1965 Buick Guide
The 1964 Buick Special was a complete departure from the 1963 model of the same name. Where the 1963 car had been a unibody compact car, the 1964 was a mid-size body-on-frame design with strong horizontal lines. Body styles for the 1964 Buick Special included 2-door and 4-door sedans, a 2-door convertible, and 4-door station wagon.
As Buick’s base-level intermediate car, the 1964 Special was a fairly Spartan vehicle, without anything in the way of bling, and except for the convertible, lacking even the basic luxury of carpeting. Upholstery was all cloth, and standard features were limited to electric wipers, turn signals, ashtray, dome lights, and a step-on parking brake. The Special did have Buick’s typical trio of ventiports, on the fenders, however. Engine options included a 225-cid V-6 unit that was rated at 155 horsepower, and a 300-cid V-8 with 210 horsepower. There was also an improved engine option at 250 horsepower from the same 300-cid engine. The standard transmission was a 3-speed manual, with 4-speed manual and automatic options available.
The Buick Special Deluxe was a separate line built on the same platform, featuring more creature comforts and more chrome trim in each year. Special Deluxe line cars were offered in 2-door and 4-door sedan and 4-door wagon only. For 1965, the Special got a bit of the coke bottle design that was sweeping GM during that era. The bodywork rose and swelled outward a bit behind the doors, giving the cars a more aggressive and sporty look. That motif got another boost in 1966, with more sculpting in the fenders.
Also new for 1966, the Special 2-door sedan became a coupe. The other body style options continued. The V-6 engine received a boost to 160 horsepower, and an optional V-8 produced 260 horsepower.
Movano manual. The small print * All offers are subject to change at any time, you must be 18 or over and finance is subject to status, vehicle availability and terms and conditions apply.
Results 1 - 51 of 51 - Buick Wildcat THM400 Transmission 1965, TH400 Transmission Tech Manual by TCI®, 1 Piece. These technical manuals provide detailed. Find great deals on eBay for 1965 buick service manual. Shop with confidence.
In 1967, the convertible was dropped from the Buick Special line, leaving only the 4-door sedan, 2-door coupe, and 4-door station wagon. All else about the Special remained the same as the 1966 model.
The 1968 brought model year brought an upgrade—all Buick Specials were now Special Deluxe in name and in features. These cars now received Buick’s trademark sweepspear side molding.
The 6-cylinder engine was changed to an inline design, with 155 horsepower from 250 cubic inches of displacement. The V-8 option now displaced 350 cubic inches and produced 230 horsepower. No further changes were made for the final year of this generation in 1969.
Collectors will want to seek out Special Deluxe editions with a good optional feature set, including the 4-speed manual transmission and uprated V-8 engines with four-barrel carburetor. Note that the popular California GS models were built using the same model number as the Special, featuring upgraded trim and engine options.
1961-1972 Skylark, GS, GSX Buick re-launched the Special nameplate, which had a legacy dating back to 1936, on GM’s new, unitized Y-body platform in 1961. It was shared with the and – compact cars developed to compete with the wave of European small cars that were turning heads and ringing up sales. And just like its corporate cousins, the base-model spawned an up-level trim package: Skylark ( and ). A compact, all-aluminum 215-cubic-inch V-8 was one of the unique features and in, the engine spawned an iron-block V-6 version that helped the car win over Motor Trend for its coveted Car of the Year award, but by the end of the Buick/Olds/Pontiac trio exited the fledgling compact segment when it didn’t prove as large as anticipated. Buick moved the Special and Skylark names to the company’s version of GM’s new full-frame “intermediate”-sized platform, known as the A-body, in. They grew about 3 inches in wheelbase, more than a foot in length and put on about 300 pounds.
Part of the weight increase came from a new 300-inch iron-block V-8 that replaced the aluminum engine – although it was based on its design. On the larger platform, sales for the cars picked up considerably.
Buick Shows its Muscle Despite engineering some undeniably powerful cars, Buick never chased the high-performance market until and the introduction of the Gran Sport. It was a response to the wild success of the and the other GM brands – except – scrambled to create their own muscle cars. In keeping with Buick’s luxury leanings, however, the Gran Sport was a well-equipped performer, not a stripped-down hot rod.
The first Gran Sports were based on the and powered by a 401-cubic-inch V-8 from Buick’s full-size lineup, which was dubbed Wildcat 445 – not for its horsepower, but its torque. The horsepower rating was 325.
1965 Buick Gran Sport
Performance was good, but not the stuff of Beach Boys songs. Nonetheless Buick sold more than 16,000, becoming an official combatant in the muscle car wars. Gran Sport became and Buick’s characteristically reserved aesthetic was temporarily discarded, with the introduction of the GSX – a boldly styled GS powered by the 455 V-8 that produced a mountain-moving 510 lb-ft of torque. A Stage 1 version matched the torque with 360 horsepower, which was enough to send the car down the drag strip in about 13.8 seconds. Only 678 were built that first year, although less-powerful editions were offered in and.
1965 Buick Guides
All About the Torque As the auto industry down-shifted from the high-compression highs of the muscle car years, Buick’s impact lingered in its 350 and 455 V-8 engines. Despite lower compression ratios and emissions equipment galore, the engines had very good cylinder heads that enabled them to make the most of the restricted air they processed. The company that was just about last to the muscle car market turned out to be nearly the last to leave, as customers continued to flock to the big-torque Buicks. GM revamped the A-body platform for 1973, adding length and consequently weight to cars that were losing horsepower, but again, the torque of the Buick engines gave the brand an edge. Unfortunately, the Special, Skylark and GSX were no longer part of the lineup.
They were replaced by the Century and the Gran Sport remained as an option – offering a 455 Stage 1 to keep Buick’s big-torque flame alive. As one of the industry’s largest restoration suppliers, offers thousands of and accessories including and, with new parts added daily. Our extensive catalog offers nearly everything from sheet metal, chrome and upholstery to engine parts and the hard-to-find details to finish a restoration with show-winning attention to detail.
Shop online or order your today.
Comments are closed.