29th Jul 2016, 13:41

I had a 78 LeSabre with the 3.8 V6. Slow but got real good gas mileage. Also had an 84 with 307 Olds that drank gas like a big block, but still nothing rides like a Buick.

19th Aug 2016, 02:52

They actually used the 3.8 in the '76 LeSabre. I can only imagine the turtle like slowness that must have been.

24th Aug 2019, 03:13

My parents had the 1976 LeSabre with the V6, and it did great for power in the flat city driving, but in mountains it would not do good at all and strained to go up the mountain roads.

24th Aug 2019, 15:25

Nothing beats the early 70s Riviera. Well maybe a 70 GSX 455 mid size luxury exec rocket. The GS Stage 1 with more subdued paint scheme designed for a family man that wanted a daily driver to work with some serious performance. And a nice insulated cabin with a nice ride. Gas was cheap and it was fun to drive.

25th Aug 2019, 14:38

"most people put that little V6 back in"?

And this comment is based on extensive experience replacing engines in Buick LeSabres that originally had V6 engines? Or not?

4th Jan 2022, 06:23

I agree, the 403 was not a very good motor in any respect. I've driven a few of them when newer, from my experience they don't have much more power or acceleration than a similar Oldsmobile or Chevy 350.

And the 403 slurped almost as much gas as the Buick and Olds 455 engines (which were both built much stronger). The bottom end/main bearings on the 403 were built weak and prone to failure, as well as no water jackets between the pistons caused overheating problems, just like the 4.1 V6 in the review.

This was the "malaise" era for American automakers.

4th Jan 2022, 21:40

Nothing wrong with the 403, only my opinion of course. We had a 77 Olds Regency with the 403; may have been a long time ago, but can't remember anything major that went wrong with it. There is a well written 78 Electra (403) review on here and the author who evidently still owns the car has gotten close to 300,000 total miles.

Install a 3 core radiator and gut the thermostat to resolve the motor running hot.

As far as performance, it can't be all that bad. The 403 was actually used in a late 70s Trans Am as an alternate V8 for the Pontiac 400.

Check out YouTube "Classic G Body Garage". This guy swapped a 403 into a 79 Cutlass with a turbo 350 trans and a posi rear. The car has pretty good numbers on the track.

Anyways those are my feelings. I've always liked Oldsmobile and the way they tooled and built ALL of their V8s. Too bad the division is gone but not forgotten.

6th Jan 2022, 18:36

People forget just how sluggish cars were back in the day when smog and emission equipment had not really been dealt with and the ECUs that came later had not been added to help compensate for the loss in power. 4 bangers were even worse! I had a Celica back in the day and it had a hard time getting out of its own way when getting onto the freeway. My Dad had a Olds Cutlass with a V6. It looked fast. That was about it.