1962 Buick Skylark

The Buick Skylark was in production for nearly five decades, with the first generation produced from 1953 to 1954, and then from 1961 through 1972, and finally from 1975 through 1998. It began as a celebration of Buick's 50th anniversary, appearing in 1953 as the Roadmaster Skylark, joined by the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta and the Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado. These limited-production specialty convertibles celebrated the company's history and showcased the design direction and future of the individual marques.

After 1954, the Buick Skylark name lay dormant until the fall of 1960, when General Motors introduced a trio of new compact cars for the 1961 model year that used the same chassis, engines, and basic sheet metal - the Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile F-85, and the Buick Special.

The Buick Special was immediately popular and styling that followed similar lines of the larger 1961 Buicks. The overhead-valve, 215 cubic-inch V8 engine had a cast aluminum block, five main bearings, two-barrel Rochester carburetor, hydraulic valve lifters, and delivered 155 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. Mid-year, the Skylark Sport Coupe joined the lineup and was essentially a better equipped, more luxuriously trimmed version on the Buick Special. It received unique Skylark emblems, lower-body side moldings, turbine wheel covers, a vinyl-covered roof, three Ventiports on each fender, and unique taillight housings. The inside features plush all-vinyl upholstery, with bucket seats available as optional equipment. The instrumentation was minimal, with just a fuel gauge and a speedometer.

The well-received Skylark became its own model for 1962, although it was still closely related to the Buick Special. It was not until the 1964 model year that the Skylark trim level had enough sales to justify its own separate model line and would move to a new 115-inch wheelbase intermediate-size platform which it shared with the Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile F-85, and the Chevrolet Chevelle.

The 1962 Skylark wore the previous year's basic sheet metal but in two new body styles - a two-door convertible coupe and a two-door pillarless hardtop. The convertible coupe body style could also be found on the Special and Special Deluxe models, however, the pillarless hardtop coupe was unique to the Skylark range. Buick tuned the 215 cubic-inch V8 engine, resulting in an additional 5 horsepower, now rated at 190 hp at 4,800 RPM.

The Buick Special was priced from $2,300 to $2,740 and the Special Deluxe ranged from $2,590 to $2,890. The Buick Skylark hardtop was priced at $2,785 and the convertible listed for $3,015. The Hardtop was the most popular body style in the Skylark range with 34,060 examples produced, while 8,913 were convertibles.

The 1962 Buick Skylark had a Buick emblem centered in the grille, and three ventiports on the front fenders, along with a Skylark badge. In the back, the taillamp housings wrapped around on the rear fenders. All four wheels had turbine wheel covers, and lower body bright rocker and wheelhouse moldings accented the sides of the Skylark. The interiors featured a Skylark steering wheel, heater and defroster, all-vinyl upholstery, front bucket seats, and a padded dash. The convertible top was power operated.

For 1963, the Skylarks would continue to rest on the same wheelbase and chassis as the prior 1961 and 1962 model years but gained new boxier sheet metal, and its length grew by five inches. The 215 CID V8 now delivered 200 horsepower; body styles continued to be a two-door convertible or a two-door pillarless coupe.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2020