Why make my project out of this car?
Quick links to my pages
Home Page
My Modifications
What She looked like when I got her
American Custom Coachworks History
How the car was made into a convertible
1980 Hot Rod Article
Othe X-Body Convertibles
Skylark Literature
Parts that I'm looking for
When I first went down to Canton, Ohio to pick up my project a good friend and car guy asked me �Why� Why would I chose to restore a GM X-Body. Well I�ve thought about and this is why. I think you�ll be surprised with the number of reasons.
Rarity
In 1981 no convertible was sold in this country that was produced by GM. The only ones that were built were like my Skylark. At most only 500 or so for any year or model were ever built. Now that is a limited production run. This gives you the opportunity to get a good second look by almost any real car guy. Plus you will never see yourself coming down the road.
Engine Modifications
Any FWD engine can be put in the front end. See below for shots of a 3800 Series II supercharged engine, and a 4.9L V8 dropped in the front end. Both of these can easily be done on an X-Body.
Other engine choices include 2.5 Carb, 2.5 TBI, 2.2, 3.0 Carb, 2.8 Carb, 2.8 H.O., 2.8 MPFI, 3.1, 3.8, 3300, 4.3 Diesel, A 3.1 with AWD from a 89 6000 STE can also be done. For the really crazy a twin motor citation can be done
Parts
The X-Body platform was used in the A-Body (Century, Ciera, 6000, Celebrity) the U-Body (Lumina APV Vans) and the front end of an X-Body is the rear end of a Fiero. So while my Skylark may be 24 years old, I can use parts from a 9 year old vehicle. This makes for a parts run to local auto store a very fruitful and easy experience.
Any feature on those cars that I want to put in mine can be done. Upgraded dash�s can be obtained from any A-Body. The seats from an A-Body fit perfectly. The stiffer suspension parts from a U-Body can be added. The rear disc brakes from a 6000 can be added to an X-Body. The Fiero has a good aftermarket following almost all of those mods and parts can be easily assembled into an X-Body. Sense these upgrades all came on stock vehicles the upgrades can be had for much less money.
Support
The Clubs listed in the corner mention the X-Body club on Yahoo has 504 members and has at least 300 posts per month.
Value
While I only paid $500 for it, and have put about $900 into it. I was recently able to get collector car insurance for my ride through Hagerty Insurance. This insurance was reviewed by an under writer and I am guaranteed a value of $3500 (which was all I asked for) So even if I get rear ended this summer. I�m covered for my full investment plus some extra.
I also get about 20 MPG, on regular gas. And registration here in MI is only $24/year. This makes for a very inexpensive fun little project car.
