Today's car of the day comes from Firehawk73's son Jacob's collection and is Johnny Lightning's 1966 Buick Skylark.
The Buick Skylark is a passenger car produced by the Buick division of General Motors. The model was made in six production runs. In each run, the car design varied dramatically due to changing technology and tastes, as well as new standards implemented over the years.
For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Buick Skylark
Beginning with the 1964 model year, the Buick Skylark, along with the lower-priced Special from which it was derived, would move to a new intermediate-size chassis that was shared with the Oldsmobile F-85, Pontiac Tempest, and the new Chevrolet Chevelle. The new chassis had a wheelbase of 115 in (2,921 mm) and the Buick Special and Skylark had a length of 203.5 in (5,169 mm). The 215 cubic-inch-displacement aluminum block V8 engine was discontinued, and the associated tooling eventually was sold to the British manufacturer, Rover. That company would produce the engine in several versions for use in its sedans and Land Rover sport utility vehicles and trucks.
The standard Skylark engine was now a 225 cubic-inch all cast iron block V6 with a Rochester 1-barrel carburetor that generated 155 hp (116 kW) at 4400 rpm. This engine was introduced in 1964, very similar to the earlier V6 beginning with the 1962 model year which had a smaller displacement of 196 cubic-inch. This engine was basically a Buick V8 300 CID engine with two cylinders sawed-off. The optional engine was a 300 cubic inch cast iron block and aluminum heads V8 with a Rochester 2-barrel carburetor that generated 210 hp (160 kW) at 4600 rpm. An optional V8 version of the 300 CID engine was offered with a 11:1 compression and a 4-barrel carburetor generating 250 hp (190 kW). A long-throw, 4-speed Hurst shifter was available. For the 1965 model cast iron blocks and heads were used for all engines.
In addition to the two-door convertible and hardtop coupe body-styles, a Skylark four-door sedan became available for the first time. Skylarks, however, would continue to have higher levels of exterior and interior trim compared to the Special and Special Deluxe from which they were derived. All-vinyl bucket seats would be standard on the convertible and optional on the hardtop coupe. The sedan would come with cloth-and-vinyl seats standard, and an all-vinyl interior would be optional. The Sylark Coupe had a lower profile, sitting lower to the road than the Buick Special models.
The Skylark in 1964-1965 were available in a pillar-less coupe (Hard Top) two-door sedan version, as the Specials and Special Deluxes only came in pillared coupe versions. Beginning with the 1964 model year, a two-door sedan (pillared coupe) was added to the Skylark lineup. Inspired in no small part by the sales success of the 1964 Pontiac Tempest, LeMans, GTO, the Gran Sport option became available in mid 1965 for the three two-door Skylark models. The Gran Sport option featured Buick’s 401 cubic-inch-displacement V8 engine using a Carter 4-barrel carburetor that produced 325 hp (242 kW) at 4400 rpm (it was listed as 400 cubic inches in sales literature, supposedly to escape a General Motors mandate that engines larger than 400 cubic inches should not be used in intermediate-sized cars). Other Gran Sport features were unique Gran Sport badging, a heavy-duty radiator, and dual exhaust.
In the 1966 model year, the four-door (pillared) sedan was replaced by a four-door (pillarless) hardtop sedan. The convertible, hardtop coupe, and two-door sedan continued to be available. The 1966 two-door Skylark was available with the optional "Wildcat 375", 340 ci engine which produced 260 hp (194 kW) and 365 ft·lb (495 N·m). torque with a 4-barrel Carter carb.
The four-door sedan would rejoin the lineup for the 1967 model year, making a total of five Skylark body styles. Beginning with the 1967 model year, only the Skylark two-door sedan would be available with the Buick V6 engine as standard. The 300 cubic inch V8 would be standard on all other models, with the exception of the four-door hardtop sedan, which came with a 340 cubic-inch-displacement V8 engine using a Rochester 2-barrel carburetor and producing 220 hp (160 kW) at 4400 rpm.
The previous Buick Skylark Gran Sport was relabeled as the Buick Skylark Gran Sport 400 to reflect its engine. The new model was the Buick Skylark Gran Sport 340,which also used the 340-cubic-inch V8 that was standard on the Skylark four-door hardtop. The Gran Sport 340 was available only as a two-door hardtop coupe.
The 1968 model year was one of significant change for the Buick Skylark. Although still using the same basic chassis, all of GM’s mid-sized cars adopted a policy of using two different length wheelbases. Two-door models used a shorter wheelbase of 112 in (2,845 mm), while four-door models used a longer wheelbase of 116 in (the Buick Sport Wagon and Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser used an even longer wheelbase of 121 in). All of GM's mid-sized cars received all-new sheet metal.
The Gran Sport, previously an option package available on the Skylark, became a separate series. In a reshuffling of models in the lineup, the Special Deluxe replaced the previous Special. The Skylark nameplate was shuffled down a notch to replace the previous Special Deluxe. The previous Skylark was replaced by a new Skylark Custom.
The basic Skylark was available as a two-door hardtop coupe or a four-door sedan. The Skylark Custom came as a two-door convertible coupe, two-door hardtop coupe, four-door hardtop sedan, or four-door sedan.
The previous V6 was discontinued and the associated tooling was sold to Kaiser Industries, which used the V6 in its Jeep trucks and sport utility vehicles. The base engine in Buick Skylarks (and Buick Special sedans) became a 250-cubic-inch inline six-cylinder engine using a 1-barrel Rochester carburetor (borrowed from Buick’s sister Chevrolet division) that produced 155 hp (116 kW) at 4200 rpm.
Optional on the Skylark and standard on the Skylark Custom was a new 350 cubic inch V8 engine using a 2-barrel Rochester carburetor that produced 230 hp (170 kW) at 4400 rpm. This engine was based on the previous 300- and 340-cubic inch-displacement V8 engines. The Buick Special name was dropped after the 1969 model year.
For 1970, the mid-sized Buicks once again received new sheet metal and the Buick Skylark name was moved down another notch, replacing the previous Buick Special. The Skylark became the entry-level Buick available in two- and four-door sedans with the 250-cubic-inch inline-6 as standard and the 350 cubic inch V8 (260 horsepower at 4600 rpm) available as an option.
Replacing the previous Buick Skylark was the Buick Skylark 350, available as a two-door hardtop coupe or four-door sedan with the 350 cubic inch V8 as standard equipment. This 350 cubic inch engine was a different design than the Chevy's 350 CID engine (4.000 in × 3.48 in) the Buick design had a longer stroke and smaller bore (3.80 X 3.85 in) allowing for lower-end torque, deep skirt block construction, higher nickel-content cast iron, 3.0 in (76 mm) crank main journals, and 6.5 in (165 mm) connecting rods, the distributor was located in front of the engine (typical of Buick), the oil pump was external and mounted in the front of the engine, the rocker arm assembly had all rocker arms mounted on a single rod and were not adjustable. The Skylark Custom continued to be available, also using the 350 cubic inch V8 as standard equipment and still available as a two-door convertible coupe, two-door hardtop coupe, four-door hardtop sedan, and four-door sedan. Buick Gran Sport models continued to be available as a separate series. The Buick Sport Wagon name was now used on a conventional four-door station wagon that no longer featured a raised roof with glass panels over the cargo area, or a longer wheelbase, as in the past. It now used the same 116 in (2,946 mm) wheelbase as the Buick Skylark four-door sedan and the now-discontinued Buick Special four-door Station Wagon. It became, in effect, a Buick Skylark four-door station wagon in all respects but the name.
For the 1971 model year, the base Skylark was available only with the inline-6, now only putting out 145 hp (108 kW) due to emission control devices, but in a two-door hardtop coupe body-style (in addition to the previous two- and four-door sedans). The Skylark 350 had a V8 engine that put out only 230 hp (170 kW). It was now available as a two-door sedan in addition to the previous two-door hardtop coupe and four-door sedan.
1972 was the last model year for the mid-sized Buick Skylark. During this model year many pollution controls were added to the Engines, Compression was lowered, engines had to accept leaded and unleaded gas, and spark timing was retarded (no vacuum advance in lower gears) while driving in lower gears to reduce emissions. For 1972, the base Buick Skylark used the 350 cubic inch V8 with the 2-barrel Rochester carburetor (now putting out 145 horsepower) as standard equipment. A new federally mandated system to calculate power was put into effect that year, and the actual engine performance was probably comparable but slightly lower because of pollution controls in the 1972 model year to the 230 hp (170 kW) that was listed for the previous year. The Skylark 350 now used a version of the same V8 engine as the base Skylark, but with a 4-barrel Rochester carburetor that generated 170 hp (130 kW).
An interesting limited-production model was the 1972 Buick Skylark 350 Sun Coupe, which was a Skylark 350 Hardtop Coupe that featured a sliding vinyl sunroof, with a vinyl covering over the front portion of the roof (a landau design). Special striping and "Sun Coupe" badges on the rear pillars completed the package. Conversion work was subcontracted to the American Sunroof Company (ASC). Production of the Sun Coupe was approximately 3,950 units.
Skylark Customs were available with the same 350 cubic inch V8 engines available in the basic Skylark and the Skylark 350. The Custom had an upgraded interior and dash with some extra chrome. Convertibles only came in the Skylark Customs and the Skylark 350s.
For the 1973 model year, the Buick Gran Sports, Skylarks, and Sport Wagons would all be replaced by the new mid-sized Buick Century. Since Centuries were available with Gran Sport trim, the Gran Sport name was once again reduced to being an option package.
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