Customs Hey boys! Lookin at a 1960 buick

That would be tremendously tough, as the original auto (it was 'TwinTurbine' starting in '59, but it's still a DynaFlow) doesn't shift. It has a planetary low gear, but placed in drive it doesn't shift at all, it has variable stator blades that change the 'ratio' as it accelerates.

RE it being a 4-dr; in general the opinions here are correct ('fine as a cruiser, not so great for resale') but take note of my observation. I've got 20 years in the BCA and 25 years owning my B-59... Buick guys have no problem with 4-drs, esp in this era. I've not encountered such a high acceptance of 4-drs with another marque like I've seen with Buick. Maybe that harkens to the supposed 'older' crowd that frequently likes 'em, I dunno.

Looks like a super sano ride, hope you work out a deal & enjoy it!

 

I don't think that's a bad price for a nice clean driver. A bigger radiator swapped in might be a good idea, but you can get huge 3 core aluminum jobs on eBay for $250, that wouldn't be a big deal. Also, make sure the trans doesn't leak, they were known for that and putting seals in them is kind of a big job.

As for the 4 door thing, it would limit your resale buyers, but clean drivers that don't need any major work are getting rarer and rarer in that price range, for any body style. I think as long as you kept it up nice, you'd always be able to get that back out of it.

 

I'll also say that the acceptance level of tail fin era 4 doors is more than any other type of car. ForwardLook Mopars of the era are another good example. That car will find a buyer for the price he's asking (or close), it's still a nice looking car. I like it, I'd drive it.

 

Pretty paint.

 

Nope. Can't park it, it's huge. Poor fuel mileage. Too big to wash, too big to wax. That said, if you love it make it yours, make a nice solid offer from the advice above, in fact, show up with cash in hand, he won't be able to pass it up IMHO.

 

went back and looked at the pics again. it looks like a pretty nice ride. if he wants 6 and you want it i say go with 5k in one pocket and shot that. have another 500 in a side pocket. if he says no to both walk. he'll change his mind probably before you leave the drive..

 

That car is a head-turner, four doors and all. Everyone will dig it, and you can start driving and enjoying it right away. Good luck with the negotiations.

 

Sage advice right there - I totally agree. Although I would start at 4800 and try to wind up in the 52-5300 range.

 

Throttle start is having some trouble so it's got a push button on it. ​

 

How hard is it to fix the throttle start? It's got a new battery

 

If it's a Stromberg 2bbl, I think there's a check ball near the switch at the carb base; when dirty, it may prevent opening the starter circuit when vacuum is present

 

We all wish you the best with the Buick if you buy it. Keep all of us posted.

 

4 door haters crack me up. a 2 door in that shape would be twice the price at least, the two 2 doors posted from Craigs list would be $25,000 to get one in good shape like what he is looking at.

I have an idiot friend who buys and sells cars. turned down a 62 Cadillac because it was a 4 door, so I bought it and resold it for a $1,000.00 profit. he said it wasn't worth it because he knew a guy with a 74 LTD 2 door that couldn't get that much for it... who can argue with that logic?

this is the same guy that warned me about 4 doors when I bought my 49 Chevrolet 4 door. drove that one for 3 years and sold it for a nice profit as well. the funny part? this guy was also an auto appraiser.

 

the market gets more acceptable of 4drs damn near by the day the last 10-15 years. 20+ years ago even the cool 4drs were usually CHEAP. i passed on a really nice 62 or 63 caddy in 93-94. a friends dad who did nothing but caddie restos had it(Joe Bohr, about half the cars in the movie Bugsy were from his personal collection). anyhow NICE all og car with from my failing memory around 32k miles. garaged since new. still had og plastic covers over the seats. i think th only thing not factory on the car was it had new tires. I turned it down at $3k despite it being one of the cleanest non restored cars i've still to this day ever seen. i had just sold a '64 2dr chevy for $2800 that was also a pretty nice car but nowhere near as clean as the caddy. He sold the car a few weeks later for over five grand. told me he only offered the car to me for $3k beause he knew i regretted selliin the chevy and he actually had $3020 in the caddie himself. i still regret not buying that car a little......

 

That price is in Kommyfornia dollars so imo it's about right. Like someone said above, go in with 5 grand and see what happens. The guy would be a fool to turn down cash standing in front of him for that car. I'm thinking there are not a lot of buyers for it. Nice car though.

 

If somebody got a ragtop that ran and drove for under $6,000 they stole it from someone who didn't know any better. $5000 is probably about right for that. 20 years ago my '60 Pontiac Catalina 4-door was $2400, the paint was flat, it was missing some trim and needed rear tires, and had about 50,000 more miles on it. I drove the hell out of it.

 

You won't feel any shifting. The Dynaflow automatic you have does not shift like hydramatics, torqueflites do. It is a one speed in Drive. You can use Low, but will have to manually shift to drive at 45mph.

 

It's in CALIFORNIA, 6k is a fair price if there's no rust issues or mechanical issues. 1/2 the fun is negotiations. Basically it comes down to how bad do you want it.