My 1971 Skylark is a very nice car. Bone stock original except the radio ( and I have the original AM in the trunk. A retro installed) Radio speakers were changed. Other than that---pretty much like it came. My dilemma is that I want to "hot rod" my car up. But I don't have the heart to tear apart a car that is so close to being a perfect original. I can drive this car anywhere, just like it is. So I guess my question is, Should I just sell this one and go after one I can "play" with ( I figure 14k), or say the heck with it and start buying some goodies? You can see the car on my profile.
There only original once buddy as I am getting older I'm loving the original cars more I'm 42 years old When I was younger oh yeah customize it all the way
Just put the original pieces in the corner of your garage so if in you ever want to change it back you can. But my guess would be after you put more performance in it you'll probably never look back? I love overdrive transmissions in older cars, after spending all that $ to do an engine build the reduced RPM on the highway really helps to reduce engine wear.
It all depends on what you want to do, if you just want to change bolt on stuff then yes you could just set the original stuff in the corner and put it back to stock later. If you were thinking more invasive changes then you could look for another car. I would almost try to buy another car before you sell this one just incase you can't find what you want you could still be happy with this one.
No, bolting parts on makes it not original anymore. Remove engine and trans and put that still bolted together in the corner of the garage and install something else. That will keep the wear off the originals, just make sure you write down somewhere what the mileage is when you removed it. You can still enjoy the car with the engine and trans that's in there while you are buying/building the replacements.
It's your car, do what you want to it. I hot rodded my Buick and I don't feel one bit bad about it because it's now the way I want it rather than the way the factory built it. Did it hurt the value? If anyone cares I'm not on that list. I love what I've done to it far better than the way the factory built it. I still have all the original parts I took off of my car but I'll never put them back on. Maybe the next owner will but I'll be dead by then and I won't care, and at that point it'll be his car and he can do what he wants to with it.
Jimmy, in my opinion don't sell that car you will regret it. I would make the changes that you want and as others have stated keep the parts. I can tell you for sure 100% I regret selling some really nice clean cars in the past. Cars like yours especially in that price range are getting harder to find.
You have a beautiful Skylark that looks to be in amazing condition, but from a general point of view there is no reason you can't do whatever you want to that car. If it were an original GS or highly optioned car in a desirable color combo, I would say never touch it, but being kind of a plain jane in colors that aren't specifically coveted, just make it the car you want it to be and enjoy it! I wish you happiness with whatever you decide to do.
Looking at your car reminds me of the one in this thread. This car is very similar to yours, 14K original miles and it even looks like the same color! This car was a super clean original car, now it's a super clean car with some great upgrades. Rick Miller bought it and has taken to just about every Buick race since then. It's a great looking and running car! I love it! If you did the same type of upgrades to yours I doubt if anyone would ever ask you what happened to the original drivetrain. In the end....it's your car. Build it how you want it. Drive it how you want to drive it. If you keep it for 10 years and sell it for less than you spent on it, who cares. Hopefully you got to drive it and enjoy it. If you just plan on flipping to try and make a little on it then you should keep it as is. A lot of guys spend tons of money on body work and interior work to get to where you already are. With a car that clean you are so far ahead of the game. You can focus on making it run and handle exactly how you want. In my opinion, that is exactly what I would do. Build it! http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/71-skylark-street-strip-14k-original-miles.342818/
Is this your forever Car? Do you have a strong emotional tie with the car? If no then sell and start over, but you may find it difficult to get 14K unless you have a ultra low mileage example. Good luck in your decision.
As nice as your car is, given the fact it's a plain lark, it will never carry the price tag of other gs or stage1 cars. Making it a restoration model might actually add value to vehicle. Mine is just a lark and the time I have spent with my dad on it means more than anyone could ever buy it for, I dont regret making it a drag car at all.......
Even for modifying starting with a nice car like yours is a plus. Overdrive is a great upgade and one I need to do since we like to drive the cars on long trips. Save all original stuff like others have said, modify to what you want and we’ll see you on the Power Tour having fun!
A stock car in original condition has the most value, and when it starts to come apart it starts losing that value, and only regains a portion of it when immaculately restored or if it is a tasteful custom job. Most people I know that have gutted a dead-stock original invariably feel guilty about it later and regret ruining a perfect car. They are only ever original once; my advice (for what it's worth) is then to sell it if you're bored and get something you can play with, that way you can build with a clean conscience.
I agree with the concencious here sell it off as an original whole car and get a project to customize. I got my car that was midway between the two. The original engine and wheels were long gone as was some little things here, paint was changed and there was no documentation saved with the car. It's a non GS run of the mill 69 Riv (but did have the deluxe interior) with a lot of options and low mileage in great shape. I was at a crossroads when I bought it to restore it to original the best I could or mod it out. After a great amount of thinking I came to the conclusion that it's too far gone from original condition so I boarded the mod train and haven't looked back!
Yeah, this is the kind of car I would look for, nice paint that didn't need any bodywork with an untouched drivetrain because doing bodywork SUCKS but the mechanical stuff is what is fun to play with! Odds are that when you sell that car the person that buys it is going to change the drivetrain soon after they buy it. If you are the one that alters you can at least keep it Buick powered and you may save it from being an LS swap car from the new buyer?
Here's my opinion - I was in a similar situation .. had a 46K mile all original 69 Skylark that I bought from the 91 yr old first owner. I drove it a few years like that and then got bored with it, wanting to put a warmed over 455 in place of the 350/2barrel it came with and which ran incredibly fine. Guilt got the better of me and I sent it down the road after it taking quite a while to sell for 6K .. it changed hands within a year .. then flipped again and within 2 or 3 years of selling it, it was gutted like a fish and running the quarter mile in 10 seconds. I would probably still own that car today .. and my mods wouldn't have made it anywhere near impossible to return it to stock in under a weekend .. yet probably run mid 11's and be able to be driven across the country on pump gas. Also, its sad to say .. but yours and mine were "only" a skylark and that does make a difference when thinking about its value over time .. and what you want to do with it. If its a solid car and you know its faults and can deal with them .. you're probably miles ahead of building your car than flipping it and trying to find something better to play with.
The direction I'm taking with my 63 is to remove the entire drive train and suspension, and set it aside. I want to keep the body as original as possible, so no roll cage. I plan to build a frame to bolt into the unibody (see www.schwartzperformance.com for examples) that will carry all of the new suspension and the new drive train. It's getting a turbocharged 3800 II/III, built 4L60e, and Ford 8.8" rear end, coil-overs at both ends, bigger 5-lug wheels and disk brakes all around. The reason is simple. I want something that can be quick, but that is also really streetable, and good on the highway. I want it to stop well and use modern tires, for the sake of safety because of all the idiot texting drivers. I don't want to be constantly dealing with the problems associated with the oddball 2-speed transmission, porous aluminum block casting, and weak rear end. I want 400hp to the wheels reliably, and the 215 wasn't going to do that, from what those in the know have told me, 300 was safe, any more than that, and I would be risking the original matching numbers motor. It should only take about 12 pounds of boost to do it with a 3800, and that should put me at 11.50's in the quarter (with the option to run faster, should I desire to get thrown out, ;^) ) I looked for a long time for a car that was fairly clean, and found I couldn't really touch an A-body on my budget that wasn't a rust bucket. Who wants to deal with that? It's a huge opportunity starting with such a nice clean car. And you have so many more options with your A-body than I do. It really can be anything you want it to be.
Alan has good advice. You know what your starting with. As long as your not cutting things up modify your car to your desire.
I think Alan hit the nail on the head. If you think you're going to sell it to do it a favor and keep it original, there's a very solid chance the next owner(s) are going to modify it anyway. I'm in a similar boat with my white car, but all I want to do is put a factory qjet setup on it, so that's minimal and easily reversed. Luckily the green car is heavily modified so I get my yayas out on butchering it. As another poster mentioned, in a perfect scenario just get another car. When the modded one drives me nuts, the stock one is a breath of fresh air. But if not, since skylarks will never command GS money, I say pitter patter let's get at er, make it what you want.
Where's the original wheels? You already changed those, (maybe cause it had funky hubcaps), so just have at it, finish it, and make it yours. You rather have a GS? put GS emblems and goodies on it. You already know the car..... Imo, No car is original that has been repaired, repainted, re-tired, new belts, hoses, battery, windshield, exhaust system, etc., it's not showroom original anymore. Some of us used to call those salvage vehicles.
