buick Skyhawk Used Parts Online

The Buick Skyhawk was Buick's compact car offering in the 1970s and 1980s, replacing the Opel Manta that was sold by Buick dealers. It is the only sub-compact automobile ever built by the division. The first Skyhawk, built on the H-body platform, was rear-wheel drive and available only as a sporty three-door hatchback. The 1982 model was part of the new J-body line of front-wheel drive subcompacts and was a full series of cars with 2- and 4-door sedans, a three-door hatchback, and a four-door station wagon. First Generation The first-generation Buick Skyhawk was a rear-wheel drive subcompact sporty hatchback coupe introduced in the fall of 1974 as a 1975 model, along with its corporate clones, the Chevrolet Monza 2+2 and the Oldsmobile Starfire. It was originally intended to compete with other small sporty cars, such as the Toyota Celica, Capri, and the Ford Mustang II. The 1975 Buick Skyhawk, Chevrolet Monza 2+2, and Oldsmobile Starfire, along with several GM full-size models, were the first cars to adopt the newly approved quad rectangular headlamps and had a strong resemblance to the Ferrari 365 GTC/4. They were the first GM product to incorporate a torque arm rear suspension (rear coil springs with 2 links) - its design was later incorporated into GM's third and fourth generation F-bodies. In 1976 a 5-speed manual transmission became available as an option. Another new option was the Astroroof, which was a large heavily tinted overhead glass roof combined with a wide aluminum band that extended from one B-pillar over the roof to the opposite B-pillar. There were few changes for the 1980 model, the last that the Skyhawk would use the GM H-Body platform, most notably the discontinuance of the 5-speed manual transmission as an option. Only the 4-speed manual and 3-speed automatic transmissions were offered for 1980. The H-body Skyhawk was replaced in the spring of 1981 with the new front-wheel drive Buick Skyhawk built on General Motors' J-body platform. the original Skyhawk was a small sporty car, the second-generation model would be a line of compact cars that included 2 and 4-door sedans, a 2-door hatchback coupe, and even a 4-door station wagon. H-body Skyhawk and Starfire production ceased December 21, 1979 to allow for more production of Monza and Sunbird hatchbacks. Second Generation The 1982–1989 front-wheel drive Skyhawk (J-body) was available as a 2-door sedan, 3-door hatchback, 4-door sedan or 4-door station wagon. It was similar to the Chevrolet Cavalier. The standard engine was a corporate 1.8 liter OHV carbureted four-cylinder, with a Brazilian-built 1.8 liter overhead-cam TBI four as an option. The Skyhawk, along with its sister vehicle, the Oldsmobile Firenza, was built in Leeds, Missouri from 1982 through 1988. 1988 was the last year of Oldsmobile Firenza production due to slow sales, and Leeds Assembly was then closed. For 1989 GM moved Skyhawk production to its Janesville, Wisconsin assembly plant where it also produced the Chevrolet Cavalier. Production of the Skyhawk ceased after the 1989 model year. The Chevrolet Cavalier was also produced at Leeds for some of the model years.

References Ward's Automotive Yearbook 1980. Ward's Communications, Inc.. 1980.