1964 Buick Skylark Convertible mild custom project

Dude, didn't you start off this thread saying something like not wanting to spend a fortune putting this together?
Looking at the time and effort you put in, plus the new / custom / replacement parts you have laid out, you may think this isn't a $100k car, but damn dude, add up your time too.
Not that I am complaining, that car is amazing and you really know your stuff. I learned things just following this thread that I hadn't thought about. I need to replace my trunk floor, but before I cut out the old rusty one, I am measuring the hell out of things and if anything moves before welding begins, I am pulling tweaking and bracing things back to ensure proper fit.

Thanks for a great thread, any idea of when it will be thru final paint and on the road again?

 

Chevyworldparts.com was the source of the Nova tach. The depth, the length and the width are perfect. The mounting plate for the Nova had to be turned 90 degrees and modified a little. I have another dash for the 64-65 Skylark that I can get you sizes if you want.

There are two Nova tachometers. I will have to look at my papers to find the one I purchased. One has green numbers and one has white. I am pretty sure the 71-74 is the white. Part T622
http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb...~S33L0WXYKC20499192414a~Z5Z5Z5~Z5Z5Z50000170a#

 

I do keep a spread sheet of every dollar and all hours :eek2: (scary how fast it adds up). I am pushing 1000 hours to date. With barter, trade, used parts and my sole ray: I will be lucky to stay under budget. Problem for me is that the more I learn the more I want to try. Since I only pay myself $5.00 per hour I will be able to sell this car for what I have into it (but I'm not building it to sell :laugh: ).

My plan was to drive the car to Hot August Nights in Reno, Nevada (August 2011), but I don't think I will be done in time. I should have it finished by fall 2011 if all goes well. I plan to drive it for a year to get it trouble free then drive the full Hot Rod Power Tour. :3gears:

 

I just found this thread... I love your car. Im doing a similar build but a little more racey.... Wheres the popcorn smilely

 

What? More racey than a 300 ci? Sounds like a challange. I will bring the popcorn and we can burn some grass (from the header pipes on the lawn, of course.) :bglasses:

 

Heres mine at parked height next to the daily driver.... Im putting a 455 in mine, hopefully with a procharger. Its only money right :TU:

 

Very nice. I love that body style. Looks great in the grass and a procharger would breath some extra life into that big block. When will you be finished?

 

Its at least 2 years away from being done. I really slacked on it this year. My son is 9 and he asked that I pick him up at school and give him a ride home so he can look cool in front of his buddies. So a 5 year window until he's out of grade school. :grin:

 

Very Nice job !! I really like the way you documented your progress, I am looking for a 65 Lark to have for the family to enjoy this year...not sure if I have the patience or ability to do all the work you did but you can't argue with the ressult. It give me hope

Tom

Omaha, NE

 

I love the 65's. Be carefull with one that has bad rear quarters, I got lucky finding a set. There are some very nice 65's out there. Grab one and enjoy.

 

Nice Car. I have been enjoying reading your post and like the subtle mods. Keep up the good work. Can I ask what you used to polish the plastic lens for the speedo. with?

 

wow, nice build up. I really like the way the tucked in bumpers look.
You are far more patient than I could ever be getting the gaps evened out.
I just found this thread while looking for photos of what more hides behind the passenger fender of a '64-'65 A-body with factory air.

 

X2 on the tucked bumpers, looks great.

 

I hand rubbed useing Meguires Machine Glaze with a microfiber cloth, then with New Car Glaze 5, then again with their Show Car Glaze non-yellowing wax. A friend of mine also did his with a plastic headlight polishing kit.

Deep scratches will need to be sanded. Try your best to rub out the scratch first but if you have to sand you can do wet sand paper steps from 1000 to 3000 then hand rub the sand scratch. Take your time and don't get the lens hot and you can make them look new.

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

WOW! wish i had that kind of know how. Well with this new buick i picked up, i hope to learn at lest a little bit of this kind of stuff.

Love the coy rims. I think thats the kind of look ima want for my special

 

Been reading this all morning, and all i can say is, "WOW"! I need more, where the rest, what more have u done ?

 

Bump- what's the latest?

 

Bump? Well, the bump has left the building (if you are talking about the old bump sided Ford.) With the extreamly low miles, and like new condition, I just could not put the truck to use and I don't have the room for a trailer queen so old blue was auctioned off and transported to Texas.

As for the Skylark, well... she bit me. Last November I put her on wheel dolleys and turned her around in the garage. I had the trunk lid up and somehow the lid dropped on my right index finger. Since I took the time to make the gaps so tight that nice gap left no room for a boney finger. So, with a smashed and busted finger, the Skylark ended up in the corner with a cover for a few weeks.

I decided to spend time tuning in December and the Holley thottle body injection decided it didn't like the cold. No matter what I tried I couldn't get the system to stop flooding out. After cranking on the poor thing for hours (charging and killing the battery over and over) I finally killed the battery for good but I never did get her started.

Now that the huge Ford is out of the way I decided to get back to work on the Skylark. I decided to pull the injection system and try to find the flooding problem but instead I found a puddle of antifreeze on the timing cover and under the car. :ball:

 

Spent the weekend digging out the car and doing a little rework. I looked over the cooling system and antifreeze has seeped out of hose connections and water pump gaskets. I pressure tested the system but no leaks.o No: I tightened each hose a little bit so time will tell. I may have to replace the water pump gaskets though.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<o></o>
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I also noticed oil dripping down the front of the block. The front intake rubber seal split down the middle and popped out. I new when I put those stupid (old stock) rubber intake seals in that I would regret it. I spent the day pulling the intake off and this time I laid down a nice thick bead of silicone on both ends.<o></o>
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After I pulled the throttle body off I decided I am not putting it back on. I have spent too many hours with the system in the cold and this old system just is not that great for more hours. I pulled all the wiring from the engine and dash and now I have the fun task of building me a new wire harness from the dash forward.
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Now that the car is up on stands again and I am in the “do-it-again” mode. I plan on pulling the rear end back apart and changing the gears. When I rebuilt the rear a few years ago I was going to keep the original trans. But now that I have the 200R4 installed the original 2.78 rear gears will not work with the overdrive. Thanks to members on this site and Summit Racing tech department I will install 3.90 gears with a spacer that will allow me to keep the original posi carrier. (hope those tech guys know what they are talking about) I will also pull the speedo gears out of the trans so I can match up the teeth and get the needle to point correctly.