Barn Find: 1965 Buick Wildcat
Upon its introduction as a ’62 model, the Wildcat was Buick’s halo hot rod for a hot second. But pity the poor Wildcat, for the out-of-this-world Riviera supplanted it atop the model lineup a solitary year later and rendered it yesterday’s news. We all love a comeback, however, and the slinky ’65 B-Body gave the big cat a second chance, and all of a sudden Buick had two top-of-the-line cars with vaguely sporting intentions, and both are worthy mentions on any list of Buick’s most attractive vehicles. This North Carolina Wildcat is currently offered on eBay with a title but, unfortunately, no engine or transmission.
That’s too bad, because the standard engine was Buick’s torquey 401 cubic-inch “Nailhead,” which produced 325 horsepower and 445 lb.-ft. of torque. Indeed, it wasn’t the displacement or the horsepower rating listed on the air cleaner, but that famous Buick torque: “Wildcat 445!” Optional was the 425, and with dual quads (the mileage! the intake moan!) it became the “Super Wildcat.” For 1965, Buick’s Super Turbine 400 three-speed automatic was the most popular transmission, although a few manuals snuck out the door.
The full-size Buick’s dashboard received some criticism from those who rightfully argued that placing important gauges well out of the driver’s sight line was a triumph of form over function. It was unsurprisingly updated for 1966. Although one might expect a sporty console and floor shifter in Buick’s big sportster, it wasn’t standard equipment, and this one indeed has a bench seat and column shifter. In terms of condition, this example is rough, and Buick interior parts aren’t exactly something you find in the big-name catalogs. It will be an expensive proposition to restore this Wildcat.
But you want to, right? Look at the glorious W-shaped tail panel and semi-fastback roofline. The swoopy ’65 GM full-sizers were at least a styling cycle ahead of their competition, perhaps too far; some today still prefer the more square-rigged Fords and Mopars from that heady year of American motordom. But Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, and Buick all put on a show for ’65, and all have their fans today.
The seller of this ’65 gives us very little to go on in the ad aside from mentioning that more pictures are available upon request. It looks solid in the photos but dark colors can hide a lot of rust. Still, if you live near Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, it might be worth a look. The high bid is currently $1,825 with about four days to go. Will it end up with an LS-based engine under the hood? Another Nailhead? Will it be a parts car? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Comments
Imagine the smile when the original owner, rolled this big Buick out on to the highway and punched it 😃😲😎
Imagine the smile any one of us would have driving this restored, punching the throttle, and hearing that Nailhead come to life!!!
💯 Driveinstile
The 401 was probably robbed out of this car for use in some hot rod. Now what? Better to spend 15K on a completed ’65 Wildcat.
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1964-buick-wildcat-canton-oh-2830734
“Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick? Buick, a ’65 Buick”. Her name was Linda November, and was known for quite possibly the most famous jingle in car sales history. She was to Buick what Dinah Shore was to Chevy. Buick sold an amazing 659,000 vehicles that year, and that jingle was a big part of it. She also was the cats voice in the Meow Mix commercials, among many others.
The WILDCAT,,,wow, doesn’t get much more impressive than that. When people were impressed by cars with wild animal names, like Mustang, and Cougar, and of course,,,the WILDCAT. Not some XR386T, clearly for wusses. Like all these projects, unless someone has a motor, and not unusual with the “collections” we see here, it could be a heck of a car again. But in my usual demeanor, since money is no object, apparently, just find a nice one and be done with it. Used to be, the restoration was as exciting as the eventual drive. That just doesn’t float today.
In the early 70s my uncle had one much like this one. His was bright red with black interior. It had the chrome and black wheels on it too. He had bought it second hand but it looked brand new. It was one of the pettiest cars with graceful lines and a lot of power. Later, my older brother bought it and proceeded to drive it into the ground. It died a rusty and wrecked death around 1976. It only took him 3~4 years to make a grade “A” junk pile out of it.
I hope the feature car gets treated to a better fate than the one that started my appreciation for these great machines.
That was one sexy cat when new
cool cat that needs a lot of work
In 1975 I put a 65 Wildcat seat in my 55 Nomad. Super comfortable and wore like iron, but 2 seams began to split. In 2020 I ordered a front seat cover kit from Legendary Interiors. C vid hit and I didn’t hear anything nor could reach anyone for about 6 months. One day the kit showed up, very nice quality and faithful reproduction. I picked a hot sunny day to install it, leaving the cover in the hot sun while I stripped the old cover off. The new cover stretched on very nicely and the fit is perfect. Don’t know if Legendary still has this kit, but it’s the one the above car needs!
I think ’63 was the first year for the Wildcat
It’s not.
https://autocatalogarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Buick-Range-1962-.pdf
Dalton would approve.
One of my favorite cars. It’s got it all.
I don’t honestly see much value in this particular offering, but the fact that one of these was available with a manual, (4 speed?) was worth reading about it.
You could get a three speed OR a four speed. I’m not totally sure on the Wildcat, but GM used the “Dearborn” three speed on its stronger cars with the standard stick. “Dearborn” of course means “made by Ford.”
Had a 65 LeSabre with a 3 speed column shift. 300 V-8. Only option was power steering. Not even a radio. Did put dual exhaust on it. A nice driving oddball car. Loved it.
Had a young man who worked for me in about 1969 at a Buick dealer. Man came in complaining his 65 Electra used too much gas. I looked and told him “No wonder you have 2x4s”. He asked what he could do so I asked my guy if he wanted them and he said YES! His dad was a mechanic and he did the swap.
That Buick would fly with those 2x4s.
Always wondered if that made a difference on the Electra. Probably not.
This one brings back memories of learning how to drive. My dad had a ’65 LeSabre in the same color. I always loved the dash on this one. There was a little dial on the speedometer you could set at a certain speed. It would sound an alarm if you exceeded that speed.