The Buick Skyhawk doesn’t always get the spotlight, but this 1975 example listed on eBay out of Grants Pass, Oregon is the kind of car that makes you pause for a second look. It’s being offered as a fully restored car with a clean title and just 3,500 miles reported on the drivetrain since the work was completed. What really sets it apart, though, is the combination of a 231ci V6, a 4-speed manual, and a fuel injection setup—something you don’t typically see on these early H-body cars. Thanks for the tip, JDC!
According to the seller, this Skyhawk has gone through a full restoration, with attention given to both the mechanicals and interior. The 231 cubic-inch V6 remains under the hood, now paired with a fuel injection system, and the listing notes that the engine, transmission, and rear differential all have under 3,500 miles since being redone. It’s also described as a rear-wheel-drive car with a restored drivetrain, though specifics about the restoration process aren’t broken down in detail.
The 4-speed manual transmission is a big part of the appeal here. The seller calls it a rare configuration, which tracks considering most of these cars were optioned more conservatively. For enthusiasts who prefer to row their own gears, that alone makes this one stand out a bit from the crowd of small GM coupes from the mid-1970s.
Inside, the car is said to have been upgraded with a leather interior finished in red to match the exterior. The listing describes it as being in very nice condition, though it doesn’t go into specifics beyond that. The exterior is also noted as red, keeping things consistent with the car’s overall look.
The seller positions this Skyhawk as a performance-oriented setup built on the classic H-body platform, which underpinned a number of compact GM cars during that era. While the Skyhawk wasn’t originally marketed as a high-performance model, builds like this tend to attract enthusiasts who appreciate something a little different from the usual muscle car formula.
It’s also worth noting that this is being sold by a dealer/collector who mentions regularly cycling through inventory, which may explain why a car like this is coming to market now. The listing focuses on the restoration and the low mileage since completion, rather than long-term ownership history.
For someone looking for something outside the usual Chevelle or Camaro conversation, this Skyhawk offers a different kind of appeal. It’s compact, V6-powered, and paired with a manual transmission—an unusual mix that might be exactly what some buyers are after.
Had a few of its Oldsmobiles cousins.
Good looking cars. This one looks like fun to drive also 👍
I am all for capitalism, but $29 large for this? Yep, I like it too, but as Chris Carter/ESPN would say, “Cmon man!”. No way! And I love three pedals as much as the next guy, but spare me the comments.😳😂
Someone is fishing. They think uncommon means it’s valuable. I looked at the pictures, thought it was a cool looking car, then saw the price. There is no way this car will ever come close to being worth the asking price, it would be lucky to pull 5 figures, though the manual transmission makes it more desirable.
Steve R.
I am sure he knows what he has. Having that attitude makes it easier to ignore the fact that there are no buyers for this at that price.
Looks like it has a lap belt? Did someone replace the 3-point seat belts with lap belts? Why?
My ’73 Cutlass had a separate shoulder belt that clipped into the lap belt. You think that could be the case here?
Possibly. My Mom’s ’72 Maverick had the same setup, and it was AWFUL, which is why the shoulder belts stayed in the holder on the headliner 99.9% of the time. If the shoulder belts are there, a company makes vintage-style three-point belts that can replace that Godawful setup that were the stock seatbelts of that era with modern three-point belts equipped with inertia-reel retractors (see link below).
https://www.retrobelt.com/
It was almost as if the “Big Three” were so mad at being told what to do by the Feds that they made the seat and shoulder belts as uncomfortable as possible, to punish their customers! The prevailing attitude seemed to be: “You wanted seat and should belts? Fine. Here they are! Are you happy now?”.
Robert – My 1970 Cutlass hardtop also had completely separate shoulder belts with their own buckle – adjustable like the lap belt but no give once it was buckled. Now THAT was inconvenient until I got into my first fender bender. Then I buckled the two belts all the time.
I considered that, but I don’t see any way for a second belt to clip to the buckle. Besides, brochures clearly show a more modern, 3-point seat belt.
I bought a new Pontiac Sunbird with this combination, though it wasn’t fuel injected. My was blue inside and out and was a great car. Wife became pregnant, received orders to England, sold the car before we left and bought a 4 door Mazda when we arrived in England. Regret selling the Sunbird to this day. Funny thing is a didn’t know how to drive a stick, my friend, the car salesman, taught me on the test drive.
Me and my brother had a 75 Chevrolet Monza 4 cylinder 4 speed and its fun rowing your own but, seriously 29 big ones!! WOW! I wonder if i kept my 76 Vega 2dr wagon what I could of gotten? Yes its sure pretty, again not in this life time! The price will make people laugh and shake there heads. Good luck to the seller. 🇺🇸🐻
If you want $29k, you better pull it out into the open and take better pictures.
In 1975, the 231V6 was still an odd firing engine. Although reliable, it was anything but smooth. I had a Buick Century as a company car with the same engine and it was an absolute dog.
Performance would most likely be better in the smaller/lighter Skyhawk but again, the raspy odd firing engine is a no go for me.
I had a 76 Century with the odd fire. I put a cam and a 450 spread bore holley on it. Helped quite a bit, but needed more.
My 225 odd fire in my Jeep goes pretty good, lots of torque. IMO and maybe others, that V6 was underrated.
The odd-fire V6 actually sounds pretty cool with the right exhaust system on it. This would be a fun driver and looks good. Too much for any H-body though. A Cosworth Vega with under 10k miles will struggle to get 29k.
If the drivetrain has been rebuilt, why is there a piece of cardboard underneath it? I would hope it had no leaks. I also wondered about the seat belts, why would someone do that?
I inherited the same car from my dad. The red was not that dark , and had a saddle interior and hounds tooth cloth inserts. The pin stripe was gold and the plastic wheel covers melted a bit. When I got it I painted a flip flop blue over the red and it looked like that later Ford color.
It ran rough but made it to 100k miles. They used that 6 after dumping the rotary motor project for it. My dad ordered it when he heard it was getting a rotary only to be let down.
clean but pics of what was done. it clean but 30k is too much
I had one with the V-6 4 speed set up. Actually a fun little car. Decent fuel mileage.
IIRC, these later got a five-speed manual and the bigger V6 as well, so both are bolt-ins, as is the small-block V8 that the Chevy Monza got. If you bolt in the V8, though, make sure to fit the recall kit, so you could change the rear spark plugs without having to jack up the engine, LOL!
I often wondered how these cars would have handled with the 215 aluminum V8 installed, if GM had stuck with it instead of selling it to Rover? Ah, well (sigh)! Fit the four-barrel intake to the 215 V8, and you could fit electronic ignition and Throttle-Body Injection (TBI) to it! Whee!
GM always seemed to come up with great innovations, then sell them or discontinue them when they proved too costly. The 215 is one of many.
I am thinking of building a 215 for another H-body car, or even my Cosworth should the engine ever need parts I can no longer source. These engines are lighter than the iron V6 and just a tad (like maybe 30 lbs) heavier than the Vega 2.3. The excellent handling of these cars will be preserved and the v8 will really make a 2500lb car go…
Two-barrel versions started life with 150 hp, but were later upgraded to 155 hp, and the four-barrel versions were good for 180 hp, later increased to 200 hp in 1963 (see link below).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V8_engine
Each power increase was partly due to an upgrade in compression ratio. The early engines had an 8.5:1 compression ratio, but the high-output versions, with 200 hp, featured a compression ratio of 11.0:1! Finding original GM versions is getting harder all the time, but Rover/Triumph versions are more plentiful.
D&D Fabrications has everything needed for a 215 conversion. They started doing Vega conversions in 1973 and are still at it. They even have full engines pulled from cars.
http://aluminumv8.com/Home/Technical
One issue I see, since this V6 has the poorly designed lubrication system with the pump hanging way out front, it takes time for oil pressure to develop. With a carburetor it should crank a little before starting and this allows time for the oil pump to build pressure. With fuel injection, it’ll start immediately with no oil pressure at first. So I can imagine some increased engine wear.
Nice car and well done on the restoration, but for $29k it’d better come with whatever car is parked behind it. The demand for these cars just isn’t there. Manual transmission or not.