While the owner of this 1978 Buick Skylark Coupe refers to it as a one-owner vehicle, I get the feeling that he may actually be the second owner. Regardless of that fact, this is an attractive looking car with only a couple of small spots of corrosion that haven’t penetrated the metal. Barn Finder Pat L referred this beauty to us, so thank you for that Pat. The Skylark is located in Athens, Tennessee, and is listed for sale here on Craigslist. This is a car that you can park in your driveway today for $6,950.
There is no doubt that this Skylark is an attractive looking car. The Red Firemist paint has a great shine and consistency to it, and the panel gaps are nice and even. The chrome, trim, and glass all appear to be in great condition, and the Torq-Thrust wheels look perfect on the car. The owner says that the car has a couple of rust spots, but does not expand on where there are. Wherever they are, he does say that they haven’t penetrated through the steel, so they should hopefully be a pretty easy fix.
Under the hood of the Skylark has been given a bit of a birthday, and the changes should have the car performing better than it did originally. There is now a ’99 model Vortec 350ci V8, which runs tuned port injection, and is hooked to a 700R4 transmission. The Skylark is also fitted with power steering and power brakes. Those new wheels also wear new tires, and while the owner doesn’t give us any information on how the car runs and drives, the presentation of the engine bay is at least fairly clean and tidy.
As with the outside of the car, the interior of the Skylark presents really nicely. There are really no issues to address, and this looks like the sort of car that you can just climb into and enjoy. The upholstery and carpet present nicely, while air conditioning, a CD player, and a tilt wheel make things pretty comfortable.
There is an awful lot to like about this Buick Skylark because it really is an attractive car that appears to be in very nice condition. The modifications that have been performed to the car not only enhance the car’s appearance but should also make it a reasonably respectable performer. The one note of caution that I would sound surrounds whether the car would be able to pass emissions in certain areas, but I’ll leave that one to your own judgment. The price is close to the top end of what a ’78 Skylark can achieve at present, but this is a car that might well justify that price.
Seeing that the car is now fuel injected, it should be able to pass the standards for a carbureted vehicle. In my city, you only have to pass a visual inspection after 25 years old. So if it has catalytic converters it would pass.
Where he’s at has no emission testing or vehicle safety inspection of any kind.
I like this car and it’s likely worth the asking price.
This is one nice Buick. If I had the cash for another vehicle right now this would be mine..that injected engine looks perfect in there
I’ve pretty much decided on a 62 to 64 chevy ll, but this looks good for the price, can’t believe I’m saying that. This looks like it would be a good driver. It has me scratching my head though.
A/C is not hooked up.
That alone (depending on the problem of course) could run $1K+ to fix. Sharp eye; thanks.
Vortec Heads used a different bolt pattern than TPI manifolds, the two are not compatible. OE Vortec Heads used four vertical bolts per head to attach the manifold, while the TPI used the conventional small block Chevy bolt pattern of six bolts per head that ran perpendicular to the mating surface of the manifold. He might have used the block, but not the heads, which were the important part of the Vortec swap.
Steve R
I think Edelbrock and Scoggin-Dickey used to make an intake manifold that let you run TPI on vortec heads…
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2007/04/12/scoggin-dickey-mixes-vortec-heads-with-tpi/
I remember back in the day my grandparents had a skylark just like that one. It was brown with the 231 c.i.d engine.
The wheels do look nice on this car. A nice choice. I would like to see it with the the Buick sport wheels, too. I think those are some of the nicest factory “mags”.
Good looking build, my favorite rims, solid color. Oh, and I guarantee it’s a whole lot quicker and faster than what came with it in ’78. That’s the sleeper edge, so to speak, with this ride. Mostly though, it’s just a really nice car. Don’t know if my car friendly state of California would allow it or not, I’m probably wrong but I’m thinking it would have to meet ’99 emissions(?) due to the year of the newer engine not so much the year of the car. Am I completely wrong?
If there are no hidden surprises this car is worth every penny.
Fun fact: Mexico used this front end on some of the Novas sold here.
Some had the regular Nova front end treatment and some this. It gets confusing.
Also, if this has the fuel injection set up, does that mean it also has computers?
I like the looks of this car. I am just not sold on the stance. That along with the questions about the injection systems, head gaskets, etc., leaves me out of the running, as I am not that well versed on the subjects and do not want to run into problems.