By now, you may be aware how artificial intelligence has begun to infiltrate all parts of the Internet. It’s impossible to scroll through Facebook without being forced to read a biography on cars (or any other topic) that seeks to elevate a certain object or person without saying something particularly meaningful or sincere. The ad for our Pick of the Day suffers from the same fate, but we at The ClassicCars.com Journal are here to help a guy or gal out and show you, the car-buying public, just what a cool car and great deal this 1970 Buick Skylark Custom four-door hardtop really is. It’s listed on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Alsip, Illinois.
Let’s be honest: the 1970 Buick Skylark is nothing but a blip on the radar of American automotive history. It’s a car that resonates with few—those whose parents had one, or maybe they want to convert it to a GS clone and go racing. It isn’t a “cultural icon that encapsulates the essence of American automotive ingenuity” because it made no cultural impact, it isn’t an icon, and there was nothing ingenious about its engineering.
But the 1970 Skylark is a good-looking car, like all the restyled 1970 A-bodies within General Motors. And as the most upmarket of GM brands within this platform, Buick took no shortcuts in making sure you knew you were riding or driving a Buick. Of course, all Skylarks were Buicks, but some Skylarks were more Buick than others.
The base Skylark replaced the Special, but that didn’t necessarily mean it was a down-market model with a taxicab interior. It was available only as a sedan (both two- and four-door) with a Chevrolet-derived inline six standard, with several 350s optional. Move up a trim level and you’d have the Skylark 350, which naturally came standard with a 350. This version was only available as a four-door sedan and Sport Coupe (hardtop).
Top of the Skylark range was filled by the Skylark Custom, which included a four-door sedan and hardtop, two-door Sport Coupe, and convertible. The 350 V8 was standard, as was a luxurious cloth and vinyl bench seat interior save the convertible, which came standard with a vinyl bench (and optional on the sedan). There also was an all-vinyl notchback bench for other body styles. Want buckets? Available on the Sport Coupe and convertible.
The standard 350 for both the Skylark 350 and Skylark Custom (and Skylark 350) was a 350 two-barrel, which was rated at 260 horsepower. A four-barrel with 285 horsepower that ran on regular gas was optional for all Skylarks, but it didn’t stop there because a high-performance 350 with 315 horsepower and a very impressive 410 ft-lbs of torque was available, though it ran on premium fuel. If the engine seems familiar, that is because it’s the same engine that was included in the Buick GS—that’s some muscle!
The Desert Gold 1970 Buick Skylark Custom four-door hardtop presented here demonstrates the strengths of the Buick brand in 1970. When was the last time you saw a four-door Skylark in this condition? The earthtones—the gold with a Dark Brown vinyl top—are on target for the Buick brand for 1970, as is the standard Sandalwood cloth and vinyl bench interior. This one is powered by a 350/285 backed by a TH350 automatic. Other features include dual exhaust, power steering, air conditioning (with R134 conversion), tinted windows, remote driver’s mirror, and Buick’s classic chrome road wheel. Modifications include Wilwood four-wheel discs, AM/FM Custom Autosound, three-point seat belts, HID headlights and, for your sharp-eyed fans of Flint, a Gran Sport grille.
“More-door” cars don’t often receive love in this era. ChatGPT tells me they “often get overlooked for a few cultural and emotional reasons” that include lacking a sporting and performance image, collector/enthusiast bias, and styling compromises. We think that’s fair—as fair as the $19,900 asking price.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com