The Sun Coupe was a one-year-only option on the 1972 Skylark 350 Sport Coupe, with its manual-folding vinyl sunroof and special carpeting and badging. It was in addition to traditional convertibles that would be in their last year as part of Buick’s mid-sized cars. This edition presents well but has a few flaws such as minor rust and it may need a thorough tune-up. Located in Elk Mound, Wisconsin, this Buick is available here on eBay where the bidding stands at $8,001.
When you bought a Skylark 350 Sport Coupe in 1972, you could check another box and get the Sun Coupe, too. Besides the roll-back roof, you got gold emblems on each C-pillar and either gold or bright red carpeting (like in the seller’s car), dependent on the color scheme of the rest of the car. But the sunroof was not a Sun Coupe exclusive as you could order it separately on the base Skylark, Skylark Custom, and GS. Production estimates vary between 1,600 and 1,800 Sun Coupes to 3,450 to 3,900 of all Skylarks with the fancy roof. When the Sun Coupe wasn’t open-air enough for folks, they bought another 3,608 Skylark Customs and 852 GS models as true convertibles.
The seller purchased this ’72 Sun Coupe in Florida less than a year ago. It’s used for weekend excursions and local car shows. It runs okay but is hard to start when cold, so perhaps some tinkering with plugs, points, the distributor, wires, and other items may be needed. It has the requisite 350 cubic-inch V8 with automatic transmission, but also a 4-barrel carburetor. The odometer has turned over since the mileage claim is 100,000.
While the car looks good, there is a bit of rust in the passenger side door. The rest is said to be clean and there is no mention if the paint is original or a respray. The interior, including the bucket seats, present well but the red carpet looks out of place to me. A few things in the passenger compartment no longer work, like the power button to move the driver’s seat and the radio has quit playing music. But you can still ride around in comfort as the factory A/C works fine. If you’re into these ‘70s Buicks and want one that’s less commonly seen, this Sun Coupe might do the trick.
Last year before the bumpers got big and performance really started taking a hit.
I’d say the performance game was pretty much done by 71 my friend……except for Fords Boss 351
The Camaro Z-28 still had solid lifters and an Edelbrock aluminum intake with a Holley carburetor on the 350 through 1972. Compression was down but some performance was still there. Beginning 1973 what was left of ‘high-performance’ was dead.
You didn’t need solid lifters, a holley or even high compression for good performance back in the day – big cubes & good breathing can compensate – if the motor is built right –
like the ’73-’74 SD-455
What a fun car destined for appreciation. That red carpet must be changed to original. Gosh, Was a 4 speed manual just a check away on the order form?
I owned this car…. RED CARPET was factory. …
Always wondered if these leaked…never seen one on the streets that i remember….
I saw one a few summers ago in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Owner had repainted it with GSX yellow.
Good looking ride.. I saw plenty of these sun coupes in the Bronx and Westchester county NY. They do leak if it’s not seal correctly. The driver seat switch can be a easy fix. I used to take them apart and clean the contacts and rest of the switch and plug in back in. The seat will move. The radio take it out and apart clean it up inside the electronics. Some times you can get lucky and it will work. Otherwise cool ride to take to shows. 🐻🇺🇸
They did offer a red carpet option on the 1972 Grand Prixs if I’m not mistaken. This may be the case with the Buicks as well.
Great entry level weekend cruise, cars & coffee, car show ride!
I Love cars like this (survivor)that u can use and slowly restore if that’s your goal.
I’d buy this for under 10K, anytime!
I like the “one year only” model distinction too.
I see a gold band above the grill.
Was this “sunroof” avail on sister cars – Chevelle, Lemans, Cutlass?
I seem to remember a Nova or similar car also avail with such a roof.