Wouldn’t you rather have a Buick? Not if it looks like this one! Admittedly, a 1965 Buick Special convertible is a fun desirable car but this example has more than its fair share of issues. But…who knows, maybe there’s more here than initially meets the eye. This convertible is located in Trempealeau, Wisconsin and is available, here on eBay for a starting bid of $5,000 $500.
The model designation here is a bit confusing. Buick offered two different intermediate convertibles for ’65, a Skylark and a Special. This example is absolutely wearing the more upscale Skylark trim but the fender badge clearly reads “Special”. Total Buick A-Body (Skylark/Special) production for ’65 was robust with 126K copies (21% of total Buick volume) finding new owners. Convertibles accounted for over 11K of that total intermediate volume.
In a nutshell, this Special is shot! Besides all of the surface rust and body panel rust-through, the front end of the frame is passing through the cinders stage and returning to some version of its natural, metallurgical state. It’s a common problem for A-Body perimeter frames when exposed to the wrong elements for extended periods of time, and being a Wisconsin car (road salt), explains it all. The seller suggests, “it is very rusty. could it be restored? well yes if you through (sic) enough money at it, otherwise it’s a very good parts car. the convertible parts will fit other gm cars like the Chevelle, Cutlass, and GTO“. Restorable if you replace everything maybe, I question the value of this pile as a parts car.
Under the hood is what became a Rover U.K. bound, 155 gross HP, 3.5 liter (215 CI) “Fireball” V6 engine that supposedly ran three years ago. In that time, it has managed to lose its air cleaner, alternator, and power steering belt, but the rest of it seems to still be there. Behind the Fireball is an automatic transmission, more than likely a Super-Turbine 300, two-speed unit which I believe, was introduced in ’64.
There is little left of the interior – so often the case with a “barn-find” convertible. Not only is the folding top destroyed, but the barn this thing was in must have been minus its top as well. Typically, the floors are rotted out, the seating upholstery is destroyed and the door/side panels are half missing. The instrument panel is probably the only thing of value and that’s questionable. The original Sonomatic radio is sitting in the trunk; doubtful, however, that it still works.
In any sort of restorable condition, this would be a great and worthwhile project – a simple, nicely styled, and highly reliable convertible from one of America’s premier brands. But with this Buick needing a frame and countless other body parts at a minimum, and not trying to be facetious, I’d suggest that this Special might fetch $600-$700 in scrap value based on “Scrap Monster’s” current midwest auto scrap rates. With a $500 opening bid, there may be some action happening on this forlorn convertible, probably an interest in glass or some other remaining usable parts. What’s your thought, any hope for salvation?
Wow! That’s a lot of rust, bent parts and neglected everything on this uh, car? This is one of those remove the radiator cap and replace with new car, except the radiator cap is no good either. I’m not sure this is even good as a parts car.
God bless America
I think the window cranks might still be good.
5k for a Buick ??? This ain’t no Mopar rust bucket. They can only charge that for complete garbage. Only value here is scrap metal… if there’s any left. LOL.
Spoken like a true GM fan !
Sad shape for this one. That looks to be a Skylark tail panel. We had a 65 Special coupe and it didn’t have that trim on the back. I haven’t seen that car in 25 years. 40k miles and original everything, it wasn’t beautiful, but oddly fun to drive. The fireball V6 got up and went, but the lack of power steering or power brakes hurt the cars appeal, to me anyway. This one is toasted, strip what you can and scrap it unless it’s a labor of love.
65 special did have chrome between tail lights the 64 was plain. The sky Lark 65 had tail light lens across the entire back with the Buick circle in the middle.
Had a 65 Skylark. Loved it. Back seat held a lot of secrets!
The starting bid is $500, not $5000. And five hundred might be a little steep.
You are right, fixed!
Thx,
JO
Junkyards are paying about $200 for scrap cars right now, so $500 isnt bad. Remove the engine ,trans , trim and glass and scrap it. You’d easily have $300 worth of spare parts .
Even 500 is 375 too much.
That is a “Special Deluxe”. It is also a 300 cubic inch cast iron block engine, I believe. 1963 was the last year of the Rover destined engine.
I based the engine displacement on the attached sales brochure. It’s actually 225 CI, not the 215 that I typo’d.
The 225 was an iron block V6 that entered production for the ’62 model year. This engine was the great granddaddy of what would eventually become one of the greatest engines of the 20th century, the Buick 3800, in production until 2009 and placed in countless GM cars, not least of which were the fire-breathing Grand National and GNX. The V6 was developed from the 215 cubic inch aluminum block V8 that powered the original 1961 compact Special (and its upmarket companion the Skylark.) It was the aluminum V8 that went to Rover after the ’63 model year, replaced by a 300 cubic inch iron block V8, and later the 340 and then the 350. The V6 was sold to Kaiser and was placed into Jeeps, of all things, eventually becoming property of AMC who sold it back to GM in the mid 70s where the tooling was bolted into the same floor anchors it originally had been in the engine plant in Flint. Eventually it received a split-journal crank and decades of development and refinement into a superlatively smooth, powerful and reliable powerplant.
Actually a 300. Last year for 215 was 63 and the 225 is a V6. 64 was. Cast iron block aluminum headed 300 and 65 went to all cast iron engine.
Steve: the engine in picture is a 225 V6, not the 300 V-8, count the plug wires on the distributor cap.
The ’62 and ’63 V6 was a 198 CID. The ’64 through ’67 was the 225 CID.
Wow Nick , that’s a wealth of knowledge you’re carrying around there.
The 64 300 V8 also had aluminum heads. Went to cast iron heads in 65.
215 ci was sold to Rover and is still the basis of all the Rover engines.
When better cars are built – Buick will build them!
Roger, thanks. But Rick is correct about the 198 and I should have remembered that. I chose to call myself “Nick 8778” for this thread because that is my Buick Club Of America ID number. Always been a big Buick fan, since the first car I can ever remember, my dad’s 1953 Special (last Buick with a straight eight engine.) I had a number over the years, including a ’62 Skylark (with the 215), two ’68 Skylark Custom convertibles (both with 350’s) a ’79 Century (with the 231 V6) Even now I have a ’96 Regal Custom sedan with the wonderful 3800 Series II. Not a “collector car,” to be sure, but a very smooth, comfortable car. Amazingly quiet considering it’s 25 years old. Drives superbly. It’s what a Buick used to be. It’s NOT an SUV…..
It does sadden my heart a bit to see this ’65 in such sorry shape. I don’t think it will ever roll down the road under its own power again and would probably most at home in a salvage yard for a little while before heading to the crusher to become….an SUV?
I think this would be best used as yard art, especially if you don’t like your neighbors.
Save the motor and trans. My son has a 63 with the 215. We are building a 300 with a small turbo for it. The 300 is a real good motor.
It is a real shame…if that car was only saved years ago, it had potential to be something cool.