The Timeless Beauty Of A1960 Buick LeSabre
Larry Ashley, the operations manager at Eddie Motorsports, has owned countless vehicles over the years. He has had a 1987, Honda XL600 enduro bike that he traded for a Mercury Cougar, that he then traded for an F-100, that was subsequently traded for a 57’ Chevy Bel Air that eventually became an iconic SEMA build. That is a long story for another article! Ironically, I found Larry Ashley when I stumbled on one of his cars that isn’t a SEMA build, or really a build at all for that matter, his 1960, Buick LeSabre.
In the early 1960s, the thought of go-fast, Muscle cars was a foreign idea. The market was made up of long, rounded-off sedans, curvaceous trucks, or sportier versions of sedans that were still the length of a small ocean liner. The argument that “more is always better” can be made for a lot of the early 60s cars. The styling formula in the 60s carried many elements over from the 1950s, including long-pointed fins jutting up along the rear of the car and mile-long body lines that culminate into a protruding hood that creates an overhang above the headlights.
The 1960, Buick LeSabre was created using this exact formula. It is a car with a timeless style that can capture the gaze of individuals even with no body modifications. The 1960, Buick LeSabre was completely reworked from the 1959 model, receiving a new concave grille and horizontal headlights, as well as the new “Tri-Shield” Buick logo. The car’s body lines flow into pointed fins at the back and create an almost furrowed brow look at the front. The concave shape of the sides of the car is accented by three portholes. The bubbled look gives the inside of the car a spacious and luxurious feel as well as adding to the flowing and curvy look of the exterior. LeSabres were powered by a 364 cubic inch, V8 that came in a variety of configurations and horsepower ratings.
Larry came across the LeSabre when a good friend of his was selling it, along with a 1959 Impala that he had been working on for years. The projects needed to move on down the road in order to free up some cash for other life expenses; a reality most car enthusiasts can sympathize with. The friend gave Larry a call and asked if he knew anyone who would be interested in the cars. Larry stated, “Well, I knew a company looking for a ‘59 Impala, so I was able to broker that deal for him, but when he showed me the Buick, I knew it had to be mine. The styling was just incredible, and the car was so different from those that were in my current lineup. We negotiated and he hooked me up well for helping to sell the Impala, and now the Buick is in my stable.”
With the LeSabre added to his collection, Larry did some minor, but much needed, work. He wanted to make sure that as much original stuff as possible was left on the car but that it was fixed, cleaned and improved. The car still had its original 364 V8 in it, which Larry wanted to keep. After going through the engine and rebuilding the carb, the original 364 roars to life and then purrs like a kitten going down the road. The original drum brakes were still on the car and to ensure that all 19ft of this “land yacht” could come to a stop, Larry completely rebuilt the four-wheel drum brakes. To make the car more driveable, other upgrades, such as a Champion Cooling radiator, with electric fans, were added and the existing generator was removed and replaced with a modern alternator. To amp up the styling of the car, Larry opted to go with 20", US, Mags Roadster wheels wrapped in Continental tires. The new wheel combo is tucked up into the car, thanks to a full air ride system. Even with these couple of cosmetic upgrades, an untrained eye would probably still take this 1960 LeSabre to be stock. Stock, and undeniably gorgeous!
Larry has a couple of ideas for future possibilities for the car, but is not committed to anything right now. “I have thought about upgrading her with an LS, disc brakes, and a new paint job, but it runs so incredibly well, and when I am rolling around in this car, it pulls more thumbs-ups than any of my other cars; why change it? Maybe someday the engine will let loose and then I will look at what new possibilities could happen with the LeSabre.” For now, Larry will continue to roll around in this gorgeous, 1960 Buick LeSabre, taking in all the thumbs-ups and giving the styling of all the other cars on the road a run for their money. Or maybe even giving his own 1957’ Bel-Air a run for its money.
To decide for yourself which is better, a stock-ish 1960 Buick LeSabre or a 1957 Chevy Belair, built for SEMA, stay tuned for a detailed breakdown of the ‘57 in the coming weeks.
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