1961-1963 Buick Special Skylark

The Buick division of General Motors introduced the Skylark model in 1961 to place itself in the muscle car bracket of automotive manufacturing and engineering. Their performance stand was to appeal to the younger generation of car buyers that were being targeted by several other manufacturers of muscle cars. After Buick Special had a seven year absence from the automotive market, Buick engineered the Special Skylark with same chassis as the Chevrolet Corvair, the Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile F-85 and Buick Special came with front engines which differed from the Corvair.

Introduced in the middle of the 1961, and based on the 1960 Buick Special two-door coupe, Buick Special Skylark was given unique Skylark emblems, lower body side moldings, taillight housings, a vinyl roof, and turbine wheel covers. It also featured plush interior and optional bucket seats. The basic Buick Special came with a 215 cid all aluminum block with 155 hp at 4600 rpm. The Buick Special Skylark was given a little more muscle with a version of this engine with a higher compression ratio and added a 4-bbl carburetor to produce 185 hp.

The 1962 Buick Skylark had the same distinctive design as 1961 models, but was made a model of its own branding – Skylark instead of Special Skylark. The 1962 model had the same basic sheet metal, but was available in two different body styles; a two-door pillarless hardtop that was unique to the Skylark, and a two-door convertible coupe. Also added to the 215cid V8 was additional horsepower rating it at 190hp.

In 1963, the Skylark was given a considerably different look of full length body panels giving it a boxier style and five inches added to the length of the Y frame from 188 inches to 193. Again the 215 V8 was given additional muscle, boosting it to 200hp at 5000 rpm. Transmission choices were, “three on the tree” manual, a floor shift Borg Warner T-10 manual, or a two-speed “Dual Path Turbine Drive” automatic, a design specifically by Buick and had no common parts like the “Power Glide” by Chevrolet.

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Classic Chevrolet, 1953 Chevy 210 2DR Sedan

This 1953 Chevy 210 two-door sedan was recently featured at a Classic Muscle Car show sponsored by KODL radio station in The Dalles, OR, in conjunction with a local Cherry Harvest festival. Owner Bob Peickert (a current resident) has a long history of classic car restoration. Over the last 38 years he has been involved in full or partial restoration of at least 17 vehicles.

The first restoration, a 1949 English Ford (different form American Ford) was his inspiration in seeing what could be accomplished in the hobby of car restoration. Other restoration projects he was involved with were a 1953 Chevrolet F10 pickup; two 1965 Chevy pickups; a 1949 Mercury; a 1953 one-ton truck; a 1950 Ford Club Coupe, and he also took two MGB’s and made one good car.

The 1953 Chevy 210 he currently restored, which he named “Hugo” was found alongside the road on a trip through Hugo, Colorado. Hugo was brought home and disassembled in Bob Peickeret’s shop, fully equipped with a car lift, air conditioning, heating and professional lighting, all of which makes any lengthy project like this bearable. It is a must to have such a quality shop like this to be able to put in approximately 3000 hours, which were put into the restoration of “Hugo”.

He did all of the work himself, with the exception of the paint, an “Atlantic Blue Pearl Coat” – which was done by Sky’s Collision Repair of The Dalles, OR. The upholstery was done by an upholstery shop in Portland, OR.

Engine: GM HO 305 Crate engine
Transmission: GM 5350 automatic

Other specifics:
• Power brakes – front disk, rear drum
• Heidts front suspension
• 73 Nova differential
• Power rack and pinion steering

Interior options added:
• Hot Rod air conditioning
• Dakota digital cruise control
• Power door locks & a power trunk

Since completion of “Hugo” in January 2008, it has won awards at every Classic Car show it has been entered into, such car shows as, the 1949-1953 Resto Rod class at the Portland Rod and Custom Show (second place award), and the Judge’s Choice Award at another in Heppner OR. Other car shows such as the Peach City Cruise, Pentiction B.C. in June and Salmon River, Idaho are just a few of the events planned for the future.

1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT

Throughout the muscle car era (1960’s thru 1970), car manufacturers were constantly looking for new engineering and design to introduce new cars into the market. This quest for bigger and better ideas by Ford/Mercury division led to several designs in the 60’s for a marketable automotive design to present to an already competitive platform of muscle cars.

Introduction of the 1967 Cougar gave Mercury its own version of pony car based on that year’s second-generation Mustang. The Cougar’s design came with a 3 inch longer wheelbase than the Mustang; a full width divided grille with vertical bars defined the front grill with hidden headlights. This design was sometimes called the electric shaver grille (the 1964 Dodge Charger came with the same style grille), Cougar’s design went one step further with the rear having a similar style as the front, surrounding the license plate on both sides with the vertically slatted grille-work concealing taillights and sequential turn signals, a styling touch taken from the Thunderbird. Mercury’s design was deliberate to give the car more of a “European” flair than the Mustang, attracting American buyers’. The Cougar continued for seven years to be a twin to the Mustang and was available with options to be a genuine muscle car.

The Cougar was available with two styling options, the base and the XR-7, but only came in a two door hardtop body style. Only one trim package was available for both the base model and the XR-7. The XR-7 model had wood-grained steering wheel, a simulated wood-grained dashboard with a full set of black faced competition instruments and toggle switches, an overhead console, T-type center shifter for the automatic transmission and leather or vinyl upholstery. Engine choices varied from the 200 hp 289cid 2-bbl V8 (standard engine in the base model) to the 335 hp 390cid 4-bbl V8. A GT performance package was available on both the base and XR-7 Cougars. This option included the 390 V8 along with an adequate performance handling package. The Cougar would become Mercury’s muscle car icon for several years.

As early as 1970 the Cougar started to shift from performance to luxury evolving the Cougar into a luxury pony car. The change in emissions control and rising fuel prices also deemed the changes necessary to continue Mercury’s Cougar to keep a place in an ever changing automotive market

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