Hi!
I'm Chuck from near Battle Creek, Michigan. I live in a rural area outside of town that we affectionately call "The Ginky Weeds". Lot's of wildlife and VERY quiet. I'm recently retired and decided I need a car project. About 5 years ago I finished a '65 Cobra replica that I worked on for 3.5 years. 521 CID V8, 5-speed. Very fun car to drive, but with no top, it's always iffy from a weather standpoint, especially in Michigan. At my first Woodward Dream Cruise, it turned into a rolling bathtub when the skies opened up and I had 2 inches of water in the footwells! I spent my teen years in the '60s and loved muscle cars, but could never afford one. My first car was a 1963 Ford Fairlane with a 221 CID V8. What a dog, and successive cars went downhill from there. So I decided my new project should be a '60s muscle car. Since I have a Ford product, I thought I would find a GM or Mopar this time. I really like the GM A-bodies from that era, but ruled out Chevelles as they are just too common and we already have two of them in the family. I like GTOs and 442s, but only '65s and it seems they are kind of hard to find. I wasn't looking for a Buick, but ran across the one I bought and really liked it. 1965 Skylark Gran Sport convertible with dual quads, a Muncie 4-speed (neither from the factory) and a 3.36 posi rearend (this from the factory) with less than 60,000 original miles. The front fenders and hood are in rough primer and the rest of the car is painted black from it's restoration in the early '90s. Interior is in good shape and body is solid as a rock with no serious rust issues. It hadn't been fired in 14 years, but it is running now. Not well, with a miss in the engine that I have to diagnose. I plan to make it driveable and get acquainted this summer, then think about restoration, including an engine rebuild.
My first chore was to remove and rebuild the starter. And I found it is one of the more painful processes on this car. But I survived and the rebuilt starter now works very well. I'll now move on to some serious diagnosis of the engine miss and hopefully get her in driving shape.
I mentioned the Chevelles in the family. One is a '64 El Camino and the other is a '72 Malibu. The Malibu belongs to my nephew and he won the Optima Battery "Full Ride" contest a couple of years ago. Optima took his car and did a total rebuild. About $50K later, it's a monster with an LS7 Corvette engine, Tremec 6-speed, Currie 4.11 9" rear, etc. And all new body panels and custom paint job. Very nice car. He's in the Army and will be heading for Afghanistan later this year. So the car will go into storage and we will pray for his safe return.
Good to meet you guys. Being familiar with the gearheads over at Club Cobra, I'm sure that the GS team will be equally knowledgeable and helpful. I'm looking forward to it!
Cheers!
