BUICK 1964 Skylark Coupe Project

[CopperNick]

NICE. The engine bay shot about says it all. Manual Steering, manual brakes, and four wheel drums. Did you manage to get the inner fender panels for it as part of the deal?

And how far do you plan to go with the build? Frame off and rotisserie for the body? Suspension upgrades? Definitely at least a brake upgrade from those Flintstone Flyer versions I would think. Era suitable but marginal for present speeds and the need for abrupt stops to avoid the driving squirrels.

Anyway, have fun and post pictures would'ja?


Nick

 

[joesregalproject]

DRIVEN made a great suggestion to provide some info on the Buick 350 that is destined for this car. Here's a quick recap.

The engine was originally destined for my now-gone Regal and never made it into the car. The block, crank and rods are from a 1972 Skylark 2 barrel. The heads are from a 1976 LeSabre with a 4 barrel. Some machine work had to be done to make them compatible.

The cylinders are .020" oversize, and the crank is .010" undersized on rod and main journals. It has forged pistons that have a static compression ratio of 9.75:1. It has a TA Performance TA-284 camshaft- .475 lift, 284 intake, 288 exhaust advertised duration, 110 LSA. Howard's lifters, Iwis double roller timing chain. The heads are decked .010", the valves are backcut, swirl polished stainless steel with spiral reamed brass guides. They are oversized, .100" IIRC.

Its got Comp Cam beehive valve springs, Comp pushrods, Viton valve seals. The rockers are TA Performance 1.6 ratio roller rockers made by T&D. The intake is a TA Performance dual plane aluminum intake. The engine has all of the oiling mods that Buick engines need including a custom machined timing cover/oil pump assembly. It has a Flowkooler water pump. Since it was built, it has been sitting on a stand under plastic in my basement, waiting for a car to go into.

 

[DRIVEN]

Wow. There's nothing too exotic about a Buick combustion chamber.

Are you doing a poll for TKX vs 200-4R?

 

[joesregalproject]

Are you doing a poll for TKX vs 200-4R?

That won't be necessary. I've got something in mind.

Was just looking at some old junkyard pictures I took a few years ago and came across this. Wonder if it is still there. pagrunt you up for a trip to Renick's?

 

[pagrunt]

That won't be necessary. I've got something in mind.

Was just looking at some old junkyard pictures I took a few years ago and came across this. Wonder if it is still there. pagrunt you up for a trip to Renick's?
View attachment 215508

Well I won't be far from there Friday morning. Was already thinking about a trip after my VA appointment.

 

[DRIVEN]

Still snowed in. Bring salt.

 

[clean8485]

Very cool. I'm a bit partial to the early A bodies as well. Many years ago, my sister had a '66 Cutlass coupe. 330/4 barrel, 2 speed auto, buckets & console. It would haul. Never forgot that car. I'll be following this thread. Hope it works out the way you're hoping.

 

[joesregalproject]

It got up to a toasty 28 degrees yesterday so I got the pressure washer out and rinsed the salt spray off the car. Even used my special under-car rinse attachment.

I also looked through some of the extra parts that were included. Trunk had some wiring, miscellaneous hardware and interior panels inside. Hardware may get used but the interior pieces are shot.

Came with an extra cluster. This one is in much nicer shape than the one in the car. I'll probably use it.

Also got an extra taillight. Not perfect but usable.

I got a driveshaft, rust free inner fenders, and a very dented fuel tank with it.

Figured I should answer some questions on what I plan to do with this car. Here are my current ideas.

I want to maintain as much of a factory appearance as possible but still modernize some aspects of the car. As best I can tell, the exterior color is original and I'd like to retain it.
I'm not sure if the roof was originally white or if it was the same color as the rest if the body but I'm probably going monotone with the paint.

I'm not a fan of the saddle interior and since it needs to be almost entirely replaced, I'd like to change it to black or parchment or a combination of the two. I think Buick rally wheels will look right at home on this car. Not shaving emblems, antennas, handles or chrome on this car.

The engine is going to be the aforementioned Buick 350. I'd like to back it up with a manual transmission. A Muncie M22 feels like a solid choice. Not sure what I'll do with the rear axle yet. A 12 bolt would be great but expensive. Rear is low on the list of priorities for now.

Power brakes and power steering are a must. The front drums also need to go but I'm okay with retaining drums in the rear. I'm probably going to add a tilt column because I'm 6'3" and I can barely squeeze under the steering wheel getting in the car. I wasn't intending on running A/C in the Regal but since this is a factory A/C car, I feel like I should try to make it work.

This isn't gonna be one of those cars with mirrors under it at the car show. It isn't going on a rotisserie. The rust will get repaired. I'll probably lift the body up to replace the body bushings. The glass has to come out. Suspension bushings will get replaced. Probably some suspension and handling upgrades. As mentioned before the interior will largely be replaced. I don't trust any of the wiring on this car so most or all of it will get replaced.

 

[CopperNick]

All of which answers my questions quite nicely and together it all sounds like a great plan. On the topic of choice of T-mission, nothing like the howl of those straight cut gears in an M-22 but just wondering here if a TKO or one of its variants would be an option? Texas Gear did make a M-22 using their components once upon a time but I can't say if they are still in business at this point.

Those door cards and panels do look totally toasted but even dead they still would be useful and templates for new ones if you have to go the do-it-yourself route on them.

As for that proposed visit to Renick's, hope you guys got heavy thermal lined coveralls and fur parkas as your neck of the woods just supplied a new meaning to the word "COLD" And it wasn't the coldest. That was Mount Washington in New Hampshire, -78 w/wind-chill, tied with some hamlet up on the Arctic Circle for chilliest. The movie of the week is "The Day after Tomorrow", no popcorn, only ice cream and slushies.



Nick

 

[ck80]

Rear may be low on the list of priorities, but...



May also be a source of other goodies....