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1975 Buick LeSabre Custom Convertible The upscale LeSabre Luxus designation was dropped and replaced by the LeSabre Custom nameplate. 1975 also was the first year of the catalytic converter, and standard high energy ignition which was part of GMs Maximum Mileage System at the time. The 1975 LeSabre was the first to require use of unleaded gasoline, due to the advent of the catalytic converter. The LeSabre lineup offered a coupe and two sedans while the LeSabre Custom lineup offered the coupe, two sedans, and the only convertible in the Buick lineup. 1975 would be the final year for the LeSabre Custom Convertible with around 5,300 examples rolling off the assembly lines. Engine offerings were simplified and reduced to just two including the standard 5.7-litre V8 (350 CID)and a four-barrel carburetor or optional 7.5-litre V8 (455 CID) with a four barrel. Bodylines on the 1975 were somewhat softer than the 1974 model featuring round headlights side-by-side and a cross-hatched patterned grille that flowed across the front of the car and under the headlights. Turn signals were located in the front bumper. A Buick tri-shield hood ornament was standard on the Custom Series and optional on the base series. The three-hole ventiports were moved from the hood to the front fenders. Slightly larger taillamps than the 74 draped the back of the car with back-up lights positioned in the center broken up by the license plate. Four-door pillared sedans received a new small third windows to emulate the six-window Colonnade styling of GM intermediates while four-door hardtop sedans had new opera windows. Inside, a new flat instrument panel shared with Electra and Riviera replaced the wrap-around cockpit dash of previous years and featured a horizontal sweep speedometer that read to only 100 mph compared to 120 mph in previous years and also included kilometer readings. Otherwise, interior trimmings received only minor revisions. Convertible production for both the LeSabre Custom and the Centurion convertibles were not very abundant in the years 1971 to 1975. The rarest production in that time was the 1971 LeSabre Custom with just over 1,800 units built, and the most produced was the 1973 Centurion with slightly over 5,700 units built. Due to this very low production volume and the end of the full-size convertible era, this may make this series of ragtop LeSabre Custom and Centurion Convertibles quite collectable - depending on the vehicles overall condition. The convertible mechanism used was called the scissor top that folded inward on itself, instead of straight back. This was featured on all GM full-size convertibles from 1971 to 1976.
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