and it was found and shot by Don Kincl
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: There’s a Wildcat Hiding In The Grass
– Posted on August 23, 2020
and it was found and shot by Don Kincl
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There must be something wrong with me, because all I can do is fixate on that yellow Sedan de Ville two slots over…
Wow, I had never actually looked up close at a front fender on one of these – such a fascinating shape. You can see how they kind of adapted from the pointy leading edge to this one with the protruding headlight. And it was done so well that I had never noticed.
This also looks like the remnants of an original silver paint job, which has mostly abandoned the red primer underneath. But with a car of unknown provenance sitting out in a field, who knows.
It is a rather odd front end. Transitional, at best. And the end of an era, as by 1963, all the GM front ends were much more conservative. It seems to have taken Bill Mitchell until the ’63s were designed to fully put his stamp on GM design. This fender still rather says “Earl School of Design” on it.
Yeah, to realize it came from the ’59-’60 with that wing-look and (in the ’59) the canted quad headlights is something.
Also in a larger sense: After the ’59 Chevy post earlier this week my eye is drawn to the windshield of this Wildcat and the GM next to it, and tracing them back to the wild (okay, pun intended) ’59s.
The windshield on the 61-62s largely carry over from the 59-60s, except for the wraparound at the A-pillars. They still wrap high into the roof (which is why the sunvisors are so gigantic as can be seen on the Impala).
I miss Buick car names like Wildcat and Invicta. Instead, nowadays we get crap like Enclave. What’s next, the Buick Cul-de-sac?
It’s sad to see that old Wildcat sitting in a field. It looks pretty solid, though there could be rot underneath. The trim and glass is intact – it would make a good parts donor if nothing else. Same with the ‘61 Impala next to it.
Another terrific shot from Don Kincl. Just yesterday, a friend in Arizona was telling me about wild bobcats around the Phoenix area. I don’t know that a Mercury Bobcat parked next to this Buick Wildcat would have improved the shot, but it was an amusing thought, anyway.
As a kid I always liked this style of Buick at the onset of this era, especially about ‘64. But they should have killed it before it suffocated.
Oops, I got my cars mixed up on this comment I see…, my mistake. I still liked the 64’s though. Pretty much every North American car maker had it right that model year imo.
The side window glass seems quite well set back from the side of the car. Maybe it is a function of the camera angle.
The side glass is set well back, just as it is on the 61 Chevy next to it. (We had a 61 Chevy as the family car back in the day.)
The 1962 Wildcat sport coupe was a sub-model of the Invicta series for that first year. Among the special features were the vinyl bucket seats and floor shift console, C-pillar emblems and a vinyl top, Looks as if this car’s vinyl top covering has long since weathered away.
There’s a 62 LeSabre sedan for sale on SF CL for 3,200 bucks. I must admit that it’s very handsome car for a low level four door sedan. It has an interesting story. If it was a Riviera I would have bought it yesterday! It’s got a 401 Nailhead, my favorite engine.