The numbers don't match on the 300 in it... doesn't have the aluminum heads of a '64, and it's got a dinky little 2bbl Rochester.
I am wondering if I should gonapeshit and find a 455 to dump in it and rebadge the thing as a early GS fantasy rig or some such... Riiiiight!
Quarterpanels first... good luck with that.
My first 2 cars, a 64 Special with the V6 and a 65 Skylark, a 2-door post with the 300-in 2bbl, and yes the quarterpanels and trunk floor were particularly rust prone on those Buicks, especially after some NY winters, learned that the hard way. I’ve seen a Special with a 455 in it, it’s doable, as long as the brakes and suspension are beefed up to handle the extra torque. When I had my 65 there was a local junkyard that had a 65 Gran Sport, I started pulling out the buckets seats and console and make my Skylark in to a GS clone. But the damn timing chain jumped a gear and the engine caught fire. That was the one problem with the small Buick V8, the plastic timing gears wore out fast otherwise they were good engines. No damage, but I was so frustrated with it I told my brother-in-law to give my $25 for the bleeping POS and get it out of my sight. To this day whenever I see a mid-60’s Skylark at a show or cruise night I kick myself. But I’m happy with the Impala :)
There’s a number of aftermarket suppliers for those parts:
http://alfaparts.net/sky.htm
You can also try Year One, near Atlanta. They have a very good inventory of GM A-body stuff. Another place is Kanter Auto Products in Boonton, NJ. They used to specialize in pre-war Packard and Buick parts, but now have lots of postwar and later parts.
I had one of those, convertible, white over black, red bucket seat interior, 4 speed. A really fun car for a kid at college in the late 60’s.
Of course, I wish I had it back, along with the 61 Bugeye Sprite, the 66 Charger, 64 SS Impala 4 speed black bucket interior and posi.
Oh well.........