wlaidlaw Posted January 5, 2017 Share #9261  Posted January 5, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) Dupont Le Mans Speedster. I have a feeling we have had this car before. I recognise the strange headlights/horns. If they are headlights, I don't fancy doing 110 MPH down the Mulsanne straight in total darkness with those. Hopefully someone was sensible enough to replace them with 12" Lucas P100's for Le Mans.  Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 Hi wlaidlaw, Take a look here Name this car..... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
stuny Posted January 7, 2017 Share #9262  Posted January 7, 2017 Wilson -  Good to see you return to the game, and you are correct about the DuPont. I think I posted a different DuPont (white, 4 seats) in the past, with the same style headlight, but I could be wrong about which I posted before.  your turn. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 7, 2017 Share #9263  Posted January 7, 2017 Here is your next one. Not very difficult so I want the year as well as maker and model.  Wilson   Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/119687-name-this-car/?do=findComment&comment=3181188'>More sharing options...
ramarren Posted January 8, 2017 Share #9264  Posted January 8, 2017 Looks like the 1964 Buick Special that my grandfather drove. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 8, 2017 Share #9265  Posted January 8, 2017 Correct for make but it is a production model. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramarren Posted January 9, 2017 Share #9266  Posted January 9, 2017 Correct for make but it is a production model.   I wasn't aware that the Buick Special was not a production model. They made Buick Specials in 2dr, 4dr, convertible, and DeLuxe editions for at least five years... ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 9, 2017 Share #9267  Posted January 9, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) Sorry I thought you meant a Special in the British sense of the word relating to cars. This would be a one off or limited production by another company of a vehicle starting from the base of a Buick. Anyway it is not a Buick Special but a different model.  Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramarren Posted January 9, 2017 Share #9268  Posted January 9, 2017 Sorry I thought you meant a Special in the British sense of the word relating to cars. This would be a one off or limited production by another company of a vehicle starting from the base of a Buick. Anyway it is not a Buick Special but a different model.  Wilson   Ah, okay. I'll be curious to find out what it is, then, because it sure looks like this one:  https://goo.gl/images/tRizeq Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 9, 2017 Share #9269  Posted January 9, 2017 There is a vital difference from the car I show (and you can see it in my crop) apart from its model name, to the car in your link Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted January 12, 2017 Share #9270  Posted January 12, 2017 I wonder if the name Skylark or Wildcat is part of the solution, since they're other Buick names which has appeared off and on in Buick's history. Beyond that, I know of no car adapted from what appears to be a standard US car. This one might not have the aluminium V6 or V8 engine (Later licensed to Rover).  Any hints? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemgb Posted January 12, 2017 Share #9271 Â Posted January 12, 2017 1965 Buick Skylark. Â And if that's correct I'd like to pass the honours to Stuart as I would never have got it without his hint. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramarren Posted January 13, 2017 Share #9272  Posted January 13, 2017 I'm stumped. The Special is the only one I've found with that grille, the Wildcat grille is quite different. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 13, 2017 Share #9273  Posted January 13, 2017 1965 Buick Skylark Gran Sport Convertible is the full correct answer. You can see that it is a convertible if you look carefully at the original crop.  Here are a couple of photos of it. Sadly the second photo is representative of its performance on the rally. The mechanics were convinced it was a fuel/carburation problem, whereas I think the problem lay in the aftermarket electronic ignition kit. As soon as you tried to give it much more than tick over throttle, it started to misfire and would not run. I think the spark was weak and as the B.M.E.P. rose with increased throttle, the spark became weak or extinguished. I had had exactly the same problem on a very high compression ratio race engine modified for methanol fuel. The original Lucas Opus ignition could not cope and as soon as you went over half throttle, the engine would misfire due to the spark being weak or extinguished. When I changed to a custom built digitally mapped Lumentition unit with a 100kV spark packs and surface discharge spark plugs, the problem was 100% cured.  The 280SL behind the Skylark in the first photo, was our car. It has been used for long distance classic rough road rallying for the last 20 years and is very carefully prepared for these events. It has air assist "tropical" height suspension (a factory option), Mercedes Sprinter truck steel wheels and 8 ply truck tyres, seam welded body, full length steel under-tray, welded in roll cage, 40 ton truck fuel filter, etc and enough spares to almost build another car in the boot.  Wilson Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/119687-name-this-car/?do=findComment&comment=3185546'>More sharing options...
mikemgb Posted January 13, 2017 Share #9274 Â Posted January 13, 2017 My research showed that particular combination of grill, emblem and side trim was unique to the 1965 Skylark. However, Stuart mentioned the Skylark first and I'm currently out of images to post. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted January 13, 2017 Share #9275  Posted January 13, 2017 ... The 280SL behind the Skylark in the first photo, was our car. It has been used for long distance classic rough road rallying for the last 20 years and is very carefully prepared for these events  Impressive cars. Most were set up for the boulevardiers, but they could be fast and highly competent in skilled hands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 14, 2017 Share #9276  Posted January 14, 2017 (edited) Impressive cars. Most were set up for the boulevardiers, but they could be fast and highly competent in skilled hands.  I would never describe the 280SL as fast. It is very heavy. Our one probably weighs over 1500kg, with the heavy steel undertray, roll cage and spares package. It only has 185 BHP at quite high revs (6500 RPM). With the raised suspension and Avon light truck radial (185/70 x 14") tyres, although handling reasonably well, its adhesion limits are fairly modest. We are considering changing the shock absorbers from Boge to Ohlins to get a slight improvement on bumpy corners. At one time we had two of these cars but after my sister in law was forced to retire from rally driving last year, due to shoulder problems, we sold one of them. We kept the silver one because it has zero corrosion, whereas the red one had a very small amount. I think we sold the wrong one. The red one went round corners better. Compared with one of our tarmac rally cars, my 1977 Porsche 911 3.3L RSR, which only weighs 950kg and has 300 BHP, the SL still seems a bit of a boulevard cruiser. Porsche finally found or made the required spare parts for the 911 gearbox and I got it back yesterday after an 18 month stay in our local Porsche dealer. Edited January 14, 2017 by wlaidlaw Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted January 14, 2017 Share #9277  Posted January 14, 2017 I've always liked the look of the 230/260/280 SL, but have never driven one.  Let's try this one.  I've cloned out the name of the co-driver so one cannot Google by his name to identify this car, though I suspect we'll have a winner very soon.  Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/119687-name-this-car/?do=findComment&comment=3186009'>More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 14, 2017 Share #9278  Posted January 14, 2017 Stuart,  You need to do a bit more cloning out.  Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted January 14, 2017 Share #9279 Â Posted January 14, 2017 Oops!. Â Thank you Wilson. Â I've swapped versions. Â I'll bet you would have gotten it without that. Â If nobody comes up with it perha[s you should go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted January 17, 2017 Share #9280  Posted January 17, 2017 No guesses? Not even to narrow things down? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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