UPDATE: 9/6/09: It has been a long time but this thing is almost roadworthy. I had to take time off from it to build my house but things are now in full swing. Between Summit Racing and OPGI I have just about everything I need. Some parts purchased:
The motor was completed a while ago. It dyno'ed at 575HP, 570 ft/lbs. It is a big block Chevy 489 built by T&L Engine Development. It has: new Gen VI block,Dart 1 aluminum heads, Scat crank and rods, J&E pistons (10 to 1), Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap, Comp Cams hydraulic roller, Comp Cams roller rockers, Milodon pan.
AED modified Holley 850 carb.
Chevy High Performance distributor.
Complete 3" exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers, Hooker Super Comp headers, and a Summit X-pipe.
Turbo 400 transmission from local performance shop. Completely overhauled with; full manual valve body, heavy duty clutches and such, deep pan, etc.
10" converter. Stalls around 3000-3400.
MSD Digital 6 ignition.
NOS Cheater system with dual purge.
Race Pumps mechanical pump and regulator. Check these things out, they are great.
March pulley system.
Aluminum radiator and electric fan kit from Summit.
Scat Procar Lowback seats.
New door panels.
New rear quarter power windows.
Flaming River steering column.
Summit 18 circuit wiring kit.
Autometer Phantom 2 5/8" gauges (oil pressure, water temp, voltage, fuel pressure w/ isolator).
Autometer Phantom 2 tach.
Master cylinder, 8" dual diaphragm booster, Wilwood proportioning valve, Summit line lock.
sunvisors, door handles, headliner, rear seat covers, various other interior finishing touches.
Hurst Quarter Stick with Jeg.
VFN Stage 2 scoop.
UPDATE: 12/21/06: The car is painted and looking fine! It still needs to be buffed but you can tell it came out great. Soon the weatherstripping will be in along with the new carpet, then the trim starts. I have been able to acquire some solid trim parts for the car through friends and the Internet but I still need a sweet front bumper. I have two cores which I can have chromed so I'll see what comes along.
The motor is being built at this time by T&L Engine Development in North Carolina. It is a big block Chevy 489 that should dyno out to about 575hp and 575tq. After the motor, the tranny, converter, fuel system (along with nitrous), and interior all need to be done. More photos and info coming soon!
HISTORY: I just bought this 1965 Skylark this past summer (2005). I was originally looking for a 1965 Malibu which I owned in the past but the prices are a little too outrageous right now for what you are getting. A friend of mine said I should look into Skylarks, well I had never seen one before in person and when I saw this one I totally fell for the look.
The car is currently with my friend who is beginning to do the bodywork on the car and will spray it in a fresh coat of Hugger Orange (that is his Hugger Orange 69 Camaro in my photos which I put there to show the color). I have purchased a Glasstek fiberglass hood and getting the front bumper rechromed (I already purchased a rechromed rear bumper). After (and while) the body work is being done the interior will also be gone through. It will be a mixture of black and white, I am getting new Procar Lowbacks in white, recovering the rear seat in white but keeping the carpet and headliner black. The door panels will also be white.
The car currently has a 12 bolt posi with 4.11's, a turbo 350 tranny, Buick 350 with some work (is what I was told, it goes pretty good), power windows, shifter on the floor (looks to be an original column shift).
UPDATE 4/16/06: First the bad news; the 350 was junk! We busted it open hoping to just re-gasket it and repaint it, well the metal in the oil pan, the rusted shut valve, and the sloppiest shaft mounted rockers I have ever seen ended that. I have basically junked the motor except for some pieces that I am going to sell.
The posi was cracked. I was hoping to just change the fluid and go, but the crack and junk posi (it was the truck type) has kept that from happening. Oh and they were not 4.11 gears but 3.31.
Come to find out the car was originally a vinyl top car as many holes were filled with mud. The person who did the bodywork on this car did a horrendous job! They filled dents with mud never even trying to bang them out. Basically I inherited someone's experiment in car rebuilding and if it was a class they would have gotten a BIG F :).
I have ran into a ton of roadblocks and issues that I was not planning on but the group of guys helping with this are making it all come together. My boy Kevin is doing a phenomenal job! So onto the good news; the new trunk and quarters are on and the car should be in primer next week (the front end already is). There were a lot of bodywork issues but they are being fixed the right way, this car is solid!
The rear end now consists of; a Detroit Tru-Trac center section, Richmond 3.73 gears, and Superior axles. The rear end connects to the frame with adjustable UMI upper control arms and UMI lower boxed control arms. Shocks are KYB and springs are Hotchkis.
The front end consists of Hotchkis tubular upper control arms and springs, KYB shocks, an Addco 1-1/8 sway bar, and 12" disc brakes courtesy of this conversion Article . All suspension parts are Moog or from PST.
The body bushings are all poly Energy Suspension.
The frame was sandblasted, coated with POR-15, then sprayed satin black. Also all brackets were welded over to strengthen them. One thing great about this car was that the frame was mint, nothing needed to be repaired.
No engine yet, still looking for a big block Chevy, specifically a 502.
The jambs of the car are painted and it is ready to be assembled for final paint. The color looks great! I am so happy with it. In the next week or so I hope to have photos of the car completely painted. I am so psyched!
A lot of time and effort is going into this car and it is all going to pay off. This car will be laser straight and should handle and accelerate nicely. More news and pictures to come.
