By Marcal Eilenstein
For your Wagon Wednesday viewing pleasure, I give you one of GM’s most interesting and just plain cool wagons: the 1964 Buick Skylark Sport Wagon.
Over on Hemmings right now, you can feast your eyes on one of the best-looking A-bodies ever built, in my humble opinion. I know at least one other hoon here whom would probably agree.
The Skylark wagons were fitted with GM’s Skyroof, including four green tinted windows and a high roof. This Skylark has been through an extensive restoration, and it’s been taken care of.
This is a Texas car that I purchased in 2013. The prior owner purchased it from a salvage yard in Frisco, Texas, for $450 in 1994, and he undertook a lengthy frame-on restoration, with new paint and interior. All body panels, to my knowledge, are original; there is very little body filler. All glass, including the skylights, has been replaced or reinstalled and does not leak. The trim tag decodes to Arctic White exterior and Medium Blue interior, both of which have been retained, with the exception of the white seats. Note the interior door panels, which were custom made to match the originals.
Not only has it been restored, but it’s largely a period correct car.
The engine (see note above) is a 1965 version of the factory-correct Buick Wildcat 310, a 300 cubic-inch V-8, this one with a Carter AFB carburetor. It’s paired with a Super Turbine 300 transmission (rebuilt; also factory-correct), a two-speed automatic with “switch-pitch” variable torque converter.
It’s clean, it’s correct, and it’s comfortable!
Power brakes (drums all around; it stops great), power steering, and air conditioning (not installed, but I have the original parts; compressor is mounted and not seized). It has a remote driver’s side mirror, a working power rear window, and a roof-mounted luggage rack.
Clean, correct, comfortable, and . . . capacious. Check out the live well.
This wagon is outfitted with two seats; it does not have the third-row seat option. The odometer shows 40,XXX miles, but I suspect it’s turned over once. Or twice?
This classic cruiser can be yours for the low price of $14,500. What do you say?
[Source: Hemmings]
Jeff Glucker
It’s too bad that GM didn’t move the extra “windshield” forward to the driver’s compartment – at least as an option. The back seat passengers have all the viewing and fun in this car.
I’m rarely a wagon fan but I like this one. I’d have loved having that roof window to look up through and see the stars. I wouldn’t go pink-slip racing with the combo of the 300ci engine and ST-300, but it’d be just fine for getting around and cruising to judge from my dad’s ’68 Olds Cutlass S convertible with the same transmission and a Rocket 350/2-barrel.
It’s several hundred pounds heavier than a ‘vert and 20 percent less powerful than an Olds 350/2. It’s gonna be playing in a slower league, even before you turn on the old-school AC.
http://i.imgur.com/mLjj3W6.gif
We had one when I was young, in a beige color. Later when I was 15 a neighbor up the street. had one for sale for pretty cheap. My dad did humor me and go look at it but the windows apparently leaked because they had gooped them up with silicone pretty heavily. It was in my price range since I’d been saving up my paper route money.
I’d love to have one now but I’d prefer the 3 seat. I do search Sportwagon on Craigslist from time to time and some do come up but usually pretty rough and spendy.
I’m trying to think where there was a salvage yard in Frisco 20 years ago. Frisco has exploded (it’s the next Plano) from less than 10,000 back then, to about 150,000 today.
The inside door handles and window crank handles aren’t the correct pieces – they’re later ones, from ’70s GM cars. What made me notice first was the yellowed clear vinyl knobs on the window cranks.
First I’ve seen a picture of those roof windows from the inside. I didn’t think it was possible for them to become more awesome.
Would make a great birthday present for a special dad……