I went to start my Skylark up today, in storage. I've had her for a while now, since July 31st, 1989. She was Fire Red at the time, and in barely respectable shape, with a lot of chrome missing, an engine that turned out to need so much work I replaced it with a Riviera's 455 3 years later (a whole other story), and in need of body work badly. Nice interior though. When I was 2 or 3, my Dad got rid of his '65 Mustang convertible. He gleefully tells other vintage Mustang owners he loved the car...but it was a POS:grin: Three manual trannies replaced was 3 too many for the old man and he got rid of it. But I distinctly recalled sitting in that green convertible at only 2 or 3. When I graduated high school, I was on the lookout for a muscle car. I wanted a '67 mustang. I looked at many, and even put a 50 dollar down payment on one. But my Dad made me drive by a house just 4 or 5 blocks from ours with an old Buick convertible for sale in it's driveway. I hadn't really considered a convertible, but I went anyway...and I knew I wanted this car. Sure, I "thought" I knew about muscle cars but I never saw a Skylark convertible before then and knew what it was. I had been in awe of a '70 Torino GT convertible (triple black) that I passed every day on my way to school, but hey, I figured I was a Ford man, I don't need to know any other car. Still would like that Torino though. I'd put my 462 in it.:grin: When I saw that soon-to-be-mine Buick for the first time, it was just perfect. Not in actuality of course, but I mean it was such a good looking car from all angles. I test drove it Friday, forked over 2850 bucks on Saturday. It needed a LOT. An unfortunate accident soon after I bought it lead to a happy ending- I had to learn about cars and Buicks in particular to fix it. "Tank" is not often a word we like to describe our cars, and my '70 certainly doesn't look like it could crush other cars, but after being wrecked 3 times ( the first time was my fault) I have got to say it's solid automobile to say the least. Two vehicles have had the misfortune to come into contact with my Buick, one in a T-bone to my driver's rear quarter, and both those vans(!) went to the junkyard, while I drove away with barely a scratch on my person. that tough old car just needs the frame popped back out and you're back on the road. So I was nearly a Ford guy when I discovered Buicks. How'd you get your first one?
I'd been looking to buy an American car for a long time, but kept giving up as everything I saw was either stockbroker money or full of rust and bondo. eventually, I came acorss an ad for a "1966 Buick LeSabre Wildcat" in the local Autotrader, priced right at 1750 (about $2500 US) so I went and had a look. Well, it was scruffy, but it was sound, no rust, nice car and I had to have it. I had a picture book when I was a kid with a '65 Wildcat in it and I wanted one since. Well, this was a '66 LeSabre 4 door not a '65 Wildcat Coupe, but in this country you can't be picky. We did a deal at 1400 which meant I had to borrow 250 off my girlfriend (now my wife) to amke the deal, but I still have the car and its nearly almost finished!
Good topic Chris! Well it wasn't that long ago when I was looking for my first car - 1997 when I turned 16. I had been eyeing my neighbor's 72 Olds Cutlass convertible (triple black) that I had a big hand in restoring, so it had a LOT of sentimental value. But when he told me of the $4000 (not that much) price tag, I quickly fell back and sighed in disappointment. A buddy of mine invited me and a couple friends to Six Flags one day, and he drove his grandmother's ex-car to the park. It was a 1971 Buick LeSabre - BIG CAR!!! I immediately asked him if it was for sale - and he said he would ask his parents. A couple days later, they came to a conclusion on a price for me. They had it appraised at $2100, but they would sell it to me for $1500. I quickly started bugging my dad about it, but he didn't have the money to do it. After 3 months of bugging the hell out of him, he finally broke down and asked grandma! Luckily, she came through and sent a check the next day On November 4th, 1997, I had a car I could call my own....and it was the coolest car ever. I was so happy, it made the rest of my crappy Junior year in high school that much better. 5 years later, after countless hours of blood, sweat and tears, I bit the bullet and decided to sell her:ball: :ball: My next car was coming (you know what that is) and I needed the room....and the money. As I watched my LeSabre drive away for the last time, I wanted to run after him and buy it back. I had a chance to buy it back a couple months ago, but I decided the rust (rear window and wheel wells) was too bad for me to take it back. It also needed some engine work - since I beat the snot out of it when I was driving it to and from school and all over hell's half acre. So here I am, with my second car (officially):laugh: and both of them have been 71 Buicks!!!!!!! I think my next one will be a 71 GS....oh yeah. I';ll keep the Centurion this time though. It's just too cool to sell. Unless the right buyer comes around.:Brow: I'd have to sell it for so much more than market value, I'd be lucky to get a call on it. This is my LeSabre new in 1971 -
I too was a Ford "man" at 14 years old. I was just SURE my first car would be a 67 Mustang. I even had subscriptions to 3 Ford magazines at 15 years old. When I finally turned 16, we were looking for my Mustang. There was a 69? "Sportroof" across town for like $600. We went to check it out. It was a real POS, and needed everything. But right across the street was this "big old gramma car". It caught my dads eye, and he wanted me to look at it. It was a 67 Skylark. 300-2V. Single exhaust, bench seat, fender skrits, hubcaps and all. I didn't like it. But he talked me into taking it for a spin. Afterall, they were only asking $400 for it. :gt: I took it around the block, and instantly fell in love with it. We bought it, and the fender skirts came off that same day. Some mag wheels came shortly after...... ... and the rest is history. :laugh: 15 years later....I still have that very car! $400 wouldn't buy you the back tires off it though. :laugh: (it's my tubbed project)
My first Buick... well, I got run over by a full size Chevy Van, and I was driving a CRX.... I lost. I then purchased a 76 4dr Electra... not afraid anymore.... -Jon
My dad had a new 65 Skylark and it got totaled about a month after he got it. He then purchased a 65 Wildcat and had that car for some time until mid seventies. I just remembered riding in that big car and loved it. I remember taking a trip from Tex to California in that Car and the way it just ate up the miles. As i got older I always liked the musclecars of all types except Chevy. My brother in law was the biggest influence on me. I was just a junior high kid and he was dating my sister and he had a black 67 dodge polaris with don't realy remember what he had in it but he drove it like a maniac. At that time i was kind of leaning toward being a Mopar fan. Then his dad convinced him to get something newer and took him to this friend of his who had a 72 Skylark 350 4 for sale. He bought that car and did the typical 1976 thing like putting air shocks flipped the air cleaner etc.. Man I just loved that car. Well in 1981 my dad bought that car for me as long as I got a job. I went to work at Wendy's and the Car was mine. Had so many great times in that Car. I wish I still had it. I sold it back to my brother in law to by my first GS. It was totaled a few years later when some drunk rear ended him.
It was 1986, I think I was still 19, attending junior college and working in a grocery store. I was driving by this car lot late one night and saw a black 70 GS 455 sitting on the lot. All black with a black bucket seat interior, Man was it cool! I had always been a musclecar fan, and read all the magazines on my lunch break at work, so I was familiar with the GS'. I remember I had a 78 Monte Carlo (first year of the "short" body style) with a mild 350 and Nitrous oxide, a real sleeper. I went to the car lot the next day, and one test drive was all it took, I was sold! It was just my buddy and I on the test drive, as the lot was checking out my trade in. I turned a corner and punched it and must have laid rubber for what seemed like a football field. My Monte was no slouch, but it didn't have that kind of torque! I think the asking price on the car was around $3k+. I traded in the Monte and made 6 easy payments of $100 and it was mine. Of course I got took, since they later sold my Monte for $4k, but I didn't care, I had the Buick. Since then, I have always had at least 1 Buick (at one time 3). I finally sold that one to buy my first house in 1996 ( I also had a 64 convertible at the time), and have wanted another 70 ever since. Well, now I finally found one, so know I am on my second 70 GS!
I came across my first Buick one day when my dad and I were driving in the north Seattle area. I had already been contemplating what I wanted for a first car. I was *supposed* to get a 71 Chevelle SS396 (402) that my dad had bought. He had a chance to turn a decent profit on it, so he sold it instead (at least that's the story I get). After not getting the Chevelle, I had seen how the Buicks had a similar body style, but there was something "unique" between them and the Chevelles. I liked the 1967's. So back to the trip in north Seattle... We drove down the road and I saw what I thought was a 67 sitting in an abandoned old grocery store lot with a for sale sign. So we pulled in and checked it out. Dad called and we met the old gentlemen owner and bought it for $650. It turned out it was a 66, not a 67. That was fine by me and it's still one of my favorite years. That was the spring of 1986. We ended up selling it to a friend's mom and it became his first car (Christmas present 1986). That happened after we had found a 72 GS350 for me. I did drive my mom's 62 Skylark convert 215, 4 spd my first summer driving though (1985). No complaints from me!!! :TU:
I was a Ford guy as well...once i got into an accident with my '68mustang i stayed away from classic's for about 3years until i got marry. Then my wife found me a '65 skylark in the reclycer and i love it so i bought it for $2300. I wasnt looking for a Buick specifically, i was just looking for a classic..Period! As long as it wasnt a "ricer"...i would consider it. But as soon as i laid eyes on her...i knew she was the one. :grin:
In 2001, my dad decided that he wanted to sell the '72 Eldorado convertible that his dad left him when he died. He wanted a muscle car. The second requirement was that it had to have over 300hp. Another one was that it couldnt need very much work because we knew nothing about cars. (still dont) The next requirement was a convertible, but if he found the right car, it didnt have to be convertible. We went to ebay and started looking at everything, and i mean EVERYTHING!. After a few months we refined it again to GM or Mopar. Then my uncle (a chevy guy) informed us how expensive parts and the vehicles themselves were in the Mopar camp. So we decided it needed to be GM. After narrowly missing some sweet big block firebird convertibles on ebay, we decided it should be an A-body, in the $6-15K range. Naturally, we looked at chevelles til we were blue in the face and decided that a strong, rust free, mechanically sound chevelle was waaay too much. We looked at GTO's and Cutty's and of course, the Buicks. In February of 2002, we saw what we wanted on ebay. A 1971 GS 455 convertible clone.(the chris says, the real things are pricey!) We contacted the guy after he didnt sell the car and told him we wanted it if we could sell our Caddy. Well be bought it thinking it had an awesome combo that should be worth 12's. We took it to the track recently and discovered that it runs like a mildly rebuilt 455 with no performance parts :af: So we're getting it repainted this winter and it will be our cruiser. We've got huge plans for another big block car (a screamer:grin: ) Oh BTW, we got the WE-4 cuz i'd heard about how quick they could be so cheaply and HAD to have one! Josh
My turn I've always been a musclecar fan. I still have my issues of Car Craft and PHR from 1986-88 when I was 8 to 10. That was the only thing I would ask Santa for every year, a new subscription. My father was the one who told me we were going to restore a car when I was 14 so I could drive it when I got my license but that never materialized as my folks split and he passed away later. But his first car was a 66 Wildcat with a 4 speed. and later a 66 Nova SS (my ride home as a newborn). His enthusiasm fueled mine and I absorbed as much as I could as a kid with a goal of a 70 Chevelle. But as I said he passed and I got into high school and turned to sports and beer and left the cars behind. But when I graduated college, my fathers twin brother flew in from California to attend my graduation. At the end of my party after everyone had left, he handed me a card and asked me to open it. Inside was a picture of his 70 Skylark with the words"It's yours come and get it" I lost it. I got the car free and clear. I waited two weeks flew out to California, stayed a week and drove the car back to Massachusetts, 3000 miles in 4 days. There is nothing like Wyoming at 75 mph , 90 degrees with all four windows dowm and the vents open. In fact the car sucked so much gas, the credit card company shut the card down because they thought the card was stolen. The car was painted once in 89 or 90 and was a daily driver in California for 30 years until I brought it back to Mass where it's a daily driver from April to October. I estimate there is 160000 on the chassis. BUt there are no dings' or dents so it's relegated to the back of any parking lot. Like most of us on here, the car has become an obsession, not because it's a classic or musclecar but because it is a Buick. My Buick has rekindled that lost love of musclecars and given me a healthy hobby even if everyone around me if sick of listening to my babble (thats what you guys are for ). Chris - Beautiful Convert. and great thread! Let me know next time you get out to W Boylston maybe we could hook up Paul
Fun topic! Cool to read all of the stories. I'll admit that I had been looking around for a '66 or '67 Chevelle or LeMans. But I soon realized that they were all way out of my price range and usually messed up in some way. Never really considered the Skylark. Maybe it's because my only view of Buicks at the time was the late model yawn-machines. Anyways, I went to one of the weekly Bob's Big Boys restaurant car nights and saw the Lark sitting there with a for sale sign on it-- I knew right then that I had to buy it. Looked pretty damn good with the Ralleys on it. Had some dents and the paint looked horrible but the price was right. Called the guy and bought it the next day.
The moment I had to have one The moment I saw a Grand National storm out of a Chicagoland tollbooth, I was hooked. Had not seen a car since the muscle cars days that could do that. Driving with the accelerator on the mat in my 1979 V8 powered car, the GN swooshed by me like I was standing still. That was the summer of 1988 and in the fall of 1989, I purchased my GN from a buddy at work. Over 75,000 miles ago with no regrets.
I've always been a GM guy and have bought and sold too many over the years. Got married in 1985 and money was pretty tight for a few years ( still is ) so was without for too long. Had a 68 Firebird I sold around 1990 and then nothing for a while. I started looking for a project again but couldn't find anything affordable. One day I was going over to my mothers house and took a different route than I usually do. On a side street near her house I noticed the rear end of some kind of car sitting way up near a house, kind of hidden between some bushes. I didn't know then what it was but made a point of looking closer the next few visits. I still couldn't figure out exactly what it was but I did know it was a 60's GM 2 door and had obviously been sitting for a while as the plates had expired the previous year. After about 6 months of this my wife finally told me to stop and talk to the owner. So....... He was a friend of my parents and knew who I was but wasn't really interested in selling. He was 76 years old and had not driven for a while because of some knee surgery and also mentioned that his daughter might want the car when he stopped driving. I had a nice visit with him and asked if I could check back with him from time to time. He said that wasn't a problem but also told me there had been other people stopping and asking the same questions. I made a few visits over the next couple of years but other than leaving my phone number with him we didn't get into too many details. One visit he asked me what I thought the car might be worth. I told him anywhere from $500 to $2500 but I wasn't sure. Finally one night I got the call. He said he decided that he wasn't going to drive anymore and did I still want the car. Then he said $500 was what he wanted for it. Guess where I was the nexxt night in a snowstorm? No wiper blades on the car, hadn't been run in a year, I even had to replace a rotted out fuel hose before I left, then drove home a couple of miles with my head out the window to see. I think I got the car, and paid next to nothing for it, because by then he knew me and also knew the car would go to a good home. That was in the spring of 1998 and I don't see this car ever being sold again.
When I read these posts , it makes me realize just how old I am. My first car was a 1931 Buick ,that I bought in pieces and hauled home. The engine was disassembled ,and in the back seat. I was 15 ,and I put it back together( only one rod went out ) I drove it with the rod rattling until I got a 37 Century. I put the 41 Buick compound carburetion on it ,and had one of the fastest cars in school in 1949. The only thing that could beat it was the Olds 88 with the new V8
My first Buick was a white with black racing stripes '65 Wildcat 2dr. I traded a '64 Cutlass F-85 2dr, 330, bucket seats, console, tach, posi for it.
First Buick I bought my first Buick in 1982 after selling my 1979 Ford F-150 pick up that I had bought new. I just couldn't stand the clunk in the rear end and the 302 with no guts! My brother and I went looking for a daily driver and found a 72 Skylark Custom hardtop with only 99,000 miles on it. Cinnamon with a white vinyl top with the strip of paint between the vinyl top and the side windows. Bought it for $1,000 even though it didn't run. Was out of gas. Hooked it up to my brothers wrecker and stopped on the way home and put gas in it and it fired right up. I was tickled to death! It was a different story when I got home. My wife and daughter hated it and refused to ride in it. Thought it was ugly. I drove that car for several years and sold to my younger brother who kept it for another year or so. Parts of that Skylark live on in my 72 Stage 1 that my brother brought back from Georgia in 1984. Approximately 15 GS's have followed the love affair with Buick's that that Skylark started. Chris, nice looking convertible! Larry PS. The wife and daughter have come to appreciate my Buicks.
My first Buick was my 87 GN. I was 19 when I bought it and after looking at Mustangs and F-bodies I decided I wanted something a little different than what my buddies had. They all told me I was crazy for buying that "black Regal" and that I was never gonna be able to catch them.:laugh:
I grew up around musclecars and racing. My uncles were all Chevy fanatics so naturally that was my passion. In 1982 I was 16 and had a '70 Chevelle SS 396 with a 427 L88 clone motor almost finished when I stopped to pick up Musclecar Review to read about a shootout between a Hemi....and a Buick. After reading about Richard Lassiter spanking the Hemi my interest in these Buicks piqued. Well I was telling my dad the very next day about the article and asked him if he knew anything about GS's when they were new. He proceeded to tell me that when they were shopping in '70 they drove right by the Buick dealer because Buicks were expensive. He did say that he remembered seeing some on the streets and had heard they ran OK. Well our conversation carried on and I told him that since reading the article I would someday like to own a Stage1 since they were obviously cool if they could beat a Hemi. As soon as I finished that sentence my dad goes, "I saw an ad in the paper for a GS yesterday." I about flipped. I asked if it said whether it was a Stage1 or not but my dad said he hadn't paid much attention to the ad since he wasn't looking for one. I told him to find the ad again NOW and lets call the guy. He sounded bored and said he would look into it tomorrow. Well, I let it stand at that. I could hardly get through school thinking about this car and daydreaming about the coolness of owning one of those rare Buicks......that could beat a Hemi. When I got home that night I asked my dad if he had called about the car. He said he called and talked to the guy's wife, who didn't know much, and gotten the address to make a quick drive by of the vehicle. I asked immediately what was written on the fender. My dad callously had forgotten to take note of it but said it was GS with something underneath. I asked if it said 455, "By Buick" or Stage1, he said he didn't know for sure but we could call the guy and go take a look. At this point I'm getting my hopes up, but not really believing it could be a Stage1, after all we only had 25,000 people in our town at the time. Probably a boring old 350 model or something I thought(keep in mind I'm 16 and a Chevy lover before you flame me for dissing a 70 GS 350. At the time the Stage1 was mystical for me......Still is to tell the truth)but we head over and my life changed when we pulled up to the driveway. There in front of me was the car that beat the Hemi in the magazine. A 1970 GS Stage1. Gold, white vinyl top with brown bucket seat interior. Considering the guy's $500 dollar asking price:jd: the car was in poor to fair shape. Needed a grille, front bumper and the tip of the hood fixed, exhaust, shocks, and something bigger than F78-14 tires. But still, it was a Stage1. I took it around the block and I was SOOOOOLLLLLLDDDDD. Ran a lot better than it looked. I get back and whisper to my old man to spot me the money til I sell the Chevelle ' cause I gotta have this car. He agrees, but since he sold cars at the time wants to do the deal. I reluctantly agree to this and my dad proceeds to act like he's not interested in the car for the money the guy is asking. "I'll give you $400 for it" he says. I'm about ready to kill my dad because I know this guy is gonna say no way and then my dad will be offended because this guy didn't take his fair offer and leave. Well the gods were with me because this guy was dumb. He had no idea about the car's history. He thought it was some old hot rod Buick that got crappy gas mileage. He agreed to the offer and I then remembered to breathe. I took her home that night and never looked back. I fixed her up and eventually even ran her against my 427 Chevelle. After that race my brand of choice was cemented because although she lost to me in the Chevelle, My ham handed friend who I let drive her(I didn't trust him with the Muncie in the Chevelle) still managed to stay within a couple car lengths. Too close for her being so stock.
I got mine my freshman year of college. Had a 74 Camaro with rusted frame and springs about break into the trunk. I wanted an old muscle car. I'd go home on the weekends and my dad and I went out all over the place looking for one. To this day, one of the memories fall evokes is that of looking at cars with my dad. We found a 70 Cutlass convertible that I liked, but we noticed some frame problems and bondo. Too bad, it was a nice looking car, and my dad believes everyone should own a convertible at some point in there life. So one day my dad calls me at school, says they found a 70 Buick Skylark. My uncle, a mechanic, checked it out and it was very solid, and the owner (not original) had documented every ball joint repair, oil change, etc. Even had the old radio in the trunk. My dad explained it was like the Cutlass - same basic platform. Not as "sporty," and some might call a Buick an "old person's car," but he explained that is just because it had more class. So I agreed, and he bought it for me. Picked it up on when visiting on Thanksgiving - my dad made me put down the top (it was 40*) crank the heater, and go for a ride with my younger brother. I was surprized how it moved and handled - and how the heater cranked. That car has a lot of memories, and has unfortunately slowly rotted away - but it still runs, is my only transportation, and will be fixed up one day.
