Does anyone know how many 1965 wildcats came with floor mounted 4-speeds???

[Wildcat65]

I am loolking for this information as well.<BR>Who can help here!<P>------------------<BR>Ted Nagel<BR>65 WildcatConvSuperWcat<BR>65 WildcatAutoSuperWcat<BR>65 Wildcat4spdSuperWcat<BR>65 Riviera Wildcat 445<BR>65 Special Wagon 455<BR>70 GS Stage1 4speed

I had a 65 Wildcat 2 Dr HT with a 4 speed back in the 80's. I found out back then that a total of 211 4 speeds were built in ALL Wildcats for 1965. Hope this helps

[AK Buickman]

I used to own a '65 Wildcat Custom (6667) Convertible with factory 4-spd. I wrote to Buick Motor Division in 1978, and they replied that no production figures for a 4-spd Wildcat exist. UNOFFICIALLY, people I have spoken to at BCA shows in the past have reported that about (24) '65 Wildcat Convertibles left the factory with 4-spd, and about (12) 1965 Wildcats were equipped with both 4-spd and the "Super Wildcat" dual 4- bbl engine. These numbers varied from different people, but were consistently between 12-26 cars total. They never mentioned other body styles. Their figures were derived from working at, or owning a Buick dealer back in 1965, not from BMD documents. Including my car, I knew of three 1965 Wildcat Convertibles factory equipped with 4-spd, in the Chicago area back in the late '70's-early '80's.<BR>There was only one design of the 4-spd shifter and console in a '65 Wildcat, and NO tachometer was available from the factory, yet a tach WAS available on a car with automatic transmission/long center console. In 1963-1964, the Wildcats equipped with 4-spd used two different shifter handles and consoles. One used a short shift handle which came out of the long center console, while the other type used a long shift handle coming from the floor. The level of interior trim, and which center console was ordered probably dictated which shifter handle the car got<BR>Two different bell-housing styles were used in Buicks equipped with 4-spd (1) Fully-enclosed bell housing with no inspection cover, (2) Partially-enclosed bell housing using a stamped-steel inspection cover. My car had the fully enclosed bell housing. I used to have an open design bell housing that came from another '65 Wildcat. Possible 1st and 2nd design????<BR>AK Buickman..........

AK,<BR>Great info. I figure there are also no exact figures for the 64, just approximates. What other info on the 63-65 4-speeds do you know? Both my 64s are the open bellhousing type. I never knew that there was one with a closed unit (or was this just for 65?). These cars are quite intriguing. There is no real printed info to find about them.<P>Matt

[AK Buickman]

An interesting item on my 4-spd '65 Wildcat Custom convertible;<BR>The accelerator, brake, and clutch pedal did not have the usual thin stainless steel or aluminum appearance strips on them, like most other upper series Buicks in that year. I recall '65 Le Sabres lacking these shiny strips of metal on the pedals. Did all standard transmission Wildcats share these plain pedals with a Le Sabre?<BR>I installed new reproduction clutch and brake pedals on my Wildcat, from another GM full-size stick shift car that used the metal strips. Then, I swapped the gas pedal with an Electra 225 or Riviera. It looked so much more "Buick-like" after the pedals had the trim strips on them!<BR>The amount of wear on my original pedals when I purchased my car in 1978 was right for the cars use & mileage, so the pedals were probably original.<BR>Any other owners of 4-spd Wildcats check your pedals.<BR>AK Buickman.............

AK, non-power brake cars did not have the stainless strips on the brake, clutch, or parking brake pedals. My 4 speed (64, non-p/b) has no stainess pieces except for the gas pedal. Also, power brake and non-power brake gas pedals were different, with pb pedals being wider and longer. I, though, have not seen any gas pedals without the stainless piece. Just info from my observations. Matt

I own an unrestored '65 Wildcat 4dr.Deluxe HT with a 425, 4 spd. posi, radio and power steering. How many do you think of this model with these options? I met the guy that ordered it this way....his wife told him he had to buy a family car instead of a GS....