75' Skylark beginning

[snowcolt18]

i have a 75' skylark with a 350 2bbl with th350. that i am planning on restoring. it has rust here and there like any normal car that set up for 10 years would. i will take pictures later. corrently on a low low budget :(. but here is the following i want to accomplice:

redo the interior. the interior is awful. but it can be fixed. i already started. i half way installed 96' camaro rs bucket seats. i need new carpet. new head liner. and new back seat. dash has a few cracks. i found a new dash pad somewhere for $40. i think i am going with black interior.

the outside is fairly descent. only a few dents and dings from hail. nothing major it is in black primer right now. and may keep it like that for now. the inside of the truck is rusted pretty bad. it doesnt have a lock cylinder for the truck. i put a fiberglass 69 gran torino hood scoop on it. it looks descent. may graft it later. the inside of the motor has some rust. it has a zip tied elcameo grill on it. but i got the orginal im going to redo it.

i am slowly doing stuff slowly at a time. i hope to have pictures up later today. has anyone installed the halo headlight? if so i want to know more about them. any advice and suggestions would be great on anything.

thanks,
tyler.

[pphil]

welcome to the site
if you have any questions just ask
there is a world of knowledge here

scott

[snowcolt18]

thanks for the reply pphil . i will be sure to.

[wormwood]

Tyler, welcome to the site. Im psyched to see the outcome of your car. what engine/tranny combo are you going to go with? I have some spare parts if you need, including a few grills. I installed the "halo" style lights, here is a picture...

[snowcolt18]

i am thinking of just sticking with the orginal motor and tranny. the 5.7 with th350. body/motor/tranny all have 80,000. just needs a few new parts. maybe a 4bbl. and cylinder work. and how is the halo headlights? i love your car. its really nice.

[wormwood]

thanks, the halo lights are cool at night but you can't really see the halo's during the day. i have them wired so the come on with the ignition.

[snowcolt18]

hmmm. i thought about getting them. but i dont know. i read alot and some say they work good. some say they dont. and many people wire them to the parking lights. and there is no dim or brightener switch right?

and what all do you have available from your restore. i know that most models (skylark, nova, ventura, phoenix, omega, and the apollo) parts interchange. do you know if the interior, for instance a back seat out of one of those will fit? and on the instrument cluster. do you got all of the gauges working. its annoying not seeing the heat or rpms.

[noraarm]

Hey there snowcolt18, Im also in the process of my low budget resto for my daily driver '78 skylark. (i have the halo headlights installed to parking lights, they look really nice when its dark super easy to install too) im looking forward to seeing your project unfold.

[snowcolt18]

ok thanks for the reply. you all have nice pretty cars. i hope mine looks like that soon. and as far as the halo lights. does the halo glow as long as the ignition is on or just when the parking lights are on? sorry for all the questions about the halos. just curious about them

[THOMAS QUIGG]

i like the halo headlights wher did you get them?
thanks :pp :beer

[snowcolt18]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DOT-71-78-CHEVY-NOVA-ANGEL-HALO-XENON-HID-HEADLIGHTS-/300454207303?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item45f4775f47#ht_11610wt_864

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AV5Q4S/ref=asc_df_B001AV5Q4S1228918?smid=AZTYQHI5DDZU1&tag=shopzilla_mp_1044-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B001AV5Q4S

http://www.dashzracing.com/7-H6024-Round-Halo-Headlights-Blue/Lighting-Crystal-Headlights/Chevy/Camaro-p8294271.html

just search google for 7" halo lights

[noraarm]

i wired mine with wire taps into my parking lights, i can take a few pictures for you in after i eat dinner. it all depends how you wire them in.

Okay, here is what the back of the lamp its self looks like and how in installed, the black and red thicker wires are just tie ons i put on the littler red and white ones coming out of the lamp, then used wire ties to tie them into the ground and parking light, how i found out what one was the parking light was unplug the plug and turn on the parking light, using a voltage tester i found the one that had any juice going through it. and marked it with tape.

(sorry for blurry pics, took them with my phone quickly)

[snowcolt18]

looks good. and they are nice. i think i am going to get them. and they arent really that high. thanks for the pics. im yound and dumb. ;). and just learning here and there. thanks alot.

[noraarm]

looks good. and they are nice. i think i am going to get them. and they arent really that high. thanks for the pics. im yound and dumb. ;). and just learning here and there. thanks alot.

im just 18 haha im learning as i go. i also would suggest getting them off amazon, i looked on the other sites and it looks like amazon is the only one that comes with the headlight bulbs. also the company that sells them is really good about communication, one of the lamps i got was cracked and they sent me a new one the next day no questions asked. i think it was pro street lighting.

[noraarm]

also, jealous of your rally rims :( cant find any locally haha also would look funny on a 4 door...

[snowcolt18]

lol. im only 19. so i know how you are. you have made alot of prgress with your car. and i will check in on the amazon one. lol. thanks. i think they came off a chevelle. i need the repaint the insides. but they are 14's =/

[noraarm]

im rolling on 14s with original hubs haha. i was thinking about changing them out to smoothies but i like the "stock" look at a glance. you should post some pics of your car! id love to see it so far. im also cleaning/repainting my engine bay. well, going to this weekend since i have 3 days off school and dont need to go anywhere haha. do the rallys have center caps?

[snowcolt18]

it has 2 of them. and i will this weekend. i have no phone or camera. but i am going to take pics of it with my moms camera. 14s arent that bad. just hard to find them around here. i am stipping the inside as soon as i get it cleaned out. =)

[noraarm]

ah, yeah hardest part is finding the right era center caps all i can find is like 68-72 style. im actually having my mom sow me new seat covers out of this really nice fabric i found at walmart for like 7 bucks a yard. im redoing my interior black probably its tan/pinkish at the moment. is it your daily driver or a weekend car?

[snowcolt18]

daily.. hmm no. weekend... hmm no. it hasnt been moved in a month. but at least once a week i crank it up. i am about to retag it. then i might drive it daily. sow. hmm. the problem with mine is, well it had leather seats. and after they dry rotted. its hard. and ugly. i want to do my interior black. orginalially it was white with red interior.

[TheSilverBuick]

My advice to every highschool/college student with one of these cars is this:

Buick 350 with a RV like cam, go for low end torque, and top it with a Q-jet. A 2004r trans will bolt right in place of a TH200, you have a TH350, if that crossmember is different, it's just a matter of finding a TH200 one from a later year. Then rear gears no higher than 3.23's, and if your oil pressure is good, 2.73's. That car will net you 23-28 mpgs and still have nice enough accel to put a smile on your face.

I netted 23mpg's with a 455(I was looking for a 350 when I found the 455 cheap) with 3.23's, but you already have a 350 and the Buick 350 is a direct bolt in for the 231. My old Firebird had a 400 with an RV cam of unknown specs, a 700r4 and 2.73 gears and it got 18mpgs minimum and averaged 25mpg's on all road trips. Perfect for a broke college student.

Then when you get out of school, let the fun start!

That's my two cents. Oh yes, if you are unhappy with the interior, definately get it done or improved.

[wormwood]

Leather interior? i didnt think that leather was an option on these cars. All interior parts are interchangable from the nova, ventura, omega, although the ventura did have a few different options, but they will fit.

[snowcolt18]

hmm. its not cloth seats. its like really tough. i thought it was leather :Dou: .

my car now gets around 23-26 mpg. ;). rv cam? where can i find one of theses. i want to go to a junk yard or something and find a old wrecked car (old corvette, camaro, cheveele, etc) and getting parks off.

[snowcolt18]

well. i got some pics. sorry if i put too many. got picture happy =)

http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00376.jpg?t=1283629582
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00377.jpg?t=1283629582
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00378.jpg?t=1283629582
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00379.jpg?t=1283629582
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00382.jpg?t=1283629582
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00383.jpg?t=1283629582
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00384.jpg?t=1283629677
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00385.jpg?t=1283629677
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00386.jpg?t=1283629677
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00387.jpg?t=1283629677
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00388.jpg?t=1283629677
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00389.jpg?t=1283629677
http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac349/snowcolt17/IMG00390.jpg?t=1283629677

[noraarm]

ah, thats vinyl seats looks pretty good, just needs some little things like the back bumper filler pieces and a new tail light it looks like.

[snowcolt18]

yea. thats all it needs =)

[noraarm]

looking forward to seeing it progress :) maybe by next summer i will be doing an engine transplant. going to put some power in my 4 door lol

[snowcolt18]

lol. me too. i want to find a old motor and build it. i like mine. especially for the price. just worked hard all summer for it ;p

[noraarm]

how much did you pay for your 'lark?

[snowcolt18]

well. really i didnt pay anything. i just worked. but 300

[wormwood]

rear bumper fillers and tail lights are very hard to find. you can get the aftermarket fillers at www.replicaplastics.com they are a terrible fit but there are no other options. you will haveto scour wrecking yards and evil-bay for tail lights.

[pphil]

lol. me too. i want to find a old motor and build it. i like mine. especially for the price. just worked hard all summer for it ;p

where in alabama are you
i have a running buick 350 and 350 turbo trans
i am in nashville tn......

scott

[snowcolt18]

i was looking at that scott. i am in florence. and yea they are extremely hard to come by

[noraarm]

My rear fillers fit okay, the right side fit without any cutting the the left i spend about 4 hours with a hack saw.

[snowcolt18]

where did you get them? im going to need a new front one too =/

[noraarm]

rear bumper fillers and tail lights are very hard to find. you can get the aftermarket fillers at www.replicaplastics.com they are a terrible fit but there are no other options. you will haveto scour wrecking yards and evil-bay for tail lights.

dans post earlier oops just clicked it and it was wrong lol heres the link to the buick ones

http://www.replica-plastics.com/EditParts.aspx?Make=Buick

[wormwood]

oops, sorry for the bad link. i have front fillers if you need, let me know

[snowcolt18]

do you got the set. and how much for them?

[snowcolt18]

what would make it faster for cheap? i am thinking about putting a 4 bbl on it. i want a cheap cam but a good one. any suggestions?

[TheSilverBuick]

Get a cam for low end torque and definately a Q-jet.


My advice to every highschool/college student with one of these cars is this:

Buick 350 with a RV like cam, go for low end torque, and top it with a Q-jet. A 2004r trans will bolt right in place of a TH200, you have a TH350, if that crossmember is different, it's just a matter of finding a TH200 one from a later year. Then rear gears no higher than 3.23's, and if your oil pressure is good, 2.73's. That car will net you 23-28 mpgs and still have nice enough accel to put a smile on your face.

I netted 23mpg's with a 455(I was looking for a 350 when I found the 455 cheap) with 3.23's, but you already have a 350 and the Buick 350 is a direct bolt in for the 231. My old Firebird had a 400 with an RV cam of unknown specs, a 700r4 and 2.73 gears and it got 18mpgs minimum and averaged 25mpg's on all road trips. Perfect for a broke college student.

Then when you get out of school, let the fun start!

That's my two cents. Oh yes, if you are unhappy with the interior, definately get it done or improved.

[snowcolt18]

cam for low end torque. ive been searching for some descent ones for low prices. i want to do the interior. i need it done bad

[Transcoupled]

Very cool car and a great project! And like others said, there is a plethora of information on this site!

[snowcolt18]

yes. i love it. even though it needs alot of work. just my lil project. and im happy with it. especially for what i have in it. ;). i can find parts cheap. and the motor, tranny, and body are all still good. and thanks.

[snowcolt18]

i have a older model 4 bbl intake, i think it came off a 80's model el camino(with a 350) its a gm intake. would it fit on my buick 350?

[snowcolt18]

o yea. here is a before of it before i primered it black

http://i25.tinypic.com/2r5f1o0.jpg

[TheSilverBuick]

Ha! The grey version looks like my car =P If your intake came off an 80's El Camino with a V8 then it certainly won't fit if the engine wasn't swapped out for a Buick 350.


http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/96/l_e81bb203681f42b196de026668e6f203.jpg

[snowcolt18]

hmm. i didnt know bc it was a gm.

yes they do look alike. i was about to ask if you snuck and took a pic of it when i wasnt looking =p. nice. i wouldnt mind having a 455 like yours. i watched someone your videos on youtube. nice sounds good. i think they look good in just primer. on yours did you shorten the rear bomper? it looks as if you did?

[TheSilverBuick]

I didn't shorten the bumper, but you're right, that camera angle makes it look like I did. It still has the filler trim on the side though, which makes it hard to see. I've been contemplating picking up another set of the bumper shocks/mounts to shorten and see if I like the look of it or not. I'm also running 5x5 15" big car rims for another slight difference.

My car was an actual silver for about 15 years before it went primer, and some day it'll be silver again! =P

[snowcolt18]

mine was factory white. i thought about taking the bumber off. and do a lil cutting and welding and shorten it. be cheaper anyways. our rims look the same too =p. but mine just has a 350. i know someone with a 383 stroker for 500 that im thinking of trading my motor and tranny for ;)

[snowcolt18]

starting on the interior.. here is the seats i got
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417S325JB8L._SL500_AA300_.jpg