Pics Of Your Lowered 70-72 Skylarks

Discussion in 'Pro-Touring' started by haganlee, Oct 24, 2016.

  1. 70purplerag

    70purplerag Silver Level contributor

    Cranked down the front coil overs and changed the springs in the rear. 15" rims is what I like. Sits pretty nice now, we will see how she handles in the spring...
    buick.jpg
     
  2. cray1801

    cray1801 Too much is just right.

  3. Yanchik

    Yanchik Well-Known Member


    What size tires and wheels are those? And how much is it lowered?
     
  4. cray1801

    cray1801 Too much is just right.

    Lowered about 1 1/2" front and about 2" rear, sure seems like more when you walk up next to it or get out of it. I have a `09 Z06 and am use to pushing off door sill to get up, but now I'm doing it in the Skylark! :) The rims are 9"x 18" front with 255/40-19's and 10" x 18" rear with 285/40-18's. I had considered going with 19's in the rear but finally decided not to, they would have looked good too, but of course less traction for acceleration (with same OD tires) ;) 20180606_185645sc.jpg
    More details here:
    http://v8buick.com/index.php?threads/72-skylark-pro-touring-project.333737/
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2018
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  5. ilikebmx999

    ilikebmx999 Well-Known Member

    That looks great! I’d like to get mine that low but don’t want to ditch my LT’s if possible. I see you did. Did you go with continental tires? I can’t quite see in the pics. They were the only ones I could find the 285/40/18 tire which is what I bought for the rear of mine also. I went 255/40/18 up front

    Would you be willing to share your height measured maybe from the top of the wheel opening to the ground or to the center of the wheel? Just curious how it compares to where I am now.
     
  6. Yanchik

    Yanchik Well-Known Member


    That’s honestly an amazing stance. And I’m just wondering, do you think you have room to go 275/40/18 in front on a 9.5 inch wheel? That’s what I’m planning to do.
     
  7. bigdavesstg1

    bigdavesstg1 Founders Club Member

    What back spacing on your wheels putting one together global west suspension and convertible frame should have same stance as yours
     
  8. cray1801

    cray1801 Too much is just right.

    The LT's will likely have to go, mine sure did since they were Mickey Thompson Scavengers (which I absolutely loved). They were only 3.25" at the flange, about the minimum I would consider running.

    As far as 275's up front they would work on my car too but I chose to go with the staggered look. If I did 275 front I would probably have done them on the back too. The tires are Continental ExtremeContact DM's, I got one of the last sets from Tire Rack...at 1/2 price. Good reviews on these tires and so far I'm pleased...and the tread is decently soft.

    The front rims have 5" BS and are 9" wide, the rears have 6" BS and are 10" wide. Every chassis is a little different so take all the critical measurements before plopping down the cash!

    Mine is setting maybe a little too low right now, I may have to increase 1/4" or so after things settle in. Front springs are 1200 lbs./in and rears are 175 lbs./in, and it actually rides much better than I expected. Fender height at axle centerline is 24 1/4" and quarters at axle centerline are at 23 1/8".

    Here the best tool I found to simulate different tire / rim combinations....by far!
    https://rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp
     
  9. pbulski

    pbulski Well-Known Member

    Thanks for sharing Craig. Your car looks great! And it sure hooks up and gets down the track :). Would you mind sharing engine details?
     
  10. Yanchik

    Yanchik Well-Known Member

    1200lbs? Holy smokes. I thought 650lbs was the standard for better handling
     
  11. pbulski

    pbulski Well-Known Member

    I'm with you Yanchik, I was surprised by 1,200 lbs too. I double checked the specs on my Wilwood coilover springs and fronts are 750 lbs. (Now granted, I've only got the SB 350)
     
    Yanchik likes this.
  12. Yanchik

    Yanchik Well-Known Member


    How does it ride on the street with 750? Do you think that would be ok for a daily driver?
     
  13. tufbuick

    tufbuick RIP

    Here's a shot of my ex-'72 Stage 1 that someone photo shopped. Looks real nice and mean like that...........

    attachment.jpg
     
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  14. StKing

    StKing Well-Known Member

    Old set up. Switched over to coil overs with 2" drop. I won't have new pictures anytime soon, I decided to completely redo the car. [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  15. pbulski

    pbulski Well-Known Member

    It actually handles amazingly. If I could do it all over again I would get slightly stiffer springs because I had to adjust the coilover collar nearly 3/4 way up to get the ride height from being tooooooo low.
     
  16. ilikebmx999

    ilikebmx999 Well-Known Member


    Where exactly did you measure from on those height measurements? I measured the center of the hub to the bottom of the wheel well opening and got 14 3/8” up front and 16 3/4” in back.

    I haven’t gotten a chance to drive mine yet as I’m still finishing up my trans swap and a bunch of other things but I grabbed some close out continental extreme contact DW’s for super cheap.
     
  17. cray1801

    cray1801 Too much is just right.

    My dimensions were from the garage floor to the top of the fender / quarter, perpendicular to the axle CL (hub).
     
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  18. cray1801

    cray1801 Too much is just right.

    Engine is a `73 455 0.035" over making about 530HP (432 @ wheel n/a) and 550 TQ, Home ported heads, Scott Brown cam, 10:1 compression with cylinder pressures all around 210ish, TA hi-rise intake, oil mods, timing cover mods, Weisco pistons, 950 DP Holley, TH-400 with ~3200 stall (PCT), 3" exhaust with MagnaFlows, 3.42 gear Buick 10-bolt.
     
  19. Yanchik

    Yanchik Well-Known Member


    You got any video clips of that Magnaflow Exhaust in action?
     
  20. cray1801

    cray1801 Too much is just right.


    Fly-by from a few years back with Dynomax...(and the one at the bottom of my sig.).

    Here's one with the MagnaFlow's but racing a friends Chevelle.
     
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