1964 Buick Skylark Convertible mild custom project

just spent the past hour or so at work reading this entire build...wow....just wow...quality and attention to detail are just awesome....

i just picked up my first classic a 65 special vert.....and you got my mind going 100mph...lol.....my cars all stock but have mods in mind.....its a family cruiser that i would love to do the power tour in someday......
i really like the coys wheeels...but not sold on bagging......ive thought about air shocks in rear and 1in drop spindle in front....didnt know if coilover springs/ adjustable height stuff was available....i think im going with a 17 front and 18 rear wheel set up.....

what offset and tires are you running..thanks
Jeff
Miami FL

 

Congrats on the 65 vert and I'm glad my car can get your mind to 100 mph at work.

It's funny, I know I have been asked this wheel question before and I thought it was answered on my build but I don't see it anywhere. I must have answered it in an IM. I will copy both this time.

First, I want to comment on your Bagged or adjustable springs idea. If I had to do it all again I would spring for the springs, lots of great set ups for your car. At the start of my build I was working for a shop that had hopes of using my car as an advertisment to sell air bag set ups. I got the set for half the price of parts with free install and it was planned that I would get a commission on each set up I sold. The shop went out of business a few months later so I ended up with a bagged car for a good price.

Now, for the wheels, I live close to Coy's shop so I took my car to them to "play" with wheels just a few months before my car started to fall apart. The wheels they set me up with had been on a 67 GTO for a couple of car shows. Now, again, I got the set for a great price with the idea I would get the Coy's name out and take their set of used tires and wheels (if you can call a few miles used). The tires are 245/45 18" on the rear and 235/45 17" on the front. At the time they tried to talk me into getting the style with dark centers and polished rims. I had originally planned on painting the car blue so I chose the wheel I have but now that I changed the color I wish I had the other wheels. (Oh how the car plans have changed.)

I don't know the width or the offset on mine. The guys at Coy's know what fits this car though. All else fails, tell them it's the same set up for a 66-67 GTO.

See you on the Power Tour. (I hope)

 

i was under the impression that it was 18in wheels all around.....so it is a 17 front and 18 rear? im leaning towards a 17x7 front with a 225 40 17 and 18x8 rear with a 245/255 40 18...
so when is the next update on your car?..whats the curent status?..
Jeff

 

ou: Stupid me. When I took my car to Coy's and they mounted the wheels they tried to talk me into 20". I didn't like the rubber band tire for that size so they tried 18" with flat black centers. They then told me about the set of used "take-offs" from a GTO that was used for advertising their wheels at a few shows. They put that set on at a killer price, they looked fantastic, I wrote a check and I hit the road. For years I thought they were all 18". Just recently someone on another thread asked me the tire size and I did the old, What the :eek2:?

I could revise that post but it makes for a good blooper story.

As far as I can tell my rears are 18 x 9.5 and 17 x 8 fronts. I don't know the offset. At 3 inch ground clearance the fronts rub on an easy turn. At about 5 inch ride they clear. The rears rubbed at any hieght and with the bad quarters I decided to jack them out about a 1/2" and now they clear down to the bump stops.

 

thats awesome!! haha....im gonna give coys a ring on monday to talk wheels....im liking the c57s.....
getting more and more excitied about this car......
when are you gonna give us another update?

 

Currently I am only able to do a few hours of wires per week while I do a back yard that I can't put off any longer and keep the peace in the home. Could be June or July before I can get the car rolling to the paint booth.

 

Brian,

Any new updates? Miss seeing your stuff.

Michael

 

car looks magnifisent

 

Thanks setonwet.

WOW, it has been a long time since any updates. Sorry nothing new on the car but I finally finished my back yard and it kicked my butt. New sprinkler system, removed a ton of grass and planted many trees, bushes and flowers.

The pictures are not a Buick but it is great to see my yard done so I will share my hard work.

Finally, I can get back to work on the car.

Before and afters.

 

sometimes ya got to knock off some honey-do's before more car time...lol..i got my v8 in the back yard not...cleaning and replacing parts for as much reliability as possible

 

After hours of wiring the devil is back to rumbling the house and moveing in and out of the garage on it's own. Time to get back to the long overdue paint.

I wet sanded all the painted areas with 400. I also sanded all the jambs with 600 so that overspray will bond if it gets through and then the jambs can be color sanded and buffed when the paint is finished.

The drivers side front fender blocked down very nice. The hood had a couple of high spots that needed another coat of surfacing primer.







The top rear edge of the fender gave me fits with fitment. I ended up chipping the paint off the door edge and chipping up the edge at the windshield. I had to prime the top of the fender to fix that area.





The other fender went to hell when I bolted up the inner fender. You can see the long sanding board I use to sand big flat areas. The area over the wheel well pulled in and next to the well pushed out. I had to use a long bar through the head light hole to move areas back in place and reprime.

I got lucky and didn't have to use any filler.

 

nice work....wish i had your patients and skill.......im enjoying putting together my sbc and cleaning that up......
what size are your tires again...front and rear if you dont mind me asking.....
glad to see updates...cant wait to see it painted and going back together
Jeff

 

With patients comes skill... I didn't think I could... but then I did, so can you. Hope the sbc is coming together for you.

The tires are 245/45 18" on the rear and 235/45 17" on the front. As far as I can tell my rears are 18 x 9.5 and 17 x 8 fronts. I don't know what the offsets are.

---------- Post added at 06:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:56 PM ----------

The car is ready for paint WAHOOO. Now I need a paint booth. I have a couple of contacts so wish me luck. ray:

Once the paint is on, then all the chrome and trim will go on, but the trim is a mess. I am lucky that all my trim is stainless and none of the aluminum like some Skylarks have in 64.

It's hard to photo the dents and scratches but these show some.





Once I tap the dents smooth I file them with a fine tooth.




Then comes the hours of sanding out the scratch. I power sanded with 150. Then wet sanded with 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200. The sand scratch still shows so I will go to 2000 and 3000 if the buffer doesn't take them out.

 

any updates?

 

I work in a packaging design department that should have 3 people but for the last 7 months I have been working alone and long hours. The boss finally let me hire full time help so I should be getting back to having personal time by March. It has also been extremely cold in Utah so my garage was no fun to be in.

If all goes as planned the car will be in paint in April and then I can start putting it back together for summer fun. Wish me luck.

 

Best luck, I always check this when there is activity. It's a great car and you are a real builder.

Mike

 

well its good to see ur gonna be able to get back into the garage .. my parents live in logan utah ..lol. i might be moving to utah and starting a body shop ....maybe well be able to cruise a couple shows if and when i get down there ... lol . we can race ..lol ...

 

I lived in Logan for one year and that was the coldest winter I have ever been through. Great little town and one of the best car shows in the country.

Could be a good time to open a shop in Utah. I know of many shops that failed during the recession.

Your car is coming along nicely, keep up the good work. Cruisen the shows with a couple of Skylarks would be great. I have not seen a 64 or 65 Skylark in a Utah car show in years. I have heard of a few cars tucked away but none have come out to play.

 

Funny that Logan would come up in this discussion, the Sport Wagon in my avatar was sold new in Logan, I recently bought it from the second owner named Sam Weston.

Mike

 

Wow, Small world and I grew up in a 65 Sport Wagon in the same colors as yours. I puked in the back of that car many times from getting car sick from that back seat that faced backwards. My dad bought it new and my mom wrecked it more times than I can count. I want a Sporty.