Classic Car Stories: This is one of those cars I wish I would have just put away, parked in a shed for a couple of decades!
I bought a really clean used 1965 Buick Gran Sport convertible after I got back from active duty in the Army Reserve. This was about 1972 and I had gone through a couple of beater cars before I got my gas station. After starting to earn more income, I found this car from a friend of a friend. It was in immaculate condition with not a spot of rust on it and I don’t even remember what I paid for it.
Mine was a medium to dark green with a black convertible top and black interior. It had the nailhead 401 cu in V-8 with a factory 4-speed in it. It had decent power and a ton of torque for a Buick. The nailheads were known for their increased torque and lumpy idle due to the aggressive camshafts from the factory. The previous owner had installed a couple air shocks in the rear suspension that raised the back up some and firmed up the ride and handling.
It was a really nice car, but at that stage in my life, I was pretty burned out on performance cars. Before going into the Army Reserve, I had a ‘62 Impala with a 300 HP 327 and factory 4-speed. I basically destroyed it drag racing, street racing and continually breaking transmissions, differentials, U-joints, etc. I had grown tired of the cost and hassle of constantly fixing it. The car was so bad, that my dad ended up selling it after I went on active duty for $20!
I drove that Buick very conservatively, not wanting to break it as I was very involved in getting started in business with my gas station.
The thing I remember most about that car is this. The engine in the car I had came with a Carter 4 barrel carburetor and in that model year, there was a factory option dual-four-barrel carburetor set up. A friend of mine had another friend who just happened to have this set in his garage and was not using it at the time, so we asked if we could borrow it for a couple days and put it on my engine. He agreed and we went to work. After taking it out on the street afterwards, I couldn't believe the increased power and torque the car had. It felt like a totally different vehicle and I sure wanted to keep that set-up! Unfortunately, I had to give it back, as the owner refused to sell it to me.
I don’t even remember what I sold that car for, but I basically gave it away. It was such a clean car and not beat up. If only I had found a place to store it. Reconditioned, it would probably be worth about $40,000 today! Oh well, one of many of life’s hard lessons and a good classic car story!
http://cardiff-classics.ebizautos.com/detail-1965-buick-skylark-gran_sport-used-3138534.html
Other of my car story posts:
Classic Car Stories:1970 Pontiac GTO - Dick Hands me the Keys!
Classic Car Stories: My Buddy's 1968 Plymouth GTX
Classic Car Stories: My Hemi Chrysler
Classic Car Stories: My 1965 Buick GS400
Classic Car Stories: Mopar Man to Chevrolet
Classic Car Stories: My Second Corvette
Classic Car Stories: My First Corvette
Classic Car Stories: My 1993 Camaro Z28
Classic car Stories: My Three Camaros - One Good, One Bad and One Great!
Classic Car Stories: Mom's 1961 Plymouth Valient
Nice car!! You should have saved it, then I could be driving around in a cool convertible.
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