Interesting notes from a true 25k mile survivor '72 Buick

I didn't know where I should post this but it is mostly engine related so I chose "chassis restoration".

As I mentioned in several other posts already, I recently purchased a '72 Skylark from the original family with only 25k miles. Most of those miles have been in the last 5 years since it had under 10k in 1999.

Well each time I look at the car I notice something new or unusal. I will post a few of them here. If you guys are interested I will post more.

This car is like a rolling musuem in many ways. The car does have surface rust in some areas, especially the undercarriage since it was from the Chicago area. It wasn't driven much over the years Chicago can be tough on a car even if it has low mileage and was kept in a garage.

This is a tag that is tied to the PCV valve on the back of the intake. It was on the engine when it was painted. I haven't removed it yet, but will soon. this side is blank except for what is written in magic marker.

 

Other side of the tag

Other side.

has many boxes with different words: Zone, Torque, Air Mot., etc

The other side says "233 1972" and i think it is because the car is such a late production that they marked it so it would go into a '72 and not a '73. The body tag says 07A so it was a late production car.

 

Radiator Hose

The car has the original hoses on it.

Note that it says "Radiator ->" and also has a Goodyear logo on it and the XA code.

 

Markings

It has an X in this area above the hood hinges on both sides. We have another '72 that has very similar marks in the same location but they are white and these appear to be a different color. Also note that the hood hinges still have most the phosphate plating on them still visible.

 

Throttle bracket

I know this is just a 350 and not a 455 but the throttle cable bracket is unpainted and was obviously added after the engine was painted. You can also see the tag hanging on the PCV valve.

 

Hey Gary,

Did you buy that 4-door skylark off ebay? Was it the one located in the Chicago suburbs? I talked to that guy a couple of times and was real intriqued by the low mileage and unmolested condition, but just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on the deal. It looks like you got yourself a real original car and it was a pretty good price too. Cool. Good luck.

 

Yes that's the same car. I think he lived in the Oak Lawn area. Bad part was that we flew to Midway and drove it home (560 miles) and the car only went about 60 miles and broke down, original water pump spit out the front seal/bearing and left us searching for a pump in Chebanse IL on a Sunday.

 

Gary,
Just wondering if the fuel pump has red paint on it. I recently bought a '72 350 that appears to be unmolested and in good condition( about 78,000 mi.). I was surprised to see red paint flaking off what appears to be the original fuel pump. It looks like original paint, and most of it is gone. I always thought the fuel pumps weren't painted, so I'm kinda curious about this.

 

Yes a painted fuel pump

Darrenkp,
Yes, the fuel pump is definitely painted red!

It was installed before the engine was painted. Many people will probably speak up and say this isn't true, and maybe it isn't true for all years, but it is true for some '72s! I think I might even have some factory photos that show this to be true, I'll look and see.

 

Also a painted distributor

darrenkp,
The distributor was also installed before the engine was painted, complete with vacuum advance, vacuum hose, and wire that goes to the coil. As you can see the car has recently had the distributor cap and wires replaced, and we replaced the water pump on the way home the day we purchased the car since the original blew out on I-57 after 1 hour on the interstate (and we were still 400+ miles from home). However, the car has never had ANY of the rubber hoses replaced.

Note that the bypass hose and its clamps were installed BEFORE the engine was painted. It doesn't look pretty but it's correct!

 

Boy Gary,

That coil wire looks pretty shredded too!

 

Factory photo, painted fuel pump

This is a 1972 factory photo, fuel pump looks painted to me!

 

factory photo

Another factory photo from 1972, note that you can see the distributor installed on the engine on the left, and the engine is obviously unpainted since the timing cover is still aluminum colored.

 

I will replaced everything under the hood before I begin driving it, I didn't enjoy breaking down the first day I owned the car. I will do a full inspection of the entire car, change all fluids, replace everything rubber on the cooling and fuel system, etc before I drive it on a trip longer than 2 miles.

 

Gary, interesting that the thermostat cover has the studs used with GS's (to hold the air cleaner bracket)...also, any other fatory photos you would care to share, or high rez versions??/ WOW!!

Thanks for sharing.

later
Tim

 

Gary

What color are the bolts on top of the Saginaw steering box. The ones on our 70 have a gold color plate with the letter "N" in the center. The debate is whether they ever had a black oxide coating on top of that plate which has disappeared just leaving the gold.

 

flynbuick,
I'll check on the steering box bolts and post a photo if there is anything note worthy. Much of the suspension on this car is already covered in surface rust, but maybe the steering box will be able to give us some information.

TimR,
I have probably only looked at the car for a total of only 30 minutes since I got it 2 weeks ago and didn't even notice the T-stat housing bolts, interesting. The car is truly a time capsule.

I have 18 of the factory 1972 Buick photos, but that is the max resolution that I have... If you think you or others would like them I could post some in a seperate thread in "the paper trail", what do you think?

 

Absolutely Gary, please post them!! Those pictures are fascinating for me, at least....nea o see our machines being assembled....I have never seen pictures like that of our Buicks...

Thanks
Tim

 

Trunk

The trunk is almost like new except for a few stains on the fiber mat. The jack and spare tire have never been used, I'll attach some of them next.

 

Spare tire

The tire is a Uniroyal. The rim is WAY more glossy than I would have ever thought, It has some really slick black paint on the front side.