Hi all, I will be using this space to document the buildup of my '62 Skylark purchased in March 2013. The Plan Create a clean, safe, fun-to-drive classic Buick that will hold its own at local cruises/car shows. This will include an essentially stock body, slightly lowered stance, 17" wheels, and a spotless engine compartment. As delivered, the car is pretty solid, with one glaring exception - the rear axle assembly. The first order of business is to get the current axle deathtrap out and replace it with a stock unit. The photos document just how poorly fabricated the axle was. It's amazing this thing drove straight down the road! More to follow soon -
Great looking ride. That is a scary hack job on the rear end. I would of done the same as you and started there. Keep us posted.
:eek2::eek2::eek2: HOLY SON OF A BISCUIT EATER that is one scary rear end set-up!!!!! Looks like a nice little project otherwise (if there aren't more hidden surprises like the rear).
I found a donor rear axle (from a '62 Skylark, 3:36 gears, open diff). It was seriously cruddy - the car had been sitting in an open field for 10 years. I'm still missing a few key items - brake small parts like adjusters and wheel cylinder pushrods, a pinion seal, and rear axle seals. After lots of cleaning and blasting, here's the parts ready to go back into the car.
Well, things are looking up. That obnoxious axle removed from the cars is a Ford 9" ! Time to cut some brackets off and prep for sale...
I wish..! _________________________ I already had an F-Body T5 sitting around, so I decided to replace the Saginaw 4-speed that was in the car. For those not familiar wit the F-Body T5, the trans mount is tilted 18 from horizontal. The F-Car bellhousing mounts the trans at 18, so in the application, the trans mount is flat. If using this trans "straight up", some crossmember mods are in order. I was fortunate in that the car came with an extra trans crossmember, so I modified that one. I simply removed material from the top of the crossmember and welded in a hunk of 1/8" plate at the appropriate angle. See photos for details. Next up is the clutch. The T5 mates to the clutch disc with a 26-spline fitment rather than the Skylark 10-spline. A little research found that S10 pickups from '94 to '03 with 2.2L engines used the same disc diameter, and also used the T5 with the 26-spline input shaft. The disc I used is a Sachs unit, P/N SD80097. Once it arrives, I'll post back to verify fitment.
Slowly getting this thing ready for the road... The transmission is now completely installed. In addition to the crossmember mods above, the (already reworked) tunnel was again reworked to fit the new shifter position. Speaking of the shifter, it's a Core Shifters piece I got off Ebay (Core part number GMT5). It's for S10 T5s, but fits Camaro T5s if installed "straight up". See below for a few photos.
I now have most things ready to go. Both axles are installed, as well as the pinion yoke (with new seals everywhere). The clutch is adjusted, timing set, carb idle tweaked, and brakes bled. I also tidied up the engine compartment a bit. I'm just waiting for the driveshaft and I'll be hitting the road!
Finally! The driveshaft is done. It's a 1-piece shaft that replaces the stock 2-piece unit. The car had a 1-piece shaft in it when I bought it, but it didn't fit once I replaced the rear end. Since I was replacing it anyway, I tapped into my profession (driveshaft engineer) and had a CVJ-style shaft made. It's got two 8-ball CVJs, and the front CVJ was modified with the stock slip yoke, and the rear joint bolts to a modified pinion flange. Should have this installed in the next couple of days, CAN'T WAIT!
First drive tonight. :grin: The Bad: It has no gauges and the fuel gauge and dash lights don't work, the brakes have some pulsation when slowing from higher speeds, the clutch release is at the very top of the pedal (and it makes a little over-travel noise when depressed to the floor), the turn signal cancel cam doesn't work, and the steering wheel is a little off-center. The Good: The aftermarket seats are awesome, the clutch feel and smoothness are surprisingly good (a minor miracle considering the mismatched components!), the T5 shift points feel like it was factory-engineered (and only 2200rpm @ 70mph), the engine was smooth after a rather lengthy warm-up, lights, brake lights, and turn signals work, and it turned every head that I passed. Overall, a very good shakedown run! If I put a travel downstop on the clutch pedal, have the drums turned, add oil pressure and water temp gauges, fix the fuel gauge, and put some seatbelts in it, I'll have no problem driving this thing anywhere.
Really liking that body style, I bet everyone has to take a couple looks. Not something you see around very often. Great color choice and good job on the tranny work!
Tim, I'm not sure what the seats are out of, they were in the car when I got it. I remounted them more rigidly and fabbed some lowered brackets, but the seats and sliders were already there. I have a feeling they may be out of a Jeep of some kind, because the framing under the seats is offset towards the outside of the car, meaning they likely come from a narrow body with limited trans tunnel clearance. As far as the paint, the color is nice, but the quality leaves lots to be desired. It shows OK until you really examine it up close. The remainder of 2013 will concentrate on getting it running safely and comfortably. Next year, I'll start doing some of the things to make it mine. This will include things like stance (lower about 2 inches), wheels & tires (I'm leaning towards 15" Weld Rodlites), front discs, some floor and transmission tunnel reconstruction, rocker and minor wheel well bodywork, and a thorough cleaning/detailing of the engine compartment. Thanks for the comments guys -
Replaced the cheapo $35 Grant steering wheel a couple of days ago with an original wheel that was dug out of a box of parts that came with the car. I must say, I like this one much better! Also, I was able to troubleshoot and fix the inoperable fuel gauge. It basically amounted to improving the grounds at both the sender and the gauge itself. After running out of gas this week, the urgency certainly increased.
Well, it's been a while since I've added any updates. The next order of business is to make the interior more livable. A previous owner had done some floor "repairs" that were, frankly, crappy. The trans/driveshaft tunnel was ENORMOUS, and some sheetmetal repairs included brazing metal over existing rust, then using Duraglass around the edges. The stock center x-member was replaced by a huge hump, and the tunnel was pieced around it. After removing the center area, I've started piecing in new metal under the rear seat and added a much smaller center support, with a built-in loop. Still more to add to that center support, however. http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu70/Tim_D_63wagon/1962 Buick Skylark/IMG_0225_zpse60193ae.jpg http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu70/Tim_D_63wagon/1962 Buick Skylark/IMG_0231_zps7957ac12.jpg http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu70/Tim_D_63wagon/1962 Buick Skylark/IMG_0251_zps0f69accd.jpg
So let me get this straight you can convert a 4speed to a 5 speed and just modify the cross member and a different clutch?
