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This ’65 Buick Skylark GS convertible belongs to Todd Sparrow of Poulsbo, Washington, and he is having it put through a rigorous original style restoration — except the brakes, which have been upgraded to disc brakes for safety’s sake. Todd plans on driving the car, so he didn’t want to be out there on the road with archaic drum brakes.
Right now the car is at Those Guys Rod and Customs out of Bremerton, Washington, being worked on by the restoration experts at the shop. Nearly complete except a little interior work, Todd actually got to drive the car for the first time earlier this year, after owning it for more than two decades. It was a project that he started in 1995 when he purchased the car, and while he got most of the bodywork and interior done by 1996, the car sat dormant until 2014 when Todd took it to Those Guys to complete its rejuvenation.
A few pictures from when Todd bought the car and right after the body was media blasted.
“Todd told us that we did more in two weeks than he had done in fifteen years,” Patrick McAuliffe, owner of Those Guys Rod and Customs, told us. “Todd wants it to be brand new just like it was in 1965, and the assembly manual has been our bible with this car.”
“My father in law, Ed Ulbright, purchased it new from Becker Buick,” Todd said. That was in Spokane, Washington, the eastern side of the state where Todd lives today. “He drove it to work every day, rain, snow, or shine until 1985.” To tie this further into the family, Todd’s biological father, Ron Moses, helped him rebuild the motor, and his wife was brought home from the hospital in it after being born.
A few pictures of the engine's transformation.
This particular Buick is one of only 248 made with the combination of options that it has. The drivetrain is 100% original and features a 401 cubic-inch Buick Nailhead engine and four-speed manual transmission. The bumpers are all rechromed original equipment, and even the emblems are original to the car and were simply repainted and refinished. If you want to see more of the project history on this build, check out this forum thread by Todd that gives some more details.
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