The Grinch! Sleeper Project/Restoration Reject

Hello Everyone.
My name is Fred and i am a long time car nut. My background was in high end auto restoration and owned my own shop until 2005. Anyhow i was looking for something different, something i didnt want to have to do bodywork on yet again and something i could play with by stuffing a little 5.3 LS and a large single turbo into that wouldnt draw attention or that the attention it drew would be more dismissive than appreciative. I found this Skylark that was dragged out of a local junk yard and thought it just might fit the bill. Paid a little more than i would have normally for a car in this condition ($1200) but it had the look i wanted and i wasnt going to have to stick a bunch of money into the paint and body work and i am going to try and keep it somewhat budget friendly mechanically as well. Floor pans are surprisingly rust free, just one 2"x4" spot on the passenger front floor but the somewhat bad news is that it had been moved around the junk yard a few times over the years with a forklift creating 6-8 upwards dents in the floor pan because the forks were to short to span across both frame rails. They will be easy enough to beat back down into place good enough for my intended purpose with the car. The frame is rot free and no scaling on it. Trunk pan is another story, swiss cheese. The damage on the drivers side quarter panel compromised the trunk seal so water has been getting into it all the years (20 maybe?) that it has sat in the junk yard. But the good news about the trunk is that it contained the original door panels, arms rests, instrument cluster, radio and windshield trim. It also has a couple rust holes under the windshield trim on the drivers side. I plan to replace the trunk pan, patch the small hole in the passenger floorboard and repair the holes under the windshield trim and that is all of the bodywork that will be done to the car. The rest will remain as is. The interior I will give a scrubbing but I do not plan to replace anything, just reinstall the door panels armrests instrument cluster etc. I might just leave the torn up seats as is or maybe add some duct tape to the tears, still to be determined. I will get rid of the pontiac rally wheels and find some plane jane 15" steels with full face hubcaps. I hope to find wider aftermarket rear wheels or have some widened to accommodate as much tire as possible. The rest of the decisions mechanically are still up in the air. I have a bit of research to do on A body suspension setups since early 2nd gen f body's have always been my personal choice of performance platform since i was a teenager. Hope you guys appreciate what i am trying to accomplish with this car rather than restoring it. Thanks

 

Sounds like a great project. Sounds like it should be a good 10 second car that'll catch everyone that goes up against it by surprise. As for the seats, don't duct tape them......get a granny blanket. That'll really complete the look.

As for the suspension, there are a lot of great options out there like Hotchkis that'll really make a a-body hook up. And don't forget airbags in the rear springs so you can pre-load the passenger side.

 

Hey there...congrats on the Grinch...If it has a 350 in it why not go ahead, and throw the turbo on that? Low budget and gobs of torque and yes it will surprise quite a few folks when you tell them it's a Buick.


Scott

 

Yes it does have a 350 (condition unknown) but for my purpose a little 5.3 will build big power reliably for little money. Around hear i can buy running long blocks all day long for $250-$350. If i blow one up i can just spend an afternoon swapping in another one.

 

That's a good point we're not going to have a counter argument for. I'm glad you were able to save the Skylark from death and keeping it green while adding some mean! Love the painted roof too.