Wildcat63
MN
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Joined: 07/09/2006
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The plan is to restore my first car which is sitting in the garage as we speak. It was my grandparents and I know they had towed a small TT all over the US with it. If you haven't guessed it's a 63 Buick Wildcat. It's a 4door hardtop full size. (Lesabre Body, Electra Engine) I was looking at it this morning and wondered how it would do as a TV. The Power is there, we only have a Pop up so it should be able to handle that ok. Hooking up a Brake Controller might be a task tho. I am planning on getting the Tranny re-built and new springs and shocks and radiator anyway, The time frame is a long way off though.
Does anyone use a 60's full size sedan as a TV? What do you tow? How does it do?
Wildcat
Wildcat63
07 Coachmen Clipper Classic 1070ST
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4Kings
NE Missouri
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Joined: 05/19/2004
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I'd love to see a picture of it
2003 Chevrolet 2500HD, CC, SB, 6L, 4.10, Auto, 4x4
2005 Wildcat 27BHWB, RBW 15K, Prodigy, TTT Mirrors
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VintageRacer
Dundas, Ontario
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Joined: 04/02/2005
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A friend of mine towed a 1957 Morgan race car that he had owned from new, with a 1963ish muscle car (4 speed on floor, big V8, no power steering...compact sized Pontiac as I recall) that he'd also owned from new... He didn't buy many cars but the ones he did buy were worth keeping! Anyway,a 60's full size sedan would be a really good tow vehicle for a low trailer like a PUp. Or a race car on an open trailer. Peter Egan (Road and Track) used to claim that the full sized station wagon was the best tow vehicle ever invented. You'd want the right rear end gears, tranny in good shape, maybe an economy tune on the engine.
Brian
2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab, Hemi, 5 speed manual, 3.73 gears, Tow Beast hitch with 24" extension.
28 ft race car hauler, Lola T440 Formula Ford, NTM MK4 Sports Racer
2004 Travel Hawk 8' Truck Camper - Roll at 16K combined weight
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Rollincool
Always Rollin
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Joined: 08/10/2007
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Are you kidding? That's all they used back in the day were the big land yachts!
That car will be sweet when it's done. My friend had the '63 Wildcat convertible. We had some good times cruisin in that car.
You shouldn't have too much of a problem installing your brake controller and plug.
Lets see some pictures of this thing if you have any old ones.
2008 Chevy Silverado 4x4 3500 RC/LB 6.0 
2007 Chevy GS Conquest Super C 6340DK
2007 Chevy HHR Toad 2LT 2.4
1990 Chevy G20 Cargo Van 305 
1967 Chevy Camaro Pro Street 468/650hp BBC 
My 70's Show - Tom Kent Radio Network - KLTH - K•HiTS 106.7
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tom_kat
way upstate new york/lake george area
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Joined: 02/28/2005
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the biggest problem with older cars is the unleaded gas and 10% ethonal mix we use now ,the older engine and valves were designed for leaded gas, the older valves will need to be changed over time to better material there not made for the modern fuel of today.also the fuel tank and lines and fuel pump may give problems,the older rubber lines and parts were not made for the 10% mix,but you can upgrade to newer material and parts as problems show up.even our 85 says not to use unleaded gas only but to run leaded gas as much as possible.dont know if theres a additive you can use or not.
1985 Class A Holiday Rambler Imperial 33 +1979 Class C Holiday Rambler Statesman 1000 = 24 ft
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JFG
TN
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Joined: 07/01/2007
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It's a great car... my brother had a '63 Wildcat... it would haul a**. He traded it in for a Riviera.. another great one. It should tow a pretty good size trailer. I think we get hung up on TV's today. I use to pull an 18 ft ski boat with a 50hp Johnson. My Tv was a 36hp 1964 VW.
Fred
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Kennedycamper
Algoa, Texas
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Joined: 05/24/2006
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It will need to have inserts in the valves in the head, and all the rubber fuel line stuff replaced with ethenol friendly stuff. It should work though. I had a 68 with a 430 engine. Heck of a beast.
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lesmore49
canada
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Joined: 11/25/2004
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I'm a real fan of old Buicks, nothing quite like them, IMO.
I do see some potential difficulties with the '63 Buick Wildcat....all really depending on the condition of the car. It's an old car, 45 years or so.
It may appear in great shape, but I would get the frame checked out and the braking system, also the suspension, both front and rear. I'm not sure but I don't think cars were required to have dual master cylinders, etc. back then, also it has drum brakes all the way around and it's no lightweight around 4200 lbs or so, I'm guessing, dry weight. But as your in the process of restoring it, maybe upgrading the braking system to disc and dual master cyl., etc., maybe something to consider.
Almost all Buicks, back then had automatics and that was before the turbo Hydra Matic 350 and 400, which didn't come out to just a bit later. I believe it was the Buick Dynaflow or turbine drive or something. Not a trannie as good as the later THM 350/400. Also parts might be scarce.
There's a lot of old seals and gaskets that are pretty dried out, hopefully the hoses and brake lines are still OK, but, if they haven't been replaced lately, chances are...they're pretty old, possibly on their last legs.
The old Buick nailhead V8 that your Wildcat has was a great engine, lot's of HP and torque, either in the 401 or 425 cube version, then available in the Wildcat. The old nailhead has not been made since around '66, so parts, although available may not be that available whilst on the road.
I'm a Buick fan, have one of the latest models, but your Wildcat, or WideCat as we used to call them, is an old car. I did use our old (about 20 year old at the time-half the age of the Wildcat) '76 Impala V8 and drive and tow our trailer from one end of Western Canada, all the way to Vancouver Island and back, through temps of up to 110 degrees (Montana) and the car ran fine, with the exception of some tire problems on the car.
It was a wonderful, albeit old, tow vehicle, but it had been maintained to the nth degree, with relatively new suspension upgrades. It also had big disc brakes and a very healthy 350 V8.
lesmore49
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dodge guy
Chicago, western subs.
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Joined: 03/23/2004
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I believe that car is built just as good as todays 3/4 ton trucks!
Wife kim
Son brandon 7yrs
Daughter marissa 6yrs
Dog shadow
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear
Reese HP dualcam,Prodigy brake controller,
Air lift air bags.
Better to have a bad day of
camping than a good day at work!
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Wildcat63
MN
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Joined: 07/09/2006
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Thanks for the quick replies... The car hasn't been on the road regularly since 82. I had used it in high school and it was so nice to load up to go to the cabin for the weekend and pack a 5 horse outboard, gas can, coolers with food and a bag of clothes and worry about all the stuff in the trunk sliding around because it was only half full.
The engine is a 401 nailhead with the dynaflow transmission. I had done the front brakes in High School and the drums were huge finned monsters. When I had them turned you could only carry one at a time. It needs alot of work and even fully restored I wouldn't use it as a TV for a long trip through the Rockies but here in MN it would handle any hill I could find I am sure.
One nice thing in MN we have is some stations carry the non-oxygenated fuel in premium during the summer months.It's nice for the old machines.
Wildcat
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