Let’s do some time-traveling to the 1980s. Granted, there are probably other aspects of that era’s automotive landscape we would rather revisit than a humble J-car in “upscale” Buick garb. But hey, if we jumped into “Doc” Brown’s DeLorean to travel back to 1985 and visit Marty’s Hill Valley neighborhood, you would be more likely to come across one of these than any other of the cars now associated with the 1980s “excess era.” Hip-hop music video concepts of those days aside, the J-cars were an ever-present thing back then.
Appropriately, this 1984 or so Buick Skyhawk Custom wagon was found at a film parking lot; I would think ready to play background duties in some 1980s-themed TV show. I’m not up to date on my streaming, so do any of these show up in Stranger Things or any other such period series?
Back to the Future’s Hill Valley is a fiction, but the J-cars were anything but that; even if today they’ve become scarce and start to feel like stuff that belongs to ancient anecdotes. In the case of the Skyhawk, they were among the rarest of the J-Cars, and in wagon form, even more so. Available from 1983 to 1989, their first two years were the best, climbing to a mere 13,669 units in 1984. After that, never cracking over the 7K mark. A surviving one is a rare thing indeed; almost mythical in quality: “Yes, son… this tiny, almost inconsequential thing, once wore the proud Buick badge… and countless Pontiac-esque beaks…”
Talking about which, the front beak’s styling on this one is from the 1983-1986 period; not really sure if there’s any way to narrow it down further, but perhaps a Flint-built J-car expert can do that job (Is there such a person?) And if you happen to come across this one during your TV viewing, let us know where it has starred.
Related CC Reading
1984 Buick Skyhawk Limited – Like New Old Lady-MobileÂ
1986 Buick Skyhawk T-Type – Et, Tu, Buick?
CC Outtake: J-Body Buick Skyhawk Coupe At Sam’s
I used to find it weird watching various 80s TV reruns and seeing 70s Fury cop cars everywhere, but that seems way less jarring than seeing Crown Vic’s or 5th gen Taurus cop cars still being used in present day movies! Period car casting in modern entertainment bothers me worse though, and I could just see this rusty 80s skyhawk getting stuck into the background of a movie that takes place in 1978 just because it’s old and brown.
The Skyhawk I’ve grown a suspicion that it and the Pontiac J2000 noses were both designed to be Pontiacs as alternate(or discarded) proposals, with this slightly less distinct one being cast off to Buick. The J2000 one looks awfully like a watered down 77-78 Firebird, while the Skyhawk one looks like a watered down 79-81 Firebird. The rest of the original J body noses match their brands *look* pretty well, but this sleek Buick nose not quite so much
Reminds me how they still use Checkers for cabs in movies. Checker ceased production in 1982.
I owned an ’82 Pontiac J2000 sedan, and always thought the front looked like the headlights/grille from a ’77-78 Firebird and the lower air intakes from a ’79-81 Firebird mashed into one. I mentioned to a colleague at the time that I thought the front of my car looked similar to a Trans Am, which he thought was a laughable notion, responding “the only part of the car that looks like a Trans Am is where it says “Pontiac”… I still find that funny more than 40 years later.
It’s funny but you were right! I imagine many a Bandit era Trans Am owner/ fan circa 1982 faced a crying game moment seeing that pretty face only to have a J body appear behind it!
Reckon the nose styling here was meant to carry-through the theme of its predecessor, the H-body Skyhawk, tho’ the Chevy Monza and Olds Starfire/Firenza H-body hatches also had pretty similar noses, with only minor variations in grille treatments between/below the recessed-quad headlight binnacles; really only the Pontiac Sunbird H-body had a nose well-distinguished from the others.
Had an ’84 wagon, dark blue exterior & seats. It was a good car commuting from Fairfield, CT to White Plains, NY. 5-speed, good car, sold when I returned to Denver in ’86.
Some day I’ll list the cars of my father (a Buick man), and if I have time look for photos to scan.
Polish it to a like-new shine, give it some fresh silver paint on the wheels and strip off the anachronistic window tint and I could see Karen Wheeler trading her Colony Park on it now that only Holly needs to be shuttled around.
The Chevy Cavalier was quite common in this era, but the Buick and Oldsmobile versions apparently were offered from 1983 to ’86 or so if I remember correctly. It appears to be in fairly good shape except for the rust on the lower driver side front door and on the rear lower fender. It’s got an electrical plug extending from the front grill, a block heater perhaps?
’82 to ’88 for the Olds Firenza or ’89 for the Buick Skyhawk.
I remember that these had two different noses. I never figured out why one got one nose over the other.
Later models had optional headlamp covers that were included in higher trims and also offered as a separate option, which gave the front two different looks, I don’t recall much difference between the two versions other than the headlight treatment. Chevy and Pontiac did have two completely different noses for the Cavalier and Sunbird in some years, with sporty models getting the less-common one.
Neat old survivor .
I thought it was a state vehicle auction before reading the text .
-Nate
What I find most interesting is the other “J car” in one of the pics. Looks to be a blue Chevy Cavalier. What a find!! Two “J’s” in a row.
This seems to be the same Skyhawk wagon that David Saunders found at an Alberta auction back in 2020. Same color, wheels, tinted windows, slightly bent front air dam, indents in the lower front bumper, and same block heater plug hanging out of the grille.
So I guess those kinds of auctions are frequented by companies that buy cars for movie props?
Link to the original article here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/auction-classic/cc-goes-to-the-auction-part-three-the-others/
I had a 1976 Skyhawk and a 1982 Skyhawk love both of them
My brother /sister in law had the “Olds”, cousin. Blue/faux wood, body color wheels I believe. Only was in it once. “A/C” was good. Back seat just a bit tight.
Think he traded it in “89”.(or there about)
Was garaged so stayed pretty clean.