As has been oft-repeated, the A-body GM midsizers were all new for 1968, with swoopy, near-fastback styling in all Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick flavors. We’ve all seen umpteen fake SS454s, fake GTOs, and fake 442s–and maybe even a real one or two!–but I am here to tell you that, yes, Buick did produce a version. And no, it is not “some weird kind of Chevelle.” However, it seems that Flint’s version of the good ol’ A was kind of lost in the shuffle.
Part of it may have been due to somewhat less cohesive styling. The trademark Buick sweepspear was polarizing to some, as was the semi-enclosed rear wheels–almost like a partial fender skirt.
But I love them, and indeed, they might be my favorite version (well, except maybe for a Vista Cruiser).
While the GS400 led the performance charge over at Buick, the Skylark Custom was the luxury version–far removed from the brown-wrapper Special wagon Paul shared with us recently. Customs came in your choice of two- or four-door hardtop, four-door sedan, or convertible.
I have spotted a ’68 convertible, but not in the wild. This one was at the recent Maple City Cruise Night in Monmouth, IL–a must-see show for me. Basically, the whole town shuts down and the streets are filled with anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 classic cars. You never know what you will find.
This bottle-green convertible was especially lovely with its Road Wheels and clean interior. I really like that ’60s Moderne steering wheel–it has been previously mentioned that this wheel would not look out of place on, say, a 1993 Century, and I agree. Love the Sonomatic radio, too!
Whoever ordered this Custom convertible didn’t skimp on the extras, as it sports bucket seats, floor-shifter automatic, and center console–not to mention the Road Wheels and whitewall tires. No power windows, though.
Here’s the back. The ’68 convertible was pretty rare, with only 8,188 of the $3098 drop-tops finding buyers. This one also has the optional fender skirts and chrome trim on the sweepspear, which gave it an even more deluxe factory lowrider look. And I also dig the side marker light disguised as a Tri-Shield ornament.
Skylark Custom. Doesn’t that name sound good? I can understand Buick naming their current middle offering as the Regal, but I think Skylark is a better name. “Regal” conjures up velour-tufted Broughamism to me–GN and T-Type G-bodies notwithstanding.
The coupe was the most popular Custom, with 35,639 assembled. Two-doors like this one started at $3009, with the expected power options pushing that figure up several hundred bucks, depending on how “spendy” you were feeling. In a classic case of GM cheapness, however, even the plush Skylark Custom came standard with a three-speed manual. Really?
Suffice it to say darn few went out the door that way. This one was probably originally equipped with a column-shift automatic, but these days it was sporting what appeared to be an aftermarket floor-shift automatic, somewhat at odds with the plush vinyl bench seat with fold-down armrest.
It’s a local car too, being sold by Harrelson Motors in Moline. I had never heard of that dealer before, but I imagine it later became Perry Snower Buick, and which is today Key Buick. The 1968-69 Special/Skylark are fairly rare these days (the ’70-’72s are much more frequently seen, at shows anyway), so this one was a treat. Despite the wear and tear over the years, it still looks pretty good! However, I would have to add the beautiful Buick road wheels and some redline tires…
I love old Buicks! My grandfather had a white ‘63 Wildcat 4-door hardtop, which he purchased slightly used from my other grandparents. Unfortunately, Wisconsin and Illinois winters were hard on that car, and it was gone before I could drive it. My brother had a ‘71 Skylark hardtop, but it lacked the curves of this example. It’s good to see you back on this forum, Tom!
To me, the vinyl top on this one always looked weird; I thought that the tops enclosing the bottom of the “kink” looked much better. As stated, the convertible is simply beautiful!! 🙂
I really love Tom K’s posts. Not only for his attention to detail and great photos but as an Iowan (Ames) also to see how much more vibrant the Quad Cities were just some 10-15 years ago. It’s gone downhill FAST, probably why he no longer lives there. How sad.
As a nearly 30-year Quad Citizen, I can say from experience that it’s not a bad place to live. No, it’s not Madison or Portland or even Ames. And we have few good restaurants with outdoor seating, despite having the Mississippi River run right through the metropolitan area. But the cost of living is low, and I can’t complain about my 5-minute commute (20 minute walk). My 2011 Honda still has less than 100K miles. The River offers some excellent bike paths. Chicago is accessible (even more so if we ever get our promised passenger train service), and Iowa City is only 1 hour away. Plus, those of us on the Illinois side have some pretty cool elected officials (e.g. Sorensen, Duckworth). And the working-class neighborhoods, like my own, have some great curbside classic daily drivers! I regularly see a Chevy Citation and an AMC Hornet within a mile of my house.
Glad to hear that! Thanks for replying.
I always thought the vinyl roof treatment around the C pillar was nice. Also, this one suffers from the bumper drooping at the ends — so many of these did.
In the first pic, that shadow on the side of the car….looks like an alligator taking a bite out of the state of Florida.
(sorry)
Credit to GM, for still going to significant lengths, to create division brand distinction. As Tom stated, the Buick sweepspear was polarizing, with its dramatic appearance.
As a kid, I thought they went farther than they needed to go. A more conservative sweep that didn’t drop so steeply, would have sufficed. I didn’t like this sweep, back then. Like many bold styling elements on cars, their time comes and goes. By the 1970’s, it looked like a vestige, of the late ’60’s. And it probably contributed to these Buicks, not being that common. The fastback styling on its own, without the high profile sweep, was already appearing dated. As more conservative, Mercedes-like styling, was becoming popular.
The steering wheel hub does look different. As various other dashboard, and interior details, date the interior regardless.
The 1968 and 69 Buick Skylarks were not my favorite vehicles among the GM intermediates of this era. The “S” curve along their sides reminded me too much of the 1958 Buick Bulgemobiles. For my tastes, I found the 1965-67 Skylarks by far the most attractive.
Not my favorite of the new-for-68 A Bodies. In fact right at the bottom. Sorry, but this is a bit of a letdown after seeing the beautiful ‘66 Ford in Aaron’s post above it. And what’s with “Road Wheels”? Other than the fact that it’s actually the tires that are on the road, aren’t all wheels road wheels, plain steel or styled steel or cast alloy? They’re not sky wheels or water wheels …
The brochure photo reminds me yet again that the 1968+ A-body post sedans are the worst-looking of the lot, but especially in Oldsmobile and Buick guise. I imagine GM figured that sedan buyers wanted the fancy hardtop, and that only pikers wanted a post sedan, so they put more design effort into the pillarless version.
Owing mostly to the increased take rate on A/C – especially on higher end models – buyers were starting to recognize the negatives of the hardtop design (less weather resistance and more wind noise, especially as weather seals aged). And since cars had A/C, nobody was really driving around with all 4 windows down much anymore. It’s no real wonder that the 4-door hardtop was all but dead less than a decade later.
We had a ’68 base Skylark sedan in the family until about twenty years ago. Even it had “chrome” on the window frames and B pillar, as in the second photo, but it does look frumpier than the hardtop. Nowadays they’re all black, which might be better than body-color, like a Biscayne, but I prefer the chrome on most sedans.
Ours had a different steering wheel with a too-thick-to-grip center vertical spoke. The thumbwheel HVAC controls (on the ’68 full-sized too) are not convenient.
I think the 4-door hardtop looks great, in general. It’s interesting that the coupe looks much better with the aftermarket mag wheels, they offset the partial fender skirts just enough to not make it look portly.
Thanks for this article!
“Skylark Custom. Doesn’t that name sound good? I can understand Buick naming their current middle offering as the Regal, but I think Skylark is a better name.”
Most people today will associate Skylark with its FWD X-body (Citation and co) incarnation of the 1980s and the later N-body. However, when Buick got the reskinned mid-size and dusted off the Century monicker for the 1973 model year. They should have used the Skylark name for Buick right from the start instead of Apollo for Buick’s Nova counterpart.
The odd concave rear ends of these almost never look quite right, evidently having been easily knocked out of whack.
Tom, where have you been? I always enjoyed your pieces. I hope I can look forward to more.
Always thought the Buick A body of this era as the weakest of the GM offerings. Not awful, but the weird design elements is fell flat in comparison to the Cutlass and Pontiac.
’69 Skylark Convertible was my very first car. At 16 years old, I didn’t appreciate the classic nature like I should have.
The stock 350, four-barrel offered plenty of power for a beginning driver! After a couple years I went away to college and had to downgrade. I handed it down to my younger brother. Sure would like to have it today!