Hello all! Got a friend looking at a 64 'Cat for sale here in Kansas City, and was wondering what some of the gotchas were on those cars. I'm no expert on Wildcats or Nailheads. He says that the coolant, tranny fluid and oil are all good, and it runs and drives. A little rust on the rear fenders. So, what do I look for in a used 64 'Cat with a 401? Thanks in advance for the advice! - Freed
Carpet, headliners, body rubber, and some nailhead and ST400 parts are all you are going to find beyond basic maintenance stuff for the car so be aware of that. Rust in the floor pan braces under the doors, a '64 is the last year for the X-frame on the 'Cats. Can't think of anything specific to the 'Cats other than the above but the basic old car stuff certianly applies. Electrical hackery is always a bad thing in any car, especially one as complex as a Buick. Lots of Bondo is bad, leaking rear windows and possibly bad lower window channel is a negative but fixable. Core support rust from a bad battery leaking. Make a list of all the things you'd like to fix and/or replace and look on here, www.car-part.com , and e(vil)Bay for ideas on prices or you can contact places like All American Classics in Washington, Wheatbelt Buick in OK, or Memory Lane in CA for quotes on stuff. Tell us more about the car and we can tell you options and things to get excited about, like power vent windows and posis (as examples of what I got excited about for my '64 Riv) Good luck,
