PHANTOM GSX

Terry Stinehelfer’s First Love: The 1962 Buick Skylark

Back in the early ’70s, a young car nut by the name of Terry Stinehelfer picked up a ’62 Skylark to terrorize the town in, though truth be known it wasn’t much. The $200 car was all that Terry needed, however; it was powered by a small 215 V-8, and after a few months of work, Terry had a cool ride. He drove it around for about a month and had a blast, until one day some poor soul felt he needed the Buick a whole lot more than Terry did, and it was gone. While at the local shopping center in Columbus, the car was stolen and was never recovered. Terry thought it would be nice if someday he could own another.

Rediscovering the Skylark: A 30-Year Journey

Fast forward 30 years to 2003, when Terry was approaching his retirement and was somehow thinking about a project car, and that conveniently led him to decide that since his first love was a ’62 Buick Skylark, nothing else would do.

Pro Touring Style Meets Buick’s Heritage

Terry was a big fan of the pro touring style of muscle car building and decided that this style would fit his car perfectly. Being a true Buick man, he had always admired the ’70 Buick GSX; Terry decided that the car would be a mix of a ’70 GSX and a ’62 Skylark and have pro touring styling. He picked up the phone and called Eric Brockmeyer Design to discuss styling cues on what Terry was looking for. A few back-and-forth renderings and calls later, Terry decided on the final design—and the phantom ’62 Skylark GSX project was in full swing.

Finding the Perfect ’62 Skylark and Starting the Transformation

Now came the hard part. Terry didn’t even have the ’62 yet and, being a Buick man, the search became even more difficult when he decided that the car needed to be a Buick V-8 with a four-speed. As most muscle car fans know, this is a difficult combo to find. Finally, Terry’s brother located one 1,000 miles away. That was the day after Christmas in ’04. Over the next few months, Terry began the grunt work of transforming the Buick into a really nice car.

Chassis and Suspension Modifications

Terry started by removing the engine and detailing and painting the engine compartment. With the engine out, he could work on the chassis while they worked on the engine. He cleaned up and wire-wheeled away the years of crud before rebuilding the suspension and adding a set of Corvette C4 disc brakes for additional stopping power and a sway bar to help keep the car flat on the corners. While underneath the car, Terry added a custom aluminum crossmember for the four-speed trans. In the rear, he cleaned up and rebuilt the original Buick rear end, which uses the factory 3.36 gears. While Terry left most of the undercarriage stock with the exception of the brakes, he opted for a set of Air Ride Technologies ShockWaves up front and CoolRide equipment in the rear. This not only helps the car ride better but also allows the Buick to achieve a super-low stance.

Engine Rebuild: Turning the Skylark into a Screamer

Ron Hopwood from Hydromotive Engineering is the man responsible for handling the job of transforming the ’62 into the screamer it is today. Starting with the original ’62 Buick 215ci V-8, the engine was stroked to 266 cubic inches thanks to a Buick 300 crank and rods. Ron bored the cylinders .030-inch over to help make additional power, as well as helping the small engine breathe a bit. Wiseco slugs fill the .030-inch-over cylinders and produce 11:1 compression. The engine builder tossed the stock cam, and a Crower hydraulic unit now sits inside the block. The Buick heads are seriously reworked, beginning with a three-angle valve job, pocket porting, and a set of much larger valves.

Attention to Detail: Chrome and Cooling

Terry took the stock valve covers to Custom Chrome Plating in Grafton, Ohio, which brought the covers back to better-than-new condition. Sitting between the Buick heads is an Edelbrock aluminum intake with a Performer 525cfm carb, to which a Walter Prosper air cleaner feeds air. A PerTronix ignition replaces the outdated points and delivers fire to the Buick’s cylinders. Terry added a set of D&D block-hugger headers that run through custom exhaust into a set of Hooker mufflers. Aluminum radiators made for ’62 Buicks aren’t something you can pick up off the shelf, so he had Performance Rod and Custom in Boonville, Indiana, build a custom aluminum crossflow for the Skylark to keep it cool on long summer cruises. Ron estimates that the Buick produces somewhere in the neighborhood of 265-275 hp, which isn’t bad for an engine that left the factory with 190 hp.

Transmission: A Rare Four-Speed Upgrade

Transferring the horsepower to the rear wheels is the rare and desirable Borg-Warner four-speed. Sweitzer Performance Center in Bucyrus, Ohio, rebuilt the trans for the Buick, using a Centerforce clutch with Hurst linkage and a custom handle. Terry preferred to shift his own gears, so he spent extra time finding the rare four-speed.

Exterior Makeover: GSX Styling for the Skylark

Now it was finally time to get to work on the exterior. Terry wanted to have some strong GSX styling in the Skylark, and it shows. Once Terry was finished with the engine and the underside, the car was delivered to Chad Sweitzer at Sweitzer Performance Center, who finished up the exterior work. Beginning with the front, the builders removed the bumperettes and filled all the seams. A set of Buick GS hood scoops and grilles was fashioned to the Skylark. Sweitzer installed the headlight and hood trim to give it that GSX touch. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice a GSX hood tach added to the car’s hood. Once Sweitzer completed all the exterior modifications and bodywork, he sprayed the Buick in a coat of DuPont custom-mixed Uranium Yellow Pearl with flat black stripes. After a year apart, it was time to begin the reassembly process. The owner bolted on new chrome bumpers, trim, and glass, and the fender wells are now filled with 17×7 American Racing Torq-Thrust wheels wrapped in Pacemark GT rubber.

Interior Upgrades: A Modern Touch Inside

Inside the Buick is a very nice interior, one that is far different from what left the Buick factory so long ago. Doan Upholstery, located in Mansfield, Ohio, is responsible for the vinyl and leather interior that now fills the Buick. Custom yellow- and black-covered Recaro buckets keep Terry in place when it’s time to mash the throttle, and Auto Meter gauges in a custom-turned panel provide the proper vitals from under the hood. The dash remains stock, and the stock column is a memory, thanks to the installation of the Flaming River polished stainless unit. Topping the new column is a Flaming River Nova carbon fiber wheel. The door panel design is cool, as the yellow and black are opposite that of the exterior. While having the interior completed, Terry chose not to install a stereo because he loves to listen to his 266 Buick stroker. There are no creature comforts such as A/C or power windows—just a well-designed car that looks good both on the street and in the driveway.

A Finished Dream: Joining Terry’s Collection

The Buick is now complete and will rest in the corral with the herd of other cars Terry owns—a 2005 GTO, an ’06 Z06, a ’72 Avanti II, and a ’55 Thunderbird, just to name a few. Now that his first retirement project is complete, with such a diverse garage, who knows what will come next?