GOING FOR GOLD
Should you have happened to have been walking on Franklin Street, past Graham Todd Motor Co in Columbus, Indiana, on May 23, 1969 – and I’ll admit the chances of that are slim - then you might well have seen John P Ellis of Nugent Boulevard taking delivery of his brand-new Antique Gold 1969 Buick Skylark Custom convertible, the very same car that’s in front of you now. Mr Ellis bought the Buick with its base price of $3152, then added a boatload of options starting with Hydramatic 350 automatic transmission, power steering and power brakes.
He also added a Sonomatic radio with manual antenna, rear speaker, whitewall tyres, and the F40 H2 Ride and Handling package. This comprised heavy-duty wheels, front and rear heavy-duty springs and shocks, front stabiliser shaft and bushings, and rear control arm and bushings – an unusual addition to a convertible, but then so was adding air conditioning at $375.99. What’s weirder still is that
