Just sayin' Howdy! My Father-In-Law recently got a '68 Wildcat Custom convertible that is in rough but restorible shape, so he has asked me for help in restoring it to it's former glory. I have spent the last few weeks learning all I can about this behemoth and figured this might be the next best place to look. I drive a Camaro SS vert myself and frequent a few of the F-Body boards where I have found a ton of helpful info. I hope to have the same luck here! I'll try to use the search function first, but I may end up asking some questions. Who knows... perhaps I can even give my 2 cents once in awhile. Thanks in advance.
Welcome aboard Brian! Gotta love those 'cats :TU: I'm hoping to have one some day too... Check out the "A boatload of fun" forum, farther down on the main forums page too. Should be lots of big car info there. Now, to get YOU into a Buick... :grin:
Welcome aboard! as you can see by my screen name and avatar, I happen to be very partial to this particular year and model Buick :Brow: I'm not so much of a mechanical type, but if you need help in determining what is correct, or where to look for parts, I may be able to help. David
Welcome ..... While Im not a "Big Car" specialist, I am partial to the 68/69 years First and Foremost to your resto will be this Its a REAL chasis service Manual for all 1968's and is on auction on Ebay here http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2184790967&category=14026#ebayphotohosting Thats one in rather good condition .....shouldn't go for more than $50 which is a fair price. Lesser condition examples go for about $20 less DO NOT buy any Service Manual that doesn't have this cover (and color) to it - their are people out there selling copies (without the colored cover) and the quality isn't nearly as good as the original This site and that Manual.....and a few good boneyards should be all you need to get that 'Cat back into action !!
Thanks for the welcomes and the info! That manual looks like a good deal. I'll put that on my ebay watch list and might just pick that up. I do have one question I can't seem to figure out. The car has chrome door edge guards, but they look added after the fact... they slip underneath the the chrome side molding where the molding meets the edge of the doors. Now I did see an aution on ebay for some GM NOS guards for the 68 big Buicks, but any pics I've seen online of '68 Cats... and there aren't many pics to go around... don't have them. So anyone know the story of these things? Do they belong or not? Were they an option?
'68 Cat Hey Brian, This is Rob. I have a 1968 2-door wildcat that was turd brown and my wife hated until I restored it. I have totally stripped and repainted it, replaced the bench seat with all new bucket interior and console, replaced weather seals and changed the vinyl top to a hard top. I also changed the 3:07 peg-leg to a 3:42 posi. That really woke up the beast. But the motor and tranny are still all original at 140,000 miles. I don't know if I can help you at all, but I am sure willing to, if I can.
Wow... talk about digging a thread up from the dead. The Wildcat had to be put to sleep, which is why I haven't been on the board. Once we put it up in the air, we saw how badly the frame was shot. The whole thing was severly swiss cheesed underneath. In fact the rear end was small pothole away from seperating from the car. It wasn't even safe to put in the air so the shop who looked at it wouldn't touch it any more at this point. This was the final blow. This was on top of the rusted out floor pan, trunk pan, rear quarters and the engine that was losing compression on two cylinders. Adding in the extensive interior work needed and it was becoming more money than my Father-In-Law wanted to spend. Thanks to all on the board for your assistance and wisdom. Should I run across another Buick in my travels that catches my eye, I'll know where to go to get the info on it.
