It’s hard to believe that the iPhone, or the smart phone in general, has really only been around for just over a decade. Most of us have come to rely on them every waking second of every day. Kids are almost born with them in their hands now and they are in most people’s pockets or in their hands at all times. To see a photo like the one above of this 1976 Buick Skylark with what would have been a mistake in the film era is nothing new to anyone here. This car is on Craigslist for $2,000 and it’s located in Stafford, Virginia. Thanks to Ian C. for sending in this Skylark!
Hiding your license plates with a finger or thumb is one of those modern things that we don’t even think about anymore. Not that we like it or haven’t all thought of better ways to hide your license plates while taking a digital photo, but it’s here to stay – at least until humans evolve/devolve to a point where they don’t have fingers or thumbs anymore. The car around that flying finger looks pretty nice, other than the trim above the rear bumper.
The third-generation Skylark was based on the Chevy Nova and they were available for the 1975 to 1979 model years, right before the infamous front-wheel drive X-body cars came out. The seller isn’t giving up too much info on this example. This is the entire description: “36k original miles, local driver second owner. Have title. Will start, needs tags and inspection.”
The interior looks great, no thumbs needed to hide personal info or bad spots here. It’s a column-shifted automatic which is par for the course – hey, it’s a Buick. Actually, a three-speed manual was available with the V6.
Speaking of V6, this is Buick’s 231 cubic-inch V6 which would have had 105 hp. A three-speed manual would be nice with only 105 hp on tap. The most power available in this car in 1976 would have been 155 hp with a 350 and 4-barrel. When a seller says that the engine “will start” you know that you won’t be driving this car home. Jamie showed us a nice four-door 1976 Buick Skylark a couple of years ago that was listed for $2,600. This car has the benefit of being a two-door model and being $600 less expensive. Which car would you rather have?
At least his fingernails are clean, maybe cleaner than the car
I’m, really no interest in this car, but I have always wondered why licence plates are hidden. The cars are out in public, anyone looking to scam a # can stand on a busy street corner and get one. Sellers usually state city/state. Am I dim? Do I not know of some internet scam? Thanks!
Maybe they are wanted by the cops. Computer plate readers are getting very commen.
I’d rather have air conditioning.
Someday, I just might understand the reason for covering the plates.
Probably the reason is that putting your license plate up on the interwebs potentially exposes you to a much wider range of crazies than just driving down the street.
What possible advantage does hiding the license plate do? I see hundreds of license plates every day. I can walk outside on my driveway and see a dozen, with plain eyesight. Mine is CXX-4439
LOL.
CBS1976, AMC6515, AMC6516.
Come at me boo !
there is zero reason to cover the plate,lol
Is that motor that dirty or is it painted black ??? For 36K original miles I would think it would be much cleaner.
It’s been 42 years, Jimmy. Time, atmosphere and 36,000 miles [or 136,000 miles] will do that
You should see my cars after a windstorm during the monsoon season here in AZ.
You mentioned a three speed manual with the V6. When I was in high school in the late 1980s, in the Auto shop we had one of these, the same color, with the V6 and a 3 speed column stick. It was donated to the school, and it was a low mileage car in very nice shape. I don’t think it had AC, like the one above. Instead of using it to teach the students anything, however, the shop teacher eventually cut it up into pieces with a torch and threw it away, little by little. He did that with a lot of donated cars, some of which were still quite useful. What a shame. I always thought it was such a waste.
It would have been better to give it to a scrap yard, to be sold for parts.
Once it was donated to the school, the car couldn’t be sold.
The same thing happened at my high school.
Even a few new cars were donated, like a new 1983 Firebird. The car had no VIN so it was only to teach the new mechanics about the new fangled computer systems the car had.
Our last family car was a similar Skylark except the hatchback model and it came with the 3 speed stick as well,Dad ordered it new and the only options he ordered was the Positraction axle and the AM radio(at my urging lol)later on we put power steering on it because he had bought a new Dodge pickup with power steering and brakes and he decided that it was necessary on the Buick as well.
GNX style turbo and a 4 speed auto. Short gearing, and you’ve got a real sleeper. We never saw Buicks of this model down under, but the wheel trims made the trip. Gotta love GM interchangability!
Does the giant thumb come with the car? It would be great to have if hitchhiking ever makes a comeback.
Maybe the owner got the thumb out of a JC Whitnee catalog of spare body parts?
Why do sellers cover up the plates?If you look at most
of the “scammer” posts,you can never see the plates,or they
are missing.
When I see this in NORTHERN California listings,I assume
that it’s because the vehicle is illegal (licensed out of state).
This is a trend that I wish would go away.
What a time machine. You can call the guy, make an appointment, come look at this thing sitting in his side yard, with its rough sun-damaged paint and cracked plastic parts, hear the creak-pop of the hinges when you open that too-long, too-heavy coupe door, sit in the spongy seat, reach down for the lever and scootch your butt trying to move the whole balky bench, roll down the sticky windows, smell that hot vinyl upholstery over the fresh-cut grass, crank it until it starts, kick the gas pedal over and over to try and knock the engine down from its racing idle, then feel the carburetor stumble when you put it in gear and press the pedal, notice the total lack of acceleration power, and fully feel the hopeless depression that accompanied used-car shopping in the summer of 1986, when all there were was these kinds of cars in this exact condition.
And then you can go buy something built in the late nineties for the same price and feel like you bought a spaceship by comparison.
Ha! Romantic.
You also aptly described new cars 1976, minus the sun damaged paint.
The Craigslist paranoia finger.
Always a classic sales tactic.
The point is that the car could’ve been kept and used to teach students how to do simple things, and learn how things work, as well as how to drive a column shift. Instead it got cut up into pieces and thrown into a dumpster, little by little. He did that with a lot of cars. They got a brand new Hyundai Excel with a stick, and did the same with that. It was donated because while on a car carrier, it hit an overpass and damaged the roof. Otherwise it was a brand new car. Sitting in pieces in a landfill somewhere. Seems like a waste to me. Why accept a donated car if you don’t want it?
that teacher should have been fired, and sued for the $$$ of those cars, what a dirtbag