California Wildcat in great colors. Loaded with options including working factory A/C. Bucket seats and console. Great running 401 cubic inch “Nailhead” V8 with Dynaflow automatic transmission. A great-looking piece of Buick luxury/performance for an equally great price.

OK, let’s deal with the elephant in the living room first—go take a look at the photos of the leading edges of the doors, then come back and we’ll talk about it…

Back? Good. As far as we can tell, the paint bubbling is due to leeching solvents from when the doors were stripped for a repaint several years ago. Some of the solvent must have remained in the cracks and crevices and it’s causing the paint to bubble today. It isn’t rust because the car comes from California and the door bottoms, rockers, and other critical areas are completely solid. We asked three different body shops to handle the repairs and all three said it would be no big deal to strip the doors below the side moldings and clean things up, but none of them were able to tackle the job until next spring. So we made the decision to put the car on the market and let the next owner take advantage of the situation—get it fixed and there’s a lot of upside to this car.

Now, with all that said, let’s focus on what’s great about this car. First, it’s gorgeous. The long, lean Wildcat shape looks great in black and with the sophisticated hardtop styling, it looks like an Impala on steroids. A bright swatch of brushed stainless highlights the front fenders, giving the Buick an easy-to-spot identity that we like a lot. Of course, three “venti-ports” in the front fenders are unmistakably Buick and it proudly wears the Buick tri-shield emblem on the nose and tail. The bodywork—aside from the doors—is excellent and it wears the black paint quite well. There are no ripples or waves and the sheetmetal underneath is laser-straight. This car was originally code R, Desert Sand, which is a pretty blah color on the sporty Wildcat, and the repaint was obviously thorough—there’s no trace of the original hue anywhere, even in the door jambs and engine bay. Someone did a really good job, aside from the obvious. The chrome and stainless trim remains in very good original condition, including the aforementioned side trim that looks great. You’ll also note the original factory EZ-I tinted glass remains in place and in excellent condition. This is a great-looking car from any angle.

The silver bucket seat interior is perfect 1960s cool. Black carpets and dash keep it from looking to spacey, and Buick’s designers did an awesome job of blending sport and luxury. The instrument panel should look familiar to Riviera fans, with two big, round gauges ahead of the driver and auxiliary controls down low. HVAC controls are those awesome aircraft-type sliders above the radio, and yes, the A/C does work like it should—a miracle! The console features Buick’s cool little pushbutton shifter, as well as a working factory tach. The original Sonomatic AM radio is still in the dash, augmented by an FM converter underneath that was probably installed sometime in the 1970s. New carpets look great and are protected by matching carpeted floor mats and the back seat looks practically unused. Overhead there’s a beautiful matching headliner with chrome bows that make the inside of the Wildcat feel special. And as a full-sized Buick, trunk space is massive with complete upholstery and factory cardboard bulkheads as well as a full-sized spare tire and jack assembly.

Buick’s 401 cubic inch “Nailhead” V8 was legendary for making torque, and that’s what the ‘445’ on the air cleaner signifies: the engine’s torque rating. Wearing a coat of Dante Red engine enamel, the engine bay is nicely detailed and extremely clean, with original details throughout. The A/C equipment dominates, but you’ll also find proper valve covers, new belts and hoses, some recent wiring, a rebuilt brake system, and even a reproduction Delco battery topper so it looks authentic. It starts easily and runs great, pulling the big coupe around with genuine authority, and even the little stuff is right—the “COLD” lamp on the instrument panel, for example, that stays illuminated until the engine reaches operating temperature. I suppose you could call the Dynaflow automatic transmission a 2-speed, but that doesn’t really cover it. It has two ranges, yes, but there are really no gears and the sensation of acceleration is so seamless that you have to experience it to understand it. It’s plenty snappy thanks to 3.42 gears out back, but it’s also a comfortable highway cruiser that just loafs along in the Nailhead’s sweet spot. This is a fantastic road trip car. Look around underneath and you’ll find a fresh dual exhaust system that sounds exactly right—not too loud but not anonymous, either. The floors are California clean with no undercoating to hide any surprises, and recent shocks maintain that Buick luxury ride quality. Gorgeous Buick Road Wheels are always the right choice and they carry newer 235/75/15 whitewall radials for the perfect 1960s look.

Get past the obvious and this is one heck of a car. If you’re an enthusiast with vision or maybe a guy who knows a guy who’s handy with a spray gun, there’s a lot of upside with this awesome Wildcat. Most of the heavy lifting is done with the detailed engine bay, beautiful interior, and reliable mechanicals, so all you have to do is see the potential and make the move. Call today!

Harwood Motors always recommends and welcomes personal or professional inspections of any vehicle in our inventory prior to purchase.