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What's a Wildcat?

A Buick Wildcat is a full sized car made during the 60s and 70s. The Wildcat's of the 60s era featured either a 401 cubic inch or 425 cubic inch V8 motor. They also featured an optional factory 2-4 bbl intake manifold. The Wildcat of 1964 shared the same wheelbase and frame as the Electra and the LeSabre. The Electra was a leather-clad luxury-type sedan, while the LeSabre was aimed toward value conscious consumers with its low price and smaller 300 cubic inch motor. In 1964 Buick made 17,519 four door hardtop Wildcats. Phased out due to safety concerns, hardtops enabled both back and front windows to be rolled down with nothing between them. It gave the car a clean look, with a large window opening.The Wildcat also came in a sedan "post" model. It outsold the hardtop. People probably assumed it was safer. It did have less wind noise as it sealed better than a hardtop. Wildcats were made in two door, four door, hardtop, and convertible configurations. Station wagons models of 1964 were branded LeSabres, built on the Wildcat's 4600 series platform with available Wildcat options. The bodies were made by Ionia Manufacturing Company. Ambulances and hearses were built by the Flxible Company.

The story of my Wildcat

As a child, my mother drove a 1964 Buick Wildcat. It was dubbed "Sherman" sometime in its early life because it was as big as a Sherman tank. I have many fond memories remembered from my car seat in the back of that big old Buick. Outside of the sentimental reasons for owning a Wildcat, I always liked the look inside and out of the car. The car has fins, not large like a Cadillac, but about 4 inches high at their longest. I also liked the gauge pod. Wildcat's have two large, round pods. One houses the speedometer, the other the oil, brake, and temperature lights and fuel gauge. I also loved the Air Conditioning controls. It has a knob you spinned for the type of climate control, and levels that went front to back for speeds and temperature. I grew up in Sherman, playing with the spring poking out of the rear of the driver's seat; loving the neat airplane-style seatbelts, and above all, enjoying my childhood. Sometime after 1988, Sherman's water pump began leaking one afternoon. My dad went to replace it. About three bolts snapped off, two of the three in the aluminum timing cover, one in the block. My dad then used a screw extractor to attempt to remove the bolts, and it broke off. Disgusted, he drove the car into the back yard, where it sat until 1998. I basically forgot about Sherman. I grew up, went to college, and came home. I even bought a 1964 LeSabre. Then I got a tip Sherman still existed....

Finding my Wildcat

Many years had passed since Sherman was hauled away. I had made my way through college and into my career when the Buick bug bit. Someone at the office next door bought a Yellow 1964 Buick LeSabre, and then parked it right in front of my office window on the days they drove it. The days I saw that car, it brought back all the memories. With that car as motivation, and a little cash, I set out to acquire my own Fullsize Buick. Because Wildcat's I were finding at the time were priced out of my league (which I look back on and chuckle knowing what I will spend restoring Sherman), I settled for a LeSabre. The LeSabre was priced right, and even though I wanted a Wildcat, the LeSabre fit me at the time. I owned the LeSabre for a few years and while talking to my mother one evening, she mentioned while at a convenience store she ran into the owner of the junkyard that hauled Sherman off, and he made a comment about still having it. Knowing most cars get crushed within 90 days of entering the junkyard, I had next to no hopes of finding it, but nonetheless, I went to the junkyard the next day. I talked to the owner, and he even stated it would have been crushed. He did oblige letting me look in his top lot, and I came across my parent's car! It was sitting there, rusty, beat up, and missing parts, but it was still there. I could not believe my eyes. The trunk lock had been pried out, but all the contents of the trunk were still there. The hood was the worst off. It had plenty of rust through, so it was later replaced with another hood. I made arrangements to buy the car, and three days later, Sherman was back in my possession.

On May 14 2004, the same person that removed the Wildcat from my parent's yard in 1998 delivered it to mine. It is amazing how sometimes life runs in circles.

Restoration Logs

Sherman has gone through many changes over the years, from rusty hulk to a car driven to shows. Here are more of the modern logs in reverse chronological order. Please use the menu at the upper right to see all restoration logs.