Reference Material

[beancounter]

Any suggestions on good reference material for a 1965 Buick Wildcat? I'm looking to purchase one and wanted to start doing some homework.

Thanks in advance.

[Guest my3buicks]

Ebay is a great place to find literature and books about your car. Type in 1965 Buick and 65 Buick in the search area to see what is available. Be patient and you will be able to find a wealth of stuff there.

[ol' yeller]

I think the best place to find reference material is through the Buick Club of America. They have technical advisors for almost every year and model. A secondary place is at the local chapter of the BCA if nearby. I have found a wealth of knowledge and resources from both of these places. Of course you have to give in order to get. Become an active member, it pays huge dividends. Who knows, your ideal car is probably either in a member's possession right now or they know where one is.

[NTX5467]

In addition to the great suggestions already made, there are also several books you can find at Borders or Barnes&Noble (or on their respective websites). One is the quarterly publication "Old Cars Price Guide". The others include "The Complete Book of Buick" (with yearly breakdowns on what was available each year as to model, equipment, and specs) and the book on Buick Musclecars (which really goes all the way back to the first V-8 Buicks in the '50s instead of just focusing on the '60s and newer intermediate Skylarks and such).

It would be nice to find a dealer's Order Guide book on eBay as that would detail everything that was originally slated for that year (as the books are printed several months prior to actual vehicle production) as to model series, equipment options, color/trim selection and such. From there, you could progress to finding a Buick GM Service Manual from a literature vendor (who also might have the sales brochures for that vehicle too). One thing leads to another, just depends on what you want to pursue and how much you desire to spend in time and money.

Also, you might check some of the larger libraries for copies of various car magazines from that general era for road tests and new model information. Usually, the main magazines were full of new model information in either the September or October issues back then (as everyone introduced all of their new models at one time each year--"Show Date"). "Popular Science", "Car Life", "Motor Trend", and maybe "Mechanix Illustrated" were the key players back then in new car information and road tests.

"The Complete Book of Buick" might be the best general information resource. Also, do not forget the Buick history book which Terry Dunham co-authored.

On the Internet, click on the Buick Webring area at the bottom of the BCA home page for a list of sites in the webring. Might find some websites of others who have those particular vehicles too. Other various bulletin boards related to Buicks too, but most of them probably are related to newer models.

Hope this helps . . .

NTX5467

[beancounter]

Thanks for all the information. I haven't yet been able to find "The Complete Book of Buick" but I did find the "Standard Catalog of Buick." I'll try e-bay a little later today.

[NTX5467]

My mistake . . .it is the "Standard Catalog of Buick". My apologies . . .

Also similar "Standard Catalog of _____" for other cars too.

NTX5467