First off, my name is Jeff B. and I'm from Allen, TX (just north of Plano, in the Dallas area). I'm 16 (17 in a month) and a junior in high school. My story is interesting and sort of long, so I'll spare you all some of the details. About this time last year I went to my grandfather's house to visit him and celebrate his 80th birthday. We've always been very close, but the past few years hadn't provided a whole lot of time to get down there (it's about an hour drive; to Denton for the locals). I started getting interested in cars before I hit my teens; I've always been a big racing fan and had great interest in cars. For some reason I must have overlooked the fact that there was a 1972 Buick Skylark 350 in his garage, because when I was there and passed by the screen door to his garage and caught a glimpse of it... :eek2: I poked around a bit after that but never pursued the car; unless I think I absolutely deserve something, I'm very shy to ask for anything or even accept things offered. About three months ago I got word that my grandfather was sick; he had a good deal of fluid in his lungs which made it difficult for him to breathe. Remembering all the times when I was younger and my dad would say, "Act good! This could be the last time you see him!" just to get us to act well behaved; for some reason I thought of that and decided that I needed to go see him. There wasn't huge concern; but considering his age the general concern around the house and among other family was moderate. The weekend all this happened my dad decided to go up and check up on him as well as trouble shoot some problems with my cousin's PC (Grandfather, Uncle and cousins all live in the same neighborhood). I sort of invited myself and my dad didn't have any problem with this as by the weekend, his concern had grown quite a bit. While my father worked on the PC, I sat in my grandfather's living room and talked with him. He asked me about my plans for after high school. I told him I was sort of unsure (as I still am now), but I did know what I wanted to do as a profession. He was nice enough (even with having only about 50% lung capacity) to tell me about what he did after high school. Unfortunately it was Iwo Jima; but following that he got a business degree and proceeded to law school. I'll never forget what he said about law school, "So, after I got my business degree I started law school. Then, one morning I woke up and thought, 'What the hell am I doing in law school? I don't want to be a lawyer!'" We talked a bit more and proceeded outside to his (by today's standard) huge backyard. The house was probably 30-40yrs old and all these houses had large backyards with drive ways in them. It's not a particularly wealthy neighborhood, just the way they used to do it I guess. We pulled up a couple lawn chairs in front of the garage, the Skylark behind us and watched his dog chase squirrels around ("Charlie" as he'd call them). I had to ask him about it. So, I remarked, "So, why didn't you go for the 455?" He looked at me funny, like what the hell is this kid talking about, then I pointed to the car and he caught on. He replied, "I did!" Basically when he was living in Oklahoma City he wanted to get a new car; he went to the Buick dealership. There was a white Skylark 350 there that he liked the look of; for some reason the salesman wanted to sell a GS455, not a 350. My grandfather didn't like the green color of the GS455 the salesman wanted to sell him. The salesman cut him some sort of deal and he took home the GS455. He said my uncle just about fainted when he saw his dad driving home a brand new GS455. Unfortunately, (and I don't have the whole story on this, but from what I understand) the car was on an incline and rolled into a telephone pole or light pole, putting a good sized dent in it. This was probably within a week or two (maybe less than that) from when he first brought it home, so he took it back to the dealership and traded it for the white 350 he wanted originally. He drove it for a short period of time and gave it to my grandmother to drive; she was the typical home maker and didn't put very many miles on it. She got cancer before I was born and wasn't able to do much from then until her death about 5 years ago. The car had been sitting in the garage for probably around the past 15 years being started a couple times a month and driven maybe a couple times a year. The car is just about perfect; 66k miles, original paint (which is almost flawless), no rust, and the body couldn't be in better condition. I talked with him for probably 1-2 hours, probably the best one on one conversation I've ever had with him. I've spent a lot of time with him, but never had a conversation this good. So many things that I'll never forget. The fluid in his lungs was drained a week or two after only to reveal new fluid taking its place. They took nearly 2 liters out before they did a biopsy which revealed very advanced lung cancer. Being his age and how late we caught it, there was no chance. Probably the worse part about this whole thing was that he experienced a stroke during the biopsy which took "him" away, so to speak. A few weeks later he died. That was about a month ago I suppose. Before the biopsy he talked with my dad and said he wanted to start working things out for me to get the Skylark soon. A couple of weeks ago I was told this and basically that I'd be getting the Skylark. Im glad Im getting it through him wanting me to have it an not just by it being there and me wanting it. I stumbled across this board while doing some research on the car and found it to be a good source for information (and one of the very few message boards I've seen which is actually made up of generally a mature membership). So, here I am and that's my story. It's probably the longest post I've ever written for any message board ever; and about 10x longer than I originally planned. I'm pretty excited about getting the car; right now things are starting to pick up again so I could have it within the next few weeks. Comments are welcome, you guys seem pretty nice from what I've read. p.s. I've started doing a lot of programming and am currently working on a computer hardware site, so if any of you guys need any help with anything computer-related, feel free to ask.
Jeff, Sorry to hear about your Grandfather, I lost mine last year. He would take me fishing when I was young, and we spent endless hours in his garden and walking along the creek. I think you will find everyone here is very helpful. We are a small but growing buick family, and like to take care of our own. Welcome. Duane
Duane, Thanks for the welcome. The more I think about the things me and my grandfather did the happier I am that I had a chance to know him and for him to be my grandfather. He always tried to get me into amateur radio clubs, but I never had much interest in it. I tried to learn, but I just couldn't get into it. Aside from that he'd show me guns from his collection and let me hold them and he'd tell me about them. During which my mother would stand in the corner about to have a heart attack, lol. :laugh:
Sorry to hear about your loss Jeff. Welcome aboard. Whatever you need for the Buick, you can find here.
Jeff, Welcome to the board. It sounds like a very nice car, post some pictures when you get a chance! If you have any questions or needs let us know, we're all a big family here. If you want to get the car road worthy for a long trip, there will be a big get-together in the fall down here in Seguin (about an hour south of Austin). I believe 4 or 5 people are traveling fron the DFW area, you can probably caravan with them if you can get the time off from school/work.
That is quite the story. I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather, but you've got part of him as long as you keep the car. Welcome to the board. Eric
Jeff I'm glad to welcome you to the board. I know that when you get the car you will be the envy of many of your friends.
Welcome Jeff Thank you for sharing that story with us all. It certainly was not too long and tells quite a bit about you. I find it very refreshing to see someone of your age possessing good family values, excellent writing skills AND a love for older Buicks !!! I think you will grow to call this place "home" and fit right in. I also think your Grandfather was a very lucky man. His gift to you is not some kind of reward, but instead is his way of sharing his love for/with you. While the car may be a symbol of this love.....the car may, at some point, no longer be there while the memories of you and your grandfather together are treasures to enjoy your whole life Enjoy....and again Welcome !!!
Welcome Jeff, Thanks for sharing that, I think you'll be attached to that car... My 79 Century originally belonged to my Grandfather who bought it for my Grandmother. After she died he gave the car to a friend. Years later that family friend gave it to me rather than have it towed to the wrecking yard. I've put 400k + miles & 16 years on the ugliest 79 Century Station Wagon you can image. I lost my Grandfather in 1999, wouldn't sell that car now for anything. Good luck with your new friend...
Jeff, All of the above and more to you ! Welcome to the board we look forward to chatting with you ! Post pix of your Buick ! I know how you feel when you see yours , mine is a twin to my dads when i was a little guy . Driving the car and working on it gives you a special feeling nobody can ever take away from you! It's a gift to you ! ENJOY !:TU: :TU:
I wish I got stories like that with every submission to BuickStreet. It could have gone on for another thousand words. You do write very well and will obviously be a credit to this community. Welcome aboard Jeff :TU:
great story. sorry for your loss. care for it like he did and someday you can give the keys to a grandson (or granddaughter) of your own. when you are alone in the garage, bustin your knuckles at 1 A.M. and you hear a funny hoise or feel a strage presence, dont forget to thank him. rotsa ruk in th future!! PS..... please dont put hydraulics on it.:Comp:
Thanks for all the comments and kind words. One can't really appreciate you guys until they've experienced some of the "less friendly" forums, which make up the majority. Chris: Let me know the dates and I'll see if I can make it. When I get it, it'll be getting new tires, brakes, plugs, and all the fluids changed (it just got a new battery). Right now it runs without a problem, though it has been sitting for years and years so I'm not too sure about long trips. Alan: Before I started researching about the car, I didn't know much about older Buicks. However, I did know that just about every American car manufacturer at the time had their own performance car. I saw a 350 Skylark badge on the left rear quarter panel and that was good enough. Upon further research I learned a lot more; it's just unfortunate that there aren't more people who realise how great these cars really are, especially the aftermarket parts manufacturers. Yuk: You don't have to worry about that! p I'll be posting pictures the day I get it. Again, thanks to all of you for your kind words.
Jeff - I'll also echo everyone else's comments above. Thanks for sharing :TU: I'm glad you've found a place here to call home. We are a big (and growing bigger each day), happy family.
Look at it this way - look at how many cheasy, low quality parts there are for popular engines... now how many performance parts for the Buick engines are cheasy and low quality? I'm glad you are taking proper precautions before taking long trips... don't climb any mountains with it until you check the brake lines! (personal experience) :grin:
Jeff, Sorry to here about your Grandfather, lost my dad in January and like you...I have those fond memories to hold on to. Welcome to the board...you will find the folks here are mostly friendly, very knowledgeable and all too willing to help... Take care of that Buick...who knows maybe one day you too can pass it along.
Jeff, Here is the information for the Texas brand X bash. Myself and David Newton (the race and show director from lone star buick performance club). Have been working together on this event. The event is to happen on a saturday in september. The goal is to bring together as many buick owners from around texas and surrounding areas as we can. Normally you see very few buicks at the normal events on the weekend. So what happens when 50 to 75 (or more) buicks converge on one track on a nice september saturday. Well you have The brand X bash. This will save us track rental and all you will have to do is come to race/spectate and visit with other buick owners. this brings all the faces from the boards together and to finally meet. If your intrested in such an event Pm Me and i will add you to our growing list. Also there are quite a few buick owners coming from Dallas/FW you may convoy with them.
True Jeff. Well, all except Alan Wander (69GS400s). Watch out for that dude... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: hoo. (howyadoon Alan?) Seriously, welcome into the fold. As a new Buick devotee, my webpage might be able to give you some foundation. The link is in my signature. enjoy! Oh, and if you can scrape up $35, join the BPG. Money well spent.
