Buick Special
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Buick Special was an automobile produced by the Buick Motor Division of General Motors, Flint, Michigan (USA).
From 1936 to 1958, Buick's Special model range represented the marque's entry level full-size automobile. By 1955, the Buick Special was one of America's best selling automotive series. Buick Specials are easily identified — the model range had three ventports while senior Buicks had four.
Buick suspended the Buick Special name badge at the end of the 1958 model year, with the name Buick LeSabre used in its place to denote Buicks least expensive full size car.
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[edit] 1961
In 1961, the car returned after a short absence of 2 years, but this time it was on the brand new unibody intermediate GM A platform. The Special was powered by an innovative aluminum-block 215 in³ V8. In mid-year a Skylark option was released with special trim, optional bucket seats and a 4 barrel version of the 215.
[edit] 1962
In 1962, the Special was the first American car to use a V6 engine. This 198 in³ Fireball was reverse-engineered from the 215 and used many of the same design parameters, but was cast in iron. Output was 135 hp (gross) at 4600 RPM and 205 ft·lbff at 2400 RPM. In their test that year, Road & Track was impressed with Buick's "practical" new V6, saying it "sounds and performs exactly like the aluminum V8 in most respects."
The V6 Special was Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1962.
The Skylark also became a separate series for 1962.
[edit] 1964-1972
The Special, along with the upscale Skylark, were redesigned for the 1964 model year with separate body-on-frame construction and marketed as an intermediate-sized car. The Skylark was expanded to a full top-line series that now included two- and four-door sedans, two-door hardtop coupe and convertible, along with a station wagon. The other series models included the base Special and the slightly fancier Special DeLuxe.
Also new for 1964 were engines. The V6 engine was punched out from 198 to 225 cubic inches while the 215 inch aluminum V8 was dropped altogether and replaced by a new 300 cubic inch V8 with a cast-iron block and aluminum heads (1964 only, later years switched to cast-iron heads).
The Special nameplate was used on lower-priced intermediate-sized Buicks through the 1969 model year.
[edit] 1975
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The Special returned briefly to the GM A platform as an entry level subseries of the Buick Century as the Buick Century Special. Century Specials were usually powered by Buick's own 231 V6; a V8 (from either Buick, Olds, or Chevrolet) was rarely optioned.
