Well, Lets See I WAS RAISED AND ENTHRALLED WITH CORVETTES MY WHOLE LIFE. I ENJOYED READING ABOUT THEM AND ONE OF CORVETTE'S FATHERS, BILL MITCHELL, WHO ALSO HAD A LARGE PART OF DESIGN WITH THE RIVIERA. WHEN I WAS 14, I HAD MY SCHOOL PERMIT AND HAD TO HAVE A CAR-SINCE I COULDN'T FIND MY WAY TO A CORVETTE MAKING A WHOLE 3.35 AND HOUR AT THAT TIME-I DECIDED THE RIVIERA WOULD BE ME-I WANTED A BOAT TAIL THEN, AND IRONICALLY ENOUGH OF ALL THE RIVS I'VE HAD I NEVER OWNED ONE. I SAW AN AD IN THE OMAHA PAPER FOR A 68, WENT AND SAW IT WITH MY GRANDPA WHO WAS FLOATING ME A LOAN FOR THE REST OF THE MONEY I NEEDED. IT HAPPENED TO BE A ONE OWNER SPORT COUPE (STRATO BUCKETS AND CONSOLE-NON GS), JUST OUT OF STORAGE AFTER 13 YEARS. IT WAS AWESOME-I NEVER EVEN SAW 66-69 RIV IN MY LIFE. OBVIOUSLY, I BOUGHT IT. SINCE THAT DAY, I'VE HAD A LOT OF MY FIRST EXPERIENCES IN/WITH THAT CAR :Brow: , HOMECOMINGS, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION, MOVED TO PENNSYLVANIA, DRUG IT ALL THIS WAY, GOT MARRIED IN IT...IT STILL NEEDS TO HAVE THE BODY DONE ONE OF THESE DAYS. THE OUTSIDE (MINUS THE HOOD) IS THE WAY I BOUGHT IT MANY YEARS AGO. THE INTERIOR IS STILL VERY NICE, HAD THE LEFT BUCKET REDONE ONCE. SO, AFTER ALL THIS, I COULD NEVER SEPARATE MYSELF FROM THE BIG OL' THING. AND ONE THING IS FOR SURE, GOIN TO SHOWS-THERE'S ONLY ONE CAR LIKE MINE...
I had a choice between... a 69 Charger RT 440 and a 69 Skylark Custom...need I say more? i was shopping for the first car to buy with my own money....1991...... Buick People are the 2nd reason , the first is racing but dont ask me to chose between em. Different is cool by me coz I dont care what other racing folks think. Theres a starter at a local track that can not get over how hard my car leaves, and he hasnt seen any real fast buicks yet. My first car was a 77 Regal as a graduation present,and Ive always had at least one. I can remember back in the early 80s a magazine I had,I think the HotRod annual,where it showed the GS and GSX ...I liked those cars over anything else and never forgot about em....heres to buick people :beer ...fish :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :beer :beer :beer :beer :beer :beer :beer :beer :beer :beer :beer
Why I like Buicks My first car was a 1941 Buick that my grandfather gave to me on my 17th birthday. It had dual carbs and it only took 30 seconds to remove the hood and then cruise around in it. Also, I found out that GM built other cars in 1955 besides Chevrolets. Go fast with class!
Mid-Life Crisis is not an option. I own my 65 wildcat because that's what my first car was. My grandfather willed it to me when I was 16. I first drove it when I was 11! It was a custom Coupe in great shape, bucket seats with the tall console. He had the original red painted over in a dark gray. You should never give a car like that to a kid! I totaled a 89 t-bird with it.(dented my fender was the extent of the damage to my car!!!!) I ran it so hard I can't even believe I lived through some of those days sliding around curves at 60+. Finally, it thew a rod and blew the engine to bits. That was pre-internet and not being able to find a replacement engine locally, we had it towed away. GAVE IT AWAY. can you believe that? I wanted to replace it ever since, so I picked up the convertible. I own the 59 Invicta because I just fell in love with it the first time I saw it. had to have it.
i bought mine from my dad's friend who was getting rid of it, i was looking for an old car for my first car....got a deal
I saw this car that looked like a 69 chevelle on steroids...It had 46,000 miles on it but rusty as all he//... The guy worked at a junk yard and an old lady came up to him and said your boss doesnt want to give me more then 100.00 for my sports car would you like to take a look at it??? So courious the guy waits for his lunch hour and goes to the ladies house.. here is a nice 70 350 GS in the yard.. Nothing to look at.. but All original rst bucket.. He gave her 500.00 for it and on his way he went.. Thiking he could make a quick buck.. He offered it to me for 1200.00 but I didn't have the money.. Then I saw him down at IOLA car show and said he is there working for his boss.. he was planning on bringing the car down there to sell but couldn't bring it..I went to his house two weks later and offered him 600.00 and he took it..46,000 miles... Did that car go!!!!!!!! W@W blew my socks off!!! That was 10 years ago and I wouldn't sell it for the world...
Vent windows Yes & No I went to buy a two door (post) car in the summer of '72 (July) with side vent windows....Skylark had them! I love side vent windows. The salesman said their were none left!....so I had to take a Hard Top. Gotta Love It! :Smarty:
My dad has had a 75 Lesabre Convertible since I was in University. I loved driving that big car. I moved on for more school, and my job took me to Florida. (Originally from Canada) Well I saw a car just like dads on ebay that was not that far away. (West Palm Beach, FL) I bought it for parts for my fathers because it had a non-rebuildable title. It had been rear-ended. I thought it was too good to strip, but after 2 years of playing it out with the Florida DMV, they just wouldnt issue me a tag. So it now lives on in many other Buicks... When that stripped body left my garage I had to fill the space... wasnt really looking for a Buick, just a mid sized muscle car. To tell the truth I really didnt know at that time what a GS was. Well I saw a 72 GS 350 Convertible in the autotrader, again in West Palm. Drove to see it, bought it, drove it 300 miles back to Orlando with no problems. The guy even let me keep his tag until I got it home. Real nice guy. I didnt know the rarity of it until I started to do some research. I'd never sell it now... but maybe find a sister for it... From what I can tell there were only about 601 GS 350 Convertible automatics in 72.
I'm Not A Conformist I also blame my younger brother. the first car i bought was a 70 monte carlo MY friends were buyin chevelles camaros and novas . i came home one day from school beaming about this car on a lot in town and my dad was just kinda like what ever about it . a couple days later i noticed the car was gone ( was kinda bummed ) it was sitting in the drive way when i got home. that car served me well all the way through college. My younger brother was looking for his first car . he wanted to find a 68-69 skylark convertable and ended up with a burnt orange 71 . had alot of fun inn that car. ( planted the buick seed ) i was going to look at a 69 grand prix sj and the guy wasn't home when i got there and on the way home i spoted this turqoise 68 skylark with white bench int. and granny tires and hubcaps and my lust for grand prixs was over. It's been a sick twisted ride ever since. :3gears:
I 18 at the moment, bought my 71 skylark custom at 17. Im a big fan of chevy engines, ford suspension, oldsmobile styling and have a general appreciation for older cars as a whole. Ive been looking for a decent cheap fast car since i wasa 16 and didnt know a whole lot about buicks. I had seen a few skylarks here and there and a GSX, not knowing they were buicks and LOVED the look. When i stumbled across myskylark i had no idea what it was untril i spoke to the owner. Ive owned it for a good 8 months now and trying to bring it back to life ive gotten a general feel for the buick community. And im probably going to end up selling this car, but what im sure what will attract me back to buick is #1) the buick community and the people and #2) the very very very very many options (the bells and whistles) along with the power that buicks have. Working my way up towards a 67 gs hopefully one day. my two cents.
Why not ? Because I CAN CAN CAN !!!!! Actually was "brought up" BUICK, parents always had LeSabre's, saw a 67 Riv GS when I was very young, and I was hooked. Saw a 70 GS as an early teen and decided I liked that model best. :TU:
Why do you own your Buick I grew up in the Bronx, when I was a child maybe 5 or 6 years old, My parents would sent my sister and me to our Grandmother's house for the weekends. She would hire this guy to pick up and drive us there. He drove a 1953 Roadmaster and he had a heavy foot. I loved the way the car would hold the road and the feel of it going over the city potholes like they weren't there. My first car was a 1965 Skylark Convertible, drove that car like I had stole it all the time and couldn't kill it. Sold it and had a few Mopars but could not forget the fun I had drivng my Buick, so I got another 65 Skylark hardtop till I had to sell it before going into the Army in 1970. When I came home from the Army in 76 and got my old job back, The guy I would car pool with had a 69 GS 400 - 4 speed car which I fell in love with. He wouldn't sell it to me so had to settle for a Chevy. In the fall of 1987 while traveling on Interstate 84, a vette passed me like I was checking my oil, a Buick Regal T-Type parked on the shoulder pulled out behind the Vette and within 20 seconds or so was behind the Vette and activated blue lights (COP CAR) I was so impressed with this Buick that I also pulled over. After the Trooper finished with the Vette, he came over and after a brief conversation told me that his Turbo Regal was faster than any Vette on the road. So the next day I went to Buick Dealer and purchased a 1987 Grand National and was bit by the "Fast with Class" bug and haven't looked back. I have a few Buicks today in my collection:1956 Buick Century 4 DHT mild custom, 1963 Buick Wildcat 4 door hardtop with factory 4 speed 425CI with dual quads, 1969 Buick Gran Sport 350 ( this winter's project), 1971 Buick GSX- 455, 1982 Buick Regal T-Type with a 455, 1985 Buick Riviera, 1987 Buick Grand National with purple ghost flames, 2004 Buick Rainier CXL AWD, 2006 Buick LaCrosse CX So I have to say it's the cars and the Buick owners you meet.
I got my car in 2000 when my dad became tired of me having a bunch of ford cars torn apat trying to keep one running lol. Funny but true, I got my car through a family freind who was the original owner. It was a 75,000 mile family car. At first the car was just transportation but soon became my most prized toy. I grew to like the smooth ride and just had a blast driving it. I've cruised it just about 25,000 miles in the past few years and I hope to cruise it another 100,000! I get the full range of comments from that is a really nice car to why would you drive that? Are you poor or something? I do put a lot of time and a bit of money into my car but only to upgrade it. It has only broke down once, that was when I spun a rod bearing(but that was my fault).
back in 1975 my best friend bought a 67 r/t convert.we were both 15 he was a few days older than me,his mom would drive it down to pick him up at work,he would hop in(learners permit) so we drove around in his car a couple of times drop top style.i had to have a convertable,so i scanned the paper & found my 65 for$350,my savings from my paper route,original owner found out later he was a town cop(so i was allways under his watchfull eye) :af: over the years it has amassed its share of dents,its been hit 3-4 times so the body is rough at this point.however,i have gone thru 2 motors besides the original,3 brake jobs,2 tops,2 interiors and over 120,000 miles myself since then.my wife drove it to tech school for 2 years,its been in garage jail off and on,but now at 46yrs old,its time to get it back in shape.the problem is as much as i would like to just throw it up on blocks and do a resto all at once,i end up doing 1-2 things to it a year(winter is cold here)and at the first hint of spring,i put it back together and drive it :3gears: it is the most reliable car i have ever owned,i can work on it,it gets 20+ mpg,its fairly inexpensive to maintain.and needless to say,i love driving it!!!we had a yard sale a few years back,someone saw it & offered me $4000 for it just at a glance.it was the first & only time i had considered selling it.my wife and kids talked me out of it,thanks to them,i know for a fact i will die owning it :grin: both my kids now 19+22 want it after that,so it will stay in the family.i would be burried in it,but what a waste of such a nice car :laugh:
my father had two 76 455 electras. Always liked the way they rode. one was a two door, the other a 4 door. we used to call them the living room on wheels. Then, my brother bought a 68 electra with a 430. he planned to rebuild the motor and cruize it, then a rotted frame and college came along and he gave me the drivetrain. I eventually rebuilt the motor, and took the bone stock, covered in 30 yrs of road goo th400 and stuffed it in an 85 Trans Am, ran well, to well and litterally tore the car apart. Then I wanted a lcassic, and had some more $$$ in my pocket and I bought my buick. Thats my story, I'm sticking to it. I do like the different part of it too. many people, most have never heard a buick with a lumpy motor, and most never rode in one either. lots of people are amazed.
70gs When I was 16 (Back in 1991), I went out crusing in Bowling Green the weekend that the Buicks were in town. Me and my buddies were parked by the road where the Holiday INN used to be, and I heard a white 70 GS convertible fire his car up. I have wanted a buick ever since (and finally got one last year). I will have a 70 GS convetible one day--just like the one I remember back then. These cars are sweet!!!! :3gears:
Just tell him it's nice that they make Chevys so that the not yet affluent (poor white trash) can have a car too. They are good starter cars.
i got mine when i was young at 16 and now i am about 21, but i wanted something most kids never heard of. but i am still young ha ha :3gears:
Needed wheels in 1991 and the 65 SS Impala was to far gone at that time. The 65 Skylark came up for sale at mere $175. Minus carb. told the guy if he had it running by Fri. I would be back with cash! The rest is history. Had it ever since. Love the car and a ground up is in progress! Tim :3gears: :3gears: :3gears:
