JJorgensen52

@MrEarl, first question first - Coast Guard, going on 10 years next month. Now, regards to cars - as you can see, I too have a bit of a fleet of vehicles (there are a few others not on that list) some from before the Wildcat and some after. With the exception of the '50 GMC (which I am building, albeit slowly, for my parents) and the '69 K10 (my first classic; so rusty from being used as a driver that it's probably only good for scrap, but I may yet try to save it as it is a rare one), all are running, driving rigs I use semi-regularly. My wife is supportive of my hobby and I do get a naptime here or an evening there, so I have some time to keep plugging away. I asked this question because I have been debating with myself; you all have shared all of the options I was considering, plus some more besides, and a lot of interesting reasoning which I hadn't explored before. As several stated, it's costing me nothing to store and is protected from further damage, so I have no heartache there. Some days, when one of the other cars needs to be tinkered with I'd love to have that space, but the weather is kind here at my current station so working outdoors is very viable. I do, however, always have the spectre of a future military move taking me somewhere that I can't bring the shell with, and right now I have no viable plan for that circumstance - so far, I have been able to avoid it across 4 tours, and I fear my fortunes may change. The point that most resonated with me was those who commented on how a major restoration like this can seem daunting - that I think is really the meat of it. I hate seeing the car sit, but I also want to fix it all the way the right way and it's a long job. In the end, seeing how many others have been through or are in LONG term projects like this, I am heartened a bit. My plan in the immediate future is to start organizing and better laying out some of the small tasks, so I can get back at it and perhaps see her roadworthy again, if not fully restored. At the same time, I am going to start exploring options for how to store the car long term, if I have to move and can't take it with me. I think that will make this decision for me, more than anything. My thanks for your thoughts! It has been helpful.

I can't agree with this one, I'm asking because I do! If I didn't care for the car this would be easy, cut my losses and clear it out of the garage. A lot of great points here, I really appreciate the discussion. It's brought on some good retrospective. I will share some of that later on when the little one is in bed.

Good evening all! I've been absent from the forum for quite some time, which is a good indicator of why I'm posting tonight. I purchased a one owner barn-find '63 Wildcat coupe back in the summer of 2013 - it had been sitting in a barn since the mid-'70s and had under 45k original miles. It still has the bias plies on it from when it was parked. I did basic maintenance, then drove the car for about 6 months before starting to disassemble it for paint work. Upon doing so, I found some rust in the car - B-pillars under the trim, inner rockers, trunk above the body mounts. At that point, I started making plans to pull the body off the chassis and repair the metal properly. Then life happened. Fast forward 6 years, and the car has been sitting, disassembled and ready for the body to be pulled, in dry storage, basically untouched. I am in the service, so I've had to move several times, it's been in and out of commercial storage units, currently sitting in my climate controlled shop. Along with it I've accumulated a bunch of option parts to add to it (correct '63 AM/FM, winter's valve covers, a set of '64 Wildcat formula 5 wheels, a correct '64 wildcat T10 with pedals, bellhousing, correct Hurst shifter, bracket and linkage, along with various parts for that swap, straight rechromed center for the rear bumper, vacuum trunk release, parts for a rear speaker), and carefully labelled and boxed every nut, bolt and part removed from the car. I'm just now admitting to myself that having since gotten married, with one toddler and another on the way, that I have neither the time, nor the funds, to repair this car in the near future. While I love the look and feel of a big Buick, it's just not in the cards with everything else going on. So, tonight I'm wondering what to do. I can keep the car in mothballs as a someday project, or put it up for sale and look for another Buick enthusiast who can bring it back to life while I cannot. This was a complete, running driving car, which is still complete though in pieces and needing repair and reassembly. Photos from the day I brought it home, then as it sits (or close, it's got boxes stacked on it). What are your thoughts?

My previous question is now moot - I have acquired a complete transmission and shifter setup from a wrecked '64 Wildcat with 40k miles!! An old hot rodder stored them, along with the correct dual quad 425, back in the late '60s, for a race car he was building - but never finished. Very excited, need to clean everything up before I take any pictures, though. I'm in the process of moving/building a new shop, so the 'Cat is in storage right now, sadly, but I hope to have it out in the fall and start working again!

Well, this project has been dormant for a LONG time, I got tied up in too many other things... Anyways, I'm going to be getting back into the transmission swap - the next thing I need to do is get a new center section for my driveshaft, and that leads to a question: What output yoke should be in this car? The service manual shows a 16 spline count on the T10 output shaft, but that yoke only uses 1310 series U-joints, where the original joints in the car were 1330. Has anyone with a manual trans car had to replace U-joints, and if so do you remember what series they were?

GM's part catalog shows the pan as a PN 25522386 - GM's stock distributor shows new inventory, so the local dealer may be able to find one: http://www.gmpartsgiant.com/parts/gm-pan-asm-25522386.html The '91 parts book (GM Parts Wiki links) shows applications from 82-84 across all the platforms with the 231 and later 4.1L engine (this information is also summarized in the vendor link, above): http://www.gmpartswiki.com/getpage?pageid=131222 http://www.gmpartswiki.com/getpage?pageid=131223 Short answer, yes some Buick models in that vintage, same engine, would work. Hope that helps.

Too true! The fellow who owns it seems to be leaning towards parting it out ... must need the funds.

I found this ad whilst searching for a 3.42 posi center section - I have not seen it in person, but it seems like a very complete and very nice project. As much as I need the posi, I'd hate to see a rare car get chopped. Somebody should save it! http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/5057399760.html

Wow! It's been forever since I had a chance to work on this car. I've gotten deeply involved in building a 1950 GMC hot-rod/cruiser (if you're interested, click here) - but I am still slowly collecting Buick parts, and I've finally gotten the four speed tail housing swapped, cross member straightened and the whole affair is bolted up into the car. Score! The next two steps are getting a new driveshaft mid-section made for the longer trans, and getting the shifter set up in the car. Hopefully this summer I will be focused on this one again.

Anyone of you lucky enough to have a manual trans car - I am looking for a photo (and measurements if possible) of the radius arm return spring and bracket, shown here: This particular piece is missing from my set-up and I am looking into fabricating a replacement. Many thanks in advance.

Good news! I have here now a correct T10-7B tailhousing with the right date code for this car, so I will be moving forward with getting the trans in, fabricating the shifter mount and linkage, and getting a front driveshaft section made. Bad news. I haven't had any time for this project in a while. Hopefully after the holiday I will get a chance to do the tailhousing swap. Happy early Thanksgiving, all!

Bump. No takers?

My area of repair is localized, I am going to hand make panels for the patches I need. It will take less time and fitting than replacing the whole pan.

John, that is a sharp color! I admit I am still partial to the blue, but you're tempting me. I've got time to decide Also, a good looking car. I'd never seen a 98 of that vintage before. One more to add to the list...

I've got a set of front floor pans, left and right, for 1961-1964 fullsize Buick. They're from Classic2Current fabrication. Cost $60 + s&h each new, asking $110 shipped. Still in the original box, just have changed my plan of attack on repairs on my car and decided I am not going to use them.