Greetings all. Some of you may know me from my screen name, I have been a member of the Autoweek Combustion Chamber, Tripleplate.com, Carnuts.us, Autocult.au and TheHotSeatForum.com, among others. This past July, I purchased a 1970 Wildcat convertible from a gentleman who had owned the car for over forty years. I have been a 'motorhead' ever since I can remember and have wanted a convertible ever since one of our neighbors drove up in a yellow Olds Cutlass convertible when I was a child. I've previously owned two other convertibles, a 1984 Mustang and a 1966 Pontiac Catalina (ok, the Mustang was actually a T-top, but same basic concept) and have been on the lookout for another for over two years. I had my heart set on something along the lines of a 1965-1972 Olds Cutlass, a 1961-66 Ford Thunderbird, or another Catalina, but was willing to consider anything that fit within my budget and the confines of my garage. So, when I learned that this Wildcat was available, I jumped at the opportunity. The previous owner took very good care of the Wildcat, it is rust-free and in remarkably good shape for a vehicle of its age. With the exception of the tires and cloth top, the car is all original (unrestored.) I have done some minor mechanical work to the car, but my intent is to preserve the car in its current state as much as possible, rather than restore it. The Wildcat is 220 inches long (that's 18'4" or 5.6 metres for those of you on the metric system) and is only 2 inches shorter than the length of my garage! :eek2: Under the hood is a 455 cubic inch (7468 cc) V-8 engine with a Rochester 4-barrel carb that puts out 370 hp and 500lb/ft of torque! The Wildcat was NOT a practical car even back in 1970, it makes even less sense now with premium gasoline near $4.00/gal. Add in the fact that the car has only the most primitive safety features and polution controls, and that it is a handful to drive and maneuver compared to a modern car, and it could be argued that anyone who would want something like this has taken leave of their senses. Oh, but to drive it with the top down on a warm summer night.... :grin: <!-- google_ad_section_end --> Anyhoo, this is my first ever Buick and the first V-8 engined car I have owned since I sold my Catalina 12 years ago as a down-payment on my house. I have done quite a bit of research on my car, and some of that research has landed me on the front steps of this forum. I've been lurking for several weeks and finally decided to sign-up last week. So, hello from Atlanta. I look forward to joining in here.
Sounds likeyou came to Buick the same way I did, by accident. I was looking for a 69 firebird convertible the car I had when I was a kid. Couldn't afford on in the condition I would accept so I saw my skylark and jumped all over it. That was two years ago. Now I wouldn't trade my skylark for every firebird ever built. I am doing a full restoration and as time goes on you may change your mind. But like you said not a practical car but put the top down and head down a winding road and there is no feeling like it on earth. Welcome and ENJOY your wildcat convertible. Some pick would be nice:beer
Yes, it really was something I stumbled upon. I had been searching and saving up for a convertible for nearly two years, and was just about to pull the trigger on a 1963 Olds Dynamic 88 Convertible. The car had been restored in 1999 but the owner had lost interest and wanted to sell the car to fund another project - a 1973 Porsche 911. He and I negotiated what I felt was a good, but fair, price and I was planning to make a trip to my bank on Monday morning to withdraw the appropriate funds. I called Sunday to set up a time to meet on Monday evening, but the call went straight to voicemail. Ditto with the call on Monday morning. No response to e-mails or text messages either. o No: After a week of the silent treatment, I decided to stop by the garage where he kept his cars. The Olds was still in the shop, but no one was around. I left a note in the mailbox and hoped for the best. I followed up with several more voicemail messages and e-mails, but never received any response. I was lamenting losing out on what I felt was a great deal on a unique car to anyone who would listen, when a customer of mine suggested that I call her brother-in-law. This gentleman and I had spoken over a year earlier about his 1970 Wildcat convertible, however he did not seem committed to selling it and I did not have the funds to match his asking price. Fourteen months later, after realizing he had only taken the car out of the garage twice since we had last spoken, he decided his kitty needed a new home. We met at his house the following weekend where I gave the car the once over and was impressed with what I found - a clean, rust-free survivor in need of just a little TLC to make her a very nice cruiser. A twenty-mile drive around Cobb County confirmed that the engine and transmission were in excellent shape and that nearly everything, with the exception of the radio, the clock and the odometer, was in working order. Two hours after I first laid eyes on the Wildcat we settled on a price and I wrote a check as a deposit. I stopped by his house again two weeks later with a friend of mine who is a mechanic to throughly inspect the car. My friend crawled all around the car, making the occassional observation, but for the most part confirming that the car did not have any major mechanical or structural issues. Finally, he walked over to me and whispered "If you don't buy this car, I will." Several weeks later, a few days after my birthday, I traded a rather large wad of cash for a rather large 40-year old convertible. :bglasses: I put more miles on the Wildcat in my first week of ownership than the previous owner had in the previous year. When I drove the car to Nashville and back in September, it was the first time the car had been out of the state or Georgia since 1978 and the farthest it had been driven (600 miles round trip) in over 25 years. I previous owner and I keep in touch, mostly just to chat and for me to ask questions about the car's idiosyncrasies that pop up from time to time. He has mentioned that his wife is happy to have more space in their garage, and I'm sure the money came in handy, but still I sense a bit of seller's remorse whenever the topic turns to the Wildcat. I, on the other hand, have completely fallen in love with this car. I recently turned down an unsolicited offer of $5000 more than paid for it. Right now, I'm just waiting for the next nice day so I can take the Wildcat out of the garage and put the top town.
"Drachen": (your board name means "dragons" in German) Please put your name in your signature, we are all here on a friendly first name base :TU: Show us more photos of the Wildcat
WOW WHAT A BEAUT......i have a 70 electra convertible and have more money in it than you would beleive. when you start looking for parts let me know ,i have 3 years experience looking and have added rh mirror cruise tilt and soon to be pdl. BUT yours is a BEAUT......the best change i made was adding air shocks and a 5/8 rear sway bar...i would have gone bigger but i wanted to keep a 70s ride,,marty:beer
Ok, signature has been updated. FWIW, I've used the screen name Drachen for so long, I respond to it in real life. uzzled: @Marty: I will definitely take you up on your offer, I will post my 'to-do' list shortly.
Welcome. Don't ever sell your 1970 Wildcat Convertible (except to me). I have had two of them, a blue /white/white one I found on the road dead in 1984 (that had a three speed trans on the tree...ou:;maybe 1 of just a few ) It just needed rejuvenation. Then some few years ago I bought a tan/ black /black one that was as good as they come. I sold that one too. ou: Here is a pic of it: There were only 1044 of them made. KEEP yours if you possibly can.
Frank, Total production for the model year 1970 Wildcat Custom convertible was 1244 cars. Do you mean that 1044 of them came with the 3 speed manual transmission ?
Interesting you fell in love with the cat as well. I just purchased one from a gentleman in Colorado. I drove it home and it was the first time it was out of the state. It was an all Denver car from the day it was sold. I now have all of the documents from all the history including repairs, oil changes. The guy I bought it from did a ton of research and he turned it all over to me. Like you, I am keeping mine all original. I am replacing the top in the spring. The trunk pan has some minor rust that will be dealt with then too. Anyhow, I loved your story. Has any other cat owners replaced the wood grain dash decals? Mine has some wear on it and the silver lettering is difficult to read now. Trying to locate a replacement instrument cluster bezel or a woodgrain kit that I can purchase. Thanks! Mick
