Hey guys! I figured a community like yours could help me out with my baby. It's a 1987 Buick Skyhawk Limited, notchback coupe, almost fully optionned. Special ordered by an old lady here in Montreal, with all of 81,000 km when I bought it last November (that's 50,000 miles I think). I'm just the third owner, there was a guy between the lady and me but he didn't do squat to maintain the car for the 5 years he had it.
It's got a few mechanical gremlins but we're working on it!
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Wow! That looks great! Welcome!
I have a 1983 Custom coupe, silver with black interior.
MORE photos - outside and in and engine!
You should mention your mechanical gremlins here. There are a lot of guys on here who are really good at mechanical stuff. I'm not one of them.
Very nice hawk! Looks really clean. As Hugh said many knowledgeable people on here, Welcome.
Looks really nice! OHC or OHV?
• 86 Skyhawk wagon : 2.0SOHC swap, Megasquirt, 20SEH cam
• 93 Sunbird sedan : 2.0SOHC, Microsquirt, ported head, 10:1
• 88 Sunbird coupe : 2.0SOHC, turbo project car, giant tires
Two new Hawks on the board in one day...I should buy a lottery ticket!
Welcome Aboard Adrien!! *Drink*
Nice clean and classy!!
I really dig those wires over the white walls! Used to see them all over the place back in the day.
Drivesa5, I'm betting it has the 2.0 OHC. Be interesting to see if it is turbo - but N/A would be simple to maintain.
Are the Buicks coming out of the woodwork? So far up North and no rust? Mechanicals can be dealt with far easier than buckets of the brown flaky stuff......
Thanks for sharing!! I Love the Popups!!
Hey guys, thanks for the welcome!!
Sorry for the light delay, been busy with final exams.
Hugh, I'll post more pics tomorrow, they're all on my phone. But taking pictures of it has become a hobby of mine lol. Do you have pics of your Coupe around here somewhere?
Roger, I'm definitely useless with mechanical problems and I got a good mechanic at Canadian Tire here but it can get a little pricey. We've done a lot since I got it, so it runs much nicer than it did then, but: ever since I got the air filter changed (along with other things that day at the garage) the car will start but every other time stall because of obviously too low RPMs. I've been busy and don't drive the car every day so I haven't had time to check the engine bay for a loose hose, or a crooked air filter, ... I've read the battery may need to be unplugged for a bit to reset the onboard computer and erase its previous statistics (the air filter and spark plugs were filthy and very, very old I assume). Mechanic top of his head (assuming he had done everything alright with the air filter) said a slight leak in the fuel line (due to be fixed next lol) may cause a drop in pressure at ignition. Who knows... Idle has overall always been a little rough when cold so maybe there's something there too.
Another problem I have is the engine fan doesn't turn on, as I found out during a very warm day in trafic. And, lastly, my flip-down headlamp covers are giving me trouble. Driver side works perfectly. But passenger side acts up every single time: it'll pick it up, drop it down, pick it up, drop it down, until I go and close it myself at which point the motor will catch it and securely latch it. From what I've read from Reatta users the hole connecting the bracket/hinge to the motor gets rounded out due to being made of soft metal. Since the motors are the same as the Reatta, I will try and compare the shape and dimensions of the brackets to see if I could use reengineered aftermarket Reatta units...
But other than that it's pretty good! The oil pressure gauge is broken but eh doesn't matter that much I guess.
Drivesa5, it's an OHC! The fender emblems are missing because the lower accent paint was resprayed a long time ago for some reason, but I found some on eBay I'll put them on when I have time.
Wayne, maybe I should too haha!
Orlen, thanks! Wire wheel covers are original, the white wall tires are brand new. It was a pain finding them, thank god for ebay... There was no way I was going to rock the wire wheels without the whole package lol. Actually the wire wheel covers are giving me trouble also, I need to clean the bracket and lugnut really well because I can't screw it enough and the brackets inside rattle like crazy. It really is an annoying clickety sound.
I was also surprised at how little rust it has! There's litteraly only scratches of rust here and there. It was garaged all its life, and still is with me, and I got it rustproofed with oil before winter started.
Awesome, doesn't sound like it needs too much. I'm one of the few OHC fans out there, so welcome aboard. Get the fan switch fixed asap, they like to be cool or you will be looking for a new head or head gasket! I recommend a good temp gauge and manual override (or some way to turn it on sooner!) first and foremost.
• 86 Skyhawk wagon : 2.0SOHC swap, Megasquirt, 20SEH cam
• 93 Sunbird sedan : 2.0SOHC, Microsquirt, ported head, 10:1
• 88 Sunbird coupe : 2.0SOHC, turbo project car, giant tires
I still can't figure out how to get my fan to work. I replaced what I thought I should, but it still won't come on.
Since I don't ever use my AC, I disconnected a plug on the right front of the car for that and now I can just turn my AC to on and my fan will run.
Okay it's gonna be picture extravaganza. :-)
First a close-up of my new tires, wire wheel covers and aftermarket mudflaps. I had the mudflaps installed.
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Here's the rear view, notice the winter/snow tires mandatory up here December 15th to March 15th and the hubcaps.
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The front, with the glorious but temperamental flip-down headlamp covers! :-)
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Sorry for the multiple posts BTW but I'm hitting the attachment size limit...
Here is... The Wedge!
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For drivesa5 and Hugh the engine. :-)
I really like that engine, my small idling problems aside it's peppy!
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And last picture, the backseat. I think my friends were the first ones to ever sit there!! Legroom is tight but it's really comfy.
Sorry again for the multiple posts!
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Condition of this Coupe looks like it came from a Museum! Unbelievable.......
I believe you have a one of a kind here. Next to impossible to find anything replacement parts in any better physical shape than what you have here!
It amazes me how well kept cars can be by our friends way up north! You put many of us to shame down here....LoL!
Collector quality!
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Wow - exceptional!
So it came with those good-looking factory hubcaps but you were able to get the factory wire wheels, huh? My original 84 had those as well.
Where did you find the wire wheels?
In nice shape and those seats look like Cimarron style seats.
Thanks a lot guys!! I appreciate it.
The pictures do it justice too because I had just detailed it a bit that day and it was sunny outside my friend's house where I took the pics. And when I got it I also got the clearcoat refinished, and they sanded down the resprayed lower body colour on the fenders and doors to get rid of the orange peel effect. When I clean it it shines like a mirror!
But yes the lady who bought it sure took care of it all these years! From what I understand she passed away in 2011 and her estate sold it to a local mechanic probably for a bag of peanuts. A guy bought it, garaged it, and only drove it a bit every summer. I keep it garaged in an underground parking downtown, and got it rustproofed, and keep the undercarriage clean, and it probably only was outside half a dozen times all winter. Including once through the worst snow storm of the season when I drove it to the upholstery guy to get the headliner redone - I should take pics it's beautiful now.
Hugh, sorry I wasn't clear, the wire wheel covers are original to the car (an option even on the Limited!), but I removed them for the winter to preserve them. So I found those full wheelcovers (which I think are 1988-1989 only) online on Hubcaps.com (then later on eBay I found the 1987 full wheelcovers with the Hawk emblem in the center really cool).
Hey there I am Ron and have not been on here in a few days.That does seem like a pretty straight car and looks great.If your AC runs and the fan functions it is working correct.The Jbody car engine's typically are set for the Fan to turn ON at around 225* I know this may seem high but it a correct value!!I personally do not think this is a problem.As for your idle issue I can and will revisit this and (think on it) before I unload a solid idea.I also may dig into the headlight flip up problem as well later.I will say I am very mechanical along with some of the other modest guys who really do know the particulars on our board.I will keep it short tonight as I can get long winded in my technical problems and sometime's overthink problems.I will say any issue you have has a better chance of being resolved here before a shop soley due the age of the (dated ride) as most have no idea how to address the problems that are simple to me in my opinion.Done
In a rethinking thought I had to revisit.I made the comment on the fan issue.I rethinking the comment realized I read your post but thinking the post by wayne.In short if your AC is turned on and the fan cycles it should be in good working order.I will say with the age of the car a fuel filter change out would be a Good idea for a low cost possible improvement.I can list a ton of items to check or clean but let me keep this simple tonight.Done
Thanks for the engine pic (and all the others.) Very clean!
• 86 Skyhawk wagon : 2.0SOHC swap, Megasquirt, 20SEH cam
• 93 Sunbird sedan : 2.0SOHC, Microsquirt, ported head, 10:1
• 88 Sunbird coupe : 2.0SOHC, turbo project car, giant tires
