Chuck Bridges
Active Member
Hello All:
My name is Chuck and I am, as far as classic cars and mechanics go, a total noob. I am a certified Journeyman Electronic tech, Journeyman Telecommunications network tech, Journeyman Telecommunications electrician (Cable splicer) and a certified computer technician with a 2 year diploma. You will notice, a lot of electronics, not mechanics. Help and advise gladly accepted. My brother-in-law recently gifted me his 1966 Buick Wildcat 2 door Sport Coupe as a birthday gift. Yeah, I know, I am completely spoiled by him. It is in the mechanics right now as it required an Out Of Province Inspection before I could insure and plate her. The mechanic found some front end and steering bushings that needed replacement as well as the heater core leaking into the cabin. Ray, when he found out it didn't pass, told me to put the repairs on his credit card (he is 750 KM, 450 Miles away so couldn't go down there himself) and pay me later. Yup, completely spoiled. He even drove it down from Northern Saskatchewan to Southern Alberta, Lethbridge on the last day he had insurance on it so I wold have it. That was 2 months ago. It went to the mechanics about 3 weeks ago, I hope to have her back tomorrow. She needs a little (very little) body work. I have one hole above the drivers rear wheel. That is the only rust she has as Ray, when he got it 12 years ago, cut out all of the rust and welded in new metal. I plan to repair that and install a new stereo as soon as I get it back.
I have admired the Wildcat from the time Ray got it. When I first saw it I was amazed at how big it was and how little rust it had. Ray fixed it up and painted it himself. Now, the paint had worn off in areas and she has been outside for 12 years. One hole, not bad. I spent the first 5 week I had her fixing up little things, like the drivers side motor mount that let go while he was driving it down, the thermostat that stuck and over-heated in the middle of the night on him (he just removed it and drove without one to get here. I have cleaned her up, fixed little things that were driving me crazy, cleaned and painted under the hood, ordered new hood springs, bought a new battery, and so on. Ray had the interior refinished, new upholstery and head liner. I went over all of the lights, repaired the side markers, the front markers, checked the headlights, had a high beam burn out in front of my eyes, replaced, fixed a broken light socket on the passengers rear, lubricated the electric antenna (over and over) replaced the decal on the air cleaner (Wildcat 465) and removed loose wiring from the steering column. I think someone had a tach in there at one point and Ray never removed the wires. Like I said, little things. I cleaned, wire brushed and repainted the rims and cleaned and repainted chrome on the hubcaps. I have lubricated the heater motor (remove the fender, really?), and replaced the ducting under the dash for the defrost I repaired the defrost/heat cable as both ends had come loose and nothing worked. I lubricated all of the cables to the heater controls to avoid future problems.
As an ex telecommunications Equipment Installation Tech (retired), I am a bit of a perfectionist. It comes with the Telecom territory. In our department, if it wasn't perfect, it wasn't right. This is how I wish to treat my new baby. I think it will please Ray. I had to retire due to an automobile accident that left me with permanent post concussion (Light and sound sensitivity, headache since (Yup, a permanent severe headache for 4 years that never goes away, what fun.) and vertigo. It was the vertigo that forced the retirement as my career involved a lot of ladder and framework walking. Framework 3 inches wide to walk on. Not with vertigo. So now my most important job is caring for my Granddaughter, Aria (2 years old) while Mom and Dad, my son Mike, work. She keeps me going. Keeping up with her is better that going to a gym.
Well, that's about all for now. Here are some pictures of my baby. Hope you like them and remember, she is a work in progress
My name is Chuck and I am, as far as classic cars and mechanics go, a total noob. I am a certified Journeyman Electronic tech, Journeyman Telecommunications network tech, Journeyman Telecommunications electrician (Cable splicer) and a certified computer technician with a 2 year diploma. You will notice, a lot of electronics, not mechanics. Help and advise gladly accepted. My brother-in-law recently gifted me his 1966 Buick Wildcat 2 door Sport Coupe as a birthday gift. Yeah, I know, I am completely spoiled by him. It is in the mechanics right now as it required an Out Of Province Inspection before I could insure and plate her. The mechanic found some front end and steering bushings that needed replacement as well as the heater core leaking into the cabin. Ray, when he found out it didn't pass, told me to put the repairs on his credit card (he is 750 KM, 450 Miles away so couldn't go down there himself) and pay me later. Yup, completely spoiled. He even drove it down from Northern Saskatchewan to Southern Alberta, Lethbridge on the last day he had insurance on it so I wold have it. That was 2 months ago. It went to the mechanics about 3 weeks ago, I hope to have her back tomorrow. She needs a little (very little) body work. I have one hole above the drivers rear wheel. That is the only rust she has as Ray, when he got it 12 years ago, cut out all of the rust and welded in new metal. I plan to repair that and install a new stereo as soon as I get it back.
I have admired the Wildcat from the time Ray got it. When I first saw it I was amazed at how big it was and how little rust it had. Ray fixed it up and painted it himself. Now, the paint had worn off in areas and she has been outside for 12 years. One hole, not bad. I spent the first 5 week I had her fixing up little things, like the drivers side motor mount that let go while he was driving it down, the thermostat that stuck and over-heated in the middle of the night on him (he just removed it and drove without one to get here. I have cleaned her up, fixed little things that were driving me crazy, cleaned and painted under the hood, ordered new hood springs, bought a new battery, and so on. Ray had the interior refinished, new upholstery and head liner. I went over all of the lights, repaired the side markers, the front markers, checked the headlights, had a high beam burn out in front of my eyes, replaced, fixed a broken light socket on the passengers rear, lubricated the electric antenna (over and over) replaced the decal on the air cleaner (Wildcat 465) and removed loose wiring from the steering column. I think someone had a tach in there at one point and Ray never removed the wires. Like I said, little things. I cleaned, wire brushed and repainted the rims and cleaned and repainted chrome on the hubcaps. I have lubricated the heater motor (remove the fender, really?), and replaced the ducting under the dash for the defrost I repaired the defrost/heat cable as both ends had come loose and nothing worked. I lubricated all of the cables to the heater controls to avoid future problems.
As an ex telecommunications Equipment Installation Tech (retired), I am a bit of a perfectionist. It comes with the Telecom territory. In our department, if it wasn't perfect, it wasn't right. This is how I wish to treat my new baby. I think it will please Ray. I had to retire due to an automobile accident that left me with permanent post concussion (Light and sound sensitivity, headache since (Yup, a permanent severe headache for 4 years that never goes away, what fun.) and vertigo. It was the vertigo that forced the retirement as my career involved a lot of ladder and framework walking. Framework 3 inches wide to walk on. Not with vertigo. So now my most important job is caring for my Granddaughter, Aria (2 years old) while Mom and Dad, my son Mike, work. She keeps me going. Keeping up with her is better that going to a gym.
Well, that's about all for now. Here are some pictures of my baby. Hope you like them and remember, she is a work in progress
. I will have to remove the bumpers to work on them but that is a weekend job (one weekend each) as there are not enough hours in the day after watching my Muffin, Aria while Mommy and Daddy work. I would highly recommend this method to anyone who wants to re-furbish their own chrome, and is on a budget. Just be forewarned, it is time consuming. If it does this good a job on the front chrome on a 53 year old car, then I have to say again, wow.
