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1965 - 68 Wildcat: Long Wheelbase, Long Front Fenders


Centurion

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Greg Cockerill (Forum Member "70Electra") submitted a letter to the editor of "Collectible Automobile" magazine, responding to the April, 2004 article covering the 1965 and 1966 full-size Buicks. Greg's excellent letter was published in the August, 2004 issue.

Greg points out that the article was correct in stating that the Wildcat series cars rode the Electra 225's long, 126-inch wheelbase during the '65 and '66 model years. He notes that this was also the case in '67 and '68, and goes on to explain how Buick created the long wheelbase Wildcats.

Both the LeSabres and Wildcats utilized the General Motors "B" Body Shell, which was shared with other vehicles such as Impala/Caprice/Catalina/Bonneville/Grand Prix/Dynamic 88/Starfire and more. The LeSabre cars were built on a 123-inch wheelbase chassis during those years. The Wildcat used the same body from the firewall to the rear bumper (with trim differences), but used the Electra's 126-inch wheelbase.

Buick lengthened the Wildcat by using the Electra's longer hood and front fenders (with the unique Wildcat ornamentation). The Wildcat's added length (compared to the LeSabre) is seen in the area between the front wheel opening and the car's door. This added length gave the Wildcat very impressive proportions, and, in my view, made the '65 Wildcat the best-looking of all GM's striking new B-Body cars.

This approach to building a more powerful Buick with a longer hood and front fenders reminds me of the differences seen between the Specials and Centuries of the late '30's/early '40's and the Supers and Roadmasters of the late '40's/early '50's. This is a far more attractive approach to building a longer car than we've seen from some manufacturers, who have created a long hood line by creating an excessively-long front overhang area. A particularly glaring example is the early-to-mid 1970's Lincoln Continental Mark IV, which shared many underpinnings with the Thunderbird. The car is poorly-proportioned, and I've always thought that the wheelbase was not long enough relative to the overall length of the car. The Lincoln would have been far more impressive in appearance if several inches of front overhang length could be chopped off and spliced into the area between the front wheel opening and the vehicle door.

The '65 Wildcat has long been a personal favorite of mine, and looked especially great as a two-door hardtop. These factory publicity photos show the car's excellent proportions and high style:

203WildcatI-med.jpg

203WildcatII-med.JPG

203WildcatIII-med.JPG

Here's another of my favorite photos, straight from the cover of the GM's 1964 annual report. We see a stunning "Flame Red" '65 Wildcat convertible, sharing the nearest lane of the GM proving grounds test track with some of its B-Body siblings, including the Pontiac Grand Prix and Oldsmobile Jetstar I. This photo always makes me wish we could crank the clock back nearly 40 years:

203GM_Annual_Report-med.jpg

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Once again, we are reminded of how creative and imaginative Buick and GM people can be back in the days when they were allowed to do so. Three cars in the Buick line from one frame; add three inches and you have an Electra; add unique trim to the Electra fenders and keep the big engine you have the Wildcat! It reminds me of the 1972 photos in another message post where Electras and Skylark/GS models were coming off the SAME line at Buick City.

By the way, when you see the '65 Wildcat custom deluxe convertible in the photo, it is an exact copy of my '65.

Nowdays, GM has to wring its hands for years in order to change the grill, headlights or hood on a car, and even then they try to sell it as "all new." Sometimes they even have to go to one of their foreign companies such as Opel to build a new Cadillac (Catera) or Australia's GM Holden in order to find out how to build a new GTO.

I sure wish Bob Lutz could keep the bean counters and MBAs wearing suits out of the design studio and engineering labs long enough for GM to once again make cars that look and drive like the "standards of the world" as they once did.

Thanks for sharing the great photo of all the GM cars in one shot.

Joe

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The first photo was taken on the roof of the engineering building where I worked at the time.Inside the metal building were dressing rooms with lights and mirrors for the models to use.The turntable was so the car could be turned to get the best light.Also four floors up nobody could spy on experimental cars.Norb

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