1966 Buick Skylark

Buick used the 'Skylark' name beginning in 1953 in celebration of the company's 50th anniversary. The Roadmaster Skylark was a top-of-the-line limited-production specialty convertible and was joined by the Cadillac series 62 Eldorado and the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta, as General Motors touted its styling prowess and design leadership. Production was brief, lasting just two years before the name was retired, only to lay dormant until mid-1961 when it returned as the Buick Special Skylark. It, and three Ventiports on each fender.

The Skylark became a model in its own right for the 1962 model year and would be a part of Buick's lineup through 1998, in six distinct generations of styling. The 1962 Skylark added a two-door convertible coupe body style which it shared with the Special and Special Deluxe models, and a unique two-door pillarless hardtop. The 1962 Special Special became the first American production car to be offered with a V6 engine and was Motor Trend's Car of the Year.

The 1963 intermediate-sized Buick Skylark wore full-length moldings along the body side and a Buick insignia was centered in the grille and in the bright rear cove insert.

The Special and Special Deluxe remained part of Buick's lineup and were similarly styled to the Skylark, with the Skylark distinguished by a higher level of exterior and interior trim. The sedans came standard with cloth-and-vinyl seats, with all-vinyl being optional. The convertibles came standard with all-vinyl bucket seats and were optional on the hardtop coupe.

1965 marked the start of the Gran Sport option, built in a similar vein as the 1964 Pontiac Tempest, LeMans, and GTO. It was offered as a coupe, hardtop, or convertible and was equipped with Buick's 401 cubic-inch V8 with a Carter four-barrel carburetor that developed 325 horsepower at 4,400 RPM. Buick's sales literature at the time listed the engine as having 400 cubic inches to get around General Motors' mandate that limited intermediate-sized cars to a maximum of 400 cubic inches. Additional features of the Gran Sport included dual exhaust, a heavy-duty radiator, and Gran Sport badging.

The 1966 Buick Skylark featured a lower body molding that ran the full-length, simulated vent grids on the front fenders and wheelhouse kick-ups. The name 'Skylark' and emblems appeared on the fear fenders. Inside, notchback seats were standard in the front of the four-door hardtop and optional on all other models. Bucket seats were optional, as were headrests. Body styles included a coupe, sport coupe, hardtop sedan, and a convertible.

Standard equipment included custom-padded seat cushions, glove compartment lights, courtesy lamps, ashtray, and Deluxe-specific wheel covers. The standard six-cylinder engine was the same powering the Special, with a 225 cubic-inch displacement, overhead valves, a 9.0:1 compression ratio, a Rochester two-barrel carburetor, four main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, and delivering 160 horsepower at 4,200 RPM. A three-speed manual transmission was standard, and a Super Turbine automatic and four-speed manual were optional with V8s.

The coupe had a base price of $2,625, the sport coupe at $2,690, the hardtop sedan at $2,850, and the convertible at $2,840. The four-door hardtop was a new addition for 1966 and replaced the previous pillared four-door sedan. The two-door Skylark body styles were available with the optional 340 cubic-inch 'Wildcat 375' that developed 260 hp and 365 lb-ft of torque.

Six-cylinder Skylark production for 1966 included 608 examples of the convertible, 1,422 of the hardtop sedan, 1,454 of the coupe, and 2,456 of the Sport Coupe. Eight-cylinder production included 6,129 of the convertible, 6,427 of the coupe, 18,729 of the hardtop sedan, and 33,086 of the Sport Coupe.

The Coupe with the Gran Sport option was priced at $2,960, the Sport Coupe was $3,020, and the convertible at $3,165. The Sport Coupe was the most popular with 9,934 examples built, followed by 2,047 of the convertible, and 1,835 of the coupe.

The total 84,127 Skylark vehicles produced in 1966 accounted for approximately fifteen percent of Buick's overall production.

The styling introduced in 1965 would continue through 1967. For 1968, all mid-sized GM vehicles adopted two different length wheelbase sizes, one for the two-door and the other for the four-door body styles. The two doors had a 112-inch wheelbase while the four doors rested on a 116-inch platform. All of GM's mid-sized cars wore all-new styling with a semi-fastback appearance and additional Federally mandated safety features. The Gran Sport was no longer an option package on the Skylark but had become its own separate series. The Special Deluxe replaced the previous Special, and the Skylark was moved to the position previously filled by the Special Deluxe. A new Skylark Custom was positioned in the spot previously filled by the 'base' Skylark.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2015