Junkyard Find: 1985 Buick Skyhawk Wagon
The Buick Skyhawk started out as a badge-engineered upscale version of the wretched Chevy Monza, took 1981 off, then returned as a front-wheel-drive J-body in 1982. This car is largely forgotten today, and the station wagon version manages to be even more forgotten. Still, a few remain, and this ’85 hung on for nearly 30 years before washing up in The Crusher’s waiting room.
Put a little Skyhawk in your life!
This one is about as used up as it gets.
No, this isn’t an Iron Duke, nor is it the Opel pushrod four used in the Chevette. This is the overhead-cam 1.8 liter version of the GM 122 engine, which produced a not-so-zippy 84 horsepower in 1985.
However, the 5-speed vampired fewer horses than the slushbox.
GM used five-digit odometers well into the 1990s, so we can’t tell whether this car did 35,000 miles, 135,000 miles, or 735,000 miles. My money is on the second guess.
Overhead cams and fuel injection were still semi-futuristic in 1985, at least for Detroit. Bragging rights for Skyhawk drivers!
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Hagerty and The Truth About Cars.
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The colour of this wagon is the same as my '87 Skyhawk Custom Coupe that was my first car: Rosewood Pearl. Faded to a brownish colour by the time I got it from my grandmother. 2.0L OHV I4, 4-speed manual, no power steering, no a/c, no rear defrost, manual steering, covered headlamps. Rear quarter windown flipped out partway. It did have cruise and an AM/FM stereo radio with blue-green display and no clock. I loved that car. Durable, simple, averaged an honest 37mpg. I loved that car!
My 1985 Buick Skyhawk wagon is still running. Great car.