Despite what legions of well meaning but ultimately soul-crushed women may say, size matters. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Buick brings the size, but will its price end up being its biggest deal?
Yesterday’s 1993 VW Passat GLX wagon sure checked a lot of the right boxes. Longroof? Yep, Sweet VR6 mill? You betcha. Decent condition and real factory BBS wheels? Oh yeah. Add to all that a price tag that earned the car a huge 83% Nice Price win and you can’t go wrong.
When I say Buick LaSabre do you think of blue-haired little old ladies driving to Applebee’s for the early bird special or to the church bingo night? Yeah, me too. Thing of it is, that wasn’t always the LaSabre’s key demographic. At one time it was a bit of an aspirational ride, at least for those with modest aspirations.
This 1968 Buick LaSabre drop top is an example of just such an object of dream fulfillment. Large and in charge these cars offer seating for six, unlimited headroom with the top down, and the opportunity to scoff at compact parking spaces.
Yes, it’s big. So big. by the numbers that’s 217.5 inches over all, riding on a 123-inch wheelbase and 80-inches wide at the hips. Quite remarkably for a body on from a car of such expansive dimensions this ’68 LaSabre convertible tips the scales at less than 4,000 pounds.
That’s all good as horsepower wasn’t all that big in ’68. The base engine in the LaSabre was a new for ’68 350-CID V8 that offered up 230-bhp with a two barrel carburetor and 280 ponies when equipped with a 4BBL. That means leisurely trips to sixty and a top-end that barley breaks triple digits. Also, the steering on these cars is like driving with your arms asleep while the handling is akin to dancing in a canoe. A three-speed automatic adds to the fun.
But man, who cares about all that? I mean, just look at this root-beer float of a convertible. The ad says its in running condition and is fun to drive, which is about all you need to know I guess. An Edelbrock carb tops the 350 and lives in an engine bay that looks ready to do its part in a Halloween house of horrors. There’s no A/C but who needs it now that it’s fall and the top can drop?
Speaking of that top, it seems free from foibles and has a plastic rear window that you can actually still see through. That covers an interior that looks totally inviting. The steering wheel has seen better days, and the speedo is squarer than a Promise Keeper but who wouldn’t love the under-dash ignition switch or the acreage of floor space?
On the outside of this 85,000-mile Buick things are seemingly just as sweet, with paint that looks serviceable on the sweeping sixties coke bottle bodywork. Yes there are faux fender vents and a graceful swage line that emulates the fenders of yore, but there’s also some modern wheels to spice things up. The ad notes that the original steelies and caps come with the car in case that’s more your speed.
Let’s see if this big Buick’s price is also your speed. The asking is $6,000 which is well above the what-the-hell threshold, but well within the realm of possibility for many. Also, when considered by the square inch, it’s probably one of the best deals out there.
What do you think about this ’68 LaSabre and that $6,000 price? Does that seem like a deal to get you old school Buick on? Or, is that price, like the car, just too darn big?
You decide!
Bemidji MN Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to GTXcellent over on Hooniverse for the hookup!
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