We are an ALL Buick family now...

[Sixty8panther]

Remember that '62 Buick Special I mentioned? Yup, she's now my daily driver.

The Mercedes sold last Thursday, Saturday morning I picked this little Buick sedan.

It has the 198 cu. in. iron-block V6. This GM "intermediate" is almost as much fun

as my '68 Camaro was.

The true-dual exhausts, oversized carburator & recent rebuild make it quicker than

I expected, this thing is quite the little rat-rod. It only cost me half of what I sold

the Mercedes for. Not bad at all for a rock-solid, rust free 46 year old GM classic.

So now all THREE of our cars are GM again as well as all tri-shields.

- 1959 Buick LeSabre 2dr sedan

- 1962 Buick Special 4dr sedan

- 1992 Buick Roadmaster sedan

Mean time, soon as I have the money (it's a long story) I'll be dropping a cheap

401 Nailhead in the B-59 to replace the 364 that I blew the head gasket on.

More photos later...

Edited February 12, 2008 by Sixty8panther

[vonVeezelsnider]

mmm....

Damn 68, Where do you find these awesome cars? I still think the best one you had (not counting the B-59) was the Bicentennial LeSabre

How'd you blow a headgasket on the B-59??

Edited February 12, 2008 by vonVeezelsnider

[Robert Hall]

Cool... you find some amazing cars... I can't remember the last time I've ever seen one of those. Speaking of vintage Buicks, someone at my company has a derelict '64 Skylark 2dr sedan w/ classic plates.. I will have to take a pic of it one day..

[loki]

paint looks rough (or very poor lighting) , but nice otherwise. very nice!

[Robert Hall]

Wow..it has a B-pillar and unibody construction...what next, a Buick with FWD? J/K

[knightfan26917]

Holy cow, 68 ... that is AWESOME.

CONGRATULATIONS on your new daily driver....

I echo the "where the heck do you find these cool cars" sentiment .

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"My heart would always be behind the wheel" ... Ronnie Milsap ... 'Prisoner Of The Highway'

[Dsuupr]

Congrats on the new toy, uh I mean daily driver.

I have often thought of doing an "older" car as a daily driver, but often worry about reliability.

[!!!TED!!!]

What a cool little Buick!

Congrats!

[ocnblu]

Yikes, that is a crazy little car, man. Clean, simple design. A little bit sinister. Cool!

[Blake Noble]

I have often thought of doing an "older" car as a daily driver, but often worry about reliability.

It's far more reliable than you might think. Plus, if you do break down, simple mechanic skills would fix most problems. Old engines aren't as complex as today's engines are. You just gotta remember two main things, really: plugs and points.

[Robert Hall]

It's far more reliable than you might think. Plus, if you do break down, simple mechanic skills would fix most problems. Old engines aren't as complex as today's engines are. You just gotta remember two main things, really: plugs and points.

The reliability issue is one reason I wouldn't want to drive an oldie very often. The other reasons for me are the lack of modern brakes, lack of modern safety features, and lack of modern creature comforts (i.e. giant steering wheels w/ a skinny, hard rim and no tilt, uncomfortable vinyl seats, am radio, no cupholders, no a/c, etc are a turn off).

For a daily driver, less than 10 years old/100k miles is my threshold.

[Intrepidation]

Dude, did you drive by South Campus yesterday? If so I think I saw it on my way out of class.

Looks sweet, congrats.

[Intrepidation]

I got to check that thing out today, it is one awesome V6 beast....it's very quick. I too would like to know how he finds these amazing cars, but he always says you just gotta look around.

The black is primer BTW...the car is extremely solid with almost, or none at all) rust on the body.

It does have a modern stereo, so that counts...and GPS too!

As for the B-59, not to spoil the "fun" for Sixty8 but since he's not on that much I'll give you guys the short version. The head gasket blew, probably from overheating, but what was worse is that the engine caught fire. Luckily he had a fire extinguisher to put out the fire, so the body is fine, but the engine's gone.

Hope you don't mind me spilling the beans Sixty8

Edited February 13, 2008 by Dodgefan

[Sixty8panther]

Yeah, the poor 364 needs so much at this point I think I'll throw it in the barn and

worry about it later, it's cheaper to buy a replacement nailhead and drop it in...

XP715 already got me an email address to a girl who has a rotted to death 1962

Buick Wildcat with a good 401. That's what will happen this spring I think.

It's far more reliable than you might think. Plus, if you do break down, simple mechanic skills would fix most problems. Old engines aren't as complex as today's engines are. You just gotta remember two main things, really: plugs and points.

Eeeeeee-xactly!

I already had a "Mad Max" '68 Camaro w/ 180,000+ miles as a daily driver for four

summers, so a '62 Buick with only 73,000 original miles is nothin'. The previous

owner was awsome to this car, 90% of the braking system is brand new as is the

suspension and much of the motor has been rebuilt/modified for performance and

or practicality. I LOVE fixing up older cars, I've already fixed about 20 "problems"

that the car came with. So far I've spent $6.50 at NAPA for a break light switch,

$3.80 at the hardware store for some 18-gauge wire and the rest involved just

spending some time cleaning electrical contacts, tightening down bolts and

very-basic maintenance.

BTW: It's flat black, which I think suits the car very well... as O.B. said.

Moltar:

The reliability issue is one reason I wouldn't want to drive an oldie very often. The other reasons for me are the lack of modern brakes, lack of modern safety features, and lack of modern creature comforts (i.e. giant steering wheels w/ a skinny, hard rim and no tilt, uncomfortable vinyl seats, am radio, no cupholders, no a/c, etc are a turn off).

Let's see...

AM radio --- this car had a modern CD installed

Safety --- It's got seatbelts, that's all I need

Brakes --- stops great actually, well maintained 4-wheel drums stop great, esp. on a car this light

Reliability --- preventative maintenance & repairs are a fraction of a modern economy car

Vinyl seats --- reupholstery is cheap & simple, it has cloth seats but I think I'll be getting seat covers

Cup holders --- $3.99 at autozone

....oh, and AC is for girly-girls

[Camino LS6]

Cool little beastie,68.

[Cory Wolfe]

Very cool. You are one lucky bastard.

[Intrepidation]

All Sixty8 needs apparently is heat.

[Delta Force79]

Sweet Buick, there used to be one in mint condition for sale 2 blocks away from me FOR YEARS, I havent seen it in quite some time though. I hope it found a good home. Congrats on yet another car you lucky bastard

[Sixty8panther]

Thanks guys. I am having SO much fun driving this thing around, I've already driven it over 1000 miles.

It's dead reliable and the little things that DO need fixin' or attention are so simple a monkey could do it.

This thing requires nothing but the basic tools... a flathead & phillips screwdriver, pliers, wire crimping &

stripping tool, a few standard wrenches & sand paper are all I've used to address all the "imperfections".

DF:

Whatchu talking about Willis? This thing puts out mad heat. Of all my recent vehicles only the 1992 Buick

Roadmaster puts out better heat, as well it shoud with its 5.7 liter V8. An added bonus to this car is that

the previous owner put a lot of love, care & craftsmanship into the car, like many of the custom, one-off

or modified parts like the custom be-cool style radiator & H20 temp/oil pressure gauges.

Not sure if I mentioned this but this car is yet ANOTHER case of a cosmic coincidence for me. AS it turns

out the kid who owned this before the owner that I bought it from is the EXACT same crazy guy who I

bought my 455-powered bicentenial LeSabre hardtop off of. The same car that is now chillin' in FlyBrian's

driveway. I even still have the title from that guy to prove it. Small world.

[gm4life]

Nice little ride. So what kind of V6 is in there?

[vonVeezelsnider]

Nice little ride. So what kind of V6 is in there?

Buick V6 (3.8L?) Ancestor to the 3800 in your Bonneville I believe...

[Sixty8panther]

It's been fun, it's been real but unfortunately the '62 Special's time with me was short. (and sweet)

To all you who care, the car's in good hands. It will be getting a mild restification, possibly as early

as in the next few weeks. The new owner is a true car guy, he's into old school RWD/pushrod stuff

and his plans for the 198-powered baby-Special are to make a nice summer driver out of it.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Was such a quick turn-around part of the plan??? What's the story with that, if you care to tell?

[GMTruckGuy74]

Was such a quick turn-around part of the plan??? What's the story with that, if you care to tell?

Well, to save you some time, I'm going to answer my own questions: click here if you want to know why.

[Sixty8panther]

Nice little ride. So what kind of V6 is in there?

Not a 3800 but its great-great grandfather.

iron block 198 cubic inch (3.2 liter) Fireball V6 (based on the aluminum 215 V8)

Edited March 29, 2008 by Sixty8panther

[Sixty8panther]

I miss this car sooooo much I've been thinking about getting another one.

There's a 215 powered one, gold 4dr skylark. Needs some work but the

guy is only asking $700! Needs title (I can push the right pencils) and

supposedly runs but needs a few odds and ends, the kid selling it is very

confused but either way I think I'll keep his number and go look at it

when I have a few free hours & $50 of gas to blow on a mini road trip.

[HarleyEarl]

I like these little GM nuggets....not high profile but I find them very interesting.

[Sixty8panther]

It's all about those pointy "surfboard shaped" fenders that

protrude forward proudly like a revolutionary minuteman

carying the stars and stripes through gunpowder smoke &

flying bullets. My '62 was such a fun car, that thing hauled

donkey like a 5.0 Mustang..... it had true duals & a nasty

carburator (considering the 198's six small cylinders).

Ideally I'd really want a 2dr hardtop or wagon but this one

cheap Skylark sedan I mentioned just might be too good

to pass up.... we'll see if he astill has it in a few weeks if

and when I'm ready to sell the RoadmOnster.

[intrigued]

That's a pretty slick looking wagon

[HarleyEarl]

That little Buick is a rare sight in these parts. I like them alot. Almost forgot about them.

[Robert Hall]

I can't recall when I've seen ANY early '60s Olds or Buick compact... years. I did see, though, a sharp red '62 Le Mans ht in traffic about a week ago.

[HarleyEarl]

In honor of one of my favorite opinionators at C&G, here is a little pictorial of the 1962 Buick Skylark.

[daves87rs]

Good looking car.....

[Sixty8panther]

Wow... how evry cool, I had never seen the '62 Buick C.O.Y. ad.

Thanks Harley!

-----

Hmmm.... I could give a $ht less what wins C.O.Y. from

Motor Trend, esp. in 2008, but I find this interesting:

2000 Lincoln LS

1999 Chrysler 300M

1998 Chevrolet Corvette

1997 Chevrolet Malibu

1996 Dodge Caravan

1995 Chrysler Cirrus

1994 Ford Mustang

1993 Ford Probe GT

1992 Cadillac Seville Touring Sedan (I owned a '97 STS for 5 years)

1991 Chevrolet Caprice Classic LTZ (current driver: '92 Roadmaster)

1990 Lincoln Town Car

1989 Ford Thunderbird SC

1988 Pontiac Grand Prix

1987 Ford Thunderbird (my first car, on paper, was an '87 Mercury Cougar XR7)

1986 Ford Taurus LX

1985 Volkswagen GTI

1984 Chevrolet Corvette

1983 American Motors Renault Alliance

1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (one of my favorite old winter beaters was an '83 Firebird)

1981 Chrysler K-cars, Dodge Aries/Plymouth Reliant

1980 Chevrolet Citation

1979 Buick Riviera S

1978 Chrysler, Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon

1977 Chevrolet Caprice

1976 Chrysler, Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare

1975 Chevrolet Monza 2+2 V-8

1974 Ford Mustang II

1973 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

1972 Citroen SM

1971 Chevrolet Vega

1970 Ford Torino

1969 Plymouth Road Runner

1968 Pontiac GTO

1967 Mercury Cougar

1966 Oldsmobile Toronado

1965 Pontiac Motor Division

1964 Ford Motor Company

1963 American Motors Rambler

1962 Buick Special (owned a '62 Special, loved it)

1961 Pontiac Tempest

1960 Chevrolet Corvair

1959 Pontiac Motor Division (I love my '59 Buick but '59 Pontiacs are awesome too!)

1958 Ford Thunderbird

1957 Chrysler Corporation

1956 Ford Motor Company

1955 No Award

1954 No Award

1953 No Award

1952 Cadillac Motor Car Division

1951 Chrysler Corporation

1950 No award

1949 Cadillac Motor Car Division

[Robert Hall]

Interesting looking at the COY award...my folks had 4 COY winners over the years.

[Sixty8panther]

Interesting looking at the COY award...my folks had 4 COY winners over the years.

Cool..... so don;t leave us hanging... which ONES!?

[Robert Hall]

Cool..... so don;t leave us hanging... which ONES!?

Actually, 5. '67 Cougar (1 '67, 2 '68s), and '90 Lincoln Town Car (and also a '96, same style).

[Sixty8panther]

Nothing wrong with any of those.... despite my

slight disdain for F*RD. I'm pretty sure they

frown on four letter words starting with 'F' here

on C&G. :wink:

[Robert Hall]

Nothing wrong with any of those.... despite my

slight disdain for F*RD. I'm pretty sure they

frown on four letter words starting with 'F' here

on C&G. :wink:

My dad did dabble in GMs a few times over the years... had a '56 Bel Air 4dr ht back in '56, long before my time...I think that replaced a '54 Ford and then was replaced with a '58 Mercury Monterey 4dr ht. Then in the '70s, he had a '76 Vega 2dr sedan for a few years as a runabout (though he also had a '75 then a '79 Town Car at the same time). In the '80s, he briefly had an '81 Chevette Scooter as a tow car (said it was the worst car he ever owned, traded it on the '84 Ford Escort diesel that later became my first car). He was mostly always a Ford, Mercury and Lincoln guy. Lots of big Fords, Mercurys, then Lincolns from '75 through '96. Plenty of Mustangs and Cougars also. Strangely, even though my folks had the 150 acre place in Ohio, only 2 pickup trucks--a '79 Dodge 4x4 (awful vehicle, learned to drive in it) and later, a '94 Ranger (replaced with a '98 Explorer).

My older brother, on the other hand, owned lots of GMs over the years... '58 Chevy Biscayne, '65 GTO, '68 Camaro SS 396, '75 Firebird Formula 400, '84 Chevy S10, '94 Chevy S10...

Edited August 12, 2008 by moltar

[Sixty8panther]

'56 Bel Air 4-dr hardtop?

Be still, my heart!

The 55-57 tri-five GM pillarles four doors were so

gorgeous that I'd actually prefer a 4 door over a

2 door, plus you almost NEVER see the 4 doors

this side of 1974.

[Robert Hall]

'56 Bel Air 4-dr hardtop?

Be still, my heart!

The 55-57 tri-five GM pillarles four doors were so

gorgeous that I'd actually prefer a 4 door over a

2 door, plus you almost NEVER see the 4 doors

this side of 1974.

Unfortunately, all I've seen of it is a grainy B&W photo...apparently, it was like a peachy color w/ white top. The '58 Merc 4dr ht they replaced it with was copper and white two-tone. That was replaced w/ a white '63 Ford Fairlane wagon, which was replaced with a '65 Hino Contessa (when they lived in Guam), then a '67 LTD 4dr ht in Hawaii, then when they came back to Ohio a '67 Cougar, '69 Mustang, '69 Marquis 4dr ht, then a '72 Marquis 4dr HT, then a series of Lincolns--'75, '79, '82, '85, '90, '96. The '67 Cougar is my Mom's barn..pretty rusty, though the two '68s they later bought are in show condition, as is the '69 Mustang. They also had a '73 Mustang Grande, '85 Mustang GT, and a '90 LX 5.0. My Mom mostly drove the Mustangs and Cougars, my Dad liked his Lincolns with the occasional small car for a tow car (hooked on the back of the Winnebago for vacations).

[Sixty8panther]

1965 Hino Contessa...?

(okay, I'm back from my Google search)

Wow... if there's one word to describe the

Japanese Auto industry it would def. be:

"unoriginal"

This thing is such a hodge-podge of a '60s

era Wartburg, Puegeot, BMW, Trabant &

Fiat it almost has a Communist vibe.

See for yourself:

http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/carros/jap...essa-1300-4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Grin...scl/CropCar.jpg

http://www.co-opones.to/confacto/images/Co...saFrontront.jpg

http://image.motortrend.com/f/features/aut...+front_view.jpg

For the record I think it's not unattractive for an economy car,

it's not great but not ugly either and certainly beats the crap

out of any modern car stylistically.

[Robert Hall]

1965 Hino Contessa...?

I believe it was a Renault design..they had that when they were living in Saipan and Guam... my Dad worked for the State Department as the Director of Schools for all of Micronesia. The were out there 3 years, then a couple years in Hawaii, still working for the government. I wish they had stayed in Hawaii (they moved back to Ohio about 6 months before I was born)...would have been an interesting place to have grown up, I think..

[Sixty8panther]

hahahah... crazy, thanks for sharing Moltar.

And yes, of cousre, can't beleive I left out

the Renault referance, so it was a rebadge?

[Robert Hall]

hahahah... crazy, thanks for sharing Moltar.

And yes, of cousre, can't beleive I left out

the Renault referance, so it was a rebadge?

I think so...I seem to recall reading that somewhere...I've seen a few grainy B&W photos of it parked in front of my folks' house in Guam from back in the day.

[Sixty8panther]

Yup... it's def. close enough to almost be a body-double to this turd:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3292/268500...52cdfe3.jpg?v=0

http://www.g-forum.net/historic/REX/rex6.jpg

http://home.att.net/~giffk/r8wht.jpg

http://mcnally.cc/pics/65R10.JPG

http://bopuc.levendis.com/photolog/images/...57-48RM0025.jpg

[Robert Hall]

Yup... it's def. close enough to almost be a body-double to this turd:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3292/268500...52cdfe3.jpg?v=0

http://www.g-forum.net/historic/REX/rex6.jpg

Yes, Renault 8..those were badass in Gordini trim, I've read...

[Sixty8panther]

I guess I'm not impressed because they were just like a french

Corolla in CzechoSlovakia in the 1980s when i was a pre-teen.

Very frumpy & upright even in a sea of communist era carz.

[Robert Hall]

I guess I'm not impressed because they were just like a french

Corolla in CzechoSlovakia in the 1980s when i was a pre-teen.

Very frumpy & upright even in a sea of communist era carz.

By the way, did you see Trabants when you were in Checkoslovakia? I heard someone is designing a new Trabant. I've seen the modern Skodas, but would love to see some old Skotas and Tatras in person....the Tatras were wild designs!

Edited August 26, 2008 by moltar

[Sixty8panther]

I saw more Trabants every day of my life up to age 8.5 than there

are stars in the sky. (in nevada, 5o miles from vegas... new moon)

Always liked Skodas... esp. the '70s fastbacks. And even as a kid i

despised FWD, he '80 Favorit turned me off big time!

Tatras were only meant for high-tier Commie limos & "red feds"

as you might call them, they struck fear in the hearts of the older

gen. that witnessed the commie-anti-resistance of '68. My dad has

some stories but he's too young to remember most of the really

ugly stuff. Anyway here in the USA the feds use black Cadillacs &

Burbans... behind the iron curtain it was Tatras & Chaikas.