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1965 Special


Guest mikey531

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Guest mikey531

I found a 1965 Buick Special 2 - door with a 301/2bbl and 4 -speed. How rare is this car? I have searched but cannot find much info. Thanks

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The engine you have is actually a 300 CI V8. On the air cleaner it will say Wildcat 310 which is the torque rating of the engine. If it had a 4 barrel it would say Wildcat 355. The 4 speed makes it somewhat rare but not particularly valuable. In 1965 Buick debuted the Gran Sport in the A body which was their answer to the muscle car war. That is not to denigrate your car. A valuable rare car would be a Gran Sport convertible with the 4 speed. The 300 is a very respectable engine with plenty of get up and go. The Special is the lower end of the A body line so they typically don't have the upgrades that came with the Skylark. Most of the A body cars in 1965 came with the switch pitch 2 speed automatic transmission. If your car is a 2 door hardtop, it is generally more desirable than a 2 door post. Look for rust in the lower rear quarters, in the trunk floor, and around the front and rear windshields. Welcome to the forum!

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model 43367 was the Special 2 dr with V8 and 5,309 were made. Probably because it was the lowest cost body style for Specials, more than twice that number (12,945) were made with the V6 engine.

It could be consider it rare but because it was the entry level model, it is not as desirable as the Skylark model which came with more accessories, trim, and bling. If low production numbers alone made it rare, there were other models that year with fewer made.

Post a photo of the car and we can tell more about the vehicle.

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I had a 65 Skylark with the 300 V8 that I used as a daily driver for many years back in the 80's. It was super dependable and a great car. It was a 2 dr Hardtop fully loaded including AC which worked good. I would have really liked it with a 4 speed. The Specials and Skylarks were good looking cars with bullet proof mechanicals. It would be a good basic collector car.

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Guest mikey531

When I was growing up I thought it was always refered to as a 301. Well I bought it this afternoon. I am going to pick it up on Monday. there is no rust that I can find anywhere. The trunk looks new the rockers and rear quarters are all solid and it started up and ran decent. the interior is shot but I can replace that. I do want to put on an aluminum intake, edelbrock carb, headers and cragars.

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Edited by mikey531 (see edit history)
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When I was growing up I thought it was always refered to as a 301. Well I bought it this afternoon. I am goingto pick it up on Monday. there is no rust that I can find anywhere. The trunk looks new therockers and rear quarters are all solid and it started up and ran decent. the interior is shot but I can replace that. I do want to put on an aluminum intake, edelbrock carb, headers and cragars.

Congrats mikey531, got you a Buick for your GARAGE. Hope you'll make this a regular pit stop and join the Buick Club of America, there is a grand wealth of knowledge here. http://www.buickclub.org/

Will also be looking to hear about it over on the GJ. :)

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Guest my3buicks
model 43367 was the Special 2 dr with V8 and 5,309 were made. Probably because it was the lowest cost body style for Specials, more than twice that number (12,945) were made with the V6 engine.

It could be consider it rare but because it was the entry level model, it is not as desirable as the Skylark model which came with more accessories, trim, and bling. If low production numbers alone made it rare, there were other models that year with fewer made.

Post a photo of the car and we can tell more about the vehicle.

You have to use some caution with numbers though on the mid 60's "A" bodies - for instance, my 67 has 3517((V6) as the model number inside the driver door, but my Granddad ordered a V8 and under the hood it is a 3617. Of course the books give a breakdown for 3517 and 3617 - I have also seen V8 ones that had the 3617 in both places. This is a common thing with these cars.

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There are no aftermarket intakes for the 300. If you want to go 4-barrel with a cast iron 300 (which the '65 has), you have you buy a factory cast iron manifold, which was only offered for '65. These usually go for around $300. I'd post a wanted ad on v8buick.com when the time comes. As for headers, I think you'll find that the stock manifolds are pretty good for a mainly stock engine (other than their propensity to crack). Unfortunately, the 300 has few "go-fast" parts available. With a 4-speed, however, it'll have plenty of get up and go if you keep your expectations aligned with reality. I believe that powertrain would have come stock with 3.23 gears, which are about right for a nice street car. Good luck!

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The 300 V8 is a wonderful engine. I have had several in my 64-65 Skylarks over the years, mostly the 4 barrel version. The 4 barrel factory engines also had different pistons than the 2 barrel versions. They were a slightly higher compression piston. Adding a 4 barrel manifold to a 2 barrel engine would still bring a good improvement.

A buddy and I took my '65 2 door hardtop (Ol Yeller) from Seattle to the National in Colorado Springs a few years ago. There was around 145K miles on the engine. I had the heads converted to hardened seats (for unleaded gas) and installed a new gasket kit as well as changing out the phoenelic gear on the timing chain. We did blow out the rear end in Twin Falls (due to a bad rebuild) but then ran all out from there to the National without stopping. She went at speeds over 70-80 for long stretches and even climbed a mountain pass at 11,000 feet without missing a beat. Overall she only used a couple quarts of oil on the entire trip. The trip home was more leisurely but uneventful. All this was on a long block that hadn't been touched in almost 50 years and had 145K on it! I have had similar results from other 300's I have owned over the years. I wouldn't be swapping it out unless it is bad. Mine also had a posi unit with 355 gearing which was well suited to the 300.

It is true that you can only find the 4 barrel manifold in 1965s. They aren't impossible to find yet and it really does wake up the small block V8. If you truly want to enjoy the '65 A Body experience, I'd spend your money on suspension upgrades. Rebuild the front end and install heavy duty front and rear anti sway bars. It would also be smart to replace all the rubber bushings in the suspension. It makes a huge difference in the handling. There are aftermarket upgrades available as well but I have little experience with them. My Skylark cornered like a slot car after I rebuilt the suspension, installed gas shocks, a close ratio steering box and the sway bars. I also upgraded to front disk brakes and a power assist booster as well as a double well master cylinder.

Yours appears to be a very nice car. Interior parts are available from Legendary Interiors for a very reasonable price and they make high quality stuff. You might have to change to a Skylark type upholstery as they didn't make Special upholstery many years ago when I redid my interior. Good luck with your new ride and welcome!

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Guest mikey531
post-105822-143142938064_thumb.jpgpost-105822-143142938064_thumb.jpgI hope to bring it home on Monday depending on how much snow we get. I had my Grandmothers 63 Buick Special, that had the V6 and 3 speed and no options at all. I didn't think I would ever get to do anything with it and sold it to my cousin. So it is still in the family. I did want another 4-speed and found this. I am sure I will run it stock for awhile but I will probably "resto-mod" it sometime. It appears the Skylarks are more valuable stock. I have another project 1969 GMC pickup that is in the body shop now. These are pictures of my 63 before I sold it.

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Edited by mikey531 (see edit history)
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  • 7 years later...

In the 19 years I have owned a 65 Buick special two door post coop I have only seen about eight skylarks and not one special. I have been going to car shows all around the Inland Impire of California. I have been watching for them on line and in salvage yards.. almost none worth talking about in salvage and on line are perty much the same few I see over and over again.. I believe the 64 & 65 models are extremely Rare cars due to my findings. 

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