El Bu
1978 Buick LeSabre
Like most cars, this one has sentimental meaning. My aunt, Amelia, bought this car new on July 2, 1978 at a Miami dealership (in Hialeah, to be exact). It was a big deal then, especially since the rest of us didn't drive with the exception of my cousin (thankfully, my mom does not drive and the rest of us were too young - I was only 7 years old!). El Bu is the way Amelia always called the car, hence, the official name. El Bu is a 1978 Buick LeSabre. She has a light blue exterior, white interior with woodgrained trim, a/c, original 8 track radio and bench seat. Under the hood, El Bu sports a 350 c.i. V8. She's runs extremely quiet and very smooth. In the recent past, El Bu had fallen on hard times - rarely used, not properly repaired, etc. The car only has 54,000 miles.
I had been telling my aunt over the past 2 years to sell me the car whenever she decided to get another one. Well, this happened the day after I bought the Corvette - not exactly the best timing but it was now or never. (Besides, my aunt only wanted a few bucks). The rest is history. While driving the car home from Toms River, the radiator decided it had enough and died - just a minor setback. El Bu is due for a serious tune-up, needs an a/c compressor, heater, engine compartment cleanup, some body work, a paint job and some interior restoring - that's it. It's a tough, long job but I can't wait to get her done. I have always remembered her as a classy car and, once redone, she will shine again at the car shows and weekend drives.
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Why restore this particular car? El Bu is a tangible piece of my childhood. My family and I were not wealthy folks in those days (come to think about it, I'm not rich yet either..), but El Bu represented a bright future (in the midst of gloomy days). El Bu never quite lived up to the potential, since my aunt was too sensitive to the use of the car. She had a great excuse every time not to use it: "Gas is too expensive"..."I don't want to put on a lot of mileage"...and my favorite, "I'll lose my parking space" ...OK, as you can see, she was too anal retentive with this car, but it wasn't the car's fault! Here's my way of righting a wrong (yes, the grammar is horrible but makes the point). Don't worry, I do not have "issues" about my aunt's car care - we always laughed at her silly excuses anyway...and still do!
The engine needs a fantastic cleaning...and a compressor for the air conditioning.
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The interior is in decent shape but needs (yes, you've guessed it) a darn good cleaning! It is all original, including the am/fm 8 track player.
The wood grained dash. Check out the original 8 track player!
White interior - the easiest to keep clean. At least the back seat in practically new.
Got Milk? Drink it....Got LeSabre Parts? Let me know!
Above: My aunt, Amelia, poses with her son, Ruben, and El Bu's replacement: the Chrysler. Although not exactly a collector car, she is very happy with it and it gets her and grandma around town. Whenever I visit her, she always cracks a smile when we talk about El Bu. I think she misses the car, but it was just too much for her to restore. In the end, we both lucked out since the car is getting the attention it needs and Amelia is happy to see the car get a facelift!
Restoration Progress Report
August 2000: I bought the car.
August 2000: While driving El Bu from Toms River to my home, the radiator departed from this world. New radiator, hoses & cap installed. Repairs done by Rosario, owner of C + G Automotive, Bloomfield, NJ. C + G is the official automotive repair shop of the fleet!
January 2001: New battery installed. Also purchased some dealer brochures and other paper items at the Atlantic City Auto Show.
March 2001: Visit Rosario who performs the following work: overall assessment of restoration, oil change, complete tune up, replaced water pump, valve cover gaskets, transmission service, and replaced front left shock absorber. I noticed an immediate change in engine operation (runs smoother) and front end feels sharper due to new shock absorber. Rosario is impressed with overall condition of motor (that's a relief).
April 4, 2001: Just had to say I took the car for a ride tonight and it was just nice! What a smooth ride. It's these moments that make restoration worth it!
April 30, 2001: The heater valve leaked a bit of coolant - luckily not a big deal! Time to replace the valve and be on my merry way!
Above: The heater valve in question...
Above: The heater valve in question - extreme close-up.
The heater valve replacement was a cheesy, plastic thing - not like the General made! Oh well, it is a temporary replacement anyway!
June 30, 2001: Thanks to West Virgnia ROA RC, Barry Smith, I now have a like-new dash board top/pad! To make this even sweeter - it's the same color! This dash comes from a '78 Riviera which, luckily for me, is the same one used for the LeSabres! The dash is in near mint condition, see the pic below:
September 2001: I went to the junkyard with the boys & got cool items: rubber trim moldings for the front & back bumpers (hard to find in good condition!), misc. knobs and buttons from the interior. It was cool! Alex got a few cool goodies too!
February 2003: Got 3 of 4 wheel chrome trim pieces - NOS!
March 7, 2003: Just got a '77 Lesabre NOS grille. It's not exactly the same, but very close in style. Thanks Ebay!
March 26, 2003: Just got a NOS '78 Lesabre driver side doorskin. Thanks again Ebay!
April 22, 2003: NOS left tail light lens -yep, from Ebay!
April 27, 2003: Just got a 1979 LeSabre coupe parts car on Ebay! At a glance, the hood, fenders, miscellaneous engine compartment items and patch panels for the trunk and passenger floor boards look like the parts that will work. Maybe more...
May 10, 2003: Received a used but nice condition'78 Lesabre grille from Ebay. Should I go with the NOS '77 or this used '78?
September 9, 2003: Just got theuick hood ornament for El Bu from Ebay.
September 12, 2003: Just got the "Custom" logo that goes under the trunklid "Lesabre" nameplate.
September 23, 2003: Bought another parts car - a 1978 Lesabre Custom. I found this car while away at carlisle last month. Lots of very good sheet metal and it is a driving car! Actually, it is a nice driver but El Bu is my priority! I will get the fenders, hood & doors at least. I will also be able to cut patch panels from the floor board & trunk. The trim is nice, bumpers good & a/c works too!
I will probably drive her into next Spring 2004.
October 19, 2003: Began to remove some mechanic parts from the engine compartment of the '79 LeSabre. Some good parts here: air conditioning compressor, carb, washer/wiper assembly, fan shroud, fan & more.
October 24 & 25, 2003: Stripped more parts off the '79 Lesabre: hood, front fender, lights, bezels & began with the fenders.
This pic is a work-in-progress because I actually removed a lot more left on the nose of the car. Fenders & hood are in good shape, however, the hood lacks the metal trim down the center that my '78 has.
November 8 & 9, 2003: Spent a few hours this weekend taking all of the '79 parts into storage. I also ripped the seats out to check out the floor board of the '79. Most is ok, a bit of local rust-through on the front passenger side - just like my '78 (damn!) but not nearly as bad. I was hoping to fabricate a patch panel from the '79. Looks like I will be able to get good floor board sections for the driver's side front & rear, maybe a the rear of the passenger side.
I also ripped a larger section of the carpet from El Bu (the '78 LeSabre, in case you lost track), and discovered my rust problem is pretty bad. Check this out:
The driver's side is mainly surface rust - scraping it off & POR-15 should take care of that. However, my passenger side is gone! Note the non-brown metal in the center - that's the catalytic converter showing from under the car! Now this is a problem. My trunk is crappy too but I think POR-15 will alleviate most of the problem.
November 15 & 16, 2003: So I yanked off the dash pad, entire dash as well. I also collected $8.94 on the floor (amazing one can loose that much change in a car!). I pulled off the doors, rear light assemblies, trunk cardboard lining, rear metal filler panel (where rear window & trunk meet), all window metal trim, rear wiring harness & 2 pair of hubcaps (yes, she had 2 different Buick pairs on either side). Next: trunk lid & cut patch panels from the floor.
November 17, 2003: Just won on Ebay: NOS gas tank holding straps & NOS door buzzer.
December 2003: Early X-mas gift - NOS fender!
December 28, 2003: Merry Christmas to me - another 78 Lesabre parts car from Long Island. My buddy RT & I towed her home on my new tow dolly - about 125 miles! Car has very good passenger door, decent drivers door, a lot of that hard-to-find trim, bezels etc - and damn solid floors! Mint floors! Thanks RT for the help & great company!
RT scrambles under the car to tie off the emergency break-away chains...as if they would...
January 25, 2004: Wahoo, again! A NOS chrome cornering lamp bezel, right side, front! The many hours on Ebay (usually very, very, very late at night have been paying off!
January 29, 2004: R.I.P. 1979 LeSabre - All good things must come to am end - today I junked the '79 LeSabre parts car (that's the cream color one above). Got just about everything I could off of it. It was a great learning experience to tinker with her - certainly a valuable wealth of knowedge when I work on El Bu. Organs that will be used on El Bu: a fender, trim parts. I will probably have parts for sale from this car, so if interested, let me know!
February 28, 2004: While at the Atlantic City Car Show, I ordered a pair of shiny rechromed bumpers from Bumperboyz. I'll pick 'em up at the Englishtown Swap Meet in April. Wahoo!
April 16, 2004: Yanked off a pair of bumpers from the '78 silver Lesabre parts car (see above) & will use them for a core-exchange tomorrow at Englishtown for new bumpers. Saved a nice pair of impact strips!
April 17, 2004: Went to Englishtown Spring parts/swap show & picked up my bumpers from Bumpers Boyz from LA. Great looking triple plated chrome! It was DAMN nice to finally have a pick-up truck to haul this crap around!
early May 2004: What happens when a plasma cutter meets a donor car floor board? El Bu gets a new floor courtesy of the Long Island parts car - or at least I have it ready for her to install. Also pulled off the doors & the hood off. More to come...
June 17, 2004: Sent the 1978 Silver LeSabre from Long Island to the salvage yard-in-the-sky today. Got doors, floor boards, hood & trim pieces. Still can't believe how silly the 231 V6 looked in such a large engine bay. She served me wel, El Bu is grateful.
June 20, 2004: Won a NOS woodgrained dash bezel on Ebay - just in case I need it!
October 19, 2004: Just got an NOS trunk lid shipped in from Chicago!
----- Last Updated on October 21, 2004-----
