It amazes me how many guys that were born well after the hayday of Buick performance are interested in late 60's early 70's Buick Skylarks, as well, I pressume, other cars from the muscle car era. I know that for people like myself who were in their teens & twenties during the muscle car era there is the desire to have something we either had or wanted to have back then. I am curious as to the attraction these cars have to a younger generation and would like to hear why you own a 60's - 70's Buick or other similar car.
I am always glad to see the young guys interested in the old muscle cars or any old cars for that matter. At a car show recently I was looking at all the middle aged and older guys showing off their cars and thought it would be a shame if some of the younger ones didn't carry on the tradition. Bob H.
At 30, a lot of the muscle cars from the 60s and 70s were actually a bigger part of my childhood than you'd expect. My Mom's side of the family has always been heavily into Stock Car racing. Yes, roundy round, not drag. But they were always elbow deep in their race cars and drivers. They were always racing their cars on back roads and trying to out do each other. They raced stock cars at the track every Friday night and sometimes on Wednesdays. In the summer, they'd do baha in Southern Ca. and Mexico. My Mom's first car was a 67 Mustang. Her brother still has it and restored it in the 80s. Drives it everyday still! Hopefully, I can buy it back for my Mom one day, but probably not. He loves that thing as much as a man can love a car. My uncles had their share of Mustangs, one Torino and a lot of Ford High Boys (the family is all Ford). Those were the cars the men in my family had when I was a kid. Those are the men I looked up to and wanted to be like. Of course, I prefer my Buicks over Fords. In that respect, our family has progressed. I still want a 76 F250 High Boy as a daily driver though. I remember my Dads well and in my minds eye, that's the tuffest, badest truck ever made. So I wasn't alive when the 60s and 70s muscle cars were rolling off the showroom floors, but they were still around and were a family tradition in the 80s for me.
I may be somewhat of a dinosaur for my age but I honestly can't understand why anyone would not admire and or desire the muscle cars of the late 60's and early 70's. I was interested in these cars in my very early teens, maybe earlier, and could hold intelligent conversation with "grown up car guys" mainly due to spending countless hours reading car books and magazines. I would of given my right arm in the early years to have one of these monsters, I had given up the dream of muscle car ownership(but DEFINITELY not forgotten about them) after high school due to the pursuit of more important goals and ambitions. Once I felt I was where I wanted to be for my age the itch returned and that's when I tracked down my GS. For me these cars are like women, you are drawn to them and don't know why. With muscle cars, much like the female species, sometimes you are better off leaving them where you found them.:laugh:. I have one uncle who is an old car guy but the rest of my family could care less, perhaps it is partially inherited. When I see a nice muscle era car drive by I am speechless and lose concentration for about 5 minutes, they are just works of art in my eyes. Believe me, I don't see any of my old classmates at cruise nights, although I see there dad's and uncles sometimes. I myself have often wondered what will happen to the sport when the baby boomer generation passes.
I will be 28 in March. My current Skylark is my 3rd. I have also driven a 76 Pontiac Grand Prix and owned a 56 Chevy. My uncle had a Chevelle, and a few C10's when I was younger. I grew up around v8's, and love the styling of the mid 50's to 70's vehicles. I always wanted a Chevelle, and happened upon my first Skylark in high school after wrecking my GP. It had been sitting in a field for a long time, and for less than $1000 (including price of the car) I was rolling. That old beater hooked me on the Buicks, and each one since has gotten nicer than the one before. I think I've finally got a keeper.
I'm 18 and get asked this alot actually... I hate the electronic smooth feel of most new vehicles, driving a buick from the 60's is just so much nicer: floating down the road in an 18 foot long car knowing in and out the way your car behaves is so much more satisfying than computers attempting to make everything work perfect. Also its fun diagnosing problems with the car by feel and sound rather than just being told... ohh and iron saves lives... plastic doesn't, just look at the post about the Camaro vs the power poll
My buddy said it right. It doesn't hurt to mention either that insanely intoxicating noise of me plowing the skinny pedal and the four barrels sucking 8000 pounds of fuel per square inch into the intake and bellowing a deep raaappp out the dual exhaust. And getting sucked back into the seat, watching the front end jump up as the needle plows through 40-50-60-70 mph and at each hard shift it jumps 10-20 mph hehe. These cars were meant for pure enjoyment, somewhat lacking in safety, but the styling is just so curvy and cool looking, and so much different from these cookiecutter junkboxes. I mean lets be honest here, I could drive a honda civic that runs 13's with a turbo, and my buddy could be driving a brown 69 GS400 that runs 13's and sounds like a Bear Jew, Which one of us would get laid first?? I wonder.:beers2:
I'll be 30 this August, and of the dozen + cars I've owned, only about 20% of them have been post '73 cars. Musclecars and Hotrods have always been a part of my life. My parents owned musclecars during my youth, my uncle raced a '68 Camaro at the local roundy round track, my grandfather rebuilt his first engine at 12 years old, and has owned everything from GTOs to lead-sled Mercs. It's in my blood :TU: I love the looks, the sounds, the smells, EVERYTHING associated with them..........well, maybe not the rust. Anytime I see an older car, my heart beats faster, my eyes get bigger, and the entire world is shut out for those few seconds while that big, mean, beautiful ground-pounder makes its way past. There is nothing else in the world that gives me the same feeling of taking a seat behind that wheel, firing that engine up, putting the car in gear, and going for a drive. Newer cars just don't have the same feel. I've driven late model Corvettes, and they are a blast to drive, incredibly fast, but they just don't have the ability to give me an adrenaline rush at idle. As far as Buicks go... My very first was a '69 Skylark Custom, and I've been hooked ever since. I currently own a '57 Special series 48, and overall I've just always loved the styling of Buicks; that, and I've never been opposed to a little speed :laugh: Until I die, I'll always be Going Fast with Class. My nephews (8 and 2 years old) have taken a natural interest in older cars, and it's just great to be able to share something like this with them. We go to shows together, go for cruises, and I teach them everything I know about these gorgeous hunks of steel. It's good to know that when I move on, this passion will continue in my family, and someone else will be around to keep the gears turning.
I'm 30 years old and was very lucky to end up with my Riviera. I have been around this car for the last 18 years or so. I really enjoy jumping in to my Dodge Cummins diesel and going on a road trip with the family and Travel trailer, but there is nothing that compares to going for a drive on a Saturday and feeling the BB torque that the Buick has. The car is a blast to drive and there isn't anything out there today that can compare. I hope to make Hot August nights next year. :3gears:
Ill be 16 in March and Im attracted to them because when I was growing up I always told my dad Buick never made a muscle car. He tried to tell me about the GS and GN but I didnt listen. Then I found a 71 skylark convert with a GS hood and never looked back.
i am only 24 and the reason i like them is because i love the styling of the cars. And back then buick made there own motor, chevy made there own.
I'm 18, always been attracted to muscle cars, ever since I layed eyes on my Uncle's 1968 Charger when I was 3 or 4. Been hooked ever since. I think it's combo of the raw horsepower, that unmistakable sound, and the feeling of being a pure badass when crusing down the road. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY want a new Challenger or a new 5.0L Mustang, but you can't be that late 60's American Muscle.
I'm 19, 20 in may. Back when I was first looking for a car about 5 years ago, all my buddys were into the whole Honda civic with a bodykit n fart can thing. At the time my mom owned a 66 Mustang coupe, and me needing to be different as usual began looking for a first car, one from the 60's or 70's with some prodding in that direction from my dad. Couple months later I found my Primered black, black interior 70 Skylark in the paper, fast forward 5 years and that Skylark now has a .060 over 455/4-speed, and I just picked up an 83 regal that'll get the skylarks original 350/th350. That car really started my fire for the love of cars, and more specifically for the old iron. I had parked the skylark in high school and bought a 93 5.0 mustang GT for a daily driver, it was definetly a fun car, but it isn't the same as something older. Lightweight, easy to slide around a corner, but the entire interior is plastic, I'd describe it as a cheap thrill.
When I was a kid my father had a 77 Trans Am he bought new and I always loved that car. As I got into my teens he started telling me about his 70 GS he had. I bought a 71 Chevelle and then I sold it and my father and I went half on the 70 Stage 1 that I have now. When he passed away he left both of them to me and because of him I love the old cars. I'm now 26 years old and I'm so happy we bought the 70 GS Stage 1. When it was delivered to my house I think my father was more excited than I was. He was like a kid in a candy store. It took him back to his youth. He drove both the Trans Am the GS the same amount. We were looking for a Skylark to put an engine in we were building too, but he passed before it was finished. I'm hoping to someday finish the engine and buy another Skylark like he would have wanted me to do. I owe my love for old muscle cars to my father who I think about every second of every day. Sorry if I kind of went off on a tangent.
It is nice to see so many younger guys pationate about the muscle car (Buick in particular!!) hobbie. As some have said it is nice to have a vehicle that you can actually do all the work on yourself without having to have an electronics degree.
It's ALL about the gears, the grease, the gas & the guts. Carbon monoxide running through your veins. There's no explaining it. Once it's there it's there FOREVER!!!!!!! Tom T.
And ...... then there is that gettin laid thing......:laugh: :laugh: I got 2 muscle cars and aint nobody laid me....some thing must be wrong.....
