1962 Buick LeSabre 2-door sports coupe

January 29, 2022

American car shoppers looking for a full-size hardtop coupe in 1962 were confident in The General’s products. Chevrolet Will sell you Fashionable new Bel Air Sports Coupe It ’s only $ 2,561 (about $ 23,800 today), Those Jones If you put in a new proletariat grade, you wouldn’t feel embarrassed next door. Chevrolet On your driveway.No, to really stand tall in the age of Alfred Sloan’s Success LadderYou had to go up GM Food chain. For the 1962 B platform full-size car, it’s Pontiac Catalina / Bonneville Defeat Chevrolet, Oldsmobile 88 The next step on the ladder, at the top Buick: Hot Rod Invicta When The swanky LeSabre brothers..To go beyond that, we had to move to the C platform Buick Electra also Cadillac..Today’s junkyard gem Once gorgeous ’62 LeSabreNow it’s pretty declining Boneyard in northeastern Colorado..

Why GM shoppers got sick “Chevy mobile” episode In the late 1970s and 1960s, when some GM cars received engines manufactured by the “less” GM division, each division had its own family of V8 engines, which could be mixed. It wasn’t expected. ’62 LeSabre Got 401 cubic inches (6.5 liters) Nail head engine (It’s called this because the valve was unusually small), Rating at 265, 280, or 325 (Depending on the required compression ratio and type of carburetor). It’s not a crazy horse for a 2 ton luxury coupe with a large displacement of that era, but a small valve enabled a combustion chamber optimized for one thing: low rpm torque.. The 401 has a two-barrel carburetor that produces 412 lbs or 425 lbs of torque.It’s just a little less than the mighty one Cadillac The engine of the year, and definitely enough to make this car run very fast.

You had to pay Chevrolet a fat premium, PontiacWhen Oldsmobile B body for acquiring automatic transmission (a 3-speed column shift manual It was the basic equipment of those cars), but Turbine drive (formerly Dyna-Flow) Auto was a standard issue for LeSabre in 1962. this is. .. ..was Interesting transmission design Go back to its origin 1942 M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer Using torque converter multiplication, the shifter provided a perceptible shift-free CVT-like experience (the driver can manually select a different low gear set, so the shifter True 2-speed power glide transmission). Dynaflow / Turbine Drive wasted power, Smooth.. Since 1963, Buick has switched to the same automatic automatics used in other GM departments.

This car has been sitting outdoors for years, without glass, perhaps for decades. The GMB body coupe of this period is worth restoring, but it requires a completely new interior from scratch.

The suggested retail price for this one-off cream puff was $ 3,293, or $ 2022, or about $ 30,605.

The automatic transmission was standard equipment on the ’62 LeSabre (So did the heater / defogger.), The buyer had to pay $ 116 for this AM radio (about $ 1,080 today).Hey, if you want to hear 1962 number one song While driving your new Buick, you weren’t cheap!Note the sign of the triangle circle of civil defense in 640 And 1240kHz; they showed their frequency CONELRAD system that broadcasts announcements during Soviet nuclear attacks..All American Markets Car radio Sold from 1953 to 1963 Federal law requires that the CONELRAD frequency be marked...