JJorgensen52

That is a beautiful car! Warning, sidenote: I have to ask, that looks a lot like an XR6 Falcon parked in the shed??

Hi folks, Trying to find some donor sheet metal to make repairs to my Wildcat. I have very solid quarter panels, except right where the panel meets the roof pillars by the rear windshield: I would be looking for a square cut-out, about 4" back from the window, trunk extension panel to top of the fin, and then forward to the front of the roof pillar. Both sides. Anyone have any leads? Thanks in advance.

Well, I've now got a radio enroute to me. It's a '69 model year from an Electra, and not stereo, but is 2 speaker mono. I will add the rear seat speaker to my car. John, you were correct, the multiplex amplifier is connected directly to the base unit in 1970 as well - for full size cars. Also, some more research on my part discovered that the radio I had previously been looking at (ebay link above), being from a Skylark, has a slightly different mounting dimension. The full-size cars' face plate sits slightly closer to the base of the radio, which works better in my application.

More trim comes off, more rust appears Anyways, this weekend, pulled off all of the hardtop trim around the windows on both sides. I also removed the interior rear window trim, sail panels and 5th (rearmost) row of the headliner, to gain access to the hardware mounting the lower roof pillar trims. I've got rust at the base of the B-pillar on both sides - fortunately localized, and it looks like I should not have too much trouble removing it. But more work than I had hoped for. Still wresting with getting the windshield trims off - I'm petrified of bending any of the stainless! Driver Passenger

Jim, PM sent. This community is a wonderful thing I've attached a sketch of the dimensions I was able to take on my radio - I will keep you all posted as this idea progresses. I suspect the biggest issue may turn out to be the depth of the chrome face housing.

I agree. Thanks John! I have taken some dimension off my radio, but I'm having some computer related issues right now so I probably won't get the info posted until Monday. Based on the information I have, it looks like everything is a good match except for the size of the chrome bead which protrudes through the dash - and it's close. I did not check the size of the opening in the dash, I will do that tonight. RivNut is correct - in my car, there is actually a bracket on the bottom of the radio which offsets it 5/8" up from the mounting bracket in the dash. I suspect the dash opening was sized for a Wonderbar, as the Sonomatic is lost in there! I have at least 2" of extra room on either side, though clearance above is minimal

Yes. Very aware of this, I actually just did a "swap" of a late 80's K10 radio into a '72 - with some trimming it fit, but had to remove the ash tray. It'll work for now, since I had it and my other radio died! As far as I can tell, AM/FM was in fact available in '63 in a mono two speaker configuration, but I've yet to find one as such. I've seen a couple '64 units, all very pricey. I'm more interested in having the AM/FM and the stock look - that is, BUICK spelled out on the push buttons. The knobs I expect will interchange. I'd be happy to keep my single dash speaker, or if I were lucky enough to find a two speaker unit, install the center speaker in my rear seat. I will take you up on that this weekend, I think. I appreciate the offer!

Just shopping around a bit today, I would like to have FM radio reception in my car, but I am not really a fan of how the conversions look and function. So, I'm curious if I could use a later 60's unit and install it in place of my '63 Sonomatic. Dimensionally similar, but not having a second unit to actually try it, not sure. Not really wanting to purchase a unit without knowing that, at least physically, it will fit. Has anyone tried this before? I'm looking at a unit such as this: here's the auction (http://www.ebay.com/itm/221367927841?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649)

New price! $250 + S&H. These need to go.

On both counts, you are correct, sir! I was under the impression (perhaps mistakenly) that the rear seat heater ducts were a standard feature on console equipped cars? Also, I've been given to understand that a car with manual trans would have had the driver's side cut to facilitate the shift linkage. In looking at the shifter geometry for the dynaflow, I'm hopeful that I can modify my new shift linkage to pass through the floor with little modification to the pan itself - which would also allow the heat ducting to remain in place.

This weekend's update. First thing I did today was attempt to get the passenger's window to work, to no avail. After some work at dis-assembly, I removed the motor and found out it was rather, err, cooked. It looks like it was full of water at some point? Anyway, will be looking for a replacement for that. Progressing further, I stripped out the rest of the interior. Mostly, I was very pleased with what I've found, especially given this is a lifetime New England car. In each front floor pan, I found some perforation in the pan directly above the body mount boxes. Otherwise, the pans appear solid and other than some sweat equity and a wire brush, I'm in good shape. Next project on my list is getting all the trim off the the outside of the car. And then the rest of the window regulators.

sean1997 - it would appear you are correct. Here's the cowl tag on my car: My body number is 1037, so the first line ought to read: 1037.4647.CC.689 if this were the correct sheet. I suppose it makes sense that they could have gotten mixed up, with the same interiors and being only two body numbers apart. Given the information you posted, the only options on that sheet that are not correct are C08 - Vinyl Roof, T87 - Cornering lamps, and U64 - Sonomatic with power antenna (my car has Sonomatic with a manual antenna) Larry Schramm - that's interesting, I had no idea that a car sold to a fleet service would have had a different code. I have the original manual with delivering dealer information, so I suspect that to not be the case. C16 Windshield Washer with Dual Speed Wiper is installed on the car, so that makes sense. Thank you for the information!

Gents - In removing the rear seat from my Wildcat tonight, I found a "build sheet" pinned into the springs of the rear seat (it took quite a bit of effort to extricate it without further damage!) I say build sheet because I've never seen a hand-written reference list like this, only the printed sheets used in the later 60's and up. That said, it is my understanding that the RPO codes of this type (one letter, two numbers) were first used in 1963, but all the information I can find for option codes for '63 uses a single letter and number. Does anyone know of a list of such codes? I tried matching them to the Chevrolet listings for B-bodies of this era, and some of them make sense, some do not, and some do not appear at all: C08 - Vinyl Roof (this does not make sense) A02 - Tinted Windshield Glass A31 - Electric Window Control C16 - ??? D33 - Remote Control Mirror J50 - Vacuum Power Brakes N33 - Tilt Steering N40 - Power Steering P26 - ??? T87 - ??? (Later GM RPO codes indicate cornering lights, which my car does not have) U64 - ??? Y56 - ??? Y59 - ??? Likewise, I would be curious to know what the numbers in the first three lines mean. 4647 I recognize as the model code, but otherwise the numbers don't match anything I can find on the car. Any insight appreciated!

A little while back I purchased a 401 out of a '63 LeSabre, to get all of the stick parts. Today, I actually got a chance to poke around the motor a bit. It fired right up, but it was making terrible noises! So, I pulled the oil pan and I found this: Cylinder #1 Cylinder #4 Pan below #1 Obviously, something untoward happened to this motor. It is also clear that there is some water in the oil (though no evidence of corrosion or damage to the rotating assembly from that). Having not yet pulled the crank and pistons, I can't tell for sure but it looks like #4 would require at least being bored over .020 - .030, and #1 has severe damage to the cylinder walls, to the point you can see into the water jacket between #1 and #3 (3 o'clock position in the first photo). It appears the wall damage extends nearly halfway around the circumference of the bore. This is a standard JR coded 401, regular fuel 4 barrel model out of a base LeSabre. It is unusual in that it has a manual transmission crankshaft, drilled for a pilot and not the Dynaflow converter. So, my question is, is it worth having the block cleaned/tanked, magnafluxed, and then sleeved? I have a set of 4 spare pistons and rods, so parts to reassemble are handy. My prior experience is with Chevrolets, and I know that unless it were a particularly unusual engine (400SBC or something similar), this kind of damage would be an automatic scrap sentence. I'm just not sure if the Nailheads are rare enough to make it worth the effort. It actually ran really well, considering!

Chiming in as one of the younger folks - I'm 26 now and I've got a small fleet of classics in various states of disrepair. I love them to death, I grew up in a family with people who are forever talking about the latest cars or this that or the other they had to fix. I was fortunate to have supportive parents, who gave me access to tools and garage space and one of their worn out drivers to work on. I'm comfortable with working on anything, fuel injected, carb, so long as I have a shop manual. I also have a lot of friends my age who like to hang out and enjoy my cars, and think it's great that I'm working to preserve them. But they're entirely lost when it comes to how to do it. Or how to find enough time, or money. Priorities in society seem to have shifted a lot for folks my age - when my parents were this old, they were already married, working, had a house, and so on. The majority of folks I know in my age group are either still in school, or struggling to find work. Only time will tell, I think. Meantime, I'll gladly be a custodian to any collector cars that need a new home

More work on getting the car stripped down for paint. My plans did a bit of a 180 this weekend, so I only had perhaps 4 hours to work, but I made some progress. Rear bumper and trims removed, as well as stripped the trunk pan of foam lining and insulating mats. I confirmed that the rear of the car is very solid, and the lower quarters are actually in better shape than I had first anticipated. I unfortunately also discovered that whatever caused my bent bumper also bent the upper portion of the rear fascia, as well as the trunk lid: But, worst news of the day: Rust. I knew I was going to have to repair the rear corner of the passenger's quarter, but the two spots in the trunk are new discoveries. Over the driver's side body mounts at both the front and rear of the pan: Front driver's trunk mount Rear driver's mount (from above in trunk, and from below in cross sill) Fortunately the cancer appears to be localized, so I should not have too much difficulty in removing it.

Pete, Thank you, this shows exactly what I needed to see. I am not too terribly surprised to find that they did it this way - as I see no real other solution. The pedals are at such very different heights!

Ted, If you did get around to doing that, it would be very much appreciated!

Pete, I need a photo of what the brake pedal looks like, and where it attaches to the booster linkage - that is, where is the linkage attached relative to the pivot at the top of the pedal. At least in peering at my car, it appeared the angle to the booster would be too extreme to still clear the steering column. Is the pedal common to the clutch shaft, or on its own pivot?

A few of you have been sharing information and ideas with me on some questions with this car, so I figured it was time to start a project thread. Anyways, back in June of '13 (seems so long ago!) I put down a deposit on this car, and finally brought it home (with a brand new Waldron's stainless exhaust) in mid-September. It had last been on the road in 1975, and had one owner. After I brought it home, first order of business was to fix the brakes - the original vacuum booster was completely toasted. I decided, since I was in there, to upgrade to a dual circuit master and booster ('67 Wildcat parts), and add an electric brake light switch at the same time. This immediately led to failing two original brake lines, which I replaced, then bled the brakes and adjusted the rears. Now it stops smoothly. After that, changed the oil and took it out for a drive, which lasted about 1 mile before it stalled - come to find out, the fuel tank had 1" of shellac in the bottom of it and the sending unit was completely plugged. After 18 gallons of old fuel, a little xylene, and some elbow grease, I had fuel flowing again. Next problem up was the cooling system - or lack thereof. Between 30+ years of galvanic corrosion and decay, the system was plugged and the water pump toast. So I installed a new pump, thermostat and water neck. Then I flushed the entire system multiple times over. Unfortunately, the car was still overheating – this led me to disassemble the radiator and rod it out – it was VERY clogged. It has a few minor leaks now but I was at least able to get some road miles on the car and verify other system problems. Such as the alternator and voltage regulator, which both required replacement shortly thereafter. And the status of my Dynaflow: very leaky. It was just this past month I came into possession of a nearly complete ’63 LeSabre 401 from a three-on-the-tree car – on close inspection, it appears the only components I am missing are the clutch shield (which the gentleman who sold it to me believes he has and is looking for) and the small return spring and tab which mounts to the bellhousing. I also found myself a set of ’64 Formula Five wheels, which I will be cleaning up to install on the car. Current Progress: Honestly, I haven’t done much with the car, aside from tuck it away for the winter in the new heated shop I’ve been building for the last 2 months (eating my project funds and time!). This past weekend, I got it up on stands in preparation for work underneath the car and bodywork. Current plans: Refresh brake system – I have replaced the master, and I have all new pads, hardware and cylinders to rebuild all four drums. At the same time, I will assess the bearings and seals. Suspension – at the very least, my rear suspension needs all new bushings. Most likely will replace all of the front and rear rubber. Body – I have found two places where welding is needed – the rear of the driver’s side rocker box requires a patch, and the rear corner of the passenger’s quarter where it meets the bumper. There is also a small puncture in the hood which I will repair. Otherwise, the body is in pretty good shape. I’ve begun stripping the trim off the car, I am planning to fix the dent in the rear panel, clean and treat all of the rust, then repaint the car here in my shop on the frame. I’m looking at leaving the roof white, and painting the body Twilight Aqua (or similar), this is the basic idea: (’63 LeSabre photo, which I found here some time ago and photo-shopped the roof). I am not planning to do a complete, proper color change at this time, as I am planning to do a frame off on this car sometime in the next 5 years. Likewise, the interior on this car is VERY nice. All I am planning to do here is rebuild the window regulators, recover the headliner boards, and fix the radio / wipers. Mechanical – The engine in this car runs like a top. I will likely do a full tune-up with new plugs, and I am going to change the oil again and clean out the oil pan, but otherwise I see no need for changes. I will be ordering a new radiator as well. Modifications: Here’s the big one. I’m swapping this car from Dynaflow to manual trans. My Dynaflow is in need of, at very least, a high pressure pump rebuild and full reseal, and since I like sticks anyway I decided to spend the money on a swap rather than a rebuild. To that end, I have spent the last 5 months researching the factory setup and locating parts. My plan is as such: Factory bellhousing with Bendtsen’s flywheel and standard AC Delco 11” clutch ’64 – ’66 Starter (REMY rebuilt) which is required for this flywheel Pilot bearing adapter from Centerville Auto (rather than swapping in the manual crankshaft from my spare engine) Complete stock clutch linkage and pedal brackets Richmond Super Street 5 speed O.D. with the ratio set: 2.89 (1st), 1.85 (2nd), 1.31 (3rd), 1.00 (4th), 0.77 (5th) – this trans is a dimensional replacement for the T10, and uses the same style shifter and external linkage. This gear set closely mimics the factory gears for 1963. I am intending to make as few permanent changes to the car as possible, and keeping all of the Dynaflow parts for originality purposes. So far, I’ve run into 3 problems: Driveshaft. The Dynaflow is 24” long overall, while a Richmond or BW T10 is 27”. I have a good driveshaft shop that can easily replicate the front part of the driveshaft in the correct length. I am going to use a Spicer 1330 u-joint, rather than the GM 3RL/S44 style the car currently has – comparable in strength, but 3RL yokes are difficult to find. Transmission mount. I have the original stick shift cross member; however, the Richmond trans mounts approximately 3/8” lower and 3.8” further back than the T10 did. As such, I will build a custom cross member to carry it. I will be using an Energy Suspension poly mount, standard GM style, short model (which is 0.40” shorter than standard), which will give me some flexibility in mounting. Shifter / Linkage. Console shift Wildcats being as rare as they are, these parts are virtual unobtainium. The Richmond trans uses a Long external rail shifter; I will fabricate a replica of the console shifter mount (of which I have some pictures) to position it as the factory had. I will have to make my own console trim plate and shift rods as well. Stay tuned for photos and updates as things progress. I will also be trying to keep track of all the part numbers I use and sources of supply so that I can provide the information, if there is interest in that.

I will actually be ordering that later on today - I was originally planning to try and find a correct T10 for the car, but after reading up on the factory ratios and researching options, I've settled on this trans: http://www.jegs.com/i/Richmond-Gear/836/7020510B/10002/-1 It's a Richmond 5 speed, which carries nearly the same ratio set as the early T10, plus an overdrive. It's rated to 500ft-lbs and it's a dimensional direct replacement for the T10. I will have to have a new front drive shaft made (the overall length of a T10 / Richmond is 27.1", vs. 24" for the dynaflow), and I will have to make a new cross member and extend shift linkage to retain console shift positioning, but it should be overall doable and requires minimal modifications to the car (no more so than a T10 would). I guess I should probably move over to the Me and My Buick forum and start a thread for this

I had thought that, but the clutch linkage actually goes directly through the floor in this case and never into the engine compartment at all! It's not quite like anything I ever saw before. That said, there's no way the booster could be high enough on the firewall to have the linkage clear the column with the pedal hung where it is, unless they mounted it at a downward angle.

I must admit, that is pretty clever! And very clean, too. I do have the complete factory clutch linkage, I have no concerns there. My original intent had been to simply graft the manual and power brake pedals together, to retain the correct pad and pivot points, and then extend the linkage to suit. This was before I had actually held the pedals in hand side by side. I am concerned about clearance on the steering column if I attempt to use the lower pivot point on the manual pedal, which mounts closer to the driver (and thus the bend to clear the column is higher up the pedal arm). The manual specifies a 6:1 advantage in manual, vs. 2-1/2:1 in power brakes. That said, I think at this point my approach will be to use the spare power brake pedal I have for parts, and weld it to the upper portion of the manual brake pedal, so that I have my actual pedal arm, and then a second arm which re-creates the factory location and geometry, as best I can, of the power brake pivot. That way I don't have to change boosters or modify any other part of the system, just the pedal itself.

I'm in the process of converting my '63 Wildcat from Dynaflow to manual trans, and I'm looking at the pedal assembly: The assembly currently has a power brake pedal installed (done by the PO of this setup), and the original brake pedal removed. The second and third photos show the location of the pushrod pivot, relative to the top of the pedal, for power and manual respectively. Of all the manual shift '63 owners on the board, does anyone have (or know if one exists) a car with manual transmission and power brakes? The service manual only shows a manual brake clutch pedal assembly, but the manual trans information is fairly sparse so I don't want to rule it out strictly based on that. Thanks

Still looking for a buyer ...