QuestionHow do I determine the Year of the car? Registered as 1970 but when I have done repairs some replacement parts are definitely 1971 (i.e. gas tank)? Could it be a Tween Year vehicle?
What are the cross-over years for body parts (i.e. Doors, bumpers, etc.)?
Can you provide any reliable resources for replacement parts both Original & Replication?
AnswerAlthough there are some like parts on the Buick Skylark from 1968 to 1972, the 1970 - 1972 was virtually identical except for engine size and option packages. Some parts sources...
http://www.billionsandtrillionsinc.com/index.asp
http://www.nextag.com/1970-buick-skylark-part/search-html
http://www2.partstrain.com/
See details below...
The 1968 model year was one of significant change for the Buick Skylark. Although still using the same basic chassis, all of GM’s mid-sized cars adopted a policy of using two different length wheelbases. Two-door models used a shorter wheelbase of 112-in, while four-door models used a longer wheelbase of 116-in (the Buick Sportwagon and Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser used an even longer wheelbase of 121-in). All of GM’s mid-sized cars received all-new sheet metal.
The Gran Sport, previously an option package available on the Skylark, became a separate series. In a reshuffling of models in the lineup, the Special Deluxe replaced the previous Special. The Skylark nameplate was shuffled down a notch to replace the previous Special Deluxe. The previous Skylark was replaced by a new Skylark Custom.
The basic Skylark was available as a two-door hardtop coupe or a four-door sedan. The Skylark Custom came as a two-door convertible coupe, two-door hardtop coupe, four-door hardtop sedan, or four-door sedan.
The previous V-6 was discontinued and the associated tooling was sold to Kaiser Industries, which used the V-6 in its Jeep trucks and sport utility vehicles. The base engine in Buick Skylarks (and Buick Special sedans) became a 250-cubic-inch inline six-cylinder engine using a 1-barrel Rochester carburetor (borrowed from Buick’s sister Chevrolet division) that produced 155 horsepower (116 kW) at 4200 rpm.
Optional on the Skylark and standard on the Skylark Custom was a new 350-cubic-inch V-8 engine using a 2-barrel Rochester carburetor that produced 230 horsepower (170 kW) at 4400 rpm. This engine was based on the previous 300- and 340-cubic-inch-displacement V-8 engines. The Buick Special name was dropped after the 1969 model year.
For 1970, the mid-sized Buicks once again received new sheet metal and the Buick Skylark name was moved down another notch, replacing the previous Buick Special. The Skylark became the entry-level Buick available in two- and four-door sedans with the 250-cubic-inch inline-6 as standard and the 350-cubic-inch V-8 (260 horsepower at 4600 rpm) available as an option.
Replacing the previous Buick Skylark was the Buick Skylark 350, available as a two-door hardtop coupe or four-door sedan with the 350-cubic-inch V-8 as standard equipment. The Skylark Custom continued to be available, also using the 350-cubic-inch V-8 as standard equipment and still available as a two-door convertible coupe, two-door hardtop coupe, four-door hardtop sedan, and four-door sedan. Buick Gran Sport models continued to be available as a separate series. The Buick Sport Wagon name was now used on a conventional four-door station wagon that no longer featured a raised roof with glass panels over the cargo area, or a longer wheelbase, as in the past. It now used the same 116-in wheelbase as the Buick Skylark four-door sedan and the now-discontinued Buick Special four-door Station Wagon. It became, in effect, a Buick Skylark four-door station wagon in all respects but the name.
For the 1971 model year, the base Skylark was available only with the inline 6, now only putting out 145 horsepower (108 kW) due to emission control devices, but in a two-door hardtop coupe body-style (in addition to the previous two- and four-door sedans. The Skylark 350 had a V-8 engine that put out only 230 horsepower (170 kW). It was now available as a two-door sedan in addition to the previous two-door hardtop coupe and four-door sedan.
1972 was the last model year for the mid-sized Buick Skylark. For 1972, the base Buick Skylark used the 350-cubic-inch V-8 with the 2-barrel Rochester carburetor (now putting out 145 horsepower) as standard equipment. A new federally-mandated system to calculate power was put into effect that year, and the actual engine performance was probably comparable to the 230 horsepower (170 kW) that was listed for the previous year. The Skylark 350 now used a version of the same V-8 engine as the base Skylark, but with a 4-barrel Rochester carburetor that generated 170 horsepower (130 kW).
An interesting limited-production model was the 1972 Buick Skylark 350 Sun Coupe, which was a Skylark 350 Hardtop Coupe that featured a sunroof and vinyl covering over the front portion of the roof (a landau design).
Skylark Customs were available with the same 350-cubic-inch V-8 engines available in the basic Skylark and the Skylark 350.
For the 1973 model year, the Buick Gran Sports, Skylarks, and Sport Wagons would all be replaced by the new mid-sized Buick Century. Since Centuries were available with Gran Sport trim, the Gran Sport name was once again reduced to being an option package.
