Buick Series 70 Roadmaster Skylark
Everyone has heard of the Buick Skylark. But the Series 70 Roadmaster Skylark was produced in 1953 to commemorate the company’s 50-year anniversary. The Skylark was produced in limited edition and designed by the illustrious Harley Earl. As with all of Earl’s creations, the Skylark was an exquisite blend of style and performance.
Performance-wise the Skylark had an impressive 322 cu in V8 engine that Buick called the Nailhead that was capable of producing 190 hp. The Skylark was only available as a convertible but it still managed a hefty curb weight of 4300 lbs. Nonetheless, the Skylark had a top speed of over 100 mph. It took awhile to get there though. The Skylark went from 0 to 60 in over 12 seconds. Less than 1700 models were produced.
In 1953, Buick produced only 836 Roadmaster Skylarks. But this time they managed 200 hp and featured air conditioning and Buick’s patented Dynaflow transmission. Buick added a chrome tailfin the Skylark which gave it more presence on the road.
Nonetheless, Buick would not produce another Skylark until 1961. But by then it was no longer a part of the Roadmaster lineup.
The Buick Skylark
The Skylark was generating enough sales to warrant Buick investing more heavily in the vehicle. By 1964 it was no longer a luxury trim level for performance convertibles. It was its own separate entity entirely.
The Skylark was available in a two-door convertible and a hardtop model but Buick would add a 2-door convertible coupe, a 4-door hardtop, and a 4-door sedan.
Sitting on a 115-inch wheelbase, the Skylark featured V6 and V8 engines. Tooling for the aluminum-block V8 was sold to Rover, a British manufacturer. Rover improved the design of Buick’s engine and featured it in Land Rover SUVs as late as 2006.
The Skylark instead featured a 225 cu in cast-iron block V6 that was rated for 155 hp. The V8 was rated for 210. In addition, Buick produced a high-performance Skylark that featured a compression ratio of 11:1 and a 4-barrel carburetor that managed an impressive 250 hp.
In 1965, Buick introduced the Gran Sport featuring a 401 cu in V8 that produced 325 hp. In ‘67 Buick would call it the Gran Sport 400 to reflect the size of the engine and added the Gran Sport 340 available in hardtop or coupe.
In ‘68 the Skylark underwent major changes and perched itself atop a slightly larger 116-inch wheelbase. Buick sold of the tooling for the V6 to Kaiser industries who used it in their SUVs. Buick would use the Chevy straight-six for their baseline models.
Throughout the 70s and the 80s, Buick moved away from producing larger performance vehicles. The Skylark had a slightly larger 116-inch wheelbase but never saw the same performance specs as the Gran Sport. By the 80s, Buick had stopped offering V8 and introduced a straight-four.
In ‘99, the Skylark was discontinued. The production line was retooled to produce mid-size Chevy Malibus.