The Special nameplate had been a Buick staple since the 1930s. But from 1961 to 1963, it represented Buick’s “senior level” compact along with the Oldsmobile F-85 and Pontiac Tempest. The seller has a one-owner 1962 Special Deluxe station wagon that was parked in 1973 and stayed that way until recently. It has Buick’s aluminum block V8 engine, but the motor doesn’t turn over (yet). With just shy of 24,000 miles, the little wagon is in good shape in Costa Mesa, California, and is available here on eBay, where the current unmet reserve bid is $5,100.
Rather than employ the standard 198 cubic inch “Fireball” V6, Buick installed its 215 CI V8 in this wagon, which was one of 10,380 made in 1962. This engine differed from other eight-cylinders in the GM family as the block was made of heavy-duty aluminum. Since an automatic transmission was selected from the options list, it must be Buick’s 2-speed Dual Path (a cousin of the Chevy Powerglide?). As the story goes, this wagon was the family’s third vehicle, which helps explain the lack of miles in 11 years.
The blueish paint job, which is original and should shine up with some wax, is called Teal Mist. With a luggage rack on the roof, the exterior is flanked by a silver and black interior, which we also assume is from the day of assembly. Cool extras include a power rear window, power steering, and parking sensors. The Buick finally saw the light of day again, thanks to an estate sale from its original owners. A video is provided that initially looks as though the car is being driven, but it’s really an illusion on the back of a trailer.
In the hopes of getting the numbers matching V8 to respond, some Marvel Mystery Oil is soaking in the cylinders. And the plug wires will need to be replaced as they disintegrated upon being removed. With any luck, this engine can be revived without having to be torn down. And, for some reason, it looks as though none of the tires match. Chances are that you’re not going to see another ’62 Buick Special Deluxe wagon anytime soon. Our thanks to T.J. for coming through again in the tips department.
Tempting.
I’ve never heard curb feelers described as parking sensors before, but I suppose they are a primitive form of today’s sonar parking sensors.
oh yes, curb feelers. They were the preventative solution to creating “wife sidewalls” out of white sidewalls. Rumors have it even a few of the guys occasionally scraped a curb as well.
My family’s 1963 Chevy Bel Air had the curb feelers as well. My mom was barely 5 foot tall. When she drove she had to look through the steering wheel and could neither see the end of the hood nor the trunk. She was always bumping into things — we called her driving the braille method — but she never hit the curb thanks to those metal feelers. In 1968 the Chevy became dad’s car and mom got a new Ford Country Sedan with an LTD upgrade, 390 V-8. The Ford fit her and she never used the braille method again.
Need to look closer to see if this really actual miles.
It probably is as nice as it looks, but still needs to be inspected. This seller has been featured on this site multiple times over the years. He finds cool cars in pretty good, or better, shape, then list them for auction with a reserve. Most sell on the first try, which indicates his reserves are reasonable.
Steve R
Nice Russ and TJ, this one brings back memories. I’m sure my mom was disappointed (Though never complained) when my folks traded in a beautiful white 61 Chevy Impala bubbletop, our first car with AC for a Buick Special wagon. Pewter color with a white painted top. She was pregnant with # 4 and that car got small in a hurry as then was traded for a white 64 Impala wagon. In 65 # 5 was born and a green 67 Impala wagon was next.
Nothing but wagons until I got my license in high school. The Buick was special…it was the first of 5 wagons. The last two being Country Squire woodies. Good memories, Dad couldn’t reach us in the back while driving to church, the lake, or vacations.
My mother had a 1961 Tempest wagon which shared sheet metal with this but had a completely different drivetrain (the Trophy Four with the famous “rope drive”). It was a bit anemic at 130 HP. This engine should produce 155 HP in the standard configuration or 185 HP if it has the Power Pack option. Would be a fun car to have, probably not a lot around anymore.
The transmission is Buick’s own unique unit. It is unrelated to the Chevy Powerglide. This transmission was not used by any other GM division. It was only installed in the smaller 1961-63 cars (i.e. Special and Skylark).
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UbasWHWHkEBYYV75A
I own the four-door version of this car, as seen above, except I have the Fireball V6. In a cruise night world of Fords and Chevys, you will definitely be the lone wolf. I bought mine from the original owner’s grandson in 1998, and in all that time I have yet to see another one that matches mine. Parts are not as ubiquitous as other GM makes but can be found with some searching. I rebuilt and repainted my V6 two years ago and the machinist had a hell of a time trying to find certain things (fortunately, most of the larger items were still in good shape).
I bet this wagon has the two-speed dual-path transmission. I called a longtime transmission guy near me about rebuilding mine, for no other reason than it was out of the car, and he laughed. He said he rebuilt one in the mid-80s and vowed never to touch this one again because the 61 and 62 dual-paths were built in reverse, or something like that. In 63, the design was changed to make them easier to work on.
In a perfect world, my car would be the wagon version like this one, but I have been very happy with the four-door model. You just don’t see them anymore. I get the feeling that these cars had a 10-year lifespan before they were junked. Good luck to whomever buys it. You will get thumbs-up wherever you go.
an outstanding survivor. i can tell you that the l/f tire is 62 issue by the pie crust edges. shame motor is lock up. i would just pull it out put on a stand and try to free it up. much easier and if needs a teardown so be it. worth the time and money. you will most likely will never see another 1 in this shape
The engine is a big unknown. Seller should have spent some time or money to figure what was wrong, simple or not, before the sale. Just take the plugs out, squirt in some light oil, maybe take off the valve covers and more oil, see what moves a little? If not, remove the rockers, tap on valves? Not much effort or money if you do it yourself.
Turn it over by hand first, to make sure it turns freely, because if you try to start it with the pistons frozen in the bores, you will likely break things! Broken piston rings means that a full overhaul of the 215 V8 is in your future! These have iron sleeves in the block, so it can be bored out somewhat, but you have to tread lightly, or you will be pressing new sleeves into that aluminum block. No word on the intake fitted to this one, but since it’s a wagon, I’m guessing it’s a two-barrel intake. Edelbrock makes a four-barrel intake for these for short money if you want a performance upgrade!
I own the four-door version of this car except I have the Fireball V6. In a cruise night world of Fords and Chevys, you will definitely be the lone wolf. I bought mine from the original owner’s grandson in 1998, and in all that time I have yet to see another one that matches mine. Parts are not as ubiquitous as other GM makes but can be found with some searching. I rebuilt and repainted my V6 two years ago and the machinist had a hell of a time trying to find certain things (fortunately, most of the larger items were still in good shape).
I bet this wagon has the two-speed dual-path transmission. I called a longtime transmission guy near me about rebuilding mine, for no other reason than it was out of the car, and he laughed. He said he rebuilt one in the mid-80s and vowed never to touch this one again because the 61 and 62 dual-paths were built in reverse, or something like that. In 63, the design was changed to make them easier to work on.
In a perfect world, my car would be the wagon version like this one, but I have been very happy with the four-door model. You just don’t see them anymore. I get the feeling that these cars had a 10-year lifespan before they were junked. Good luck to whomever buys it. You will get thumbs-up wherever you go.
This is one of the first “hatchback” type wagons I can recall seeing. As I recall, most wagons had a tailgate which could make loading things in the rear a bit more cumbersome, but at the same time also worked to extend the rear deck if more floor space was needed. Compare a Ford Falcon wagon of the same era.
Buyer beware: the wear on the armrests, front seat, and cargo area suggest to me that odometer has made one trip around and is well on its way through its second. I’d want to see more documentation than the seller’s word that these are original miles.
The mileage is real. Seller here. As the ad states, we have a title certification of actual mileage signed by the original owner. The condition absolutely supports it.
I agree,to many worn parts inside for a low mileage car.
Lovely looking car. 1962 is my favourite year for the Buick Special and Skylark, until the 1964 model year.
The grille on Mom’s ’61 was kind of “busy”, I like the ’62 better myself! The ’63 kind of went off the rails, IMHO, before GM killed the Y-Body cars completely in ’64.
I got to see a 1962 Skylark convertible. It was on display here in Bellevue Washington. There was a classic car show. This was among my favourite of the classic cars.
The design of this model was always interesting, but somehow the wagon version just makes it look amazing. This is a beautiful car.
This would be a fun car with an 86/87 GN drivetrain…
Not only do I like the body style. I feel that this is a proper size everyday car. The 215 engine is cool. But I would upgrade the transmission to something more modern. (700R4?) And for those having the same car and looking for replacement tires. Usually you can only find 185/70R13. (The size similar in diameter as the originals and will carry the weight.) The only problem being that the original wheels are a little on the narrow side. So possible low speed wobble or just a less than ideal overall stability issue. Find some 13×6 Vega/Monza/Skyhawk wheels. They are the correct bolt pattern and offset and you can still use your original wheel covers. It makes the car feel “modern” and no one has to know the change/modification.
I was 12 then and was nuts about the Buick Skylark coupes… and to a lesser extent the Olds and Pontiac ”compacts”. The Western Auto store had an AMT model kit of the wagon and I bought it…. spray painted it green…. still have it in a display case. This was how we learned to use our hands to build things… kids today don’t know the pleasure of building things…. maybe Lego things…. By then I was getting pretty good at building the models… painting them was also a challenge… and those little bottles of Testors or Pactra paint were 15 cents…. the spray cans were 79 cents…. THAT was a decision… because you also needed primer… once you sprayed one there was no going back to brushing…
I think you’re the first person to mention Western Auto. There was one in Grand Rapids, Mn. If memory serves me, the store sign was round with a counter clockwise arrow pointing to the entrance.
I remember those Testor paint bottles and glue. I never sprayed.
I still have a 1/8th scale Monogram ’63 Corvette Sting Ray in the box.
Funny how we were sniffing glue in front of our parents, man!
I remember having so many different colors of the Testors paints and you are right the first model i spray painted there was no going back. In town every summer Woolworths had a model contest and so many kids and adults entered with each having prices. I remember saving up one year for a model called the Golden Chaparral looked like an Indy car this was in the early 70s. The body was bright gold looked amazing just finished it and dreaming of winning first prize. Was sitting on the stoop with my friend admiring it put it down on the stoop and my younger brother came running out of the house and stepped right on it. He would not come home until our parents came home but i still gave him a couple of days of painful noogies. that was kind of long winded but brought back so many good memories of building models as a kid.
Didn’t like these when they were new and don’t like it now. The motor is absolute junk and the car is ugly.
Just my opinion.
Didn’t GM sell the engine to the Rover Group. A whole bunch came back as the Rover 3500, but perhaps even more significant, it was used in the Land Rover for multiple decades before Rover was acquired by BMW. It couldn’t have been all that bad of the Brits were able to keep them running. I also know a few guys who stuffed that lightweight V8 into a Vega to make a potent street sleeper that could also perform at the drag strip.
Yes, Rover bought the rights and all of the tooling when GM’s bean counters forced the Engineers to give up on it. Rover fixed all of the bugs in it, then kept making them in various displacements for another twenty (20) years or so. It’s also a popular swap for the straight six in a TR-6, and was dropped into a TR-7, which British Leyland renamed the TR-8 when it had the V8 in it!
I’d drive it if it was located here in Tacoma Washington. Its price is perfect. Assuming everything on the car works like they should, I’d be willing to pay for the car. All you’d then have to worry about is maintenance and licensing, etc.
The opposite of John above. Not everything works as it should, but optimistic.
That’s his problem, not mine. As long as the car has been driven carefully and has been carefully maintained, it shouldn’t matter.
Mom had the ’61 four-door sedan version of one of these, bought as a leftover in ’62. We gave it to a relative in 1973, with 98k miles on it. The dreaded tin worm was eating its way through the lower valance panel by the exhaust pipe. A couple of valves stuck about six (6) months before we gave it away, dad poured a can of STP oil treatment it it, the valves came unstuck and Mom drove it for six more months before she got a 1972 Maverick to replace it in 1973.
Just as an aside, if the engine were to be found unserviceable one could find a rebuilt 3.5. 3.9. or 4.6 Land Rover V8 as a substitute. Remember, Buick shelved the 215 engine after the ’63 model year. British Leyland bought it all from GM and used that same 215 calling it a 3.5 liter in Rover sedans and Range Rovers at first with twin SU carburetor and then with fuel injection.This engine soldiered on until Land Rover was bought by BMW and then later by Ford.
Olds also used these, the Olds version has an extra bolt hole in each side of the block, for the extra cylinder head bolt the Olds head used in each head. So Buick heads will fit on an Olds block, but not the other way around!
That’s worth a lot of preservation sweat. Great little wagon. Definitely not many left, especially this true to form. Hope it goes to a great garage.
We had a 4dr sedan with the same powertrain. Mom said it had lots of pep.
It ran well and rusted out before any engine or transmission problems occured. Of course I beat the heck out of it and even ran it at Connecticut Dragway.
Power steering was the apotomy of no road feedback. Two speed worked ok.
Ditto, except for the valve train problems at the end of its life that I mentioned in a previous post and the transmission failed. It failed because Dad rented a U-Haul trailer to move an old wooden desk from my Grandparent’s house to our house and the two-speed Dual-Path tranny couldn’t stand the strain, LOL! That desk weighed a ton!
I remember having so many different colors of the Testors paints and you are right the first model i spray painted there was no going back. In town every summer Woolworths had a model contest and so many kids and adults entered with each having prizes. I remember saving up one year for a model called the Golden Chaparral looked like an Indy car this was in the early 70s. The body was bright gold looked amazing just finished it and dreaming of winning first prize. Was sitting on the stoop with my friend admiring it put it down on the stoop and my younger brother came running out of the house and stepped right on it. He would not come home until our parents came home but i still gave him a couple of days of painful noogies. that was kind of long winded but brought back so many good memories of building models as a kid.
First car I ever drove was our family’s red 1962 Buick Special 4-door sedan with the V6 and two-speed automatic. Seeing this wagon brought back memories. My grandfather was the sedan’s first owner, then he sold it to my dad and bought a big, light green Mercury sedan. Grampa said driving the Buick after test-driving the Merc was “like going back to the dime store.” Still, I liked the Buick, and the next family that owned it kept it running when it was 18 or 20 years old—rusty, by then , but durable.
I’ve had over twenty of these cars and my experience with these engines is that they either failed early due to bad castings- which I suspect is why the engine is stuck and this car has only 24k miles- or they ran until the oil pump wore out the bottom cover and then the cam wiped. I would expect the new owner will have to find another engine that at least turns over to rebuild. They are not the easiest cars to swap in a nonstock drivetrain. I’d also recommend finding one with a manual transmission. That said they are sweet little cars and worth the effort.
Sold on 4/6/2026 for a high bid of $11,200, there were 31 bids from 10 bidders.
Steve R