Just got an old friend back today, a 67 Wildcat convertible. I used to own this car, I traded it away to get my Electra about 10 years ago. Long story short; - it's back and it has been painted and has a new interior. So I guess I'll have to start looking for detail stuff again, when they did the interior they goofed a few things up that I'd like to bring back to stock. Other than that, the car is essentially the same as when I last drove it; the people I got the car from had only put about 5000 miles on it. But is sure looks better now. Here's one shot taken yesterday, there will be more to follow when I can get time.
Its got power windows, power top, power seat, tilt, AM radio and an underdash 8 track. I'm looking for the AM/FM stock radio, cruise, and the rest of the power trunk that somehow went missing. I'm also looking to locate another set of cornering lights, the set I sold with the car didn't make it back to me. It's already wired up for them, all that was needed was the holes in the lower fenders. It's a Custom, but the sweep-spear is missing, and I've never seen another car with it on. Was it a taped piece of trim or was it punched steel secured by clips?
Marc, the '67 Wildcats did not have trim on the sweepspears! If you've seen a '67 or '68 big Buick with trim on the sweepspear, it's either strictly aftermarket or a dealer-installed item. They look much better without a molding on the sweepspear. The '67 Wildcat Custom should, however, have a factory dual paint stripe that rides on the sweepspear, so that's something that I would research and add if I were you.
I don't believe the dealers ever installed moldings. At least in all my '68 literature there is no mention of moldings being offered. Perhaps '67 was a different story. There was a Chicago based company that produced "beauty moldings" that were an aftermarket item for the '67 and '68 full size Buicks. They are stainless steel and are attached with clips which require drilling. I have a set on my '68 LeSabre. They look nice, however the moldings they produced for the front fenders when installed don't go all the way to the tips of the fenders like they should. Not as big a gap on the LeSabre, but on the longer Wildcat front fenders it is quite noticeable. They would be much better looking if they had made the front fender moldings long enough. But they were a one size (supposedly) fits all meant for LeSabres, Wildcats and Electra 225's. Absolutely correct about the dual painted pinstripe.
David, you are correct that Buick did not offer the moldings. By "dealer installed", I meant only that some dealers installed aftermarket moldings designed for these Buicks. I'm quite certain that this was the case among some of the Buick dealers in, for example, Portland, Oregon, where these aftermarket moldings were not uncommon on the '67 - '68 large Buicks.
Wow,... Thanks for the info guys, - saved me from making a horrible mistake. I think I might do the stripes on the sweepspear, but I'm not sure yet. Whe I originally rescued the car from the wrecker in 1992, it had the taped remnants of a molding running along the sweepspear, but it also had a cheapie "splash and dash" paint on it, which is why I assumed it was possibly covering up holes or something.
I always called the aftermarket item along the crease a 'bump strip'. It was often a dealer installed item that was screwed on with a colored hard rubber then slid in. My dad had one put on at a Minneapolis dealer when he bought his '67 cat. I have a S. Cal. '67 with the same item. It doesn't do much for me to look at, but does work to deal with neighboring car door bangs
I shot a couple of photos of Larry Minery's fine '67 Wildcat Custom at the recent Buick National Meet in Portland. Larry's car shows how these look with the proper factory-type paint striping along the sweepspear body contour.
Stunning! I love the colour! Wish my cornering lights that took me 5 years to find would have come back with the car. Alas, it is not so... I also have to find a factory set of black seat belts with retractors. The originals must have gone missing when the car was restored. The "modern" aftermarket set that was loaded in is absolute crap. The tensioners don't hold and there's nothing worse than a loose belt with no retractor to get stuck in the door.
