Photography & Videography by THE AUTHORothing makes a better impression on a youngster than taking them to a car show. Regardless of whether it’s a local cruise night, large national event, or the yearly pilgrimage to the Auto Show, it’s a surefire way to influence their formative years. For a young Rob Ninkovich of Foxboro, Massachusetts, growing up near Joliet, Illinois, the yearly countdown to February when the Auto Show was in town became a rite of passage. It’s a place where he and his dad, Mike, would spend the day studying the latest designs being offered while also dreaming of what they’d bring home if the sky was the limit. Easily, the freshly completed 1969 Buick Skylark Sport Coupe displayed across our pages brings many of his dreams to life in this alluring presentation.
Photography & Videography by THE AUTHORothing makes a better impression on a youngster than taking them to a car show. Regardless of whether it’s a local cruise night, large national event, or the yearly pilgrimage to the Auto Show, it’s a surefire way to influence their formative years. For a young Rob Ninkovich of Foxboro, Massachusetts, growing up near Joliet, Illinois, the yearly countdown to February when the Auto Show was in town became a rite of passage. It’s a place where he and his dad, Mike, would spend the day studying the latest designs being offered while also dreaming of what they’d bring home if the sky was the limit. Easily, the freshly completed 1969 Buick Skylark Sport Coupe displayed across our pages brings many of his dreams to life in this alluring presentation.
As the years passed, Rob went onto an 11-season career in the NFL, becoming a two-time Super Bowl Champion during his time spent as a member of the New England Patriots. One thing that never changed was his passion for performance cars, leading to a 2008 Corvette as well as a 2012 Camaro ZL1, however a fire still burned in the back of his mind for a classic muscle car. This eventually led to a restored 1970 Chevelle SS packing a 454ci big-block. While the car had plenty of brute force in a straight line, he longed for something that could also handle the curves and stop on a dime. Reaching back to his fascination with second-generation GM A-body muscle, it was time to take on the build of something that would be unique enough to stand out in a crowd.
With the factory frame in perfect condition, it was blasted clean and sprayed satin black. To bring handling to the next level, the factory suspension was jettisoned in favor of fresh components. Out back, a Currie Turn 9 fabricated lightweight housing packs 3.50:1 gears and a Detroit Truetrac spinning 31-spline axles. It’s suspended in place by RideTech’s coilover system featuring upper and lower StrongArms matched to their adjustable rate MuscleBar and HQ-Series coilovers. To get razor-sharp handling, RideTech’s upper and lower StrongArms with matching tall spindles were combined with their HQ-Series coilover shocks and MuscleBar. For increased braking performance, a Wilwood dual master pushes fluid through steel lines to matching 14-inch GT slotted rotors and AERO6 Big Brake six-piston calipers in front, combined with 14-inch GT slotted rotors with AERO4 Big Brake four-piston calipers out back. Linking it to the street are a set of Budnik Remington-model wheels featuring brushed outers with turbine-tone centers, sized 19×9 front and 19×10 rear, wearing Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 rubber, sized P225/45/19 and P275/40/19, respectively.
Inside, Dakota Digital VHX-Series gauges monitor the vitals while an ididit tilt column meets a steering wheel from Forever Sharp to carve a course with shifts moving through a unit from Chevrolet Performance. Cool breezes are by Vintage Air with an American Autowire Classic Update Series kit installed by Procision to bring it all to life. For comfort, New England Trim of Shrewsbury reworked a set of TMI Pro-Series Sport buckets, covering them in charcoal leather while also matching the back seat and side panels, wrapping the dash, adding a black suede headliner, and complementing charcoal square-weave carpeting. This is one truly wicked Buick that commands attention while Rob puts down the miles, and to us that’s the real deal!
