65GS.com - Buick Gran Sport Enthusiasts!
Announcements => New Members / Bio's => Topic started by: cwmcobra on May 13, 2009, 02:31:09 PM
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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!
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Hi Chuck, and welcome to the forum! You might want to think about a mini starter from Tom Telesco. That'll make a life a little easier for that part of these cars. Love to see some pictures.
Mark
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Thanks Mark. I posted some pictures of the GS in the Gallery. I would post others here, but it appears they have to be uploaded from a website and I don't have one.
Guess I need one of those Photobucket accounts......
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Welcome Chuck... great to have you aboard!
Chris
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Welcome Chuck,
Looks like you have a great candidate for a restoration job. They don't come much nicer than a black convertible, white interior, dual quads and a 4-speed. If you need help with completing the restoration, this is the place to ask questions. Enjoy!
John
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I had a little time to spend browsing the site and found the info on how to post pictures. So, I'll attach a few shots of the GS first.
Enjoy....
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Now the Cobra:
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And my nephew's Full Ride Chevelle. These are from the Reveal done at the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. What a car lover's dream that was!
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Those are all really nice cars.
Are you watching the Mecum auction this week? One of the Daytona coupes is up for sale along with about 20 other historic Shelby's.
Your 65 vert. as John said is about as good as it gets with the options and colors she has.
She should be a kick a$$ ride when completed.
Chris
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Thanks Chris. I have setup my DVR to record Mecum tomorrow and Saturday while I'm out scoring a softball tournament for the local high school varsity team. I'll catch up with Mecum when I return. Watching those beautifully restored cars in HD is real eye candy for me!
Thanks also for the comments on the GS. I'm not sure I'm going to stay with the current color scheme, although in 1986 when Dave Knutsen finished his restoration, it was a jewel (picture from '86 attached). The car was painted white with black interior from the factory. It also had the standard 4V carb and an automatic tranny. Dave swapped engines and tranny and reversed the color scheme. The car has been a bit neglected since he sold it about 4 years ago, but that will change now. Dave's been a super source of information as I start my restoration planning. I expect that some of the guys on this board know Dave. He's a lifelong Buick fan!
Cheers!
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Chuck, glad you could join us!
Your 65 looks like a great project. I know you will grow to like the early GM A-bodies, they are a great platform to work on and improve on for better performance.
I corresponded with Dave Knutsen about GS's when I was a teenager...a long time ago! Small world....
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Thanks Walt. Dave still has a number of Buicks in his garage and hated to part with this one, but sold it to a friend who has since sold it to me. I know he's been working on them for a long time. Just yesterday he told me he was working on a reverse lockout for one of his cars that he had turned on a lathe. I've never met him, but he seems like a very talented guy.