Chuck in Canada - 1966 Buick Wildcat

My work ethic just won't let me do this. My wife knew what was ahead when Ray gave me the car. I couldn't just make it driveable. I have to restore it to the best condition I am able. In my opinion, any car that has survived 53 years deserves to have some TLC applied to her. At least Ray did the worst of the work. He cut out the rust and welded in new metal. When he did the body work 12 years ago it looked good. Unfortunately, his paint job didn't survive. He had the interior restored, new headliner, carpet and seats recovered. I get the little jobs, at least until I rebuild the engine. To be honest, it is the mechanical work the scares the S**T out of me, as I have no experience with it. I bought the carb rebuild kit from RockAuto.com, but I don't have the knowledge to remove a carb, rebuild it and replace it and have everything work. I need a teacher and Ray has agreed to help as long as I do the work and he supervises. That is perfect to me. I learn far better doing than watching.

The is a small hole above the drivers back wheel. Now, I know that a small (quarter sized) hole that I can see is only the tip of the iceberg. I plan to cut it out and replace the metal. I will need to do it right. But, first, I need my car back. Patience, that I do have, thank goodness.

Have a great weekend all!

 

Just in case you don't know.. You have a Switch Pitch tranny!! When you go to wide open throttle it has a factory built in high stall torque converter, and around town its a normal lower stall..
When you work on the carb or if you swap it you will need the proper carb linkage.. To much for me at the moment but other hopefully will chime in.. Thats why theres a plunger type gizzmo with electrical connects below the throttle linkage..

 

I will have to research Switch Pitch Transmission. I understand there is a shoe shaped feature and 3 dimples to see underneath to confirm. I will look as soon as I get her home. The more I look at this old girl, the more I like her.

I always admired the car when Ray had her, but to him she was just another one of his cars. he has 3 Lincolns, a '57, a 62 convertible and a 64 hardtop. He also has a 76 Honda Goldwing an old Norton motorcycle, and an old Studebaker. Lots of toys to play with as well as his Cadillac and motorhome. The luxuries of being single all your life. Only 1 person to provide for. He is generous with his toys and his time. Always taking his sister fishing when we visit. I am gifting him my Yuneec Q500 4K drone in return for the car. Just have to fix the landing gear he broke while I had him playing. Worth about $1000, it is just a patch on what he has done for me. It all balances in the end. In the 90's, he showed up completely broke and need a place to stay for a bit while he got back on his feet. 18 months later, I was sorry to see him leave. A great help around the acreage we had. That is how my wife's family works. Everybody supports each other. A great family to have joined. 34 years of support to each other. Now, he has given me a great gift, my Wildcat.

 

Sorry, I get verbose sometimes, but I am really grateful to Ray, and thankful for the advise and support of members of this forum. The more information I have, the better I can restore my Wildcat.

 

Nothing wrong with being grateful and talking about it and venting.. It had to also make Ray happy just to give
On the switch pitch subject, if you see 2 wires going to the solenoid on the drivers side of the tranny, then you have the switch pitch tranny still..

 

There are 2 wires going to the drivers side of my transmission. It was hanging when I got it and I cleaned it up and re-attached it. I didn't have a clue what it was, but I knew enough to trace where it was supposed to go, clean it up and re-connect it. I am looking forward to getting it back. Hopefully Monday, have to wait and see. That is the problem with going to a mechanic, you get the work done on his time table, now yours.

 

I think being a perfectionist might be something that most telecommunications technicians are afflicted with. After all, everything that we do (did) is on display for all to see with your name tattooed onto a report somewhere. I just couldn't live with sub-par work. I worked with a network tech they loaned me in Brooks, Alberta. Our job was to install and commission an OC48 capable fibre optic shelf. All of his work was, well to be accurate, messy. I had him put the fibre tray on the front of the bay. I told him to use a chalk line to make a straight line and follow it. That was too hard I guess because when I came off the runway, the Panduit looked like the Alaska Highway, meandering here and there. I told him to remove it and do it again. He told me it would work, so it was good enough. After a week of "Good enough", I ran him off, told him to back to maintenance and I would do this myself. He complained to his boss, so I showed him pictures of how he had installed things I gave him, then pictures of it re-installed by me. I told him that I gave him every chance to do it right, even a chance to correct things. It being my network, there wasn't a lot he could say. He never offered another technician to assist me, which suited me just fine.

I have a feeling that this mechanic has the same work ethic, as he came highly recommended by numerous people. I think he is of the "You can have it good, cheap or fast. If it is good and fast, it won't be cheap. If it is fast and cheap, it won't be good. If it is good and cheap, it won't be fast." My car seems to fall into the last category. Well, it can't be long now. I went to the auto parts stores around Lethbridge, looking for a new air filter. The first 4 could find the listing, but not the filter. The last, Bumper to Bumper, found me a filter out of the States. It will not be in until next Thursday, but at least they found one. I guess it is an oddball size. they can find slightly larger, and slightly smaller at most stores, but not quite the exact size. Next year, I am going to order one I heard about that you can clean and reuse. It is quite a bit more expensive, but, since they are hard to find, worth every penny.

I told my wife I plan to combine my two hobbies. Take the car and the drone and go out for some fun. I was only kidding though. I would not take the car over the road out to the PLUZ (Public Land Use Zone) that I go to. A PLUZ is like a park, but unregulated, so you can fly a drone out there. Great fun and some incredible scenery, especially from 120 M (400 ft.) in the air. Unfortunately, the road in not graded very often and sees some heavy traffic, so the potholes could swallow a VW bug. Definitely a road for my F150.

Well, a good eve to all. See you on the flip side (Uh uh, I think my age is showing)

 

Welcome chuck. The phone might clue you in to my occupation. I'm on the development side.

 

Hello back. This is getting to be a telecom convention here. It seems that almost every Installation Tech that I worked with had a classic or 2, 3... Pat had his house built with a 4 car garage and a lift. He was always working on a car, his Mustang, his Corvette... To see his daily driver you would never suspect it though. Just a run of the mill car. I really admired him. A top notch technician who wouldn't let the littlest thing slide. Like I said, I think this is a symptom of a good telecommunications technician.

There is one more saying we had in Northern British Columbia you might not have heard. For every mile of road there is two miles of ditch. I lived on a narrow, windy gravel highway(37 North) and the tourists were always sliding off the road, sometimes injuring themselves seriously. This is how the saying came about for us. Lee, the RCMP constable, used to come into the restaurant that I cooked in, ask for a coffee and a sandwich. He would tell us "Another darned (<- censor) tourist fell off the highway. Warn every one heading south/north. Sometimes I miss those days, the early '80's. I drove an old (not yet classic) 1969 F250 4x4 with a 360. That truck could haul anything. What is couldn't do though, was pass a gas station. It seemed that no matter what you were doing with it, it got 12 miles to the gallon (Canadian gallon, US would get you 9.6 mpg). But man, could it work. Later, I had a '74 chevy 1/2 ton with a 250 straight 6 and a 3 on the tree. The transmission was the only thing that let that truck down. It worked like a dog hauling my trailer, until it blew a lower rad hose. My wife didn't notice, cooked her solid.

Well my wife is due home from work soon so goodnight to all. Have a good night dreaming about our present and past pride and joys, whatever make or model.

 

Gifted you a ‘66 Wildcat?! Wow, now that’s a cool ass bro in-law right there! And I thought my bro in-law was cool for helping me on a 1600 mile road trip to pick up my first Buick lol!

 

Not only did he gift me the car, he drove it down 450 miles from Northern Saskatchewan and loaned me the money to get it inspected and repaired, about $1000 Canadian. Yup, he is the coolest Brother-In-Law I could have asked for.

 

Well, today I talked to the mechanic who has my car. The heater core wasn't a two day item, as he thought. It was a special order that just arrived today. It is going to take him a day or two to get to the car, but, an end is in sight. I know now that this week I will be driving my girl home. I picked up a pop up awning today to put over the car while I work on it. Since it is in the low 30's C (90's F) and I grew up in Northern BC, I need to keep the sun off of me while I work. We are going on a trip next week. Wish I could bring the car.... but... I have to haul my travel trailer and I am definitely NOT putting a hitch on my car. Well, bedtime I think. Goodnight to all, have a great evening!

 

I am really on pins and needles waiting. He received the heater core on Tuesday, so I am hoping to get a call today. Might be tomorrow though. I don't want to bother him as when he is on the phone, he isn't working on a vehicle, slowing things down. But man, it is hard to wait when I know it is so close. I am certain that everyone on this board has been in a similar situation. Waiting is hard, but the end result will be great.

 

So, while waiting for a call that never seems to come, I did a little more research on my car. She is Model 46637-Custom Two-Door Sport Coupe. The were 10,800 made in the 1966 year and my girl is 9033, close to the end of the run. There weren't that many made in total of the Wildcats, total 68,584‬. By far, the most rare are the convertibles. Only 5480 convertibles were made for the Wildcat in '66. I would rather have the hard top myself. I never felt comfortable in a soft top. Don't know why. I know that my boys would have freaked if it had been a convertible. My eldest had an accident about 18 months ago. He came over a hill and hit a moose at 110 kph (70 mph). He didn't have any chance to avoid it as he was about 80 feet from it when he saw it. His youngest brother, my son Mathew, was killed almost instantly. He still blames himself. He was worried about the Wildcat not having all of the safety features of a new car. I reassured him that the body of the Wildcat is far stronger than anything made today. I didn't get into crumple zones or obstacle avoidance. I just let him know that this was basically a town car now and his Mom and I would be perfectly safe.


Anyway, another day, still no call. I am getting really antsy to drive the car. I have my plate and insurance, a GPS to help me keep to speed limit (No KPH (metric) on the speedometer and I don't want to put little stickers on it), and, as soon as I install it, a kick butt stereo. Now, I just need the car.I can't blame Ed, the mechanic, I just have to wait my turn. I feel like driving out there and seeing if it is at least in the shop, or still in the parking lot. Well, wait and wait. I better go get my wife from Nana Daycare (Casino) while I can still afford to drive my car when I get it. Everyone have a wonderful evening.

 

Tell me about it. Dropped my stage 3 race heads and intake off last Oct to be CNC ported. Finally got a message yesterday that they will be picked up today and finished / shipped soon. Going on a yr since I tore it down due to spun bearings.

 

On the transmission were there 2 electrical prongs? I can't tell by the pic and wondering if the wire was of for a reason. I know you re connected it back but wondering if the prong was flattened if it was only the one.
Reason is I got a true complete 66 425 Q jet out of a 66 Riv back in the day and it only had the one connect on the tranny. Someone had replaced it with a 64 Buick TH400.

 

I am going to have to wait before I can be certain about the transmission. Ah, the waiting game. when I worked for Northwestel in Yellowknife, I would be told to go pack and fly out of Yellowknife north (somewhere). I wold arrive at the airport at 8 am, only to be told my flight was at 2 PM. Yup, hurry up and wait. That is what this feels like.

 

The wire was off when I got the car. I traced it to find where it came from and, at first saw nothing. I then took my pressure washer to that side of the transmission and lo and behold, there was the connector on the side. I replaced it. I am still not certain what it was, (neutral switch?), but I knew where it belonged so I straightened out the pins and replaced it. When I get my car back I am going to investigate some more. Right now, I have to wait for Tuesday as Monday is a statutory holiday in Canada.

 

Welcome aboard Chuck! good to see a fellow Albertan here I'm a "few" miles north of you. Let me know if you need any help sourcing parts for your car. I keep a pretty good stock of mid sixties Buick stuff and know where to locate other things. A dual quad set up would look good under the hood of your beast ;-)

 

Fort McMurray, yeah, I would say a few miles. I can almost spit across the US border from here. It is only an hour to Coutts/Sweetgrass from here. We are in the middle of a heat wave that shows no sign of breaking. I have relatives closer to your neck of the woods, Pierceland, Sask, east of Cold Lake. This is where my car came from. My Brother-In-Law gave her to me. So far, I have only been able to drive here from the parking lot behind my condo to the street in front to load onto a trailer. Now, just waiting,. I drove out to Picture Butte where they are doing the inspection and work. She is in the shop, but that doesn't tell me anything. They might he just put her in the shop for the weekend or they might be working on her. Have to wait for Tuesday to find out. I hope to have her soon. I have a lot of plans for the car. new touchscreen stereo, speakers,, fix the one rust sport I could find. When I get a settlement for our accident I am going to get it painted and the transmission serviced. My main problem, I am a geek, not a gear-head. Mechanics baffle me, so everything is trial and error. Well, got to go.