9 Attachment(s)
Great Story and Great Restoration. Another "Baby Buick" saved from the crusher.
I bought my 62 convertible almost 5 years ago shortly after my wife of 45 years passed away. She got a brand new Skylark when she graduated from high school in 1962. We married in 1964 and drove that car on our honeymoon. We kept it until 1967. I have always loved that car body style and when my wife passed away I wanted to find one to remember her by. After long search, I found one on EBay in Chicago. I bought it sight unseen and flew from Atlanta, GA to Chicago in middle of winter to pick it up.
I was not disappointed in physical appearance of car and it drove relatively well on 800 mile trip from Chicago to Atlanta. Car is all original, except for respray and new convertible top about 12 years ago. Was in Chicago only 1 year, before that in Southern California (where it was built) for about 45 years.
Since buying car I have done quite a bit of work to improve performance. Very little cosmetic work needed. I have rebuilt 4BBL carb, new water pump, re-manufactured power steering pump and power steering gear (both were leaking fluid fairly heavily), had clock repaired so keeps time, had windshield wiper motor rebuilt, new brakes, replaced original wheels which were damaged at lug holes, all new weather strip, replaced 2 power window switches, replaced headlight switch (old rheostat not working), replaced all shocks and springs, heater control valve, installed "hidden audio" system (original radio works, but AM only), replaced a cracked front vent window, replaced points with electronic ignition, Magnaflow muffler, repaired and painted cracked steering wheel. Biggest fix was complete remanufacture of dual path auto trans. Could not find anyone locally who was familiar with that weird tranny and had to have mine removed and shipped to Indiana to be totally rebuilt at cost of $3,000+.
I see from your picture gallery that you have power brakes option. How well do they work (compared to modern day brakes?) When I first got my car I thought there was something wrong with power brakes since they did not feel like power. I had a mechanic to look at problem and he found that check valve was missing at booster and vacuum was being lost. Installing check valve helped a little but I still don't think brakes working properly. I just can't remember how good power brakes worked in my wife's Buick 45 years ago. Seems like the power brakes work pretty good when first depress, but then fades. Think still may be leaking vacuum somewhere. Checked holding tank located in fender well but could not find any leaks.
Saw that you replaced your carpet and you said you got from a US supplier. When I replaced mine about a year ago I tried to find pre-molded OE type replacement from the most popular manufacturers. Although one company listed pre-molded being available for 1962, when I tried to order I found was not available. Only thing that was available was what they call cut and sewn. I bought that and found that it would not fit my application at all. Wound up having to have a local custom upholsterer do job from scratch. Did a great job but cost about twice price of the pre-fabs (which wouldn't fit.)
My only current concerns are about oil pressure and need for a replacement pig tail harness for ignition switch. I installed an oil pressure gauge sometime ago to replace oil pressure light. I never get a pressure reading above about 22 PSI at cruise speed or at hot idle. My Buick repair manual calls for 33 psi at 2,400 rpm. I don't know whether or not I should be concerned about low pressure reading. I have not noticed any unusual noises coming from engine. I suppose my gauge or sending unit could be faulty.
Regarding the ignition switch problem, I recently had a short at ignition switch that caused engine to stop dead while cruising one day. My mechanic was able to do a temporary fix but suggested I try to find a replacement for the female pig tail connector. I have thoroughly search internet but have not yet been able to locate either NOS or used part. Could find switch but no pig tail.
Hope you are enjoying your Skylark as much as I am enjoying mine. Looks like we both have a similar sentimental attachment to the car. Attached are a few pix of my Skylark.
Oil Pressure in Buick Skylark 215
Thanks for clarification and additional reference information, Bob. I checked my service manual (for 215 engine) and found identical language regarding oil pressure relief valve as that which you provided in the manual for 225 V6. I had seen an adjustable oil pressure regulator in CARS Inc Skylark catalog and just assumed that it was a stock part in my Skylark. The part in that catalog looks identical to the one in the TA link that you sent me, only the TA part #1502 is half the price of the CARS part. Would trying the #1502 adjustable regulator without going with the complete pump replacement kit (at least initially) be a reasonable option to try increasing oil pressure (if in fact I need to increase the pressure?) I checked my oil pressure gauge again. With engine hot, at idle, pressure reads approx 20 psi. At cruising speed of 50 mph (have no tach so don't know exact RPM) gauge reads approx 26 psi but will not go above approx 27, regardless of higher MPH. My service manual says normal pressure should be 33# at 2,400 rpm. Would you consider 26-27# vs. recommended #33 to be abnormally low? If so, do you think using the adjustable relief valve (with or without heavier weight oil?) would raise pressure sufficiently? Appreciate your technical knowledge.