LaSSt One
08-05-2003, 03:53 PM
My Father-In-Law recently inherited from a family member a '68 Buick Wildcat Convertible. This thing is a serious land yacht with a huge 430 engine with a 4 bbl, but it is in very rough shape. Just had a mechanic go over the car and discovered after putting up on the rack that the frame rails are just about gone.... swiss cheesed with rust. In fact the rear end is no longer mounted to the car... the mounting points have rusted away. So it needs a new frame among other things. Since the car has sentimental value, and it's a pretty rare piece from what I can tell, I want to find out what it would take to do an off frame resto on it before we decide to pull the plug on the 'ol cat. I'm sure a phone call to a couple of places will confirm for me that the cost will be too high, but I want to know for sure before giving up on it. Anyone know of any good resto shops around Cent Fl? Thanks!
SFB767
08-05-2003, 04:06 PM
I know Ultimate Motor Works in Longwood has a restoration shop, but I don't know if they specialize in classic Amercian cars. Give them a call and see what they can do for you.
407-339-3443
Kwiksilverz28
08-05-2003, 04:31 PM
Find a donor car and use the shell from it. A full on resto is huge money to farm out......
LaSSt One
08-05-2003, 06:06 PM
Originally posted by Kwiksilverz28
Find a donor car and use the shell from it. A full on resto is huge money to farm out......
Thanks for the suggestions. The possibility of finding a frame and going at this on my own has floated across my mind several times, but I don't have the space, time, tools or talent for such a project. What we do have are some dollars to use. Now with that said, I did check with Ultimate Motorworks yesterday. They do work on american muscle although their real speciality is classic and exotic european sports cars. But while I am sure they would do a fantastic job, the 30 to 40K price tag is more than the budget I have for this. Anyone have any other suggestions for me to try?
Kwiksilverz28
08-05-2003, 08:59 PM
Store it until you have the time and more importantly the space. I would love to do a project like this, but I will need at least 2 bays just for that project. If the frame is so rotten that it is falling apart, repair will be tough. I wasn't being smart when I said to find a shell. Probably the only idea that can be made moveable rather quickly....
Ron C!
08-05-2003, 09:28 PM
I think there is a Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac group here in central FL. Maybe if you can find them, they can lead you to someone that is able and willing to take on the project at a reasonable cost.