Beater of the Day: 1989 Buick Skyhawk
What better way to start off this week's salute to beaters than to bring you a rusted and busted 1989 Buick Skyhawk?
With just a few ticks over 119k on the clock, Flickr member Circax inherited this particular J-body from his grandfather and although it looks worse for the wear, it still manages to provide him a means of navigating his daily slog. Equipped with a 2-liter four that in its heyday was producing around 100 HP, this old biddy still has some spunk, although its maladies are both obvious and numerous.
We took the liberty of posting Circax's own trials and tribulations after the jump, but a few highlights include his use of krazy glue to mend the wires for the cruise control and his application of thumbtacks to keep the roof's headliner in place.
We love it, so we posted a few more pics after the jump, along with directions on how to submit your own ride to our Flickr account. Bring the beaters people. We want more.
From the man himself:
1989 Buick Skyhawk. 2.0L I4 engine with 3-speed automatic transmission. There are just over 119,000 miles on the clock. This was the last year that Buick produced the Skyhawks.
Replaced (since I've had it): Muffler & sections of exhaust pipe (rusted to pieces), spark plugs/wires, alternator, vacuum hoses, rearview mirror, water pump, a ton of brake parts.
Fixed: Climate control control panel (with three pieces of cassette tape case plastic & krazy glue), cruise control controller (krazy-glued the wires back on (too difficult to solder), plugged vacuum reservoir back in).
Broken: A/C doesn't blow cold, radio doesn't make any sound on the right channel, tape player, interior ceiling cloth is falling in, "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" light comes on intermittently (probably a failing exhaust system sensor). Leaks oil & a little bit of transmission fluid & power steering fluid. EGR valve seems stuck. The car never tracks straight.
Probably to be broken soon: brake lines & fuel lines are badly rusted.
*** Truer words were never spoken... A brake line failed (in a parking lot, thankfully). I had the car towed to a brake shop and in a bout of stupidity allowed the guys to replace far more than was necessary (my wallet is feeling light). And there are still rusty lines down below.
Got this for free from my grandfather, my first car. Since then, the doors have rusted terribly, and in an attempt to remove some of this rust, I ended up just creating conditions for more rust to form. Now there are some patches of rusty primer on the right side, and holes through the rusted sheetmetal. The clearcoat has completely disintegrated on the rear left of the vehicle (from the passenger door, back), now making it look as if two different colors of white were used.
Almost siezed the engine once, running without coolant for a few miles (uphill). Managed 110MPH once. Averages 30MPG: www.tcnj.edu/~wallace5/gasmileage.php
All that being said, I really enjoy the design of this car, and have always had a soft spot for 1980's automotive styles (go ahead and laugh).
The interior of my 1989 Buick Skyhawk. Cloth upholstry, which is ragged. The ceiling is "caving in", held aloft only by thumbtacks. No power windows or locks. And the stereo doesn't play tapes any longer nor does it produce sound on the right side. Speedometer is noisy. The climate control selector still doesn't shunt air to the right vents (defroster doesn't activate the defroster vents - thank goodness for the little money tray lid, which flips up and causes air blowing from the center vents to be directed towards the windshield).
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as possible. Even if your ride is sweet, it will not be chosen if there's not a lot of info accompanying it. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MJL 10:36AM (2/05/2007)
LOVE the money tray lid idea. Brilliant!
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emor8t 10:42AM (2/05/2007)
Where have all the good car blogs gone?
I stopped reading Jalopnik because they just post about a bunch of crap all the time.
Now I'm thinking this ship has sailed too.
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Chris 10:37AM (2/05/2007)
Brutal.
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Eric L. 10:49AM (2/05/2007)
GREAT article.
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DriftPunch 11:02AM (2/05/2007)
Excellent! Extra points for mismatched tires, and license plates (though a time gap may be at fault for the plates).
Lighten up people... Most auto enthusiasts feel that there is a definate place for the "beater" in the fleet. My favorite beater was my '91 lumina. Unless you've ever had one, you really don't know what degree of freedom a beater gives you in terms of parking or driving into the 'hood'.
Don't hate the "beater" itself! Although feel free to make fun of the people who try and make their beaters appear to be luxury or performance cars.
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Jimboz 11:14AM (2/05/2007)
God, what's with all the "i'm a pussy that can't stand a little interesting article every now and then" shit lately? Hell, if all you want is boring ass specs and news go to edmunds. I myself like a little personality.
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RLFontano 11:16AM (2/05/2007)
Nice, that vehicle actually out lasted it's intended life expectancy.
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jg3 11:24AM (2/05/2007)
Hey, I know that lookout point in the mountains. I'm impressed that it made the climb!
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Joey Hornbeck 11:34AM (2/05/2007)
So why does the car have Texas plates on the rear and Jersey plates on the front? That's confusing.
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Richard Warren 11:30AM (2/05/2007)
Good story! Beaters, got to luv em.
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Dave 11:35AM (2/05/2007)
I love this. Personally, Autoblog better continue this. I would drive a beater over a newer car anyday. This Skylark is beautiful. They always looked nice. Parts are cheap for the 2 litre as well. I had an 88 Cavalier that recently passed and it had 314,000 kms on it. The engine finally seized and I was going to buy a 91 Sunbird and take the engine out but I didn't bother. It had a the 2.0L and it was a 1991 with 125,000 kms. It still is sitting for sale for $200 CAN lol. I pondered but decided for a Beretta. Great article Autoblog, continue the Beater of the day!!!
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cyclopticgaze 11:54AM (2/05/2007)
Suck on THAT, planned obsolescence.
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Chen Mien Wang 12:05PM (2/05/2007)
LOL, the sagging ceiling headliner has always been a problem for GM cars. i've tried sewing it back on a 85' cadillac, i've tried using furring strips as "ceiling beams".
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Bill 4:08PM (2/05/2007)
Old GM cars make good beater cars because parts are plentiful and cheap, and you can usually fix many things with duct tape, paper clips, crazy glue, and old coat hangers. My old Buick Regal had repairs using all of those things. I also used 'recycled' oil. I used a pan to catch the leaks underneath, and every couple days I'd just dump it back in.
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Adam 12:08PM (2/05/2007)
Great article, everyone's had a beater.
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fizzandpop 12:16PM (2/05/2007)
You just don't see rust like that anymore. I'm a bit confused by what the right hand dial does (next to the speedo). It should be the tacho, but it looks some kind of fuel guage. Maybe it is the tacho and it just goes up to 3K. Great car but the reader does get minus points for his complete lack of amusing bumper stickers. The rule is that a beater should not only provide cheap and carefree motoring, it should also be a means of informing the world about the state of your child's eductaion (honor student), your political views (which candidates you favor, what your position is on Roe v Wade, etc), which obscure sports you take part in, and most importantly, which lite-rock-less-talk radio station you listen to.
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fizzandpop 12:22PM (2/05/2007)
And one more thing. If you're going to submit a beater, you must include the money shot—a detailed look at what's in the trunk.
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Derek Kreindler 1:24PM (2/05/2007)
Thats just like the Cimmaron, but without the pretentions.
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xring 3:56PM (2/06/2007)
I used the thumbtack idea on a sagging headliner in an '89 Daytona C/S. If you take your time, and evenly space the thumbtacks (the kind with a flat,smooth head) it actually looks quite nice.
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villainy 1:16PM (2/05/2007)
Great post, nice bit of humor for the morning.
The idea of doing 110 mph in this thing truly scares me, even more so considering the speedo apparently doesn't work correctly (ie. it probably shouldn't be 'noisy').
I really like the last pic with the nice cliffside shot though judging by the condition of the car he chose the wrong method of getting it down that cliff. Straight down would have been preffered.
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