1961-1963
In the fall of 1960, General Motors introduced a trio of new compact cars for the 1961 model year which all shared the same chassis, engines (with some differences between the three models), and basic sheet metal, although each one had unique front and rear styling and differences in exterior and interior trim which made each model unique. Based on the Corvair chassis, the Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile F-85, and Buick Special featured front engines and rear-wheel drive.
Introduced in the middle of the 1961 model year and based on the basic Buick Special 2-door sedan (also referred to as a coupe), the 1961 Buick Special Skylark had unique Skylark emblems, unique taillight housings, lower body side moldings, turbine wheel covers, a vinyl-covered roof and featured a more plush all-vinyl interior with bucket seats available as an option.
The basic 1961 Buick Special came standard with a 215 cubic-inch, all-aluminum block, V-8 engine with a 2-barrel carburetor that produced 155 horsepower @ 4600 rpm, the 1961 Buick Special Skylark came standard with a version of this same engine (optional on other Specials) that used a higher compression ratio and a 4-barrel carburetor to produce 185 horsepower.
For the 1962 model year, the Buick Skylark became a model in its own right, instead of being a sub-series of the Special. The 1962 model used the same basic sheet metal as the 1961 models, but was available in two new body-styles, a 2-door convertible coupe (shared with the Special and Special Deluxe models) and a 2-door (pillarless) hardtop coupe that was unique to the Skylark. Tuning of the 215 cubic-inch V-8 increased power to 190 horsepower @ 4800 rpm.
The 1963 Buick Skylarks used the same chassis and wheelbase as the previous 1961 and 1962 models, but adopted new sheet metal that featured boxier styling. Length was up by 5 inches to 193 inches long. The 215 cubic-inch V-8 generated 200 horsepower @ 5000 rpm.
Engines
• 215 in³ (3.5 L) V8
1964-1972
Beginning with the 1964 model year, the Buick Skylark, along with the lower-priced Special from which it was derived, would move to a new intermediate-size chassis that was shared with the Oldsmobile F-85, Pontiac Tempest, and the new Chevrolet Chevelle. The new chassis had a wheelbase of 115 inches and the Buick Special and Skylark had a length of 203.5 inches.
The 215 cubic-inch-displacement aluminum block V-8 engine was no longer used. The tooling for it would eventually be sold to the British manufacturer, Rover, who would produce the engine in several different versions for use in their sedans and Land Rover sport utility vehicles and trucks.
The standard engine was now a 225 cubic inch V-6 with a Rochester 2-barrel carburetor that generated 155 horsepower @ 4400 rpm. This engine had been standard in the Buick Special beginning with the 1962 model year and was basically a Buick V-8 engine with 2 cylinders sawed-off.
The optional engine was a 300 cubic inch V-8 with a Rochester 2-barrel carburetor that generated 210 horsepower @ 4600 rpm.
In addition to the 2-door convertible and hardtop coupe body-styles, there was now a Skylark 4-door sedan available for the first time. Skylarks would continue to have higher levels of exterior and interior trim compared to the Special and Special Deluxe from which they were derived. All-vinyl bucket seats would be standard on the convertible and optional on the hardtop coupe. The sedan would come with cloth-and-vinyl seats standard, and an all-vinyl interior would be optional.
Beginning with the 1965 model year, a 2-door sedan (pillared coupe) was added to the Skylark lineup. Inspired in no small part by the sales success of the 1964 Pontiac Tempest LeMans GTO, the Gran Sport option became available in mid-1965 for the three 2-door Skylark models. The Gran Sport option featured Buick’s 401 cubic-inch-displacement V-8 engine using a Carter 4-barrel carburetor and produced 325 horse-power @ 4400 rpm. (It was listed as 400 cubic inches in sales literature, supposedly to escape a General Motors corporate mandate that engines larger than 400 cubic inches not be used in intermediate-sized cars. Other Gran Sport features were unique Gran Sport badging, a heavy-duty radiator, and dual exhausts.
In the 1966 model year, the 4-door (pillared) sedan was replaced by a 4-door (pillarless) hardtop sedan. The convertible, hardtop coupe, and 2-door sedan continued to be available.
The 4-door sedan would rejoin the lineup for the 1967 model year, making a total of 5 different Skylark body-styles. Beginning with the 1967 model year, only the Skylark 2-door sedan would be available with the Buick V-6 engine as standard. The 300 cubic inch V-8 would be standard on all other models, with the exception of the 4-door hardtop sedan which came with a 340 cubic-inch-displacement V-8 engine using a Rochester 2-barrel carburetor and producing 220 horsepower @ 4400 rpm. The previous Buick Skylark Gran Sport was relabeled the Buick Skylark Gran Sport 400 to reflect its engine. A new model was the Buick Skylark Gran Sport 340, also using the 340 cubic inch V-8 that was standard on the Skylark 4-door hardtop. The Gran Sport 340 was only available as a 2-door hardtop coupe.
The 1968 model year was one of significant change for the Buick Skylark. Although still using the same basic chassis, all of GM’s mid-sized cars adopted a policy of using two different length wheelbases. Two-door models used a shorter wheelbase of 112 inches, while 4-door models used a longer wheelbase of 116 inches. (The Buick Sportwagon and Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser used an even longer wheelbase of 121 inches.) All GM’s mid-sized cars received all-new sheet metal.
The Gran Sport, previously an option package available on the Skylark, became a separate series. In a reshuffling of models in the lineup, the Special Deluxe replaced the previous Special. The Skylark nameplate was shuffled down a notch and replaced the previous Special Deluxe. The previous Skylark was replaced by a new Skylark Custom.
The basic Skylark was available as a 2-door hardtop coupe or a 4-door sedan. The Skylark Custom came as a 2-door convertible coupe, 2-door hardtop coupe, 4-door hardtop sedan, or 4-door sedan.
The previous V-6 was no longer used. (The tooling for the V-6 engine was sold to Kaiser Industries who used the V-6 engine in their Jeep trucks and sport utility vehicles.) The base engine in Buick Skylarks (and Buick Special sedans) was now a 250 cubic-inch-displacement inline six-cylinder engine using a 1-barrel Rochester carburetor and producing 155 horsepower @ 4200 rpm that was borrowed from Buick’s sister Chevrolet division.
Optional on the Skylark and standard on the Skylark Custom was a new 350 cubic-inch-displacement V-8 engine using a 2-barrel Rochester carburetor and producing 230 horsepower @ 4400 rpm. This engine was based on the previous 300 and 340 cubic-inch-displacement V-8 engines. The Buick Special name was dropped after the 1969 model year.
For 1970 the mid-sized Buicks received new sheet metal again. The Buick Skylark name was moved down another notch, replacing the previous Buick Special. The Skylark became the entry-level Buick available in 2 and 4-door sedans with the 250 cubic-inch inline-6 as standard and the 350 cubic-inch V-8 available as an option, now putting out 260 horsepower @ 4600 rpm.
Replacing the previous Buick Skylark was the Buick Skylark 350, available as a 2-door hardtop coupe or 4-door sedan with the 350 cubic-inch V-8 as standard equipment. The Skylark Custom continued to be available, also using the 350 cubic-inch V-8 as standard equipment and still available as a 2-door convertible coupe, 2-door hardtop coupe, 4-door hardtop sedan, and 4-door sedan. Buick Gran Sport models continued to be available as a separate series. The Buick Sport Wagon name was now used on a conventional 4-door station wagon that no longer featured a raised roof with glass panels over the cargo area, or a longer wheelbase, as in the past. It now used the same 116-inch long wheelbase as the Buick Skylark 4-door sedan and the now-discontinued Buick Special 4-door Station Wagon. It was now, in effect, a Buick Skylark 4-door station wagon in all but name.
For the 1971 model year the base Skylark was available only with the inline 6, now only putting out 145 horsepower due to emission control devices, but in a 2-door hardtop coupe body-style, in addition to the previous 2 and 4-door sedans. The Skylark 350 using the V-8 engine now put out only 230 horsepower. It was now available as a 2-door sedan, in addition to the previous 2-door hardtop coupe and 4-door sedan.
1972 was the last model year for the mid-sized Buick Skylark. For 1972, the base Buick Skylark now used the 350 cubic-inch V-8 with the 2-barrel Rochester carburetor, now putting out 145 horsepower as standard equipment. (A new federally mandated system used to calculate horsepower was put into effect this year and the actual engine performance was probably comparable to the 230 horsepower that was listed for the previous year.) The Skylark 350 now used a version of the same V-8 engine as the base Skylark, but with a 4-barrel Rochester carburetor that generated 170 horsepower.
An interesting limited-production model was the 1972 Buick Skylark 350 Sun Coupe, Skylark 350 Hardtop Coupe which featured a sunroof and vinyl covering over the front portion of the roof.
Skylark Customs were available with the same 350 cubic-inch V-8 engines available in the basic Skylark and the Skylark 350.
For the 1973 model year, the Buick Gran Sports, Skylarks, and Sport Wagons would all be replaced by the new mid-sized Buick Century. Centuries would be available with Gran Sport trim, the Gran Sport name again reduced to being an option package.
Engines
• 225 in³ (3.7 L) V6 (1964-67)
• 250 in³ (4.1 L) I6 (1968-71) Supplied by Chevrolet
• 300 in³ (4.9 L) V8 (1964-67, 1964-65 Sport Wagon)
• 340 in³ (5.6 L) V8 (1967 Skylark 4-Door Hardtop Sedan, 1967 GS 340, 1966-67 Sport Wagon)
• 350 in³ (5.7 L) V8 (1968-72, 1968-72 Sport Wagon, 1968-69 California Gran Sport, 1968-69 Gran Sport 350, 1970-71 Gran Sport, 1972 Gran Sport 350)
• 401 in³ (6.6 L) V8 (1965-66 Skylark Gran Sport)
• 400 in³ (6.6 L) V8 (1967 GS 400, 1968-69 GS 400, 1968-69 Sportwagon 400)
• 455 in³ (7.5 L) V8 (1970-72 Gran Sport 455)