1968 Buick Skylark

1968 Buick Skylark GS400 Hardtop The second generation Buick Skylarks were produced from 1968 to 1972 and were a wildly popular A-body car that was produced in huge numbers. It was basic transportation and was available as a two door coupe, convertible, and four door sedan. You could get a painted hardtop or seemingly more common for the period, the vinyl roof. But like Ford, Chevy, Oldsmobile, Dodge at the time, Buick offered its own spicy mix in the form of the Gran Sport line. For consignment, a 1968 Buick GS400 hardtop showing 104,618 miles, but the true miles are unknown. This is a one family owned car that received a paint job about 20 years ago. Buick lovers take note, this is presented in original condition and retains its matching numbers transmission. Exterior Browns and greens were all the rage in the late 60's and early 70's and this car's two stage Sequoia Green is a fitting sign of the times and a color that can look green in one light, and gray in another. A black vinyl roof over the pillarless cabin provides an open greenhouse and a handsome complement that is a perfect match for the 14-inch Buick Rally wheels and 70 series tires with white walls. Along with the coveted GS emblems on the car, racy trim includes straked fender vents in front and decklid trim that traverses the middle of the trunk, meeting the chrome bumper that surrounds the horizontal tail lights. Up front, the distinctive Buick face leads to a cowl intake below the windshield. Along with some fading black paint of emblems and trim, other imperfections include some discolored blotches, bubbles on lower panels, linear scratches, cracking paint, chipping, and scuffs. Interior Horizontal trim pieces from top to bottom on the door panels create an energetic presentation and a unique configuration we see on very few cars. From there, black grain vinyl bucket seats fill the cabin with decorative buttons and a touch of compression on the driver's bottom and some cracking on the side, but otherwise in nice condition. Sharing the materials and design is the rear bench in great shape. Some significant cracks appear on the original plastic steering wheel, and the silver faced speedometer and mid panel create a nice contrast but don't broadcast the car's high performance in any way other than a reminder to fasten your seatbelts/ Buick spelled out on the radio buttons is an epic Easter egg while the horseshoe shifter in the patina'd center console finally gives this A-body something to crow about. It's just plain cool. We've got black loop carpet below, a corded headliner above, and various mats covering the clean trunk which houses a pair of fender skirts. Drivetrain Here's the magic sauce, a clean and correct 400ci V8 with a 4 barrel Quadrajet carburetor and a horsepower rating of an impressive 340. It's mated to its numbers matching TH400 3-speed automatic that route power to the 10 bolt rear with 3.91 gears and Positraction for a two line burnout. Power steering, brakes, and air conditioning are on board. Undercarriage Generally driver quality but clean with some oil on the pan, typical metal colored by age and corrosion, and some sooty areas. The dual exhaust appears to be mostly stainless and picks up a pair of Magnaflow mufflers on the way to polished tips. Power drum brakes are at all four wheels and the drums are painted red. Suspension consists of coil springs up front and a 4 link with coil springs in the back. Drive-Ability The 400 fires up with a healthy growl, but also emits some exhaust leak noise. We grab the horseshoe shifter and put it into drive, but don't take our hand off the shifter because it seems like a cool place to rest your right hand! Meanwhile, the car puts out good power, handles tarmac imperfections like a champ, and handles well for a car based on a common commuter. We noticed the heater blower not working and the fuel gauge read full all the time. Our consignor tells us there's a new sender in