There's a song by David Wilcox, I don't remember the name of the song. There's a line in the song that goes something like" She's a tail finned rolling locomotive, from the days of cheap gasoline, sittin' by the side of the road goin' nowhere, rusty old American dream. I saw this '58 sitting by the side of the road, gleaming. The color and the chrome were just gorgeous. So like the song says, Come on boy put your money down and get me out of here. So I did. And now I have to deal with some issues with a 455 that doesn't really fit. The good news, there's no rust.
I chose the "Because it's different option" but I own my Buick for so much more than that. I had been wanting an old car since I was very young. My first car was an '01 Pontiac GP. Good car, but nothing special. After that car was gone I was working with a very limited budget(aren't we all?) and needed an old car(yes needed :laugh. I looked everywhere in probably a 50 mile radius, scouring craigslist and auto trader every day, asking everyone if they knew of any old cars for sale, doing anything possible to find something for about 5 months. I had found a few cars that I would have bought, but for some reason every time something was about to happen it fell through. A gentleman that came into the shop one day recommended a small salvage yard that not really anybody had heard of for an odd car we were working on. My boss went out to get an air conditioning compressor from them a few days later, and told me there were many old cars out there. I went out two weekends later, talked to the owner(great guy) who told me to go look through the barn and yard. He told me not much was for sale, but that I was free to look at and ask about everything. I walked into the barn, and I recognized the roofline of an A body in the darkness three cars in front of me. There was a pristine 59 Impala that was blocking my view(I loved Imps, still do). I walked to the white A body car and was unsure of what it was in the blackness. I could tell it wasn't a Pontiac or Chevrolet. I thought it was an Olds(the thought of a Buick being that cool never crossed my mind:Brow:). I shuffled as quickly as I could back to the front of the building to open the overhead door. When I turned back around to see that gorgeous white 65 Skylark sitting there I knew she had to be mine. She had been kept under a roof, but on a gravel floor so she had started to rot pretty good. She had been sitting for a while, but was ready for some love that I had plenty of to give :Browcorny I know:laugh. I walked in and asked Rick(the owner) about the 59 first, he said that it had been sold 2 days ago and was waiting to be picked up, so right then I knew where fate would take me. I asked if the white Buick was for sale(I didn't know what year it was for sure so I didn't want to look stupid), he said that if I would show it to him when I get it done It was mine for $2000. That white Buick was sitting in the shop the next weekend. I wanted to get an old car because they're cool, have style, are great to cruise in, have a large following, can be fast, cheap to work on, and are great conversation pieces, I had to get one cheap, I like things that are a little different and odd, but I got my Buick because it was just meant to be.
Been watching this thread for a while but I have been hesitant to post the real reason for buying my 65 Buick Special convertible. The explanation goes back to high school and that was a long time ago, in fact the 65 would have been almost new then. There was this good looking gal one year ahead of me in school and she had really large..well you know. She also had a yellow 65 Buick Special convertible and I never forgot either one. So when I saw this one for sale, I had to have it.
No need to hesitate, I think many of us have a similar story. I can't see a short bed white dodge ram without getting a little....."worked up"... For a similar reason!
Because I wanted a 70 GS 455 Convertible since I was a teenager in the 80's. 10 years after that I pulled one tired and beat GS from a junkyard, put 10 more years of blood sweat and tears into restoring it, and now have enjoyed driving it for the last 15 years and it is now it is literally a part of me. Selling it would be unthinkable and I'm now waiting for my son to graduate college so I can give it to him because he loves it even more than I do.
I drove a 72 Olds Cutlass F-85 in High School. Graduated in 82. Transplanted a Buick 455 from a 71 Electra 225 , after a rebuild while still a senior . Both cars are long gone, but motor is on stand in garage and trans is out there as well. Been dragging the two round for 32 years, bout time I put them to use in a proper Buick build. When the wife and I saw the 70 coupe on Craiglist , I got on the phone and made contact. 3 hours later we were in Westfield Mass shelling out cash for the title. Returned the next day for the 6 hour round trip and dragged my 70 Skylark home. Jim/Rott
When I was 14, I went with my cousin to the Gatornational dragstrip where he raced his 70 stage 1 on weekends. After watching him race and surprise a few cars, we headed home and he gave me my first seat of the pants introduction to tire shredding, neck jerking Buick torque. Right then and there, I was hooked and never have wanted anything else.
Easy. When I became of age to drive in Houston Texas, I got my parents hand me down, brown 1969 Buick Skylark. Drove it for one week and loved it! One monday I returned home from high school via the big yellow bus and there in the driveway was around a 1980 Cutlas Supreme. I walked in to see who was home and my sister (older) was sitting there with a big grin on her face. She said, "See my new car?" First words out of my mouth were, Where the heck is my Buick? SOLD! Traded in for her car. Ugh... I was devastated, took years to understand the constraints of being a parent and doing what you can for your kids. Love my parents greatly and my sis... Years later and with a family of my own, I found a 71 Skylark in Oklahoma and our boy drove it in high school. Now that he is in college, my wife and I sold him our Expedition and we took ownership of his/our Skylark. As I type, got a garage full of toys to put in it... just need time and cooler temps to install. Then I will FINALLY get my car and to have a very long and most appreciated burn out at the fist stop sign I come too.
