Buick’s first modern muscle car pre-dated Grand National, GNX by 15 years

By Editor | July 1, 2026 |

Under the hood of Brad Wellen’s Buick Skylark GS 350 is a 305 CID Buick V-8 engine with power steering, power brakes and factory cold air intake. (Charles Bolinger photo)

By Charles Bolinger
Editor • It’s all the Pontiac GTO’s fault. Ed. Note: This article originally ran in the June 11, 2026 issue of the Times-Tribune.

General Motors’ division just above Chevrolet had become a sleepy, stodgy one by the 1950s and while the Wide Track models of 1959, were a bold first step, more was needed.

Under new division chief engineer, John Z. DeLorean, (remember that last name, fellow Gen X-ers?) the Pontiac GTO launched in late 1963 as a 1964 trim level on the new A-body intermediate platform and suddenly, Pontiac’s Tempest was a sought-after car and sales soared.

The other three divisions (Cadillac had no intermediate model and thus was above the fray) became resentful of Pontiac’s sudden success and created their own A-body “muscle cars” in response – Chevrolet’s Chevelle SS 396, Oldsmobile’s Cutlass 442 and Buick’s Gran Sport, which was affixed to the Skylark. For those wanting more power, the GS 455 and GSX were available for 1970. The rest of the American auto industry followed suit.

The car’s Parchment interior is complemented by black trim. The Skylark is one of GM’s quartet of “muscle cars” available since the mid-1960s – the Chevrolet Chevelle, the Oldsmobile Cutlass and the Pontiac Tempest were the others from this period. (Charles Bolinger photo)

Brad Wellen of Troy owns this 1969 Buick Skylark GS 350 Coupe dressed in Aqua or Turquoise Mist Metallic with a full black vinyl roof. Inside, the car is upholstered in Parchment vinyl with black trim. It is one of 4,933 GS 350s made in 1969.

He had it delivered to his home on Dec. 9, 2024 after he traded a red, 1946 Mercury Eight Restomod with a 350 CID V-8 and four-speed automatic transmission (700R4) and a 1995 Buick Riviera interior for the Skylark with an owner in Moline. Wellen had unsuccessfully tried to sell the Merc locally more than a year but found no takers, so he took to the World Wide Web in hopes of a trade. The previous owner delivered it within an enclosed trailer.

The car has a 350 CID Buick V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor that makes 280 horsepower (gross) backed by a Turbo Hydramatic 350 three-speed automatic transmission (THM350). It has just over 23,000 miles on the clock.

“My wife likes muscle cars,” he said. “She liked the Mercury, kinda. We named it Lucille after my aunt. A guy visited to add pinstripes to the exterior and he painted “Lucille” on the trunk, freehand, as a bonus,” Wellen said.

“She likes the ‘69 Camaros but I saw this and I really liked it. The Buick had pretty much everything done to it already – I put a new gas tank in it, new rear springs and a new distributor but I haven’t done a whole lot to it.”

The car even rides on its original 14-inch wheels.

“I thought about getting chrome wheels like Cragars but I thought, ‘Nah, these look good. I just bought new trim rings” for the car’s Rally wheels.

The Skylark’s rear view. This bodystyle would remain until the start of the 1973 model year, when the so-called “Colonnade” cars replaced them. (Charles Bolinger photo)

After doing a bit of Internet research for 1969 Buick Skylark sideview mirrors, his wife found that this car had been sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 2024. Wellen figures the former owner bought it there.

He said he takes it for spins two to three times per month.

“I get a lot of thumbs-up and a lot of honks [of approval],” he said, noting there aren’t many ‘69 Skylarks left.

He said he has one man poised to buy the car if Wellen’s ever interested in selling it. Wellen is also a member of the Lakers Car Club. They met on June 6 in Lebanon; on June 10 they were at Gateway Classic Cars in O’Fallon and on June 20 at 5 p.m., they’ll be at the Culver’s in Collinsville.

A locking steering column with a new, rectangular ignition key became standard on all 1969 GM cars except the Chevrolet Corvair, one year ahead of the Federal requirement.