To "LS-swap" an automobile is to remove the original engine and replace it with a General Motors "LS" engine. The practice is seen as a massive improvement as the series of LS engines, there are many, are considered to be the most powerful and reliable V-8 engines GM has ever made. It's not just GM makes and models that get "LS-swapped", it can be done with any vehicle that can accommodate one. With this 1971 Buick Skylark, for sale currently on Facebook Marketplace near my triple-wide west of Cleveland, Ohio, it's been LS-swapped with a 6.0-liter "LS".
GM has built "LS" engines since 1997 in a number of different displacements including a gaggle of 6.0-liter versions so it's anyone's guess, without contacting the seller, as to which one this is exactly. Poster of the ad notes the fuel injectors have been upgraded to LSA injectors and a Texas Speed Chop "Monster Cam" has been installed. One thing for certain, this is a handsome looking transplant.
Looks can be deceiving, though. Along with the fuel injector and cam upgrade, which, candidly, are debatable "upgrades" seeing, in particular the camshaft. they can make the engine fairly challenging to drive casually, there's a Holley Terminator X engine controller replacing the controller the engine came from the factory with. So, while the install is tres jolie, that the engine has had as much work done to it as it has might explain the more than "reasonable" $20,000 asking price for the whole car. I've seen original and unrestored 1970-1972 Skylark that needed total restorations going for twenty-grand.
Other "upgrades" include a disc brake conversion, Yukon closed differential with 3:08 gears, GM "Turbo" 400 transmission with a 3200-stall converter, aluminum radiator and electric fans. There are custom Buick valve covers on the engine to dress things up. Pretty neat. Apparently, these handsome wheels come with it as well and the body appears to be tight as a drum. That's saying something up here on the North Coast.
Obviously, the seats need to be redone, and the headliner needs replacing; no pictures of it so my guess is they pulled it down. This is all catalog stuff although I'd get with an interior pro to have the seats reupholstered. If you've ever tried to glue or reglue a sagging headliner, you know that a trip to the dentist is more fun.
What concerns me about this car is, and this is the same for anything that's been heavily modified, you get it home and something goes south, who do you take it to if you're not "handy" enough to handle this Dr. Frankenstein's monster of a car? Hopefully the seller is forthcoming with who did all the work if it wasn't themselves doing it. Teh shop that built the engine would no doubt be a great resource for you. If the seller did the work, hopefully they're amenable to you taking it back to them when there are problems; otherwise, that could be really awkward. Maybe not. If they bought it like this and don't know who did the mods, that's a red flag.
Food for thought. I'd certainly line up a shop that could do the work on this before I bought it and have them vet it out for you. Good news is these days. younger techs are more familiar with computer-controlled engines than carburetors. With these kid techs, if they can't "plug it in", they don't know where to start.
Buick first used the "Skylark" name plate on celebratory Roadmaster convertible in 1953 and 1954 commemorating Buick's 50th anniversary. They used it again starting in 1961 on their version of the compact GM Y-platform that also underpinned the Oldsmobile F-85 and Pontiac Tempest. In 1964, GM moved the "Skylark", Oldsmobile F-85, Pontiac Tempest and the new Chevrolet Chevelle to their new "A-body", intermediate chassis. GM updated styling on the A-bodies for 1968, the results were mixed; the Buick Skylark arguably the least attractive of the lot. Buick "righted" that wrong in 1970 when GM updated the "A's" again, this time, my opinion, making some of the best-looking cars of all time.
When GM redesigned the A-body chassis for 1973, the "Skylark" name was dropped for another storied Buick nameplate, "Century". Buick festooned "Skylark" to their version of the Chevrolet Nova in 1975 replacing the "Apollo" nameplate. Buick built a "Skylark" in several different iterations through 1998.
$20,000
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