FOR SALE: 1972 Buick Skylark Custom/GS Stage 1 replica. Having enjoyed transforming this car into its present condition I have decided to move on to another project. I present the car with no excuses. Please accept this as an example of a vehicle built to the likes of the owner who does appreciate the heritage of the Buick muscle car era. It is not presented as an attempt at a concours restoration but rather a vehicle reconditioned to be enjoyed as a car should be. I built this vehicle to be driven without the constant worry of doing so. I will describe the car to the best of my recollection but I am sure that I will forget or overlook a number of details so please do not hesitate to ask questions if you are genuinely interested in purchasing the vehicle. All these cars have a story to tell but they cant do it themselves. Here is what little I know. It began life as a Skylark Custom with the 350-2 engine and TH 350 transmission. I do have the build sheet to confirm the original status of the car which I found when I dropped the gas tank. I purchased the car with 98,xxx miles on the odometer which is probably actual but I cant prove it. Previous ownership had seen it converted to a 455-4 with a TH 400 transmission. An Eaton positraction unit had been added as well as a rear sway bar and the rear lower control arms were boxed. The front brakes were converted to discs. The interior had been modified to buckets with console. Since I began my ownership the engine and transmission have had a total restoration from the fine folks at TriShield Performance. For more info check out www.trishieldperf.com. The engine rebuild is what TSP refers to as the Level 1AM and the transmission was rebuilt to the Level 2 with the switch pitch option. In addition to the engine and transmission work the engine wiring harness was replaced, a new 4 row Modine radiator was installed, a Hurst roll control was installed, a new power brake booster was installed, a tilt steering column was installed, and a sport steering wheel was installed. All that was done while at Trishield. I have a CD-ROM containing all the pictures the folks at TSP sent me to document the progress during the rebuild. Additional mechanical items renewed, refreshed, or replaced include new front springs to account for the big block conversion, new upper control arm bushings, a new idler arm, and new KYB shocks front and back. The three rubber brake hoses two on the front and the one in back have been replaced. New rear brake shoes and all new rear brake assembly hardware have been installed. A new master cylinder has been installed and the proper combination valve added due to the conversion to front disc brakes. The a/c has been converted to 134a. Additional efforts included a total dismantling of the interior. This confirmed that the floor pans had no rust. I coated the floor with Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator anyway. While I had the interior dismantled a new heater core was installed. The gas tank has been refinished and ALL the fuel hoses have been replaced. The dash plastic was rechromed. The dash instruments were replaced with VDO Vision Series gauges instead of the original idiot light arrangement. I have kept the original instruments including the clock, which amazingly was still working, when I removed it. A hood tach was installed on the replacement GS hood with a special redline of 6000 rpm reflecting the capability of the new TriShield engine. The original wood decal trim was weathered as usual so I decided to take a different approach. All areas with the wood decal trim were replaced with real oak wood veneer. A modern CD player was installed with dual 4 speakers in the front and new 6x9s in the rear shelf. I went this direction since the radio bezel had already been hacked up so replacing with an original unit which had been my original intent was delayed for future changes. The radio bezel was rechromed with the rest of the dash. The car was then repainted from the original Silver Mist to Stratomist Blue (did I ever agonize over color choice!!!!!). The original halo vinyl top was removed as were the original body side moldings and the trim at the cowl and the trailing edge of the trunk lid. The bodywork revealed that the car had had two or three repaints of the original color. Also at some point the rear quarters had patch panel work done with no ongoing rust issues. The trunk pan has had a fiberglass patch done from previous rust. To be perfect it will need a trunk pan replacement but there is no active rusting and no holes. I believe that the trunk rust was from a water leak from the studs that the vinyl roof trim was attached to and that problem has been removed. Currently I have been pleased to confirm no further water leaks into the trunk. The rear window area that is prone to rust in these cars is solid. While the trim was off the car the small dings in the stainless trim acquired over the years were removed and it was all polished. The rear bumper was rechromed. I never saw the original jack assembly but a scissor jack is in the trunk (I wouldnt use the original jack anyway after rechroming the rear bumper!) A previous owner has tinted the windows. Since the cars return from Trishield and then the body shop it has just under 700 miles on the new odometer which reflects the mileage on the new drivetrain. The car is presented as is with no expressed nor implied warranty of any sort. Any independent inspection is welcomed and I will do all I can to assist any potential buyer in such arrangements. I will assist the buyer with any transport arrangements. I am quite confident the car could be driven any distance to its new home if that is preferred. Car is located in Rogers Arkansas. Email all questions to keekah@cox.net Asking price is $18,000 Pics below! Thanks for looking. Dean Papageorge
Dean, Love the job you did on your Lark. :TU: I can only hope my 71 Lark comes out as nice as yours. Love the new VDO gauges and placement. I think I'm going to copy your setup. What I like about the Larks, you can modify as you like, don't have to keep original, and value just increases. Your headers, what size and make are they? Now that it's done, what would you have done differently? This is my 1st project. Thanks Denis
In response to questions - 69SkyInNJ There is a dash mat in the pics. Ordered it thru my local O'Reilly's for 35 -40 bucks. Denis, I am not sure about the source of the headers but I think they came from Poston's. I believe they are 1 7/8 diameter. As far as doing anything differently I really don't think I would do anything different although I second guess my color choice almost daily (and I still consider a multitude of colors that I would have liked just as well). Dean
Great Job on the car Dean, don't think twice about second guessing on the color.. Looks perfect! Lot of value here for your asking price. I have seen and worked on things that folks paid right around this amount for, to get much less.. Good luck with your future projects. JW P.S. Folks, you hear about those cars that you " better buy done, because you can't build it for the sale price.." This is one of them... take if from someone who knows this car well.. this is one very solid car, body-wise.. and that is getting harder and harder to find every day..
I am not sure about the source of the headers but I think they came from Poston's. I believe they are 1 7/8 diameter. As far as doing anything differently I really don't think I would do anything different although I second guess my color choice almost daily (and I still consider a multitude of colors that I would have liked just as well). Dean[/QUOTE] We all second guess ourselves on colors, but this one looks really good in blue. Especially w/o the vinyl top. Like Jim says, you couldn't come close to recreating this for this amount of $$$.
I have but one word for your car. "WOW." What a nice job you did, I can only hope that mine will be half as nice when completed. Willem NorCal
I look at this car at least once or twice a week, I can not believe it is still available. What size are the tires and what is the rear end gearing?? Dean if I had the $ I would but it in a second!
Thought for sure this car was sold per a post some time back. Guess I was seeing things and mistaken. Looks to be a really, really nice car. Surprised it is still available, and at the lowered price no less. o No: Good luck with the sale. Jim
Thanks for the positive comments. The rear ratio is 3.42. Tires on the car were on it when I purchased it, 225-60R-15. 245s would definitely look better. Dean
