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Thread: Need your thoughts!!

  1. #1

    Need your thoughts!!

    I have a 64 Skylark Hardtop, the car has been painted and it needs a little interior work. It has the orginal V8 300 2 barrel in it. My dad and i bought this car together 11 years ago, we love it but were debating about getting rid of it and getting a muscle car OR KEEP IT AND BUILD A MUSCLE CAR!!! I'm thinking a Blueprint 383 Stroker with a 4 speed auto, putting 28 spline axels gears and spool in the factory 10 bolt, disc brake conversion and updating the front end components. Car does not need much work at all very solid no rust only 44000 orginal miles. Please tell me what you think, im open ears for tips, how toos, anything, Good or Bad idea, i know all the Buick heads are gonna say bad, but remember i love the look of the car, we just want some peroformance and buying a rebuilt chevy motor is easier then finding a buick motor.

  2. #2
    Well that's a million dollar question! What I would do is keep the Buick and buy a hotrod! Aside from that Its your car and you will be driving it so it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. As far as actually building it as long as the quality of work is good it won't really hurt the value. Given the fact that stock type restorations bring good money compared to your average modified car, I wouldn't do anything you couldn't easily reverse. Have fun either way.

  3. #3

    64 skylark......

    In 65 I bought a 64 skylark coupe.... it had the 300 in. wild cat 310... like yours.... next I built a ''optional'' engine,,,, [wildcat 355] and with it I raced more , broke less, and had more fun, won more trophies than with any engine/car I ever had.... and i did not have performance gears in it , just a 2.93 diff.... open type.... next,,,,
    I installed a 401 nailhead with a switch pitch th 400 in it.... that was the toughest engine ,,, I put a pontiac 12 bolt, posi in it with 4.11 gears,,,, holley 950 three barrel carb, buick 091 cam, cold air induction pkg... the car was a beast.... but because it was a 64 and not a 65,, i had to run D/gas class at the strip... could not always win.... if it had been a 65, it would have been B or C stock class....and a class winner....
    next, I built a 68 riv, 430 engine to stage 2 specs,,, same drive line... it was a beast too... would pick the left front wheel up on launch... but it broke stuff.... axels, engine mounts,,, u-joints.... ect....
    If you put a chevy engine in the car, you will greatly devalue it.. and,,, there are several Buick engines that will beat it.... a well built 401/425 nailhead will,,,, a 430/455 big block Buick will,,, a Buick Grand National engine definetly will,,,, and the car value will be enhanced not reduced....
    What ever you do dont put a chevrolet engine in that car,,,, that is like cussing in church.....

  4. #4
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    fd
    I'm in Virginia. I have a good running 73 455 that came out of a Skylark. I have gone through it, it purrs like a large lion. it has a T400 attached, quiet. New starter, coil, points, plugs. It is mounted on a heavy duty trailer with new tires. I've got my radiator attached to it right now, plus header pipes/mufflers, it will fire right up.

    I'm advertising it as a package/on the trailer; fire it up, hear it run, back up to it, and attach it to your trailer ball... cash and drive away.

    let me know if you're interested
    Butch
    64 Wildcat 445
    64 LSabre 310
    67 Impala

  5. #5
    Sorry your getting a bit of a raggin'. It's inevitable.

    Young guys talk to their buds and all they talk about is sbc. They look at a performance catalog they see is sbc.

    The spool is just not acceptable and your desire for it shows that you are young enough to make some real mistakes for a car you would like to drive on the street at all. You want a posi.

    You need to do some research. Many people consider the engine the "heart" of their car.

    If you want cool fast and economical, I would suggest a 401 coupled to a SP400. Many people have never even heard of the Switch Pitch 400 transmission. It was a real high performance transmission capable of a 2500 stall to launch the car off the line. Just build the motor up with a well done set of heads, stick with the stock intake etc. maybe a mild cam, good exhaust and you will have a car you can afford to drive and will have people (your buds) asking questions!

    One thing you will have to start searching for to do the conversion nicely is a set of '65 '66 Skylark GS exhaust manifolds. Watch ebay.

    As said earlier, it is your car, be happy!!!


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  6. #6

    Yep......

    Bob is right on,,, and combine the fact that the nailhead has a bunch of dress up goodies, cams, intakes, ect.... available for it... and every body and his dog dont have one just like it.....
    And if you use the factory single 4 intake you can do my ''Doc dual plane'' mod to it and have a real performer for cheap....
    A 64/65 skylark chassis is the best Buick has come up with for rodding... If you install a 401 or 425 nailhead engine you will have a good looking body, good looking engine, and a real performer on the street/strip.... it will weigh about 3550 lb.... and with 445 ft. lb. of tork with a 401, or 465 ft. lb. with a 425,,, it will be a real performer that will look as good as it runs.....

  7. #7
    I would keep it buick also. Like a few of the other guys said: The nailhead can be a good performance engine if it's built right and they are VERY tough engines. I've taken my nailhead to 7,500 RPM's more times than i can count on my fingers and toes and she still purrs. The parts for a nailhead can be a little pricey though. A turbo 3.8 would be a really cool swap and the performance upgrades seem to be endless for those grand national and T-type motors but then you would have to transfer the computer over to your car somehow. I saw a 65 sport wagon at the Deadwood nights in SD about a yr ago and it had the 3.8 turbo swap. It looked very clean under the hood too, I think he hid all the wiring and computer stuff under the dash. chevy small block would be cheaper but please keep it buick.

  8. #8
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    I'm in the turbo camp - I've been waiting for a 65 to pop up and add to my fleet.... it will get a GNX 231 turbo motor... the 61-64 (both body styles) are so light that a turbo 231 would make that sucker scream.... add a few suspension mods and that thing will suck the doors and the ego off of any BMW driver.

  9. #9

    And then there is this........

    One of the guys on v8buick,,, built a turbo NAILHEAD and it twisted a turbo hydramatic 400 transmission half in two.....lots of power with a turbo.......

  10. #10
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    my deciding factor for the smaller motor/turbo is based in my experience with my 06 GTO.... in the wet, 1st gear is basically useless, and you have to be really careful through 5th gear. Something that comes on a bit less hard would be my choice.

    That said.

    Turbo Nailhead

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