Buick's original aluminum 215 V8 was swapped for a new cast-iron 300 after the earlier engine proved troublesome.
Lead trim: Special 300 cu in V8
Buick Special1964–1967
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Buick Special 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's original aluminum 215 V8 was swapped for a new cast-iron 300 after the earlier engine proved troublesome.
The Special, along with the upscale Skylark, was redesigned for 1964 with separate body-on-frame construction (renamed the A-body) and marketed as an intermediate on a 115 in wheelbase (203.4 in long, 73.6 in wide; the Sport Wagon 203.2 in); the Skylark was expanded to a full top-line series with two- and four-door sedans, a two-door hardtop coupe and convertible and a station wagon, while the base Special and slightly fancier Special Deluxe had a more limited range of body styles. Also new for 1964 were engines: the V6 capacity was increased from 198 to 225 cubic inches, and the aluminum V8 was replaced by a new cast-iron 300 cubic-inch V8 with aluminum cylinder heads (cast-iron heads replaced the problematic aluminum ones in 1965); this reliable engine was produced until 1967.
Collectors Spotted in the Buick Special Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Buick Special yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special 225 cu in V6 | 1964–1967 | 3.7 L V6 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Special 300 cu in V8 | 1964–1967 | 4.9 L V8 | 210 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Buick sold its discontinued V6 tooling to Kaiser Industries, where it went on to power Jeeps.
Buick's original aluminum 215 V8 was swapped for a new cast-iron 300 after the earlier engine proved troublesome.
Its aluminum 215 V8, built for a compact Buick, went on to power the Rover P6 and the Range Rover.
The 1949 Special's nine-bar grille doubled as the bumper guards.
1940 was the only year Buick built a four-door convertible Special, the Sport Phaeton, with 552 made.
A dashboard handle let drivers manually retard spark timing to run cheap low-grade gasoline.
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.