@5:17 - That's a carburetor pre-heater GM called "Thermac". In the snorkel of the air cleaner, there is a diverter flap that closes when the engine is cold and pulls hot air off the manifold. It helps the engine run better when it's cold. As soon as the choke pulls off when the engine is warm, the diverter flap opens and pulls in cold air. It has nothing to do with the heat in the passenger compartment!
How striking this 1968 Buick GS Grand Sport looked in full sunlight with that Burnished Saddle paint! With very beautiful lines and striking chrome, such as the side stripe of the body that descends to the rear wheel, or the pointed front with the double sunken headlights, contrasting with the rear part of the trunk wavy inwards (special mention for the feathers of the windshields very cleverly hidden behind the hood). In addition to an excellent white interior combination. The final ride, through those beautiful landscapes aboard this convertible, was very entertaining and relaxing; Come on, what the doctor advises to start the year off on the right foot! Ha ha. Have a great start to 2024, Lou!
Hi Jaime, I really appreciate your attention to detail, yes many unique styling designs for this Buick. The sweep spear as you mention descending to the rear wheel would separate the 2- tone paint on Buick in the 40's and 50's and was a common Buick design feature. Thank You, Greg
@GregCilano-lg4gf Thank you very much for that additional information! You have a beautiful vehicle, Mr. Cilano, with a very well maintained appearance! (Including the magnificent collection of brochures and manuals, hehe). Thank you for showing us this gem, including the pleasant walk! Greetings from Ecuador; and have a great year 2024!
The thing that you saw on the firewall is a vacuum reservoir. Back then, the air distribution was operated by vacuum diaphragms. Under acceleration, engine vacuum decreases and under hard acceleration there is no vacuum. To keep the airflow going where it is supposed to go, they added vacuum reservoirs to hold vacuum when needed.
Hi William, Happy to read this car brings back memories of your roommates car :-) Thank you for viewing and sharing. Hope you see many cars on this Channel you enjoy! Please Subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this RU-vid Channel, Lou
Hi James S, Happy to read "it's a distinctive car full of past time dreams with a unique bodystyle of our youth" :-) I believe cars like this keep us young Lou
Another great video, Lou! The black plastic "ball" on the firewall is a vacuum reservoir for the blend doors of the climate control. Without it (and the check valve in the vacuum line from the intake manifold or carburetor base), the air conditioning or heat starts blowing out of the wrong vents every time you mash the go-pedal 😊
I lost count of how many of these videos that Lou or another video Grapher has asked what those canisters are for, and the car owner either admitted they didn't know or gave a wrong answer. You sir ger an attaboy, for correctly knowing the right answet!
I loved the lines on this year and model. Liked the skylark’s as well. Buick made some sharp cars in late 60’s The GS was there answer to GTO Pontiac. Thank you Lou for sharing ❤️💯👍👊
The condenser is in front of the radiator..The item in question I believe is a vacuum canister..The item marked Fridgedair is of course the compressor..5:42. Beautiful Buick!!❤❤
My first car was a 1968 Skylark Custom in burnished brown with the 350 2bbl. I also had a signal red '69 GS400 hard top bucket seat console. The black plastic piece in question on the fire wall was a vacuum chamber for the inside vents to move from defrost to vent, a/c etc.
Happy New Year Lou, thank you for taking the time to interview, video and professionally represent my 68 Buick GS 400 on your website! It was a pleasure meeting you this summer, I look forward to seeing you again in 2024, you do outstanding work! Regards, Greg Cilano
What a beautiful Buick GS! A neighbor from my childhood had a 1968 Skylark convertible that was a slightly darker brown exterior and sported a 350. Thanks Lou.
My dad used to call those yrs the 'years of the pre-bent rear bumper'....Fun fact, I had a 72 Skylark 350 Custom convertible that a friend and I bought off a fella who had an engine fire, and the insurance co totalled it. Thx to the FD, the fire was contained to just the underhood parts, though the front fenders and hood were badly warped and the grill was melted. That car had a 68 400 in it and we think the carb or fuel line leaked raw fuel onto the manifold, causing the fire, but it was hard to tell. After LOTS of parts sourcing, we converted it to a 70 GS clone, but I found a used 350 Buick to put in after I rebuilt it. Couldn't find a 455 or anything else at the time. We had to go to Indiana to get the 350..The result was a yellow on white, with OE white top ( which still worked perfectly) cruiser. My friend and I sold that car in '00 to a young guy who wrapped it around a telephone pole 1 month later, in Evergreen Park IL...
The 1968 GS 350 was stuck with the two speed SuperTurbine 300 automatic. In 1969 they got the new 3 speed turbo 350. But the GS 400 got the 3 speed SuperTurbine 400 in 1967 and the 3 speed Turbo 400 in 1968.
Great car from 1968. Those GS Buicks from the late 60's and early 70's were among the strongest of the strongest muscle cars then. This one has the Buick style with it too.
Started this one with a bang! What a killer sound of the 1968 Buick GS 400! That engine sound was incredible. This model looks very sleek. I wsn't such a big fan of the Skylark of this same year that had rear wheel skirts. I thought it looked frumpy. But not the GS! The GS looks really cool. Even better in 1970. Great interior too! No mistaking the engine sound of this one - love the idle and goes to show Buick can do it!.
@@GregCilano-lg4gf Greg, great minds think alike! I wasn't sure if 1968 was the same year as the one with awful side trim and skirts...I had to look it up before I posted. But you are so right...a couple of tweaks and you have that really nice care here the GS 400! I thought the 1970 Skylark/GS, etc.was the year they finally got all the models right! But don't get me wrong...I'd have a 1968 in my garage!!! I have room....
The Chevy rearend had "C" clips holding the axels in place. The BOP rearends had the axels held in place with 4 bolts at the end of the axel tubes at the brake backing plate. MUCH easier to replace axels or wheel bearings on the BOP cars. The ten bolt vs twelve bolt only refers to the backing plate. It is of no consequence in itself. The size of the ring gear is more important as for strength. Being a GS it has a posi.
Amazing Buick! The interior had to be redone at some point and then car placed in climate controlled storage. Think back to the late 70s & this body style was all over the roads, Chevy Malibu and SS, Olds Cutlass & 442 and Buick Skylark & GS. So many were hand me downs, chopped up, giant tires. To see one in original condition is a treat. Brown too! There were a ton of brown cars back then, including my Dad's 72 Gold Duster.
Very nice car. My oldest brother had a 72 GS in a very similar color but I think it was called Nutmeg Poly. Not many people like brown but I loved the Buicks dark brown metallic paints of that era. My brothers had a tan/doeskin type interior that went really well with the color.
Another amazing car, Lou! I am usually not fond of brown cars but this color really works on this Buick. I love the way the side stamping swoops down from above the front wheel well dipping down to form a cover of the rear wheel. Very tasteful! GM's mid-sized vehicles in this era had a quality about them that seemed so much better than anything else on the market at the time (though I'd say it was lost when the products were updated in 1972). The engine sound on this car is music to my ears. Thanks for sharing this, Lou, and for continuing to offer a must see youtube channel! Happy New Year to you and to your family!
Yes! The 60s to early 70s GM cars were very stylish, esp. the Buicks! 1973 was an ABOMINATION when the gubmint stuck their nose in where it doesn't belong, mandating railroad ties for all vehicles, front and back! Did that save any lives??? Probably not...
Oh man, you should do a google search and look at the 1968 Skylark Custom. It has fender skirts. But the bright moldings which follow that old-style 'fender' line continue to the rear of the car, and on the fender skirts as well. The standard Skylark had no skirts, so those bright moldings connected to the piece of chrome which followed the top of the rear wheel opening. Even without the skirts, it's still a very low-cut wheel opening. Definitely the most elegant A body for '68 and '69.
Older cars from this era will run hotter today because those cars were designed to run on leaded gas that not only reduced engine wear but also allowed the cars to run cooler.
What a beautiful GS in that burnished brown color. That car is sporty, fast and has all the nice creature comforts of a Cadillac. Love it!! I have owned 78 and 79 Buick Regals. They were nice riding, had great power and were a pleasure to drive. I wish I had owned a GS though. Another great video Lou. Have a happy and great New Year.
Hi Randy, Happy to read you enjoy the looks of this car :-) Glad to read you had some nice Regals. Happy and great New Year to you too. P.S. Here is a regal you might like. Enjoy! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Shf7YDDrWNc.html
That was a nice Turbo Regal. The color was awesome and being unrestored made it even better. My 79 was my first new car and I ordered it with the 301 V8 and not the turbo. It was silver with the silver landau and had red bucket seats. Wish it still had it. Thanks for linking me up with this Regal video Lou. I enjoyed it.
Beautiful Buick GS ! My buddy has a 1968 GS 400 Convertible just like this in Concours condition in a Light Blue Metallic. Every option including a 4 speed... Love these GS models. Thanks for posting Lou ! Happy New Year !
Happy New Year, Lou! The styling on this car is just spectacular from every angle, and the white interior on a convertible no less, looks great, too. What a fantastic Buick! Thanks, Lou!
Beautiful GS 400 Convertible in that color combo. Had a 68 Cutlass Convertible in brown/black/black, so it is a familiar, similar vehicle, with exceptions (engine/interior/model). I actually like the Buick over the Oldsmobile for '68. Thanks to both of you for sharing.
Is a Buick GS a Skylark? Fast With Class: 1970 Buick Skylark GS 455 This paved the way at Buick for the Buick Skylark Gran Sport 455 (often shortened to GS 455), which featured Buick's new 455ci big-block that put out 360 hp (4,600 rpm) and 510 lb-ft of torque (2,800 rpm) in Stage 1 trim.
Everything is perfect on this car. The engine bay, the chrome, the paint, the interior. Lou you have done so many of these car stories and you have to know how convertibles never have A/C yet you are going hither and yawn and don't even notice the A/C until you had a question about something else under the hood that is part of the A/C. Again on a rare car like this a question that should always be asked is what unique and extra features does this car have and then feature it. I would say A/C on a 68 convertible would fit that criterion. As always great video work and making sure you are showing all sides of the car in sunlight. Also you are a car detective sleuth. How do you find all these amazing cars.
Saw it for sale for 39K, if you're interested the booster spray painted black. Chrome air cleaner lid looks sand blasted. Door lock knobs should be white to match, Cowl screen should be mesh, that ones from 1972.
Hi Lou, The nice thing about the GS especially compared to a Fairlane 500 GT or a Chevelle SS was not only were they wickedly fast but they were better equipped and rode and handled better.
Beautiful car Lou a note about this special brown I had a 500 honda motor cycle painted this exact color loved it and the guy who painted it for me loved it also and he wasn't even a fan of brown till he painted my bike this color . Happy New Year Lou and God Bless.
Lou, thanks for showing another Buick Skylark GS. This might be the best one you have shown thus far. They were extremely popular in the 1960s and 1970s, and I have seen similar models in recent years, so I wonder if they have crushed that many, which makes them ideal for restoration models. I hope that this showing gives people that idea.
How many convertibles do you see with factory air conditioning? This car must have been pricey back in the day but if you take car of a Buick they last a long time! Thx Lou!
Beautiful 1968 Buick GS 400! Love the color combination with the white interior. Lou - Is this original paint? Don’t believe this was addressed in your video. 😊
Hi Robert, Happy to read you enjoy the looks of this car :-) Hmmm, the paint is so clean I'll guess the car has been repainted, but maybe it is original, Lou
Beautiful car but that paint color in 1968 was not exclusive to the GS 400. My father had a new 1968 LeSabre Custom convertible with that exact same paint. When you research paint codes for 1968 Buicks, will find that only the Riviera was available with a few exclusive colors.
Thank You John for the clarification, yes all Buicks had burnished saddle color option in 1968, it was not offered in 1969, I appreciate your positive feedback! Greg
@@GregCilano-lg4gfIt is a beautiful color. I was just a kid at the time when my father bought his 1968 LeSabre but 55 years later I still remember how that paint just glowed in the sun when freshly waxed.
Hi Mark, Happy to read this car brings back memories of your 1st new car :-) Thank you for viewing and sharing. Hope you see many cars on this Channel you enjoy! Please Subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this RU-vid Channel, Lou
Hello Lou! This is a great video. I saw it AT MCACN in November. Greg had the car listed for sale. I reached out to him numerous times but never got a response. Would you know if Greg still has this car? Thanks Lou!!
Hi GMAC8852, Thank You for the positive feedback, I do have Flowmaster dual mufflers and exhaust pipe installed which provides the great sound, it's amazing how many compliments I receive from the exhaust sound output! Greg
Hood scoop in 68 is not functional. Waterfall is sweep spear. Vacuum tank for AC control assist on firewall. Metal retainer secures boot to back of rear seat. Paid $1600 in 1987 for mine. 185k miles now.
Hi Andy, Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I see you like model trains. Good news! Here is a link to a playlist I created of model train layouts & trains for you to enjoy, Lou ru-vid.com/group/PLkoIzmOYXcchOyKhEHn_2-NqjpNFq64U3
