Buick Special

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Buick Special

Manufacturer	Buick
Parent company	General Motors
Production	1936-1958 1961-1973
Class	Full-size (1936-1958) Mid-size (1961-1973)
Layout	FR layout
Engine(s)	4.3L V8 (Original Full-Size Version)

The Buick Special is 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 ventiports while senior Buicks had four.

Buick renamed the Special the LeSabre for the 1959 model year.

Contents 1 1961 2 1962 and 1963 3 1964-1972 4 1975

[edit] 1961

1961

Production	1961
Assembly	Flint, Michigan, United States Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
Body style(s)	2-door coupe 4-door sedan
Platform	Y-body
Engine(s)	215 cu in (3.5 L) 200 hp V8

In 1961, the car returned after a short absence of two years, but this time it was on the brand new unibody intermediate GM Y 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 that made 200hp.

[edit] 1962 and 1963

1962-1963

Production	1962-1963
Assembly	Flint, Michigan, United States Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
Body style(s)	2-door coupe 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon 2-door convertible
Platform	Y-body
Engine(s)	198 cu in (3.2 L) V6 215 cu in (3.5 L) V8
Transmission(s)	4-speed manual 2-speed automatic 3-speed manual

In 1962, the Special was the first American car to use a V6 engine. This 198 in³ Fireball was engineered down 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·lbf 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." In 1963, the Special's body was restyled. Mechanically, however, the car was identical to the 1962 model. There was also some minor interior restyling, particularly to the dash and instrument cluster. The 1963 Special was available as a 2-door pillared hardtop coupe, a four dour sedan, a convertible, and a station wagon. Engine choices were a 198 cubic-inch V-6 with 2-barrel carburetor, a 215 cubic-inch V-8 with two-barrel carburetor, and a 215 cubic-inch V-8 with 4-barrel carburetor. Transmission choices were a 'three on the tree' manual transmission, a floor shift Borg-Warner T-10 4-spd. manual transmission, and a two-speed automatic. The two speed "Dual Path Turbine Drive" automatic was a Buick design and shared no common parts with the better known Chevrolet Power-Glide transmission. The 1963 body was only produced for one year as the entire car was redesigned for 1964. After then, the 215 engine found its way into the Rover P6 3500S in 1968, but was never sold in North America in any great numbers, a testimony to British Leyland's marketing "prowess". It also found its way into other Brits including the MGB-GT-V8, the Land Rover and the Triumph TR-8, as well as retrofits into non V8 MGBs and MGAs

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

1964-1972

Production	1964-1972
Assembly	Flint, Michigan, United States Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
Body style(s)	2-door hardtop coupe 2-door coupe 2-door convertible 4-door station wagon 4-door sedan
Platform	A-body
Engine(s)	225 cu in (3.7 L) V6 300 cu in (4.9 L) V8
Transmission(s)	4-speed manual 2-speed automatic 3-speed manual

The Special, along with the upscale Skylark, were redesigned for the 1964 model year with separate body-on-frame construction—renamed the A-body -- 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 capacity of the V6 engine was increased from 198 to 225 cubic inches, while the aluminum V8 was replaced by a new cast iron-block 300 cubic inch V8 with aluminum cylinder heads. This engine, produced until 1967, was based on the aluminum V8, and many parts (such as the cylinder heads) were interchangeable.

The Special nameplate was used on lower-priced intermediate-sized Buicks through the 1969 model year.

[edit] 1975

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. It used the "fastback" roofline but was fitted with a landau roof that covered most of the rear quarter windows. The opening that was left was the same shape as the windows on the higher series formal-roof cars.

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v • d • e Buick road car timeline, 1940s–1980s — next »
Type	1940s				1950s										1960s										1970s										1980s
	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Subcompact																														Skyhawk
Compact																																					Skyhawk
																												Apollo												Somerset
																														Skylark					Skylark						Skylark
Mid-size																Special			Special				Special					Century					Century				Century
																Skylark			Skylark				Skylark					Regal					Regal										Regal
Full-size	Special			Special					Special					LeSabre						LeSabre						LeSabre						LeSabre									LeSabre
									Century					Invicta
	Super			Super					Super									Wildcat								Centurion														Electra
	Roadmaster			Roadmaster					Roadmaster					Electra						Electra						Electra						Electra								Estate Wagon
Personal								Skylark					Limited					Riviera			Riviera					Riviera						Riviera		Riviera							Riviera