Good Morning, I am going to look at a 69 Skylark Coupe Sunday. The body looks to be in good shape, but its missing trim on the hood lip, the grille, and the rear trim at first glance n photos. The interior will need work, steering wheel missing cap, dash could have some issues and of course tears in the seats. Its a 350/3 speed auto that runs and drives. The transmission has been recently rebuilt and is under warranty and all front suspensions bushings and so on replaced except spindles and springs. Some trunk rust Price is going to be $3000 Im new to the A bodys/Buicks So What should i double check for? Is that a good buy? Looks to be original with 84000 miles on it and probably has newish paint.
First place you want to go is the frame to check for rust: the dog legs just behind the front tires and in front of the rear tires, and the arches over the rear axle, especially where they start to curve behind the rear tires. After that, check the radiator core support, particularly under the battery - look for holes there and check the frame underneath those holes. While you're under the car looking for rust issues, also look for signs of accidents: the rear frame rail extensions that go to the rear bumper are the weakest part of the rear half and will generally be kinked if there has been any contact with the back of the car. The front of the frame is considerably beefier, so it can be harder to see evidence of impact, but if you spend some time, you can usually see signs of distortion due to frontal impact. The next question would be "What do you intend to do with the car?". If you're thinking concourse restoration, some of the trim pieces you mention can be pretty hard to find. Most repopped items are being made for the '70 - '72 Skylarks, not as much for the '64 - '69's. If you'r e thinking more daily driver, and you're willing to put it together and drive it minus a few trim pieces, you can enjoy the car now and work on getting the missing pieces over time. Are you going to buy it and keep it, or try to flip it? Check prices on similar cars in the Cars for Sale forum. I contacted the GS club about 20 years ago when I was looking at a '67 GS 340 for $1200, and was told at that time that, as a general rule, any running V8 Buick that wasn't junk was probably worth a minimum of $2000. Fast forward twenty years, if this '69 doesn't have any of the aforementioned issues, it's probably worth the $3K. I'd ask if they have any pictures of the car from before it was painted so you can see what kind of shape the body was in - don't forget to take a magnet with you to check for massive quantities of bondo in the usual places. Guess I've given you three cents instead of two - you can keep the change -lol!
So i decided against it. There were a few pictures of concern. Then a walk around video that showed dents along the quarters and the missing trim was a concern. Hole inside was a mess. All though i love the cars look, the hidden mystery and possible rust issues were a concern. The more i looked at it the cost to fix it up was preventative. I was looking at it as something to just kind of enjoy and put together. I already have a ground up restro 65 Mustang fastback im working on so i didnt wanted something to just drive around in the mean time. Thanks for the info. If anyone in TN and want it though heres the CL https://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/d/1969-buick-skylark/6483518557.html View her running: Music video featuring THIS car: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1952766964971914
If $3k isn't your max, you can pick up a really nice Skylark in the $5-10k range. $10-15k will get you an extremely nice one or a very nice GS 350. There have been a few in the for dale & leads sections on here or post an ad in the cars wanted. As far as bang for the buck, you cant beat Buick A-Bodies.
