65GS.com - Buick Gran Sport Enthusiasts!
General Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Super65lark on June 24, 2020, 06:13:07 PM
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Hi fellow Buick people,
My story regarding my Buick isn't so interesting - I wanted a classic and bought the Skylark. Can't part with it. But I want to hear how everyone else came to be a Buick person. I'd also love to hear some stories about favorite times with your Buick, but we'll start here.
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When I was in high school (mid-late 70s), one of my buddies owned a 67 GS400. Another buddy had a 69 Firebird 400. The GS would walk that Firebird every time. I loved the way the GS looked and how it went. Fast forward 25 years, and my wife and I are looking for a classic car to use with our two boys. Criteria....big engine, convertible, 4 seats, early to mid 60s. Looked at a bunch of cars, then came across a 65 GranSport, with complete ownership history from new, 2nd owner (same family, his Uncle bought it new), at a reasonable price. Still have it, after about 15 years now.
Only regret....wish my GranSport had a 4 speed. Oh well......
Keith
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Hi,
My original/first 65 Skylark, post 2dr V6 auto, was a winter beater, 200 bucks from junk yard. Drove it for 3 years and grew on me to the point 10+ years later found my Post Car on ebay after a 3 years of searching for a solid car.
Regards,
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Dear Iain, Keith, Jim, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,
. . . . . I want to hear how everyone else came to be a Buick person. . . . .
Not to bore people because I've told the story before, but leave us turn the clock to March/April 1968.
http://www.canebas.org/Biquette/history.html (http://www.canebas.org/Biquette/history.html)
The family had returned from an overseas assignment and had to basically put everything back together from car, to house, etc. We were able to bum a place to stay at friends while trying to straighten all these things out. My Dad had decided he wanted a thrifty station wagon like an AMC Rambler. However, there was a used, seafoam green 1965 Buick Deluxe Special station wagon at the Hayward Dodge dealership. Mom fell in love with it :love4: . . . . . . It was more than Dad wanted to pay, but . . . . . Mom got what she wanted! . . :sunny:
What is more amazing is that we managed to keep the car all these years. Biquette has been a victim of mechanical problems since her first engine rebuild of 1979. On more than one occasion Dad was fed up and ready to send the car to the junk yard. Every time, the family would become sentimental and Biquette would be spared another time. By 1986 when she was stolen, we were too attached to her to let her go. Having gotten her back from the thieves, she had a permanent home from then on.
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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My 65 Skylark (post) bought it sight unseen from a coworker. I wasn't even sure what skylark looked like. All I knew was it came from California and the guy was asking $600. I thought a paint job and a chevy engine was going to be the game. Boy was I wrong! When I started looking for parts I met Jon. He sent me down the path of looking for parts as rare as hen's teeth (now more than 20 years) You guy's know the old story...
Oh that fits 64/65 only, Oh the three speed is a ford unit, no those gears aren't available, blah blah on and on.
For the convertible; Its a recovering Mouse and Raccoon home found in a barn in Wisconsin. Literally winched out of a barn and missing too many parts. During a counting session nearest I can figure it has parts from at least 50 donor cars. Well sorry if I bored you to death, you folks did ask.
Take is easy.... oh yeah I need a switch pitch bracket for a dual quad.... it never ends with these things..... and oh yea I know a guy who needs.....
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Since you asked...
My grandpa bought my car in the mid '70's for my grandma (I don't remember the exact date, because I was about 7years old at the time).
He bought the car from a man named Mr. Briggs, who bought the car new from Ken Pruitt Buick in Garland, TX. Mr. Briggs moved to Washington state and took the car with him. When he moved back to Dallas, he sold the car to grandpa, who was the second owner.
My first memory of my car was sliding back and forth on the Armor-All'd back seat when my grandma turned corners. I loved that car from the first time I saw it as a kid. I think the tail lights drew me in, but it was just so beautiful it was hard to pick my favorite attribute.
My grandma knew how much I loved the car, so when it got time for her to get her next ride, she said I could mow the yard to pay for the car so I could have it when I got my driver's license at age 16. I started mowing when I was 14, and would wash the car and start it in the driveway, just to hear it idle.
I drove the car through high school and just kept falling deeper in love. On a rainy day in 1991, a lady in a Toyota ran a stop sign in front of me. I turned in to a broad-slide to try and miss her, but it didn't work. Her Toyota caught my car right above the frame (I had lowered it by then), and caved in the door and the left side quarter panel.
Her insurance company paid for a total loss, which they deemed as 500 bucks or so. I kept driving the car for a while, but I didn't have the money to fix the damage. I couldn't bear to let my car go to the junkyard! Since I couldn't roll the driver's window up, I finally bought a used Regal and parked my '65, swearing to myself that I would fix her some day.
I bought my first house in 1994, and the presence of a garage was make-or-break. I towed the car home from my grandma's back yard and did lots of things to make her better, but I never had the money to fix the damage from the crash. Then life happened, I went through a divorce, and the house went on the market.
My uncle was kind enough to offer to let me keep the car on his property about 100 miles south of Dallas. 13 years passed as I re-racked, and the car sat under a tree in a cow pasture, cooking in the Texas summers and rusting in the rain during the winters. Fortunately, I was able to coat the floor and trunk pans, top and bottom, with POR-15 while the car was in the garage. I think that, along with that old tree, might have saved her.
On December 29, 2020, I found myself in a position to bring my car to our new home. I cleaned out the wasp nests, years of dust & funk, did a few other things and trailered her to Loaded Dice Speed Shop in Frisco, TX. They replaced the crashed quarter panel and fixed LOTS of other problems. My car came home on May 26th, with no dents or rust on her rear clip, the first time I've seen her that way in about 20 years!
Sometimes I just go outside and look at my car, all taken apart and needing lots of work, and just feel happy! It's damn-near miraculous that she's here, and I am absolutely determined to finish what has become a life-long mission!
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My bad. That homecoming date was December 29, 2019. Cool as my car is, she's not a time machine! :overthetop:
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Great story Sean. A car remaining in the family is special indeed!
Looking forward to following your restoration thread.
:cheers2:
Chuck
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My story is not nearly as compelling as those of others. In 2008 I was staring at a near retirement and decided I wanted to restore a 60's classic car. I had built my Cobra replica in 2002 and wanted to branch out into a restoration for a change and a challenge. I had no specific car in mind. If I would have based my selection on a car that I previously owned it would have been my first new car, a 1972 AMC Gremlin X. Patriot Blue, white stripe, 304 V8, 3-speed on the floor, positraction. Obviously, it was memorable. And I was really coveting an AMX in college, but couldn't scrape together the cash to buy one. My dad drove all AMC cars from about 1957 on, so that's what I was familiar with. Despite that history, I didn't pursue any classic AMC products. i've always liked GTOs and 442s as well, but never owned one. I would have probably favored a 442 if for no other reason than I went to college in East Lansing, MI and the Oldsmobiles were produced just a few miles away.
As I searched online sites, I found the 442s and GTOs to be too highly priced for my taste and budget and stumbled on a 65 GS convertible for sale in Arizona. I was not familiar with any Buick models, but found I like the styling and the uniqueness and relative rarity of the model. So silly me, I bought it and proceeded to steadily increase the budget until I'll never recover my investment. I'm simply paying for the 'fun' of the restoration, which I started in 2015 and am hopefully about to finish. I still love the car, despite the cost and challenges of the restoration. I even bought a second one, the red Steve Shuman converible, to have one to drive while restoring the other and to have a reference for most of my questions on how to put the other one together.
I cherish the Steve Shuman car for its history and look forward to future fun with the Verde Howitzer when it's completed.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!! :icon_thumright:
:cheers2:
Chuck
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Thanks, Chuck! You have a great piece to use as a historical reference in the Steve Schuman car, and I love the name "Verde Howitzer"! :laughing7:
I wish I had enough discipline to thoroughly document my restoration process! Sometimes I have trouble deciding what is amusing enough to warrant a post to the site. Tonight I painted my vent window glass run channels and lower frame pieces, but I just don't think that things like that make for a very entertaining story line!
I attached a good shot of the car in the body shop with her drivers' quarter freshly installed. I bugged the hell out of them while my car was there! I equated it to having a family member in the hospital. I had to come by and visit regularly to show support!
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My first GS acquisition started out when I was a kid riding the school bus. After school we would sit on the bus and the older kids that drove to school would often squeal out around the corner between the school and the church. Most of them sounded really good but one in particular stood out to me. It was a 1966 Gran Sport with a 3 speed. Green with a black painted top and jacked up in the back. It had Keystones on the front and Rockets on the rear. He was running Thrush mufflers through full tailpipes and it crackled and rapped great. That stuck with me and when I was 15 the car was for sale so I took out a loan for $700 and it was mine. I still have it but it is used for parts now as back then I could not afford all upkeep. That is the one that started it for me.
Here it is circa 1975 or so and as a parts car today.
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Here is the 1975 or so pic.
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Cool stories everyone, thanks for sharing :icon_biggrin:
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Ive always liked buicks and have had several . The 65 GS i have now i purchased thru e bay . The guy that listed it had mention of 65GS.com in his listing and I was watching/listening to the conversation about it and started to gain interest in the car . Some of the guys on here started to decipher the trim tag and had mentioned that it was born a 3 speed car with the dearborn trans . When I seen the production numbers for 3 speed 2 dr hard tops I really got interested and the rest is HISTORY .
Still under restoration though .
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Cool stories everyone, thanks for sharing :icon_biggrin:
What can I add to that. Well said Super65lark. Our stories are always fun to read about.
When I and my first Buick came together, it was out of a need for a front bumper to go on a '65 Skylark hardtop that my brother was working on.
He had purchased his Skylark from an insurance salvage pool about '79. It suffered an engine fire and also needed body work. My brother's intentions were for it to be a father/ son project, but my nephew was more interested in driving a car than restoring one. lol
As I recall, it was '81 or '82 when he enlisted my help to restore the Skylark. I did most all the body work as well as electrical work. The interior survived the engine fire and was in really excellent condition. But Minnesota had taken a toll on the lower front fenders and rear quarters. Some time in its life it also must have had a fender bender requiring the front bumper to be replaced. The replacement bumper was from a Special, so we needed to find a Skylark front bumper. Even back then, those were not easy to come up with. One Sunday morning, while reading the Minneapolis paper, I came across an ad for two '65 Buick Skylarks for sale for parts or repair. It was a pair of convertibles, a Skylark with a rusted and broken frame and something called a Gran Sport. I had absolutely no idea what a Gran Sport was at the time. After doing some research, I realized how rare the GS was. I decided I needed to try and save it. Unfortunately, I failed, as the Minnesota winters had taken too much from it. I still have the drive train, interior and some of the body. lol
I must agree that the lines of our '65 Skylarks and Gran Sports , along with those tail lights are about the most beautiful cars built. I ended up restoring a '65 GS hardtop for myself after finishing my brothers and also another '65 Skylark post car for my father in law. In '92, we drove all three cars from the metro area of Minnesota to Kansas City, KS for the Buick Club National. All three received gold and senior awards. It was certainly something to remember.
Loren
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Dear Randy, Sean, Chuck, Jim, Iain, John, Loren, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,
Thanks so much for sharing your stories!
. . . .
On a rainy day in 1991, a lady in a Toyota ran a stop sign in front of me. I turned in to a broad-slide to try and miss her, but it didn't work. Her Toyota caught my car right above the frame (I had lowered it by then), and caved in the door and the left side quarter panel.
. . . .
I certainly feel your pain Sean! Biquette never had something that extreme, but she has been 2 significant accidents since we bought her. She was ultimately better off for both ordeals, because she got repainted each time. However, the 2010 accident was a desperate struggle to locate the replacement parts. Jim hasn't completely put this 1966 GS back together although it appears he at least managed to get all the parts needed to make the repair after the unfortunate run-in at the gas station. Getting into an accident is very much my greatest fear when driving Biquette.
Our cars are in a strange "middle ground" between rare antiques and modern cars. On the one hand, you can still go to many auto parts stores and pickup tune up kits for these engines. However, we all know these cars are over 50 years old the some parts are getting - really - hard to come by!
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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Edouard,
The ?dance? between you and Biquette certainly resonates with me! Sometimes these inanimate objects can certainly feel a lot like family, especially when they were passed to you by beloved family members. Live long, Biquette!
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I got my first 65 GS in 1965. I drove past our local Chevrolet/ Buick dealer and setting in front of the dealership was a car that grabbed my attention. I had to go around the block to go back and check it out. There set a 65 Verde Green Coupe, 4 speed car with a saddle interior. The salesman said that they had just unloaded it and would i want to test drive it. well hell yes i wanted to test drive it. Traded in a 61 Corvette the same day on the Sport. Sold it in 67 when i got married. Sure will i had not done that!!! Got my second 65 GS in 2000 when i purchased it from Glenn Dempsey.
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Dear Tom and mid-60s Buick caregivers who's cars are members of the family,
. . . .
The Story of JOCKO
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Thanks so much for sharing! It is a very sweet and nostalgic story that has a very happy ending!
Have you posted pictures of your car anywhere? If not, we'd love to see them!
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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Tom,
I love that you have such a personal story about your car and that it is named after your dad. But I can't find your post anymore...did it get taken down?
At any rate, thanks for sharing that piece of your family history!
:cheers2:
Chuck
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The Story of "JOCKO"
The year was 1965, shortly before my 15th birthday. My Dad asked if I wanted to go look at some new cars, we were going to replace our 1962 Skylark. No brainer, I was in the car before he was. We went to Downtown San Jose (Ca.). Our first and last stop was Smythe Buick on Market Street. We had looked at a couple of cars before the salesman approached and wanted to help us out. Dad told him what he was looking for and of course he said he had "just the car" for us. We then went to one of their storage lots down the street and he indeed had that perfect car, a 1965 Skylark Gran Sport 2-door hardtop with red interior, (that was Mom's only request). We took it for a drive and Dad made the decision to purchase the car, so in the sales office we went. Back and forth with the salesman and the deal was done, well almost. Dad had to have the Buick wire wheel hubcaps or there was no deal. Finally, they shook hands and it was done. I want to say somewhere around $3,100.00 out-the-door. Automatic, no power steering, no power brakes, no air conditioning, it did have a radio and heater. That was it!!!!
Dad worked for United Airlines in South San Francisco and commuted on a bus with several other guys, so that meant the car stayed home all day and was really only used on the weekends, (Mom did not drive, at all). My sister was older and had her license so Dad had agreed to let her drive it to school. She already had 2 speeding tickets and an accident with the 62 Skylark, so I was certain it would not be long before something happened to the car. It did, she backed into a pole trying to park it at school. She bought some paint and was busted trying to paint it in the garage. Time to walk or take the bus was the choice given to her. Anyway, she ended up with her own car and the Buick sat in the garage. There would be days I would go in the garage and just sit in the car, turn the radio on and dream about the day that I would be driving the GS. A couple of times, I got brave and started it up, backed it out, then drove it back in.
Six months had passed and now I had my permit to learn how to drive. Every chance I got, I would ask Dad to take me out. Then I was 16 and driving, I would take Mom to work, take her shopping and run any errands that were needed. Any excuse to drive the GS, man did that car take the abuse from my right foot. I remember taking off the air cleaner so I could hear that AFB"kicking in" when I put my foot in it, what a howl!! I can remember one day my Dad asked, "Why is the right rear tire going bald" He knew. Then, I really did it, the old 2-speed Super Turbine 300 starting slipping real bad. Time to rebuild the transmission, Dad never said anything.
It was time for me to get a car of my own, bought a 1958 2-door Chevy Del Rey from a neighbor and drove it for four years. It was a great car, I learned allot about cars from all the time and money I spent working on it. Time went on and the 70's hit with the "Oil Embargo" and Dad had decided to downsize his car and the Skylark GS was gone forever. The memories I had with that car will never be forgotten, Dad teaching me how to drive, my first date, my first drive-in movie without the parents, my first drag race and my first speeding ticket.
Dad lost his battle with Cancer in the early 80's and I knew that someday I would restore a 65 GS just like he had, almost. In 2007 I located a 1965 Skylark GS, numbers matching car in the Clearlake area. I contacted the owner and we worked out a deal. He did deliver the car to our house and when he arrived my wife could not believe her eyes. She was not feeling well that day and I made her come outside to look at it. I think she said something like, "I hope you know what you are doing". It was not pretty!!!
The restoration starts, parked the car in the side yard and began to evaluate exactly what I had. It was in-fact, a numbers matching car, red with black interior, black vinyl top, automatic, power steering, power brakes, posi rear end and rally wheels. Car was all there just in pretty bad shape. I started the disassembly process, bagging, tagging everything and making list of things that need to be replaced, the list was huge. I had a plan, just needed to be patient, not one of my attributes. Everything was removed from the car and it was off to the media blasters. When it returned, things did not look good. The left quarter panel was in bad shape, it needed to go as well as the filler panel below the rear window. I located a complete rear quarter panel that would work perfect. For now the car sat while I focused on the engine.
The disassembly of the engine was pretty straight forward, no big problems and off to the machine shop for the re-build. I did locate a complete engine kit which included everything needed for the re-build. John at the machine shop performed all the required work, boring, honing, re-conditioning the rods, hanging pistons, balancing, hot tank, and cleaning all the associated parts. I had him assemble the short block to make sure everything checked out and I completed the rest of the assembly at home. I had a friend of mine re-build the Super Turbine 300 as well as a new converter. I left the engine on the stand until I completed the front end and engine compartment.
For the next 6 months I cleaned, sandblasted, rebuilt and painted every piece possible to re-create the original look as well as the function. There were several aftermarket vendors that I had used some had better quality than others. I did learn the term "Exact Reproduction" doesn't mean shit!!! I can't believe how much junk is out there. It was now time to assemble all the front end pieces, steering box, heater box, wiring, power brake booster, brake lines, etc. Again, all pretty simple stuff, everything new. Once completed the engine and transmission went in along with exhaust system and cooling system. Now it was off to the body shop for paint.
The biggest issue at the body shop was the replacement of the left quarter panel. I made it clear that this was to be replaced as if it were done at the factory. They removed the panel at the lead line at the top of the roof, inside the door jamb and to the tail light panel. It was done to perfection, you would never know it was replaced. Deciding what color to paint the car was difficult. As I said earlier, I wanted to duplicate the car my Dad had. The only problem, his car was beige with red interior. Being a Fireman, there was only one choice when it came to color, RED. So red it was, the original red was too dark, I opted for 2009 Chevy Torch Red. The bodywork on all the panels was completed and then painted off the car. Now it was home for final assembly.
Assembly of the car and all the painted parts is quite time consuming, care was taken not to scratch or chip any paint. Panels were aligned, doors hung, glass installed, bumpers installed, interior completed and vinyl top installed. Just about there!!!
That day finally arrived for the first test drive, out the driveway I went, wow all the memories returned as if it were yesterday, the sound, the smell, the look, the feel. It was just amazing. It was like my Dad was right there teaching me how to drive it, he would be proud of the job that I did. I built the car in his memory and have given the car his nickname of "JOCKO" and placed it on the front fender.
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Sjfd, What a wonderful story and history. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you
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Great story. Your dad would be proud.
Dan
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Thanks Dan
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Thanks for da' pics! . . . . (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/kewlpics.gif)
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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Yes, great story, nice job!
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A Gran Sport - no A/C in San Jose, California??!
:overthetop:
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Dear Iain and mid-60s Buick caregivers who like to be cool! :glasses9:
A Gran Sport - no A/C in San Jose, California??! . . . .
I'm sure growing older doesn't help, but honestly, I have no idea how we lived with Biquette without air conditioning. Like it or not, the climate does seem to be warming, and we all are being squeezed as daytime temperatures go beyond our comfort zone. This will be the 40th year of living in this same house. It had nothing more than room air conditioners until 2010. These days the central air conditioning runs at least once a week in summer.
As you point out, if you live in hot dry places (like San Jose,) it is well worth considering air conditioning for your classic. It is hard to drive a classic in the winter. If too many days of summer are too hot for your classic - when are you going to drive it?
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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I stole all 4 of them. And I drive 'em like that.... (http://www.wootmonkey.com/upload/2020/07/02/20200702224424-e73dacd1.gif)
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Dear sjfd04, Michael, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,
Just for the record, San Jose, Cal. is not a hot/dry place to live. Just saying. Yes, in the Summer months, you may see temps go over 100 but it is pretty rare.
I'm glad that you don't find the San Francisco South Bay that warm, but I'm only about 100 miles away from you in the East Bay and it is a lot warmer than I like it!
Way to much coastal influence.
You might be better off than me, but we aren't seeing nearly as much fog as we used to. During the summer and autumn, the winds are now much more from northeast bringing warm dry air. I thought San Jose was also suffering from that phenomena, but you are happy with the temperatures - more power to you! :sunny:
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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Wow, it?s hotter than that here in MN right now.