Buick sold its discontinued V6 tooling to Kaiser Industries, where it went on to power Jeep trucks instead of Skylarks.
Lead trim: Skylark 350 cu in Buick V8 2-barrel (145 hp net, 1972) · up to 260 hp
Buick Skylark1968–1972
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Buick Skylark yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactBuick sold its discontinued V6 tooling to Kaiser Industries, where it went on to power Jeep trucks instead of Skylarks.
The 1968 model year was one of significant change for the Skylark: although still on the same basic chassis, all GM mid-sized cars adopted two wheelbases, 112 in for two-door models and 116 in for four-door (length 201.9 in for two-doors, 205.9 in for sedans and 212.6 in for wagons; width 76.2 in or 76.8 in; 3,515 lb). The Buick Gran Sport, previously an option package on the Skylark, became a separate series starting with the 340 hp/440 lb-ft 400 cu in 1968 GS 400 (see the separate Gran Sport entries). In a reshuffling of models the Special Deluxe replaced the previous Special, the Skylark name shuffled down a notch to replace the Special Deluxe, and the previous Skylark was replaced by the Skylark Custom (two-door convertible and hardtop, four-door hardtop and sedan); the Special name was dropped after 1969 and for 1970 the Skylark replaced the entry-level Special. The V6 was discontinued (its tooling sold to Kaiser Industries for its Jeep trucks): the base engine became a 250 cu in (4.1 L) Chevrolet inline-six producing 155 hp at 4200 rpm with a single-barrel Rochester, with a new 350 cubic-inch V8 derived from the 340 (two-barrel, 230 hp at 4400 rpm) optional on the Skylark and standard on the Skylark Custom. For 1970 the optional 350 V8 was rated at 260 horsepower at 4600 rpm; for 1971 the base six put out only 145 hp and the Skylark 350's V8 only 230 hp; and for 1972 the base Skylark used the 350 V8 with a two-barrel (now 145 horsepower under the new net rating method) as standard, with the Skylark 350 using a four-barrel generating 180 hp.
Collectors Spotted in the Buick Skylark Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Buick Skylark yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
7 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skylark 250 cu in Chevrolet I6 (145 hp, 1971) | 1971–1971 | 4.1 L Inline-6 | 145 hp | 230 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Skylark 250 cu in Chevrolet I6 (155 hp at 4200 rpm, 1968) | 1968–1968 | 4.1 L Inline-6 | 155 hp | 235 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Skylark 350 cu in Buick V8 (230 hp, 1971) | 1971–1971 | 5.7 L V8 | 230 hp | 350 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Skylark 350 cu in Buick V8 (260 hp at 4600 rpm, 1970) | 1970–1970 | 5.7 L V8 | 260 hp | 360 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Skylark 350 cu in Buick V8 2-barrel (145 hp net, 1972) | 1972–1972 | 5.7 L V8 | 145 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Skylark 350 cu in Buick V8 4-barrel (180 hp, 1972) | 1972–1972 | 5.7 L V8 | 180 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Skylark Custom 350 cu in Buick V8 2-barrel (230 hp at 4400 rpm, 1968) | 1968–1968 | 5.7 L V8 | 230 hp | 350 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
An estimate, for the Skylark 250 cu in Chevrolet I6 (145 hp, 1971) trim: fuel on its EPA figure and a dated national price, upkeep on a per-mile average for the kind of car it is.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The 1992 Skylark's wedge shape and pointed grille weren't new — Buick previewed them on the 1990 Bolero concept, and that grille itself was a callback to 1930s Buick Specials.
The N-body coupe was badged "Somerset" at launch — Buick had already used that name once before, as a trim package on the Regal.
1985 was the end of the line for the X-body Skylark's two-door coupe — Buick dropped it for a sedan-only lineup as the body style moved to the new Somerset Regal.
This Skylark broke a 62-year streak — the first four-cylinder Buick since the original Buick Four was dropped back in 1918.
Buick had to buy back its own V6 tooling from American Motors, which got it via the Kaiser Jeep deal, to build the 1975 Skylark.
The GSX's 455 V8 made 510 lb-ft of torque — more than any American performance car until the Dodge Viper finally beat it, 33 years later.
At 510 lb-ft, this GS 455's big-block held the American muscle-car torque record for over three decades — until a 2003 Dodge Viper took the crown.
Buick sold its discontinued V6 tooling to Kaiser Industries, where it went on to power Jeep trucks instead of Skylarks.
The GS 350 was the baby of Buick's muscle-car GS line, but it outlasted the bigger GS 400 and GS 455 — running until V8 Gran Sport production ended entirely in 1975.
The GS California wasn't a nationwide car — in its 1967 debut year, Buick sold it in California only and never advertised it anywhere else.
Buick split its 1967 Gran Sport in two: the big-block GS 400 came in multiple body styles, but the cheaper 340-cubic-inch GS 340 was sold only as a two-door hardtop — no other way to get one.
The '400' in GS 400 undersold it — the real engine was a 401 cubic inch V8, trimmed to fit GM's internal cap on how big an intermediate's engine could sound.
Buick's Gran Sport ran a 401-cubic-inch V8 — but sales brochures listed it as 400 cubic inches, dodging a GM corporate rule that capped intermediate cars at exactly that limit.
Buick sold off the tooling for its aluminum 215 V8 after dropping it here, and Rover kept building that engine until 2006.
The 198 V6 that debuted here was the first American V6 built in volume production, cast in iron off the aluminum 215 V8's design.
Buick sold only 836 of these Skylarks in 1954, undercut by buyers who saw it as a step down from the Roadmaster it borrowed from.
The 1953 Skylark cost over a thousand dollars more than the Roadmaster convertible it was built from, for a car sharing most of the same tub.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
Nissan hired former BMW engineers to help develop the 510's suspension, which is why period reviewers frequently compared its handling to the BMW 1600/2002.
A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
The 600 was a stopgap: the P50's body over the 601's mechanicals, and for a while its estate was built alongside the new 601 saloon.
The G80 Sport brought a 370 PS twin-turbo 3.3 V6, a mesh grille and copper-tinted chrome with copper stitching to match.
The Vigor was sold only with a five-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration Honda used to fit a longer engine transversely under a short hood.
The GS/E coupe earned the nickname "German Charger" for its long hood, short deck stance borrowed from Detroit muscle cars.
This DeVille/Fleetwood was the first production car anywhere to mount its V8 sideways, Cadillac's front-drive gamble on the new C-body.