I have been accused of repeating myself sometimes. I have been accused.. er.. it’s usually with some boring old car story or about some car that I let get away or a problem child car that I wish I would have let get away. I don’t know if repeating myself about this 1961 Buick Special as being “Special Special” is a bad thing. Once you see the photos I hope that you’ll agree. This beauty can be found in the beautiful capital city of Oregon: Salem. It’s on Craigslist with an asking price of $5,000. Thanks to Ikey H. for submitting this find!
This car looks like it’s brand new to me, or as close to that as any 57-year old car has ever looked. Can this color be original? It sure looks like it is but it’s such a different color blue. Here’s a period advertising piece showing this same car in this same color – mystery solved. The seller doesn’t say if it’s been repainted or not, but they do say, “Buick Special 1961 Classic, Blue with Blue int., 3.5 L -V8 , Automatic, Only 77,000 Original miles, Very clean, New tires, battery, tags.” The trunk looks like new, or even better than new? I can’t quite tell if the bumpers are chrome or if they have been painted?
Here’s the only photo where a person may be able to tell about the paint and in looking at the door strike it doesn’t appear to have been painted over which is what usually happens when a person repaints a car. Other than the carpet this car looks like a 10 to me so far. Hagerty is at $5,500 for a #3 good condition car and $10,900 for a #2 excellent condition car so this could very well be a deal right here if it checks out to be as nice in person as it looks in the photos and everything works. Don’t you think?
Buick had some interesting engines in their Special series. The ’62 Specials had the option of a V6, the first to use one in a volume American production car. This car has their aluminum 215 cubic-inch V8 which would have had 155 hp. I’m not sure if this one has been modified or if that’s just an aftermarket air cleaner but it looks pretty good and I’m sure it keeps things flowing much better than the OEM one did. I wonder if they still have the original one? The seller says: “Very clean, New tires, battery, tags.” They’re not kidding when they say that it’s very clean, good grief, it looks nicer than any of our newer cars do. How about this special special? At $5,000 this seems like a special deal, no?
It has two too many doors to appeal to me, but might be good buying.
One would want to check out the condition of the engine, as these 215s have a tendency to ‘weld’ their heads to the block due to electrolysis. I’ve seen a number where that’s been the case.
To answer your question, Scotty, the air cleaner is definitely a modern, aftermarket swap. The original would have been stamped steel and had a snorkel.
Four doors. Hated by many. Run into the ground or scrapped in droves. Now they’re not quite common at all. I like ’em, and at $5000, an economical way to get into the classic car market. It’ll sure get attention, even if two-door snobs stick their noses up at it.
Amen. I’ll take this driver Buick & draw a crowd anywhere I go, while the “2 doors or crush it” crowd is paying $20k for a basket case Camaro.
The best 4 doors have long roofs.
Some cars, like this one aren’t appealing even when they have 2 doors. It’s not generally snobbery, 2 door were what you saw in magazines, race tracks, cruises they were what you and your friends built as models and generally lusted after. Why should that change now?
Steve R
I think their comments are aimed more towards people who are instantly dismissive of anything with more than two doors, and make nasty comments about said vehicles and the people who consider them. Neither of those guys dreamed about a ’61 Buick sedan. But it’s in great shape, you can drive/show it right now and not have one exactly like it parked next to you. It’s something you can own and use, not just dream about like yet another overpriced Chevelle.
GM really had it down with their early 60’s compacts. Better than Falcon, Rambler, or Valiant/Dart. Not the most comfortable car, but for getting mom to the store, kids to school, it fit the bill. While the V8 may have been a bit much for mom, the kids had a blast with it. After they became back row $100 beaters, these were, for many of us, our 1st cars. Man, we killed these cars left and right, they took quite a beating. Junkyards were full of these,,,minus the motors, of course. Great find.
In defense of 4 door “haters”, there are exceptions. Any four door that was not common at the time..like this…is an exception for this 4 door hater. And it has the V8 instead of the half an 8 Rover engine. Besides that its a good loooking car. Around 1969 we had a neighbor that had the wagon version of this in red………..
“Half an 8” was the Pontiac Tempes, Mountain. Half of a Pontiac V8, slant four in reality.
GM sold the rights and tooling to Rover much later on and the V6 to Jeep.
Yeah, the Pontiac Tempest/LeMans for 61 and 62 had the 195ci slant 4 cylinder, half of a Pontiac 389. The funny thing about GM selling the production rights of the 215ci aluminum V8 to Rover, when the 1970’s oil crisis hit, GM was scrambling for efficient lightweight engine alternatives. They approached Rover about sharing the rights to the little aluminum V8, and Rover said No Way !!
Any pre 1970 Buick is a desirable motor car in my book!
Be a good drive-to-school car but many parents would freak at not having airbags and seat belts for their little Tide Pod-snorting darlings.
What? No riders?
Works for me!
we had a 63 Skylark convertible with the 200hp 3.5 V8 when i was growing up with the Dual Path trans. It was a dependable & comfy ride with tons of room in it, amazing it was considered a compact in its day. It had the optional front lap seatbelts, none in the back, no shoulder belts. 13″ bias plys at first, drum brakes all around, leaned over as soon as the wheel was turned, spark knocked even with premium fuel on hot days. i loved it.
if i was within 2000 miles of this beauty i’d drop $5k on it in a heartbeat. very sharp ride!
I had this car, same color, same 4 doors but a V6 back in 69. My first car after getting my license, my dad paid $200 for it and said now your on your own son. It was a great car and very dependable.
Better a 4 dr gem like this, rather than a rusted out hardtop or convertible.
Were it on my side of the Pacific, I’d be all over this one.
It looks really clean, and a great way to get into the classic car hobby at $5k ! I’m in the middle of getting a 62 Skylark convertible back on the road after a 10+ year long nap, and these are so easy to work on. I would guess (from the limited pictures) that it’s been repainted, and the bumpers have been sprayed with something. The trunk pan looks to me like it’s been replaced. Things have been painted and cleaned in the engine bay as well. No harm no foul. These have big comfortable seats with ample legroom, front and back, even in four door configuration. Great cars, and it’s a great price!
Father in law has a 62 convertible. I love the way the car rides and the way the dual path feels.
Nice car. When they first came out, I, like most folks, were a bit skeptical. This was a big change for GM. But, it served its purpose. They (GM) did the same thing in mid 80’s. Today, I wish I could afford one. Being on a fixed income kinda lets me out of the market. But, I can still drool, can’t I?
In the late 60s, author Mike Lamm had owned one of these for several years and used it as an example of keeping records on maintenance.
He had purchased the car used and was writing the “Used Cars” column in Motor Trend at the time. He had found an old notebook for a similar car and noted that it’s odometer had been rolled back at various times by the owner. The notebook had service and repair records in it from day one to approx. 78,000 miles.
Lamm continued the practice with his own Special and used the records as material for some of his columns as well as touting the wisdom of keeping track of such things.
It’s something I learned at 11 or twelve years old and applied when I got my first car and ever since.
I’ve loved these cars for a long time, even have old M\Ts from their introduction.
In 62 the Special/Skylark was Car Of The Year for it’s new V6. The Pontiac Tempest, the Special’s brother was the COTY winner in 61 for it’s advanced engineering: flexible driveshaft, rear mounted transaxle, swing axle [crude version of independent rear suspension] flat floors, slant four half a Pontiac V8 engines available in several grades of tune and compression.
GM took a real chance with these.
Then went longer lower wider and less advanced after 63.
I’d have this one in a minute. Buick made some subtle, not well done, styling revisions [ tail lights, grille ], so for me the 61 is the perfect choice. It looks like a small 61 Buick LeSabre.
And thanks for including a factory photo with the text as well. Ads are always so optimistic and seem to promise a golden future if you just Buy This Car.
I had them pasted all over my bedroom wall when I was a kid: 61 Mercury Monterey, Rambler, 66 Volvo, Chrysler, etc.
Nice work.
Not much can be said. A beautiful little car in first class condition. My sister had a new 62 just like it. It ran forever, in spite of my sister’s abuse. I wish I could afford to collect cars. I’d add this one for sure
One great thing about this car is the availability of engine components if it does need work, or if one were to decide they needed a bit more power. Rover built their V8 up through 2004 or so, and these engines were used by various small manufacturers in England ( like Morgan ) for years. They have a pretty strong following in the UK by kit car builders as well, so performance parts are pretty readily available.
This one appears to be the Special Deluxe, with carpet instead of rubber floor mats, stainless moldings around the upper doors, and stainless molding just below the beltline running the length of the car, and a slightly nicer grade of upholstery than the plain Special. I had one of the latter, with a 3-speed stick on the column and the 215 V-8. Nice, economical, responsive car to drive.
My grandmother had one of these in the late sixties and early seventies. I remember washing and waxing it quite a few times. It was a neat little car. Dependable and cheap to operate.
Considering the paint. I don’t think it is original. The closest color to it on the Ditzler chart is a bit lighter than what is on the car and all the other colors available have a metallic finish to them.
Two doors are good for bragging rights, four doors are practical. Two doors get parked in the garage while four doors are left out in the weather. The two door comes out for the weekend drive in the country, or the car show. The four doors is used for taking the kids to school, shopping, and other errands in any weather. Also the four door is better when taking friends out because most women ( especially those wearing skirt ) don’t like climbing into the rear seat of a two door. The point is, each has its purpose,and each has its value. If you’re like me, and don’t like having everything fro your throttle to your turn signals controlled by a computer module this car is perfect! Add vintage A/C and enjoy it.
Yes, I agree with TW Day, very well said Rustytech!
Well said. Especially about the computer crap.
On Labor Day: The ad has expired, but we may see it again by the original lister, or astute flipper. .