Thanks Larry. Lethbridge is full of old cars, but I haven't seen too many Buick's. There is another Wildcat here, on the west side, and an Electra 225, but those are the only Buick's I've seen. There may be more hiding since, like me not everyone is out to show their classics. I am someone who would never have had a classic, until Ray gave me my Cat. Now, I just want to bring her back to her former glory.
Car is looking good and a great story to go with it. I'm from Conrad, Montana so used to come up to Lethbridge a lot (like once a month) when we turned 18 in 1998. Have very good friends in Coutts and Milk River. Nothing better then staying at the Lethbridge Lodge and hoofing it to the Top Hat !
Thanks very much. I am not really a car guy, or wasn't before I got my girl. I have been a lifelong electronics technician. I basically ignored mechanics, until I had to do something. My Dad tried, tried and tried again to teach me. How I wish I had been more attentive. Unfortunately, I had no interest then, so he gave up. Young and stupid, I guess. Now, I am learning from scratch. I am just ordering a new set of back shocks for her. My younger brother (who is a car/truck guy) looked at them and told me that, while they are not leaking yet, they are old and now that I am using the car, which Ray didn't do, they will probably start to leak soon. Okay, off to Canadian Tire to order a set of Monroe shocks for her. Special order, but I didn't expect anything else.
That is all right. I added about 2 inches with the boosters that brought the car back to level. Now, when I drive into the alley it doesn't scrape the bottom. When I back into my parking spot, the tailpipe clears the block. Yeah. It didn't seem to affect the ride all that much. This spring when I bring it up to Ray's I will bring up a set of springs. They are not that expensive, But it need help with changing them. My wife insists on it.
So another Alberta Buick? Cool! I'm in the Edmonton area, and I'm also looking for a new steering wheel. I've got 2 of them, (1 I'm using) and they're all cracked up. Been trying to find a half-decent one for years now...
View attachment 459989 I repaired mine using JB Weld PlasticWeld. It took a couple of weeks and a lot of sanding, but it looks pretty good now. I then primed it, found a bunch of areas that needed more work, more PlaticWeld, sanding, then priming. Once I had it to the point I was happy, then I painted it a number of times with more sanding. finally, 3 coats of clearcoat.
My eBay steering wheel is in (thanks again TrunkMonkey). It is an exact replacement for my steering wheel and the parts fit into my wheel perfectly. Now, I do not have a steering wheel puller, or money to buy one right now, so this will have to wait. I put a headlight alarm (buzzer) in the car today since I found I am leaving the lights on. Of course, while working on this, the headlight switch decided to misbehave. It would turn on the headlights, but not the dash lights. Since the dash lights wouldn't come on, the fuse didn't show any power on the dash light fuse. First, I cleaned the fuse contacts, breaking the fuse since, even at 54 years old, they are tight. Then, I took the switch out and while out the lights flickered. Ah ha, I then sprayed contact cleaner into the switch and things started working properly again. Yeah!!! Now, If I turn off the car and leave the lights on, the buzzer goes off. If in the ACC position, it doesn't set of the buzzer. I can see that working on this car is going to be a challenge to my skills as a technician and troubleshooter. Well, that should help ward off Alzheimers, and boredom. I really love this car.
Just rent a puller for free from Autozone.. You might have to give them $15 or $20 to take it but you get the money right back when you return it..
No Autozone here in Lethbridge. You can rent tools from Canadian Tire, but, that is almost as expensive as buying one. Payday is coming.....
I put on the steering wheel.... yesterday and today. I worked on getting the horn to work properly. It would seem to work properly, but you tap the steering wheel and it would go off, or push the horn bar and it would go off and not stop. I was missing the insulator plate, so I made one out of plastic. It was a bit of a frustrating time. Right now, I put it together without the horn working. Another day... another challenge.
Chuck, I had read on another forum that's there's a equivalent store in Canada of are "Harbor Freight Tools" here in the US I'm sure if it has been brought up on your threads but some ok level tools for really good prices. Iv'e seen steering wheel pulley kits for maby $10 as a example
My wife relented, with a proviso. I purchased my $17 steering wheel puller.... I didn't spend any money on anything else on the car right now. Well I could live with that. I bought the kit, brought it home, removed the aftermarket steering wheel pieces to get to the adapter that held it in place. Right, this one doesn't fit. Ahhhhhhhh. Can't spend more money and now, no steering wheel on the car. Time to improvise. I have a fancy screwdriver set. It has two pry screwdrivers in it. Put tape on the column to protect it, one pry per side and push. Off pops the adapter. Well, at least I know the puller works on the original steering wheel. After that, three posts up show my attempts to get the horn working.
We are up in Edmonton right now. Above zero temps at home, -14 C here. I want to go home and drive my car!!!!!!
Actually, compared to working in the Arctic, when I was younger, I'll take this any day. In -14 C, I walk around in a t-shirt and hoodie. In Yellowknife and the Arctic Communities (Worked for the Phone Company, Northwestel), - 46 C (-50 F), was normal in the winter. We used to say -20 C was warm enough to work on poles without a tent and heater. I guess I was younger and tougher (or just stupid) back then.
I finally have a horn in my car. I gave up with the unpredictable no horn... no off horn of the original parts. I went to Canadian Tire and bought 2 horn buttons, measured the depth and placed the buttons, wired them up and, ole' now I have a horn. I also adjusted the emergency brake cable since the pedal would fall one notch and turn on the light. If you have to have it right, that will drive you absolutely nuts. I don't think there is much more I can do until I go up north. There I will remove the chrome and start sanding the paint before priming.
My old girl with her proper steering wheel installed. The attachment on the wheel is a control for the stereo.
I love driving my Wildcat. Today, while out driving and stopped at a train, I looked over at the SUV next to me. A young girl, about 11, was shaking her Mom's shoulder and pointing at the car. I waved and she waved back. She kept trying to get her Mom to look and when she did, pointed all over the car. Uncle Tony (Youtube - Uncle Tony's Garage) has it right when he said "To be unique, all you have to do is drive it. Leave it alone." I don't think that I will see another '66 Wildcat sitting next to me at the traffic light. It is flattering when people look, point and ask questions. I pulled up and got some gas today and the guy who pumped it asked me a bunch of questions then said he had to see the engine before I left. He said he was a Radiator tech from one of the shops in town and loves old cars. He asked who made the Wildcat so I told him "Buick." After inspecting the engine and the rad he thanked me, told me that rad was in good shape. I thanked him, closed the hood and left. I have to admit, it does make me feel good when people appreciate my car.
New LED's under the hood to illuminate the engine bay. I hate having to hang a trouble light. Since they are LED's, they only sip power and won't drain the battery. There is a switch with a light under the dash to turn them on and off. I put a disconnect in the line for removing the hood. Total cost with everything, $35 Canadian. I did have some parts, but purchased most of it.
