raugusti

My 63 Skylark has this same engine. Anti-seize on the plugs is a must. The engine was used by Rover until Ford bought them. It was also the original engine in the TR-8. I have a couple of spares around and always make sure they are accounted for when the Triumph club leaves after a get together. I also have a few extra 4 barrel intakes, but the hot setup would be to find the FI off a Range Rover, my understanding is that is basically bolt on. Scott

They do look good on a 54 if you are willing to ignore the not quite correct aspect of it.

gr8sc0tt The yahoo group is here https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/skylark616263/info I haven't been active lately, but there are a couple of members in the Denver area that may be able to help. raugusti the other Scott

We have one on hand from my father-in-laws old collection. Seems to be in really nice shape. Measures 14" across. If you are interested, how does $25 + shipping sound? Let me know if you want more pics or have any questions. Thanks Scott

Mr. Earl said: "if I was offered either a 54 Roadmaster or a 54 Skylark, I'd first ask if there was a 53 Skylark available" Funny, I'd ask the same question! Then I'd ask if I could have the estimated sale price to restore my 54-76C... Scott

I don't have one to sell, but a few questions will come up; SS (round gauge) or sweep speedo style? SS style are re-popped. 70-72 are the same, I have a 71 in my 70 Malibu with a/c, but if you want to be correct the 70 gauges have green printing, 71-72 are white. What do you mean by complete? The main dash is the same for a/c, the vents on the end are different, but swap into the same hole. The standard end vents are re-popped. There are two screw on 'crotch cooler' vents, and a top center vent that replaces the blanking plate for the a/c cars. hope that helps and good luck in your search Scott

Hey JohnD, I took a similar pic this last weekend! Not quite a Smart Car though!

Steve, I just got what looks to be the same sending unit and had the same issue. Since I didn't want to look around for another sending unit and it is not visible, I created the necessary clearance with the gentle application of a ball peen hammer to the tank. Scott

Mr. Earl, If the sale doesn't go through on the '58 manual, I would like it. Also, on your other parts ad, I could use a full size air filter housing with the 'silencer' for the 54 Roady, along with the bracket(s). Also, a road draft tube for Laura's 54 Super. Thanks Scott

OK, so the movie didn't come out until 66, but it pretty much describes this car. This is the second of the cars I purchased as group from my Father-in-law's estate. The 54 Roadmaster has been mentioned elsewhere. I've always loved 1st gen Rivieras, but lots of things show that this might not be 'the one'. The car does have AC, but not much else in the way of upgrades. The good - Its shiny and red! (the original color was a maroon). The seats look like they might be originals in good condition. The motor is the original 401. Obviously it has been worked on because the top end is now painted Buick Green. The short time I had it running it seems to run ok. The Bad - Lots of loose wires hanging down under the dash. Interior bits disassembled for unknown reasons. The Ugly - An appraisal done in 2000 states that the car is 'too rusty to restore'. This is because the floor pan and cross braces are rusted out and have been replaced with random bits of sheet metal and fiberglass. The rear body mounts are gone too. Looks like the outer sills have been replaced, but not the inners as you can see straight through them to the inside of the outers. Interestingly, the trunk floor only has two medium size holes in it and the rear quarters seem to be ok. Surprising, given the obvious leak around the rear window. The car wouldn't run beyond the gas I put in the carb bowls, so I pulled the fuel line and wasn't getting anything out of the pump. I purchased a new pump (then found one in all the misc. parts), however, with the car up on the lift I could see the feed line from the tank had decayed and collapsed, so the pump wasn't getting any fuel either. I've pulled the tank, drained the bad gas and had it cleaned out. It was very rusty, as was the pickup and sending unit. If it ever warms up and stops snowing here, I'll get this back together and will be able to see how it runs. The long list of needs the car has could spell its doom. The car sits crooked because the left side springs have collapsed. There is corrosion around the water pump and the heater core and the radiator seems to be seeping. All of the rubber is dried up and rotted. It will be easy to get seriously upside down on this car in a hurry. So my plan is to take it slow, get it running and driving and try to make decisions about work on the car as money, time and other priorities allow. Scott

Just a little something right up MrEarl's alley http://forums.aaca.org/topic/274518-favorite-pictures-of-my-post-war-buick/?do=findComment&comment=1468175

The time has come to start moving some of my father-in-laws Buick stuff. In this case stuff means cars! To start with, so we can get at other ‘stuff’, there are these three: A ’69 Sport Wagon, a 71 4 door, and a 76 Electra 4 door. I am listing these all as parts cars, partly from condition and partly because we haven’t found the titles yet. The Sport Wagon has rust in numerous places, and all of the special glass is delaminating to some extent. It does have a lot of the other trim though. I was able to get the 350, 4 bbl, engine to run, but the transmission would only work in reverse, try maneuvering around the drive way like that! The 76 Electra has a 455 and seems to run, drive and stop, at least in the driveway. I wouldn’t try to drive it any distance since it hasn’t been on the road in 10 - 15 years. The 71 is also a 455 car, but I haven’t tried to start it yet. It hasn’t been on the road in the same 10 – 15 year time frame. I was considering keeping one of these engines for a project, but have determined that I will be well into my second century once I finish with all my other projects. The List of Craig seems to set the price of a 455 at $500 and that is what I am asking for each of these 3 cars. The cars are all located in Colorado Springs, CO. If I don’t get a quick turn on the entire car, I will consider removing parts. One way or another, sale, donate, or scrap, these need to be gone by the first week of April. Please PM me through this forum if interested or you have any questions. Thanks. Scott

My '54 desktop pic. Good side of the car, good light, hides lots of 'issues'....

Here's one from an old calendar.

I've been driving my '63 Skylark pretty much every day this summer. It is a fun little car and amazing how many people know what it is. Scott

Hello all I am Scott from Colorado. Just a quick intro since I have been lurking on this board for a while and have already asked a couple of questions and made a few posts. While I have always been into old cars, I drove a Studebaker in high school in the late 70s, early 80s, I’ll keep this to Buicks, since it is the Buick into part of the forum. Although I started out with Chevys and Brit cars, through my Father-in-laws influence my wife and I have several Buicks spanning from ’54 to ’64, from Roadmasters to Rivieras, including early compact Specials and Skylarks. These range condition from complete projects to daily drivers. I am currently driving a ’63 Skylark as my daily driver and trying to get a ’54 Roadmaster back on the road to take the Father-in-Law out for a drive on weekends. I have been slightly more active on the 54 Buick Highway (Hi, Mr. Earl and all!) and Team Buick sites, but have gotten some great help and enjoyable reading here too. We are still working on rebuilding after losing our house the Black Forest fire, so I haven’t had the time I’d like to pursue automotive interest. That experience has put the need to prioritize things better in perspective. As we try to clean up all of our projects, I will be posting some things for sale here as well as questions about what I’m working on. Of course, I hope to be able to help others out from my experiences as well. Thanks, See you on the Buick Highway! Scott

Using iPad 1, things look good so far to me! Thanks for all your hard work. Scott

David, Idaho to Illinois might be a little far away, but what you are looking for seems to be for sale on the Team Buick website: http://www.teambuick.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=7342 Scott in Colorado

Thanks all! Lots of good info here. In the best case I will keep both, or at least have the time to pull both. Scott

Oh no! Mr Earl, the convertible is staying stock. :cool: This would be for the Roadmaster hardtop that burned in the Black Forest fire. Something along the lines of Fins modified Skylark. And thanks Adam too! Scott in Colorado

Are there any significant differences between a '76 455 and a '71 455, other than the HEI distributor? I'm working on cleaning up my father-in-laws mini car hoard. He is a long time BCA member. Amongst the cars are a '71 Electra 4 door hardtop and a '76 Electra 4 door hardtop. Both have 455 motors.I have this vague notion of keeping one of the engines and transmissions for a street rod or custom project in the future. Perhaps trying to wedge the 455 and 400 trans in the body of a '54 Roadmaster I have. Thanks Scott in Colorado

Same here! Even though I've sold 5 cars this year, I started out by buying 6! I've always loved 1950 Buicks. Best. Grille. Ever. I'm glad it is too far away to even go look! Scott in Colorado