Buick Skylark/Special Forum - '61, '62, and '63
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New here - About me and my car

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Post by priariecanary Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:53 pm

Hello all,
I just joined here. A little about me and my Skylark: I own several old Buicks and bought a '62 Skylark a couple of years ago. It was a one owner car. I talked to the old guy that bought it new in late 1962 when I picked it up. He lived in California at the time and he ordered it at the end of the model year. It was one of the last '62 models built at the Southgate California plant before they switched to '63s. He ordered it with a 4-speed, power top, and electric windows. He was a pilot for Pan Am and the car still has a Pan Am sticker on the backside of the rear view mirror.

The car was driven and well cared for for many years and then put into storage for probably the last 10 years in Florida before I got it. Its a 10 footer for sure. The body is rust free but has a pretty lousy repaint in the original color covering several dings and dents. The chrome is pitted from being in Florida. It's fairly original with a few exceptions - the previous owner let a high school shop class swap out the original carburetor for an Edelbrock carb, and it has a Hurst shifter. Upholstery is original but the carpet has been replaced somewhere along the line with some red fuzzy stuff that looks like it belongs on a stuffed animal.

I am kind of a fanatic for originality so I have been collecting parts to take it back to stock. I found an original, correct 4-speed 4GC carburetor from a place in California. I bought a nice stock shifter assembly and NOS shift boot off of EBay recently. I bought a brand new, never-installed white convertible top off a guy in Kansas City along with a giant pile of trim parts left over from his restoration project. I also found an original air cleaner assembly and figured out how to paint it Argent Silver with wrinkle paint as they were back in '62. I bought a set of 15 inch stock steel wheels from Woody in Rochester, MN a while back. He had removed one of the flanges on the wheels to try and clear the calipers on the scarebird brakes on his car. So I had a guy I work with blacksmith up a piece of sheet metal and weld it into place and the wheels are good as new. I had them powdercoated black. My car also came with an extra set of hubcaps and I was surprised to find they fit the 15 inch wheels so the original owner must have had 15's but let them go at some point. The original 14 inch wheels just look too small on these cars.

I plan on having the car painted at some point and will go through the interior and engine. It's very easy to over-invest in these cars as they have kind of limited appeal for many people so I will do as much of the work myself as I can to save $$. The styling of the 61-63 Special/Skylark puts some people off but my car has an aluminum V8, 4-speed, and the top folds down. What's not to like about that!

I will post some pics of the car after the 7 day probationary period for new members.
priariecanary
priariecanary

Posts : 6
Join date : 2015-01-28
Age : 60
Location : Switzerland/Minnesota

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Post by Bill Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:35 pm

Welcome aboard!! I did not realize there was a 7 day probationary period. I will try to figure out how to get that removed (this is my first shot at a forum board). What other Buicks do you have? I have had a '68 no post 4 door LeSabre and a '66 4 door LeSabre. Those are what got me into Buicks and I love them. I would love to figure out how you did the air cleaner, as mine has some rust popping up and needs to be repainted. That would be a great tech topic if you would not mind posting that someday. Thanks for signing up and I look forward to hearing from you!
Bill
Bill
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Posts : 292
Join date : 2014-12-22
Age : 44
Location : Northern Illinois

https://skylark616263.forumotion.com

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Post by Bill Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:41 pm

I think I fixed the posting options. Go ahead and try to post and let me know if you have any issues. Sorry!
Bill
Bill
Admin

Posts : 292
Join date : 2014-12-22
Age : 44
Location : Northern Illinois

https://skylark616263.forumotion.com

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Post by priariecanary Thu Jan 29, 2015 11:17 pm

Bill wrote:I think I fixed the posting options. Go ahead and try to post and let me know if you have any issues. Sorry!

OK here goes - Pictures of the '62 are here:Photobucket

Most of the pictures are from the day I bought the car in Florida and put it into storage until I could bring it home.

If you poke around in Photobucket you will see pictures of my other Buicks. I also have a 1967 GS400 convertible, 1961 LeSabre bubbletop. and a 1970 GS455 Stage 1. The '70 is a numbers matching Stage 1 basket case I bought from a guy on Craigslist. The pictures are also from the day I bought it in Massachusetts. That car is currently in pieces and is being restored and should be done sometime in 2016.

Woody - sorry about the Rochester/Mankato thing. I meant Mankato. I should know that, I drove there! Embarassed
priariecanary
priariecanary

Posts : 6
Join date : 2015-01-28
Age : 60
Location : Switzerland/Minnesota

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