[Snowbound]

There is a '63 (cough) Skylark close by with no engine/trans that I could get fairly cheap. Sorry, there are no pre-1968 Pontiacs in Canada to speak of, due to some trade agreement back then. I have only ever seen 1 '61-63 Tempest up here in 20+ years I've been into cars.

What does a 2 door hardtop weigh? (I'm thinking it would make a good bracket beater!)

I assume the rear end would take the same 9" Ford swap with a coilover/ladderbar set up?

Are the dimensions roughly the same between a Buick 455 and Pontiac 455? Since these came with a 326, which is the same size as a 455 Poncho, I'm hoping the Buick would fit with not too much problem.....And since the car has a traditional trans tunnel, it should be easier to run a beefy TH-400 or TH-350.

Any help would be mucho appreciated!

Brian

[KJB]

There are lots of pre 68 Pontiacs in Canada. I get there several times per year and I see both Canadian made and US made Pontiacs frequently. The Canadian made Pontiacs are equipped with Chevrolet drivetrains. It's unique to see a full size 61 Pontiac with a 6 cylinder or full size Pontiac with a 409 V8. I know of an excellent 62 LeMans in Port Hope, Ontario and another in Ajax, Ontario. I'm in Victoria, BC right now and am attaching a picture of a unique 58 I saw just the other day. Canadians love old Pontiacs and refer to US made Pontiacs as "Blue Engines" since the Canadian made Pontiacs have Chevrolet orange engines.

[Snowbound]

I'm quite familiar with the Canadian made Pontiacs, and I know there are quite a few of those still around. I'm refering to the '61-63 Tempest, which is relatively scarce in Canada. I'm not saying there are NONE, but there are very few.

The reason I sold my '67 GTO project was the lack of parts available up here. I had to import everything from the US, which at the time was very costly due to shipping, taxes, exchange rate, etc. Not to mention the lack of repro parts available for these cars.

Brian

[KJB]

No doubt about it. There are only a few 61 to 63s in Canada. In addition to the two I mentioned above, I know of a 62 and a 63 LeMans in BC but that's it. Several of us drive our Tempests from the States to Port Elgin, Ontario the first weekend in October each year for the Pumpkinfest car show. Our cars draw a lot of attention from the Canadians.

[Poncho_Villa]

Yup....know all about it. Bought mine in 1976......still got it. Always shopping for parts to keep it original. Almost back-halved it years ago, but these are so unusual, especially here in Canada, that I chose to keep it as close to stock as possible. Gets lots of attention that way. Check out this link;
http://www.1963pontiac.com/gallery_30.htm

But getting back to the skylark (cough & choke) - you should be able to shoehorn a 455 buick mill into it without too much grief, and yes you have the luxury of a tranny tunnel for any slushbox you decide upon. Have you checked to see if there is a Buick forum on the net?

[Snowbound]

There is a great Buick forum, but info on the early Skylarks is slim pickins'.

Looks like these will weigh around 3400lbs. I though they would be lighter than that.

Thanks for the info.

Brian

[pont406]

no to hijack your thread, but how much parts interchangeability is there between one of these 63 Buick Skylarks and the 63 tempest? I found one of them in a local wrecking yard, that 98% complete, looks like some trim and the back window would swap, how bout the inside door panels? they don't look to be brand specific. they are in pretty good shape, would have to dye them though. My drag car project needs some! or I may hold out for the new repo's that are suppose to be out soon!

[GonicGM]

http://www.v8buick.com/