How about this car?

[Dr. Evil]

EDIT, I got the car. Made a post further down.
Some may remember my post about looking at a Cutlass. That guy wouldn't call me back so I assume its sold. That said, I looked at a 65 Buick Skylark today. Its more $$ than I wanted to pay for a drivable project but its solid. As in very solid. I cant find any rust on this car, anywhere. Its almost spooky and makes me wonder if its not too good. That said, its a 65 hardtop, buckets, factory air(compressor is missing), tilt, PS, console with tach. At some point the original engine was swapped for a 350 Buick motor and it runs ok. It needs a few things but the body is mostly straight. A few dings here and there and it was painted about 8-9 years ago. They didn't do a very good job though. It really needs to be block sanded and a skim coat to fill some minor imperfections. Its a 10 footer at best. Interior is very good with a few minor pieces that are starting to show age and the dash pad has been recovered, poorly. Carpet, seats, headliner, door panels and such are new or very good. Glass is all very good and appears original. Front bumper has been rechromed recently, rear is ok but will need some attention. All in all it appears to be very solid though with no rust. I looked hard for any signs of extensive filler or body work and can find none. I can probably get it for 8k but really wanted to stay in the 7k range. I made an offer for 7.5k and he came down to 8k. That's where I'm at.
There is some documentation on the car showing it purchased new in Ca and later titled in Az.
A friend of mine who is a walking encyclopedia of muscle cars and probably one of the best mechanics East of the Mississippi was already talking to me about swapping in a 455 and knows where I can probably get one reasonable.

Thoughts?

I tried to upload and/or link pics from my google drive but couldn't. I made a folder and put a few here https://goo.gl/photos/8FwM6z4KENUWEPVA9

[nekkidhillbilly]

it doesn't take a lot to make a 350 buick make really good power and the tq is going to blow away a lot of bigger motors. 8k is fair for a really nice clean car I would think. car is a ac and bucket seat car to boot. if it where me I would build the small block up to 350-400 hp put a 200-4r behind it call that part done. the 350 at that hp would make over 400 ft of tq also. did you see what year the 350 was. any 68-70 will be higher compression. the high comp motors you pretty much port the head and make over 300 hp all day.

also it has 67 hood scoops on it. take those off and ebay them you just made 350 bucks back.

[Build-It-Break-It]

It's a decent car but why buy a running car just to take the motor out and have to repaint it etc? I would try and find exactly what you want with the swap, suspension, etc already done. Keep saving if needed and enjoy it from the start of the purchase.

[Dr. Evil]

So I picked up the car today. I made an offer and we met about halfway.
I added some more photos to the google folder here https://goo.gl/photos/8FwM6z4KENUWEPVA9
After looking it over the car is really just in that good of shape. Its a driver and not a showcar which is what I wanted.
The brake lights and turn signals were not working. That took all of about 10 minutes to fix. Appears that the car has some very old fuses in it, in an untouched wiring harness(this makes me happy). I literally just cleaned the contacts and replaced fuses, everything works now.



It'll be a work in progress and I have plenty of time to decide on a direction for the drivetrain. First thing is to get a set of seatbelts in it, go through the brakes and replace the single bale master cylinder.
In order is should go
disc brake conversion
wheels/tires
suspension upgrades
By then I should have a plan for the drivetrain. It'll be a slow process since I have to save up, buy, do the work, repeat.

Nekkidhillbilly, that's a route I'm considering. Its a later model 350 though, still has the egr.

[TheJDMan]

That would be cool to leave the body untouched, throw a killer suspension under it and custom wheels that mimic the factory wheels. Then just drive it till you decide on the appropriate drive train.

[nekkidhillbilly]

So I picked up the car today. I made an offer and we met about halfway.
I added some more photos to the google folder here https://goo.gl/photos/8FwM6z4KENUWEPVA9
After looking it over the car is really just in that good of shape. Its a driver and not a showcar which is what I wanted.
The brake lights and turn signals were not working. That took all of about 10 minutes to fix. Appears that the car has some very old fuses in it, in an untouched wiring harness(this makes me happy). I literally just cleaned the contacts and replaced fuses, everything works now.

It'll be a work in progress and I have plenty of time to decide on a direction for the drivetrain. First thing is to get a set of seatbelts in it, go through the brakes and replace the single bale master cylinder.
In order is should go
disc brake conversion
wheels/tires
suspension upgrades
By then I should have a plan for the drivetrain. It'll be a slow process since I have to save up, buy, do the work, repeat.

Nekkidhillbilly, that's a route I'm considering. Its a later model 350 though, still has the egr.

you should be able to see the year on the heads. v8buick.com is your friend. since its a later motor. if you hog the heads and intake out shave them to up the cr and throw a comp 268 or ta 268 cam in and put headers and exhaust on it will scoot. then I would look at some kind of od trans (200-4r is the best) and switch the gears out for deeper ones and add a posi. the bop 8.2s are pretty strong a lot stronger than the chevy ones so you would prob be alright with a small block and it. they where stock behind nailheads and stage 1 motors so your in the realm of there power with a built 350. suspension wise do the factory disc brake conversion add new control arms front and rear and better sway bars. replace the springs and shocks while your in it. remember all other a body stuff swaps in the suspension dept so used stuff can be had for cheap. now you need just wheels and tires of your choice. what you take off you can sell btw. also v8 buick has really good market place for parts for these cars.

[Dr. Evil]

you should be able to see the year on the heads. v8buick.com is your friend. since its a later motor. if you hog the heads and intake out shave them to up the cr and throw a comp 268 or ta 268 cam in and put headers and exhaust on it will scoot. then I would look at some kind of od trans (200-4r is the best) and switch the gears out for deeper ones and add a posi. the bop 8.2s are pretty strong a lot stronger than the chevy ones so you would prob be alright with a small block and it. they where stock behind nailheads and stage 1 motors so your in the realm of there power with a built 350. suspension wise do the factory disc brake conversion add new control arms front and rear and better sway bars. replace the springs and shocks while your in it. remember all other a body stuff swaps in the suspension dept so used stuff can be had for cheap. now you need just wheels and tires of your choice. what you take off you can sell btw. also v8 buick has really good market place for parts for these cars.

I'm on v8Buick getting to know my way around there. Its early in the process and the drivetrain will probably be last. I went through a portion of the wiring today and the fuseblock. Got all the lights and wiper motor working. Still need to get the horn and a couple minor things sorted. Immediate needs are brake upgrades and seat belts all around. Then suspension, then drivetrain. As for the heads they're 73 so I assume the motor is as well. Supposedly the motor is very fresh.
I've got the same user name over there on v8Buick if that helps. Thanks!

[nekkidhillbilly]

sean is the 350 guru on there read his post when you tear into it. same u/n for me on there or any forum I use.