TodK

I'm hoping you guys can give me some quick advice.

Basically, I came across a nice 61 Skylark. I've never been into classic American cars, but on a whim, am thinking of purchasing it.

Is there anything I should know about early Buicks? Is this considered a "good" car to own out of the Buick line?

Other than looks, I have nothing to go on as far as what this car is worth.

Thanks.

TK

SpitAndDirt

My friend's parents own a 61 Buick LeSabre with a 364 "Nail Head" V8 It's a real head turner and rides just as well or even better than some new cars. It has had some restoration done to it, however. I also have worked on a 62 Buick Special with the V6 motor, though I can't remember off the top of my head what size it was. I can say that your first investment should be into a Pertronix (www.pertronix.com) Ignitor to replace the obsolete points in the distributor. If you never have set points, this would be an excellent time to learn. Any old car, as long as it's intact and not a rust bucket, will give you plenty of long life and faithful service. In addition, any old car will require your continued commitment to keeping it running correctly. I only say this because most people's mentallity is to just fix only the minimum possible. You must evaluate how much you are willing to put in first, and then decide. -Chris

rollin_on13s

TK[/quote]
Hmmm...'61 Skylark means, well, early sixties GM- not bad.
Transmission, electrical, suspension are sensibly designed and reliable. No doubt they share a common design among other nearly-identical models (Olds F-85, pontiac Lemans), and a greater commonality to all of the GM cars of the 60's. A best-guess is that the early Skylark is like an Impala/Invicta, just in smaller scale- the suspension and braking is very straightforward and easy to work on, but not terribly sophisticated. Likewise there is no inherent "weirdness" or unrewarding complexities like on the Corvair or some european makes of the same vintage. Parts should be easy to find and reasonably priced.

The motors in these cars presents different possibilities. I'm not sure of the exact powertrain options available for ’61 in this platform- another best-guess is that the Buick V-6 was available. If your car has the V-6, it no doubt contributes to a good purchase for you. If it has the 215 cu in V-8, carefully consider buying this car. The 215 is all-aluminum- GM made this motor for only a short period of time(shared by the ’60-’62 Skylark, Lemans, and :Cutlass”), and with good reason. In short, it’s problematic. If this skylark, having the V-8, has been owned and cared for by a single owner (or similar situation), and is in excellent running condition, it may be have a certain esoteric value. Plan to continue caring for and “babying” the aluminum V-8 in order to preserve this.

I don’t know what your vision is for the car, but if you’re planning on a hopping it up, plan on an engine swap (unless you develop some sort of unnatural attachment to the 215 or are determined to spend too much $$). There’s probably a lot of info available on this subject via google search (including some vintage swaps that involve trading reversely with other types of cars) These cars may have a 4-lug wheel bolt pattern. If so, you want to do some research on what is involved in swapping out the 4-lug hubs to give yourself more options for custom wheels.

Overall, it sounds like a neat little car. I personally really like the look of these little cars. If it’s a Hardtop, all the better.
I don’t know how much of a following they presently have, but I’m betting that the space age styling they share with the popular Impalas and Invictas, will inevitably catch on. Just in smaller scale.

Check the facts:

http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofjet.htm

correction: the skylark has IRS!!

rollin_on13s

Correction: these skylarks have IRS!! looking cooler all the time!

sub006

One of my favorite cars of all time (never owned any Buick, mostly Chevys, 'Vettes, Jags and BMWs), a beautiful baby Riviera!

Aluminum V8 compact Buicks and Oldsmobiles had trouble with electrolytic action between their aluminum blocks and copper radiators. The radiators wouldn't last long. Improved antifreezes ("for aluminum") seem to have fixed this by the late 60's/early 70's.

The Buick aluminum V8 has been used in many English cars, such as MG V8, TR8, Land Rovers.

Never heard of an IRS Skylark. The Tempest/Le Mans and Corvair, which used much of the same basic body/chassis tooling, had rear-mounted transmissions and swing axles, but not Buick Special/Skylark or Olds F-85/Cutlass '61 through '63. Tempest joined Buick and Olds compacts with a solid rear axle from '64 on, leaving Corvair on its own with IRS through '69.