Certain things may fade away into the background, but they don’t truly leave you. Once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget. I’ve discovered the same is true for particular interests. I don’t always listen to Billy Joel, but his music has been a consistent part of my life for the past 25-plus years and it will be going forward. Several days ago, I came across an early 1960s Buick Skylark Convertible and it reminded me how much I love the design. Our Pick of the Day also reminded me of the same. You can find this 1962 Buick Skylark Convertible listed on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Ramsey, Minnesota. The 10-minute video below shows an exterior/interior tour, the operation of the power top, and driving footage.
When it comes to a car’s looks, sometimes size matters. I recently saw a small late-model German convertible and thought it looked so stubby and runty. It didn’t have enough real estate to express a design with grace the way its larger, more upmarket sibling did. That’s what makes this Skylark drop-top so wonderful — as Buick’s “Happy-Medium Size” model, it’s not the brand’s massive flagship, but it looks attractive, intentional, and complete. Even better, it comes across as special. The quad round headlights are set between the tips of the blade-like fenders which, of course, feature Buick‘s signature VentiPorts. A prominent crease starts above the dramatic slope of the front wheel arch and gently dips town toward the rear arch’s flat top. Metallic trim wraps around the rear end and encases the slim tail lights, giving the Skylark a jewelry-like flourish. There really is no bad angle to this car. Even the wheels, with their turbine-style covers and thin-whitewall tires, add to the Skylark’s distinctive looks and presence.
This particular car seems to have aged well and benefited from key updates. The selling dealer states that the paint is in good shape, although it does have some minor blemishes (as you’d expect on a car of this age). Fortunately, the top’s mechanical components — the weak point of any convertible — are new. “The power convertible top has new lines and pump installed and the top works, but you will need to unzip the back window for it to go down all the way.”
The blue vinyl interior is more conservative and has an appealing geometric simplicity to it. The door panels have grid-like inserts, which flank the tufted front bucket seats. The slim, two-spoke wheel is connected to power steering. Behind that is a column-mounted shifter for the Dual-Path Turbine Drive two-speed automatic and a horizontal gauge cluster with a ribbed metallic fascia.
In a way, the engine pairs perfectly with this car’s styling. Once again, the Skylark shows there’s no penalty for going smaller. You might expect it to have a V-6, but it doesn’t — it’s powered by a 215ci V-8 with 11:1 compression that helped it reach factory ratings of 190 horsepower and 235 lb-ft of torque. Interestingly, both the block and the heads were made out of aluminum alloy, which was cool stuff for the era.
If you’re also a big fan of the Skylark’s design, you’ll never need a reminder of how good it looks if you see it every day. You can do that after you buy this 1962 Buick Skylark Convertible for $17,980.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com
