I guess I'll throw a picture of mine up here. Maybe I'll win <b>"The Ugliest Buick"</b> award or something. :laugh: I'm just getting started on it. It's a 1967 Skylark Conv. I also have a 67 Skylark 2 door that I've tubbed and caged that I am still working on. I've had it since 1989. And I have my daily driver which is a 67 Skylark 2 door coupe. 300 2bbl. <img src="http://home.woh.rr.com/rnmssite/67convengine2.jpg">
So far I've got the "old one" A 64 Wildcat convertible that does not have the power of the GS but it does move. I bought the car junkyard ready 2 years ago and got it on the road last May. It is # matching with a freshly rebuilt 401. Plenty on new metal where the holes use to be, although it wasn't too bad after sitting in a garage since '86. I put 2.5" dual exhaust on it, Silver metallic paint and will be adding 5 spoke rims to it this summer to give it a mild rodding look.
The photo I attached was prior to the top being put on. In October I had a black one put on with a glass window. The glass is not an origianl item but, I had glass in a 72 LTD vert and I feel that it is the way to go with a convertible. Top is so nice, I am afraid to drop it as it had been in my garage for the winter since I had it put on. Spring is almost here and I don't believe in driving a convertible with the top up, so I better get use to creasing the new canvas.
I just had a new top installed on mine this week...and spent my life savings on it. See story: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14465 Here is a pic of it in the garage I snapped tonight for someone else to see....but here goes........................
Yeah, I know the feeling, my top was expensive too. You'r car looks great with it though. Here's a qustion for you. Do Buicks leak? I had a Ford vert before my Buick and the car was tight as a drum. My son had a 67 Impala vert and that baby leaked on sunny days, even after putting new rubber on it. I have yet to test the Buick design, I'm hoping it is as water tight as my Ford was.
I just bought ALL new weatherstripping for it so I'll see how weather tight it is. I think most of it has to do with how you adjust everything. If the windows aren't adjusted properly, you'll always have leaks.
Well, I'm still working on final adjustments. Guess I'll find out soon enough. Nice talking with you, I gotta hit the rack for an early day. Happy motoring.
70 leaks my 70 leaks a lil bit. it is a small drip thru if it sits (very minor) if im cruzin i get some coming in from above the windshield (i've tried tightening it down and it still leaks a lil) I think someone sat on it while it was down. I also have a problem in freezing weather. ice gets up under the lip on mine and lifts the top up. then i get more ice/show coming and landing on my face.
Hi Nate, I am sure you get alot of ice and rain in you'r area during these months. I was fooling around with my top today and once I get my windows adjusted properly I won't be afraid of driving the car during poor weather. I pretty much left it in the garage over the winter because I've only had the new paint and top for about 6 months so I haven't hit the road in full out bad weather. Except of course the time in September when I swore it wouldn't rain while I was driving without at top at all. I ended up driving in a torrant of rain for about 10 miles until I made it home. Funny thing about that, if you drive fast and duck low, you hardly get wet if the rain is flowing the right way!
65 ragtop Mine is a 64 Skylark, 4spd, 300 4v. Made in Fremont and spent its life in California. I moved it to Texas and am restoring it. Karl Eltzroth
1971 LeSabre Custom If you notice I failed to put the stainless trim on the decklid and the rear quarter extension. Im sending this out for chrome and the stainless has just been polished. All that is left is the top and a radio. Ivan Gomez
Those LeSabres are handsome cars. Not too often I see one, Ivan, very nice. This is my '70 Skylark Custom convertible, in disguise as a GS455. I've had it since '89, when I bought it from the 3rd (I think) owner, who lived about four blocks from me, and I'd never noticed the car. I was 17. It was Fire red at the time, with a black top. Since then, it's been wrecked three time. Once, my fault and I wiped out the front end. Once I hit some black ice at about 20 mph and hit a tree, and once a van blew a stop sign at 40 mph and hit me right behind the driver's door, hard enough to buckle both rear quarters. I was knocked out, but I did drive the car home. As long as I hit my head I'm ok:laugh: But I found out it was a good solid car, in spite of the rust! Since then I've put in that 455 and taken it out about a dozen times. Finally I got serious and did it right, detailed it, had it balanced and blueprinted as near as possible to factory spec, but with a 0.030" overbore, since two pistons were cracked and scratched the cylinder walls. I spent many, many hours attempting to build the engine right, and was rewarded with a sweet idle the first time I turned the key. **WHEW**. It's got ~ 9.8:1 compression, HEI, Edelbrock intake, TA headers, Edelbrock Performer 800 carb, GS ram air, TA RV12 cam, double roller chain, and some other standard upgrade stuff in the engine. I've replaced the top twice (once in the rain, lol), done almost all the body work, replaced the front end, wired rewired, or pulled out every wiring harness to check for breaks with the exception of the rear harness, put in a 12 bolt Chevy posi with 3.31:1 gears, had a built TH350 put in it, put in bucket seats, and used it to haul X-mas presents home from the mall with the top down:TU:
hmm... I forgot you replaced your top.. its not to hard is it? something that can be done on a weekend? that would save me TONS of cash. Nate
Did the 455 drop right into the Skylark? And if so, did you have sufficient room to work with headers etc.........
Nate- last time I did it, it was about 8 hours, I was the only one working on it. You can do it yourself, but you'll want someone who knows what to do with you. The bar that holds the back of the roof and rear window in place can be hard to work with, or even get in and out. Unbolting it is easy- but it fits so tightly under there, it's a real pain in the:moonu: . You can damage the paint easily. The roof is held in place with staples, by the way- Weird but true. Maybe I should put this pic in a new thread, but here's a very small example of what to look out for/what not to do: The wrinkle on top of the passenger side, on the back window- I thnk this is due to the way the hydraulic ram on that side lowers the roof. Not sure, but that's my best guess- it's either quicker or slower than the other side, so that kinda lines up the roof and window a bit wrong, and you get the wrinkle. The window curtain wrinkles- I just didn't think things through well enough, the top's tight and flush, but the window curtain isn't as good. Next time, I'll get that right. The rear window is heavy, and is seperate from the roof. First time I did it, there was a big sag in the part I circled. This time, I stapled the window in place with the roof on it's way down slightly. I think I put a coffee can on top of the windsheild, and rested the header bow (the front of the roof) on the can for support. this made the rear bow- where the welting is (the part at the back that goes from one side to the other, with the chrome caps) lower than it should be. I stapled in the window, and when I took out the coffee can and l raised the roof all the way and locked it, the window was taut. Crude, but it worked. The wrinkles on the passenger side, by the rear 1/4 glass, can be fixed without removing the roof, I think. I'm almost postive if I was to pull it tighter by hand, put some 3M adhesive in there, and put back on the weatherstripping on the roof, the wrinkles would go away. They weren't there when I first put on the roof.
