Tom, all the bits and pieces of info that could be gathered on your car indicate the engine is correct as originally built. Nothing I found contradicts the idea that the engine is a 1961 LeSabre unit.
The 1196914 head casting number appears in the listing on this site as correct for your car.
The Buick sales brochure for 1961 lists the 364 2bbl as the standard engine for the LeSabre. The 1962 Canadian full-size Buick shop manual indicates Canadian-built engines for 4400 (LeSabre series) cars have a B prefix for 2bbl applications. Sorry, can't confirm this holds true on the 61 models.
Not all 61 Buicks sold in Canada were built there. The cars imported from the US used the American numbering system on the VIN and the engine. For the LeSabre series, the only body styles built in Canada were the 4437 2dr hardtop, the 4439 4dr hardtop, and the 4469 4dr sedan. Your should be one of these three types.
The engine number is definitely Canadian. The 9 in the prefix indicates an automatic transmission car. This one is kind of obvious since a manual transmission was not available on a full size 61 Buick.
I do not have a listing of the serial numbers by years, but the numbering sequence did carry over from year to year. Based on some before and after engine numbers used to identify parts, your serial number looks correct for a 61. The before/after break point on a 58 choke insulator part was engine #B9-207124. The break point on a 62 camshaft part was engine #B-242038. This indicates a production rate of about 10000 Canadian engines per year. Yours would fall right in line for a late 61 model.
What has been, can be again. (Bob Wills, 1942)
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