”; cinder block pavers usually keep the inspectors at bay. Looks like a decent car from the top down, I would look underneath to make sure there is some car left, they love their salt up there.
This is a holdover from the Lloyd Reuss era at Buick. Its strength was not in straight line acceleration but in handling and longevity. If you are ever in the bone yard scrounging, look at the Buicks from this era. If they didn’t get there due to accident damage, it’s likely their odometers will show between two and three hundred thousand miles. With good maintenance, they were almost impossible to kill.
I love these rare 2-doors. Hard to believe the T-Type suspension package didn’t include the strut tower brace that was often used on the Park Aves. I had a 4-door ’91 LeSabre that was a very good car. Added the strut tower brace and heavier springs and sway bars from a Bonneville and it turned into a very thrashable car for its size.
Is something suspiciously wrong here? Every T Type LeSabre I’ve ever seen ( and I am in a club for these cars) has had a clamshell hood. WTH?
It is. Look at the 1st photo. 2nd just shows it lifted before it’s fully tilted.
This does have the clamshell hood. The one photo showing the front of the car just has the hood halfway up before folding it out front. The photo showing the engine shows the hood fully upright in front of the grille and bumper.
I always thought that you put a car up on blocks to keep the tires OFF the ground so they don’t get flat-spotted. And I had thought that only in Hawaii did people just jack a car up and put cinder blocks under the wheels. Go figure…
Swap in the later supercharged 3800, and it could be a quasi Wildcat, that would be fun!
As probably the only person here who actually had a Lesabre T-Type (an 89, back in 2000-2002) I can validate all the positives stated about the car. It handled well, looked good, had enough power, and was unique. Mine was ruby red with black leather interior. The red gauges were eye catching at night. I used my T-Type as a 300 mile per day, 6 day a week driver for about two years. Only things that ever went wrong was one of the dash gauges malfunctioned ( can’t recall which one) and the passenger side power window motor went out. I worked at a Buick dealership at the time so both were easy fixes. The T-Type was one of the best cars I’ve ever had.
When I was shopping for a used Grand National back in 1989, I saw one of these new, same color combos at my local Buick dealership, and yes it reminded me of the GN as to paint and interior, but that’s where it ended after a test drive. I found my used 87 GN at a local ford dealership a month later.
Weird camera angle makes the hood look way bigger than it should be.