1979 Buick LeSabre sedan 301cid (4.9 liter) V8 from North America

Summary:

A solid beauty well on her way to a million miles

Faults:

The Rear Main Seal started leaking at 275,000 miles and I replaced it myself. The part cost about Ten dollars. It took 6 hours to repair.

The front ball joints wore out. This is a normal wear item although. It cost about 67.00 for a two pair.

The Air conditioning doesn't work. The estimate for the part was 75.00 and 55.00 for refrigerant. Not a big deal.

The transmission was replaced by the previous owner around 150,000 miles.

There is some rust starting to show, but is very minimal for her age and will be repaired soon.

General Comments:

She has over 300,000 miles on her to date and she will still run 85mph for extended periods of time with no problems.

She uses no oil and still has the original engine.

I drive old Blue every single day and shes runs like a top.

The seats are comfortable enough for a long trip, and the ride is as smooth as my Cadillac. They put this car together right.

The old girl still gets at least a compliment a week. People miss cars built like this. They just last forever if you do the oil changes.

The gas mileage is good for her size and engine. The last tankful produced 24 miles per gallon.

Its nice to have a car that has foot room in the back seat. I never have to move my seat forward for back seat passengers.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd July, 2004

1979 Buick LeSabre Limited 350 4bbl from North America

Summary:

Great car for the price I paid

Faults:

Alternator burnt out and killed battery.

Tires dry rotted.

Two-toned with chrome.

General Comments:

Bought at auction.

Palm Beach Limited Edition. They said they there were 4000 of them made. No one has heard of it.

Often confused with a pimp-mobile. Wife does not want to get in it.

Seniors keep trying to buy it.

Starts smooth, rides excellent.

Young folk at auto-supply store can't believe it has an X motor in it. They say it is an olds motor, but I know different.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd November, 2003

10th Sep 2004, 08:57

What is an X motor?

9th Jan 2005, 14:40

I have had my two tone "Old Blue" about 20 years and still enjoy driving it. It has plenty of power with the 350 4 bbl bored and rebuilt before I bought it for $1800. It is the V.I.N. "x" Buick engine which according to my Chilton Buick/Oldsmobile/Pontiac manual, that I picked up for 50 cents at a Flea Market, was rated at 155 Hp at 3400 RPM while producing 280 ft.lbs. of torque at 1800 RPM. The "x" engine was also used in the 1978/79 Pontiac with the 78 rated at 290 Hp at 1600 RPM, 280 ft. lbs. torque at 1800 RPM and 165 at 4000 RPM. I have never managed to get more than 18 MPG at highway speeds-but who cares-no payments and low priced parts such as $39 alternators and starters make up for the low gas mileage.

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1979 Buick LeSabre limited 350 cubic inch from North America

Summary:

Good alternate transportation compared to a econobox to

Faults:

The fuel pump developed a leak.

The car overheated due to a faulty thermostat.

General Comments:

I enjoy the size of this car. It's smaller than the Newport I previously owned, yet it still has the feel of a larger car.

The split front seats are not as comfortable as they look. They are located to close to the floor with thin padding. The rear seats are nicely padded and more comfortable.

The power is quick and smooth.

The ride is very good.

The steering is not very accurate. It requires constant corrections.

The looks of the car can be summed up as boxy. There is little chrome on the sides. There's a lot of chrome up front.

Quality is decent inside and outside of the car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st April, 2003

1979 Buick LeSabre 2 door 350 Buick from North America

Summary:

A fling turned love affair

Faults:

This car was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. The factory clear-coat was reduced to lizard scales from one end to the other, on top of an unattractive metallic silver paint. Terrible terrible paint.

Radiator is too weak for that huge power plant.

General Comments:

Once I finished the bodywork, I couldn't believe how good looking this car could be. Tons of chrome doesn't hurt.

Absolutely floats down the road and corners like it's on rails.

Very comfortable to drive, even on long trips.

Very distinctive looking, never have to look too long for it in a parking lot.

Very low maintenance. In the last 7 years, have spent less than $1000 to restore and maintain car. This includes a killer paint job.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th December, 2002

20th Apr 2009, 20:09

Two things you need to know, clear coat/base coat paint was still years away in '79, and, if that is a Buick engine, they were notorious for overheating. Get a 5 core radiator, and install an auxiliary tranny cooler. I had a '74 with a Buick 350, it was an ongoing battle to keep it from overheating.

In reply to 20th Apr 2009, 20:09

26th Mar 2016, 05:43

On the V6/V8 overheating problems as of late: they are also likely due to poor aftermarket water pumps with stamped-steel paddle wheel impellers. The original ones came with cast impellers with precision-machined curved hydrodynamic vanes. You can only find such impellers in "remanufactured" pumps. "New" aftermarket pumps are sourced from China and have the silly paddlewheel impellers. They don't flow very much at idle, causing overheating in crawling traffic. At high RPM there's a turbulent flow stall, causing overheating while drag racing. In addition the stamped steel impeller rarely will have a proper clearance to the base, contributing to poor coolant flow.

When shopping for a "remanufactured" pump, you have to look at the cast impeller and make sure the machined vane edges are perfect with no pitting for smoothest flow. Pitting on the outer diameter will cause an imbalance at high RPM and accelerated bearing wear.

In my experience the mounting flanges are always pitted (they are used), but as long as there isn't an obvious channel for coolant to leak, it can be dealt with quality sealant. Same for the hose connections.

Right now (March 2016) you can still look on Oreilly's website to see the difference in new vs. reman impellers, but those are just pictures! Especially in the last 3 years I've been finding more of "remanufactured" pumps that are fitted with new silly paddle wheels. Guess they are totally running out of original cast impellers. Alternately you can grab an old one from a junkyard and have it rebuilt with new bearings/seals at your local machine shop. Grab them while they are still around and love thy land yacht :-)