1969 BUICK SKYLARK

350 CI, 2 barrel carburetor, 3 speed automatic transmission

Unrestored with 19,000 original miles

Original drivetrain, paint, interior, carpet.

Power brakes, dual exhaust and rally wheels have been added.

My first car when I was 16 was this 1969 Buick Skylark. I paid $335 in 1980.

It was originally Lime Green Poly with green interior. The previous owner had painted it this lovely butterscotch brown.

As I approached my 50th birthday, I thought about that old Buick and searched the internet looking for a 69 Skylark. I found an all original lime green poly skylark with green interior. It had low miles and looked very clean. As I looked at it, I thought if I bought a classic car, I wouldn't want green. I even thought if I bought a Skylark, why not get a red convertible GS. I found a red 70 GS 350 convertible for sale in Vermont. The car had been frame off restored and looked perfect. I borrowed a trailer from Tom Milnickel and talked Kenny into a road trip in late January. Yeah, I know, towing a trailer to Vermont in January was probably going to be a bad decision, but what the heck. After 12 hours of driving and a flat tire on the trailer, we found a hotel and crashed for the night. We woke up to 4" of snow on the ground and now had to drive across Killington Mountain on a two lane road. We eventually made it to our destination and the car looked fantastic, from 50 feet. The paint and engine were great, but the body gaps were horrible. The worst part is, when I sat behind the wheel, the dash did nothing for me. The 70 dash is completely different from a 69. I decided to walk away, so we drove back. I was very disappointed, but Kenny kept trying to get me to look at the bright side. We stopped at a souvinier shop and I bought a bottle of Vermont Syrup. As we approached Syracuse New York, we were met by a blizzard and another flat tire on the trailer. We tried to power through, but it was getting pretty treacherous, so we stopped for the night. When we woke up, the roads were clear, so we cruised on home. In the end, I spent $2000 and three exhausting days on the road to Vermont with a great friend to buy a bottle of syrup!

A couple weeks later, a friend found another one for sale in a Buick forum and it was love at first sight.

To find an original version of my first car with low miles and it was red, was a dream come true

The story behind the car is a lady bought it new in 1969 in Iowa. She drove it 4 years or so and passed away. Her daughter inherited the car and parked in a garage for 30 years. One day a mailman was walking by with the garage door open and saw the car. He asked the owner and she told the story of the car, but said she would never sell it. He told her if she ever changed her mind to let him know. 6 months later, she stopped him and said she put new tires and a battery in the car and she was ready to let it go. He bought it and sold it to a collector. I think it went through a couple collectors before I found it. At some point, someone added power brakes and replace a few hoses, belts and new exhaust.

Look at that sexy rear end!

That dash was exactly as I remember my first car. This one still has the original AM radio with a single speaker in the center of the dash. My original car had a Craig AM/FM Cassette player with a Realistic booster/equalizer and Jensen Triaxle speakers in the back package tray.