Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 That's right! I got another Buick project. I'm excited to get this car on the road! Here's the story: this summer I have been working at Pete Phillip's shop in Texas. A local guy comes to the shop and tells Pete about his 1965 Buick Skylark, that he wants to pass along... for free! Pete tells me about this deal and I go look at the car. This is what I see: As promised, a 1965 Skylark 2dr hardtop with a 300ci 2bbl v8, ac, and automatic transmission. It's a little rough, but looking underneath the car I find almost no rust. I'm used to cars where the bottom 4 inches are just gone, and this car is super solid. The body isn't straight and the interior is pretty trashed, plus there are a number of pieces missing from the engine, but the motor spun over and has good compression, so I was feeling good about the car. I saw a lot of potential. And I couldn't ask for a better price! So on the trailer she goes. Pete hauled it about 15 minutes back to my place I'm renting in town, where I began to dig in. Take a good look at the exterior of the car, because it won't stay that way for long! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 With the car home, I began the cleaning process. I started by pulling the rear seat out and cleaning it up, and I was surprised how good they turned out! No amount of scrubbing was going to save the front seats, unfortunately... Cleaning the rest of the interior was put on hold until I could find a vacuum. I did find this record book, which is pretty cool! The engine bay was a similar situation, lots of work to do but I really need a vacuum to do it. I'll be borrowing the shop vacuum tomorrow. here's the 300 v8, turns over very nicely and has lots of compression. Missing a lot of parts, previous owner is bringing me some that he was but likely will have to find many parts on my own. The intake manifold is full of rust and poop and will have to come off, as well as the water pump. Data Tag for the car 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 Stalled on the interior and engine, I started to clean the exterior. I had a hunch that under all that rust there might be some of the original paint left. I took a green scotchbrite pad that I've been doing my dishes with and in a few minutes I was delighted to find... Wow! That hood is red! And there's a lot of good paint left! I set my sights on exposing all the paint on the car. I upgraded from my worn out scrubbing pad to SOS pads, basically steel wool with soap in it, a trick I had seen in a YouTube video. Here's the trunk partway through the process. I wetted the paint, scrubbed the rust off with the SOS pad, and rinsed it off. I did this one or two times to get all the rust off, but stopped once I started to see paint get picked up on the steel wool. Even the roof looks white now! the rust bucket ran the steel wool over the bumpers and I am extremely happy with how the car got transformed. The next step with the exterior is to finish polishing all the paint. It's gonna shine up pretty good, and has a lot of character! That's the end of day one for the Skylark. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 a few more pictures 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Wow great project !! I love !! Here is a project that I will follow with great interest ! And you were very lucky to have had this very beautiful Buick for free ! Great job and thank you for sharing this ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron65 Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 You'll love this car once you get it on the road, Edwin. My opinion is that the '64-'67 BOP A-Body is one of the most well-rounded collector cars in the world. I have a '65 Skylark Sport Coupe myself...Good luck with it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Wow! What a score! That is going to be a great car to drive when you get it going. Those small bodies with the little V8 are tons of fun, not to mention the great style. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 A wonderful body style! Never looks old fashioned. And with some good accessories too like power steering and AC. From what I gather be careful of the bumpers. They are hard to find in good shape. There is the 65 Skylark division of the BCA. Probably worth joining for the company and advice. Also the interior upholstery is all available from Legendary Interiors in Newark NY. They do phenomenal reproductions of all the seats and door panels. The right colors and patterns a d with luck you may find you don't need to redo the back seat. Goid luck on this one. Those are wonderful road trip cars. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NailheadBob Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Edwin, I am very happy for you, sounds like you are very excited about your new project and should be. Once you put a list together for engine/mechanical parts post them, I will help you source them out, and I will have to look at our local junkyard to see if any cars are there for items needed. Great find and Good luck. Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 Working on the interior this morning, found the build sheet! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Fantastic! Great score... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 Interior is stripped! A couple of problem areas in the front floorboards, but I think that will have to wait until I bring this car to Kansas and have access to schools sheet metal equipment. It seems like a very fixable amount of rust. All the other metal held up to the screwdriver test 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) Crawled in the trunk and unbolted the catch with the trunk open I got the rubber mallet out and bonked some dents out. Not perfect but way better! this quarter is pretty rough Definitely going to need a trunk floor! Edited July 10, 2022 by Edwin The Kid Spelling (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Great job ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NailheadBob Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) @JohnD1956stated about maybe hard to find bumpers, your bumpers look pretty good from your photos, be careful with them. I will make my own list to start with, on missing engine compartment items that can be seen from photos, and update us on parts the previous owner brings to you. Can you take photo of top of engine with air filter removed, some real close to carburetor area, for more details. Bob Edited July 10, 2022 by NailheadBob Add photo (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 Here's what's missing right now: every piece of the accessory drive except the ac compressor, the ignition system, and the thermostat housing. So I need a distributor and all it's parts, coil, thermostat housing, water pump, fan, shroud?, Alternator, power steering pump, and all the brackets for the accessory drive. working on pulling the intake, very stuck to the engine water pump is junk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 The intake was so stuck because I forgot a bolt. Oops. Glad I pulled it, was able to clean some passages. Engine is very clean on the inside! Apparently it was rebuilt not long before it got parked. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Holy crap…those water passages. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 12 minutes ago, Smartin said: Holy crap…those water passages. Any tips to cleaning cleaning out all the crap? I'd love to pull the engine out and have everything gone through but that isn't an option right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 11, 2022 Author Share Posted July 11, 2022 Here's a fun before and after with the paint, really happy with how it's looking so far. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 12 hours ago, Edwin The Kid said: Working on the interior this morning, found the build sheet! Incredible! Where did you find it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 11, 2022 Author Share Posted July 11, 2022 8 minutes ago, lancemb said: Incredible! Where did you find it? It was under the carpet, on top of the transmission tunnel. It was stuck to the sound deadening, which is probably why it's so dirty. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mp65riv Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 I agree with the opinions shared earlier in this thread - the 64-67 BOP A bodies are great drivers. I have a 65 Skylark Sportwagon Custom, and I enjoy driving it as much as my 65 Riviera and 61 Electra 225 - it is well balanced, peppy, and just all around fun. Mine has the 300 - 4bbl (Wildcat 355) and I updated my tranny to a TH350. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mp65riv Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 My 65 SportWagon 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 5 hours ago, mp65riv said: My 65 SportWagon Wonderful, I love it . I have never seen one before here in France 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NailheadBob Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 (edited) On 7/10/2022 at 2:50 PM, Smartin said: Holy crap…those water passages. I have never cleaned water passages like that, possibly something to try, after using a vacuum to suck out what you can with mini attachments for a vacuum, maybe remove freeze plugs in block, and use garden hose to flush out passages and let water run out freeze plug area, and when done use vacuum to suck out remaining water that is in block below freeze plug area, let dry for several days and then vacuum again to retrieve any particles that are in block cavity below freeze plug area. attachements: https://www.amazon.com/Cleaners-Adapter-Universal-Attachment-Cleaning/dp/B07MW3NNYK Bob EDIT: Use this as a guide to see interchange, Here is a parts list I have so far, if I missed something or you want to add to let me know. Edited July 12, 2022 by NailheadBob update (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NailheadBob Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 Sent this list to CTC Auto Ranch, "MrLoBucks" on e-bay, and car-part.com Looking for a friend, 1965 Skylark V-8 engine , all A/C (4), Alternator (2) Power steering (2) attaching brackets, radiator shroud, fan blade and 3 groove pulley, and crankshaft pulley 3 groove, thermostat housing (outlet), distributor, ignition coil and bracket, water pump, alternator, power steering pump, Please let me know. Some parts will also fit a 1964 Skylark. Thanks Bob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 12, 2022 Author Share Posted July 12, 2022 9 hours ago, NailheadBob said: Sent this list to CTC Auto Ranch, "MrLoBucks" on e-bay, and car-part.com Looking for a friend, 1965 Skylark V-8 engine , all A/C (4), Alternator (2) Power steering (2) attaching brackets, radiator shroud, fan blade and 3 groove pulley, and crankshaft pulley 3 groove, thermostat housing (outlet), distributor, ignition coil and bracket, water pump, alternator, power steering pump, Please let me know. Some parts will also fit a 1964 Skylark. Thanks Bob Cool, thanks! The most important pieces will be the distributor and accessory brackets, as stuff like water pump and coil will be purchased new. Hopefully I will get all the parts from the previous owner soon so I can start ordering stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 13, 2022 Author Share Posted July 13, 2022 Bad news in water passage land... Pulled the timing cover off that's a problem.. Hard to say how far into the engine the gunk goes but it's not good I'm thinking I'll pull the heads and see how it looks, since I'll be needing pretty much a full gasket set anyways. If I can even get the water passages cleaned out. Engine might have to wait for Kansas when I can pull the engine and clean it in the hot tank at school. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 I am not a modified guy but you may want to see if you can find a 1970 Buick 350 and a turbo 350 trans to drop in there. That would be close enough to original for a daily driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 Or a 425 and ST-400... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 13, 2022 Author Share Posted July 13, 2022 33 minutes ago, JohnD1956 said: I am not a modified guy but you may want to see if you can find a 1970 Buick 350 and a turbo 350 trans to drop in there. That would be close enough to original for a daily driver. What modifications are needed to swap in a Buick 350/th350? There's a running 72 3504bbl with transmission somewhat near me for only $300 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 I dont know. But I am certain you can do it. Motor/ tranny mounts, gas and transmission linkages, radiator /hoses/trans cooler, and driveshaft adjustment. Electrical should be easily adaptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 To avoid any modifications, isn't it better to run this engine ? After a good cleaning it should start right ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron65 Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 I've never done a 350 for 300 swap, but I've researched it over on V8Buick.com. If the transmission is a Turbo 350, it's apparently virtually a bolt-in, so that may be a smart move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 See if you can blast a power washer into those ports. And flush the crap out of it with that. Since you have the timing cover off, it gives you a bit of extra reach into the cooling passages. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 10 hours ago, Edwin The Kid said: Engine might have to wait for Kansas when I can pull the engine and clean it in the hot tank at school. If you're not in a hurry to get it running, that would be a good approach. In the meantime you could work on refurbishing the other systems (i.e., steering/suspension, brakes, fuel delivery, etc.). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 I may be wrong but I believe the block is the same for the 300,340, and 350. If that is correct I wonder if the valve covers from the 300 would fit that 350 and thus make it resemble the 300? At any rate putting the 350 in would allow some drive time awaiting a rebuild on the original engine, if the desire is to eventually restore the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 14 hours ago, Edwin The Kid said: Engine might have to wait for Kansas when I can pull the engine and clean it in the hot tank at school I had one like that and the hot tank at the machine shop did not touch the rust. At the time (mid 1980's) there was a Redi-Strip 15 miles from me (since closed ) and the block and heads, etch came out like new. Looks like the only location is near Chicago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin The Kid Posted July 13, 2022 Author Share Posted July 13, 2022 I think I have good news in water passage land today scraped most of the gunk out and was able to get water to flow from the cylinder head passage out through the timing cover passage. From feeling with my fingers I don't think the gunk goes any further into the block, so I'm going to carry on with this engine. Going to find some intake gaskets and reinstall the intake so I don't fill my crankcase with mucky water and try to flush this thing out. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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