What drew you to Buicks? Dad was a Buick Man? Older brother liked Chevys and you had to show him up? I met a kid with a Riv GS with dual quads who's Uncle was a Buick engineer in the '60s. So how come you like Buicks? When I turned 18, I decided I wanted an old car. The want just grabbed me. My dad had a '65 Mustang convertible, and I really like the styling, so I looked at 5 or 6 '60s Mustangs. They were junk, I live in Massachusetts. One summer afternoon in '89, after I had gone to tell my cousin about my latest Mustang disaster, my dad called me home to look at a car a couple blocks down from the house. I drove over, and we looked at my present summer driver, a 1970 Buick Skylark Custom convertible, in Fire red. It had been a repaint, originally Bamboo Cream. Some cool options, like windsheild antenna. Some not cool "options" like aluminum sheets repairing the rear quarters. But Oooooo was it pretty. Mustangs were driven from my mind. In the late '80s, any type of muscle car was expensive. we struck a not-too-hard-to-swallow deal on the convertible the week later. I have been hooked since. I am impressed by the build quality of my early '70, and I have found out that I luckily got interested in one of the best performers of the muscle car era- or at least the car it was based on. So it didn't have a 455 from the factory? I can fix that! No posi, highway gears? I've got a set of wrenches. Want buckets? Done. I've done almost all the work, from building the engine to installing the roof, and it's been very rewarding, even if sometimes I've cursed David Dunbar Buick, for making a company that could build a car that got it's claws into me like that. And as I learn more and get better mechanically, I get even more reward from the car. Just recently, me and my Dad wetsanded the car, after he gave me moral support for three months of hard bodywork, and now the car has given me a new thing: a better relationship with my Dad. What's your Buick story?
I started on this road for practical reasons It was a rust-free, low mileage car, and dad and I got a good deal on it because it needed a little work done and the guy selling it was hard up for cash. As a bonus, it insured a lot cheaper than a comparably-powered GTO, Monte, Camaro, or Chevelle. Dad and I didn't know much about Buicks at that point (although he did have a roadster with a nailhead back when he was in college). He was a Corvette guy, and I grew up hanging out with that crowd and working with him on his 65 coupe and 72 big block roadster. After we bought my GS, the Buick fever kinda sneaked up on us, I suppose. Now he's owned 2 GN's and I'm chomping at the bit to buy another Buick (or two) too. I'm thinking Riv's: 65 and 96. - Freed
Lol, leave it to me to beat a dead horse! Thanks for the link, Chris. Love the avatar pic, Freedster. Last of the V8s. How'd you get all this together? Well, y'know, it just sorta happened...a p-piece form here and a p-piece from there...So easy? Max...you've seen it, heard it, and you're still asking questions? When do we go for a ride! I might go watch that right now!
Glad you like it. It was a bear sizing the pic down from the screen capture on the DVD, but you know, it just had to be done. - Freed
Please read a little about me and dad Hey Guys When I was growing up my dad would always tell me story's about driving fast and loosing the cops. I'm not kidding about the cops by the way. Where I come from everybody knows everyone. My dad along with my uncles, used to raise some hell around town. Hmm I'm reminded of the story when my dad and my uncle raced side by side right downtown on a Sunday after church doing a 135 mph. And it didn't take long to reach those numbers, dad in his 68 Wildcat 430 all done up, and my uncle in his 67 Parisienne 427 4-speed. My dad loved to talk about his big boat and how 5000lbs of detroit muscle would just punish most of the competition. I remember him saying "man that thing would go, didn't matter how fast you where going 50mph or 120, once you opened up that spreadbore it was gone. So that's my story and how I got hooked on Buicks. I bought a gorgeous '80 Silverado last year and i'm currently putting together a 455 w/430 big port heads. It should be a 500Hp motor, I can't wait till I feel that same power, dad too! :eek2: Thanks for reading guys Marc:TU:
