Aaron65

You can use a pry bar or big flat-bladed screwdriver in one of the flexplate teeth (and wedged against the block, carefully) to hold the engine while you torque the balancer. You'll obviously have to remove the inspection plate if it's still attached.

It's not actually that high. The '64 with aluminum heads had a rated 11:1 compression, but the iron-headed '65 had 10.25:1. It's in my Skylark's service manual, but some literature wrongly lists the 11:1 figure for '65. With that being said, I run 93 octane in my '65 Skylark with the 250-horsepower 300. It will ping fairly badly on the 1-2 shift (it's a 2-speed) if I don't, and I still have to be conservative with its timing curve.

Agreed! The service manual calls for a 28mm plug, but that's obviously a typo. The only other metric measurement I saw in the engine section was for the spark plugs - 14mm.

In case anybody runs into this in the future...the size of the plug is M18-1.5. I stopped at Auto Value on my way home from work, and they had a copper washer that would work. I also stopped to see what O'Reilly's had; they had a plug and matching gasket in their Dorman section, so I bought that, too. I planned to use the washer with my original plug, but the flange has a little shoulder that interfered with the new gasket, so I popped in the new plug, and it fits fine.

Does anyone have a common part number for a drain plug gasket for a 263? I ran around town trying to find something to fit last year, and the gasket I found is too thick and is dripping on the floor. I have enough drips as is... I'd order from one of the Buick suppliers, but I hate to order a two dollar part and nothing else. Thanks if you can give me a hand! Aaron

Great car, but in my opinion, whenever a seller says "underpriced to sell" or "below book," it isn't.

I just got an email that the Buick made it onto the calendar for next year! Thanks to everyone who voted - I'll let you know when calendars come out!

I noticed that tidbit in either the owner's manual or the service manual and had to chuckle. A pint in a thousand miles is a LOT of trans fluid. Mine leaves a couple to several drops wherever I park and I don't use anywhere close to that. I don't think it's ever even been appreciably low on fluid.

One thing I noticed upon looking at the pictures more closely - there's some kind of tape or something on the vinyl top seams. That'll add more work and money to the total...still might be worth it.

"Needs valve job" could mean just about anything in reality, but that still seems like a fair price if the car's as nice as it looks in pictures.

I believe that one just sold at Mecum the other week for $20,000, and had previously been for sale online for $27,000.

Well, voting's done. The rules say I'll be contacted by September if my picture has gotten on the calendar, and I'll have to prove ownership if that's the case, which is probably a good idea. Thanks to all who voted! I'll let you know if I hear anything! On a side note - maybe we could make this a yearly thing...someone else with a Buick can enter the contest, and we can all try to get a Buick on the 2023 calendar! Just a thought.

Only a couple more days. Thanks to all who are voting; I don't know why, but I've gotten a little excited over something that's not really a big deal.

Thanks to everybody who's been voting! One more week to go!

I entered a calendar contest for Auto Value parts stores (my local parts person told me about it), and those with the most votes get on the calendar. If anyone wants to help an old Buick owner out, I'd appreciate the votes! You can vote once a day until August 15th. Thanks! This is the website: https://myautovaluestore.com/calendars/ This is my picture:

That's true! I forgot that I had to use the "1/8 turn of a wrench" technique on those two.

It's no problem! The factory gave you four holes in the undercarriage to access the front four bolts; you will probably have to rotate the crank as you remove the pan to get all the counterweights to clear, but you can probably have the pan out in 15 minutes if you have an air ratchet. Good luck!

I think people's attitudes toward four-doors is changing; after all, almost everything being sold today is a four-door. Eventually, the bias against them will shift, at least theoretically. Their being cheaper is just another reason to consider one. With that being said, my only four-door is my Dart wagon. But I wouldn't have any problem picking up a cool four-door if I liked it.

I have to store a few of my cars off-site, and my wife will follow me out in one of the cars to bring back "fresh" ones every few weeks. She likes driving them (short distances anyway)! Ask for her input in finding the next car and pick up something she wouldn't mind driving. People I know, however, say I have a fantasy marriage, and they're kind of right.

Wow! That has to be a one of one - I wonder if the owners have run the Marti Report on it. It's a sleeper! Most Q-Code cars were probably Mach 1's, but I like it! Unfortunately, I think that this is a car that probably deserves a restoration; it's a little too far gone to be a cool driver (and I like that kind of thing, personally).

There shouldn't be any need for the c-clips (axle retainers) to be pinched over the axles. They're held in their recesses by the spacer block and spider gear shaft, so they really can't go anywhere once everything is assembled (assuming that all the original parts are there). Are you greasing the axle bearings and looking at the seals?

I'm guessing some stuck valves danced a little too close to some pistons. You could try some new pushrods and maybe pull the head to check out the valves, but you're getting into some money and time you probably don't want to spend on a car you're selling. You gave it a shot!

Eric, I was at the show today and saw your car there...it was one of my favorites of the day.

The axles are held in by c-clips, so you'll have to pull the spider gear cross shaft and hope the little pin/bolt doesn't break. While the axles are out, consider greasing the axle bearings - they're not sealed like they are on a newer car, and you're supposed to grease them every 25,000 miles (it's in the owner's manual). You may want to order some seals (two per axle, inside and outside) ahead of time, but new ones are lip seals rather than the original felt material. I had a problem with axle venting after replacing all the seals, and I had to rig up a vent. But we're getting ahead of ourselves... First, you need to pull the back cover and drain the rear end to get the axles out.

Oops! You probably will luck out - it's a standard transmission car, so it should have solid lifters. If no valves are sticking, you should be in decent shape.