First car pic's

[tRustyK5]

Ran across a pic of my first car. Pic was taken spring of '83

Car is (was?) a 1965 Buick Wildcat.

401 nailhead (325hp, 445 tq stock) TH400 with variable pitch convertor, 3.23 gears with factory posi. Black interior, buckets console, floor shifter, factory tach, AM/FM with reverb (lol). Ran mid 15's and was a ton of fun, even though it was big...

Sold it in '87 or '88...heard the guy blew the motor about a year later. Having owned and abused the hell out a Buick Nailhead I can understand why they were so popular for hot rodding back in the 60's. In 'Drive' it'd hold first gear until 6400 rpm (61 mph) before hitting second, it'd pull about 5500 before shifting to 3rd. That motor loved to rev and got to the end of the tach pretty damn quick.

I kinda miss my old beast...

Rene

 

[3 on the tree]

That is a beauty!!! My best friend in HS had a 65 Skylark with the 300(?) alum V8, and a 2 speed. First gear lasted forever. I saw a write up of a drag racer who reversed the ports on his nailhead. He claimed the blower made up for the lousy exhaust ports!!!!

 

[RubberFloorMat]

SWEET!!!

i saw a red one like that on some 17" Rally wheels just yesterday, hot blonde chick driving..

mine was a white 77 Nova Custom with a 305

air shocks, Crager SS wheels, lift bars, fuzzy dice etc...

i want driving this in the 80's either....1994-97...

 

[tRustyK5]

That is a beauty!!! My best friend in HS had a 65 Skylark with the 300(?) alum V8, and a 2 speed. First gear lasted forever. I saw a write up of a drag racer who reversed the ports on his nailhead. He claimed the blower made up for the lousy exhaust ports!!!!

I've read some pretty weird stuff about the old nailheads over the years. Ever see "TV Tommy Ivo's" 4 engine dragster? it ran 4 nailheads and was all wheel drive. It'd smoke all the tires pretty much the entire 1/4 mile...

The big sleeper car for Buick (previous to the 70 GS stage II or the GN Regals) was the 64, 65, 66 Skylark with the 401 nailhead and factory 4 speed with posi rear end. Pretty similar performance to the same year GTO's. The Riviera's and Wildcats also could get the 425 cid dual quad nailhead. If memory serves it was rated 360 hp and 465 lbs of torque. the single 4 barrel 425 made 340 hp and 465 tq.

Rene

 

[3 on the tree]

I've read some pretty weird stuff about the old nailheads over the years. Ever see "TV Tommy Ivo's" 4 engine dragster? it ran 4 nailheads and was all wheel drive. It'd smoke all the tires pretty much the entire 1/4 mile...

The big sleeper car for Buick (previous to the 70 GS stage II or the GN Regals) was the 64, 65, 66 Skylark with the 401 nailhead and factory 4 speed with posi rear end. Pretty similar performance to the same year GTO's. The Riviera's and Wildcats also could get the 425 cid dual quad nailhead. If memory serves it was rated 360 hp and 465 lbs of torque. the single 4 barrel 425 made 340 hp and 465 tq.

Rene

Buick always named their engines by the torque output. Yours should have said "Wildcat 445" on the aircleaner. Buick was the only GM division to sneak in an engine over 400ci, into the mid size cars(internal GM restriction on putting over 400 ci in a mid size). Buicks in the 50s had pretty racy cams to make up for their exhaust ports. I have read stories of dowagers complaining bout their Buicks lumpy idle to their Buick dealer!!! Kenn-Belle used to market a switch setup for the dual stall TQs, where you could change the pitch and stall whenever you wanted.

 

[tRustyK5]

Yeah, mine said Wildcat 445 on the air cleaner. The Riv's got the "Super Wildcat 465". I still recall finding a factory dual quad set-up with the finned cast aluminum valve covers and air cleaner assembly for $200, and having to pass on it because i didn't have the money...

When I used to cruise and street race I used to disconnect the switch for the convertor from the linkage and manually switch it high stall. The high stall was approx 2400 rpm and it sure helped launch that car...

I've also heard the stories about the rumpity Buick idle, and mine also had a bit of a lope at the correct idle speed. Being stock i tried tuning it to get it to idle smooth before I knew that it was normal...

I sure wish I still had that car, although it still needed a ton of work. I just didn't have the moeny for that car back then.

Rene

 

[ryoken]

hmmm, just found this post... cool car...

I did a resto for my boss on his 63 Wildcat convertible with AC, biggest motor, etc... car was loaded.. wish my scanner worked, I'd scan some pics of it.. did some cool cars there.. 56 buick convertible with $1000 a piece wire wheel rims.. those guys would spend bucks... 66 427 Vette, etc...

heres my first car when i had my license.. actually i had a 327 vega before this but wasn't legal yet when i got it...

73 gold Duster - 340, 3spd manual, car was pretty sick for a 17 yr old..
thats my Power Wagon there too... gotta love the 2 x 12 wood bumper!

 

[tRustyK5]

Sweet Duster!! I had 3 different Darts over the years. A 68 Dart GT with a 318, Q-jet and dual point distributor. Had a 904 with shift kit and 3.23's. I ran the stock 13" rims with some Eagle GT's. With those small diameter tires it felt like it was geared a ton deeper than it was.

Had a '72 Swinger, 318, Q-jet again, dual 2 1/4" exhaust dumped, 8 3/4 rear with 3.23's and a sure grip...it was cream with dark green vinyl roof. It was actually pretty quick once I got the carb set-up good. I ran the hubcaps and all and embarrassed my share of camaro's. That '72 used to do the most awesome smoke shows...all while looking like Grandma's car.

Also had a 75 Dart, but it was just a beater, eventually ripped the 318 from that and stuffed it into the '68.

Had a '71 Vega as well that i dropped a Chevy 229 V-6 into using the vega 4 speed. Fun car...

Rene

 

[3 on the tree]

A bodies are cool. I had a 74 Dart Sport. It came factory with 360 Thermoquad, 883 4 speed, posi 3.55. It was bronze with the black hockey stripe down the side. It also had a manual sun roof. That critter would melt the tires through 3rd gear. ANOTHER ONE I let get away.

 

[ryoken]

Sweet Duster!! I had 3 different Darts over the years. A 68 Dart GT with a 318, Q-jet and dual point distributor. Had a 904 with shift kit and 3.23's. I ran the stock 13" rims with some Eagle GT's. With those small diameter tires it felt like it was geared a ton deeper than it was.

Had a '72 Swinger, 318, Q-jet again, dual 2 1/4" exhaust dumped, 8 3/4 rear with 3.23's and a sure grip...it was cream with dark green vinyl roof. It was actually pretty quick once I got the carb set-up good. I ran the hubcaps and all and embarrassed my share of camaro's. That '72 used to do the most awesome smoke shows...all while looking like Grandma's car.

Also had a 75 Dart, but it was just a beater, eventually ripped the 318 from that and stuffed it into the '68.

Had a '71 Vega as well that i dropped a Chevy 229 V-6 into using the vega 4 speed. Fun car...

Rene

I'm trying to picture a 68 dart.. hmmm, sounds cool tho!

yeah, my Mopar list is extensive.. all sm block... the duster... 71 Cuda 340, 727, 72 Challenger 318 340'd out, 904, a 68 Fury VIP loaded and a 318 and a few others...

not sure you can see it in the pic, but the red and white duster had the famous 6-pack scoop... the 340, 3 spd manual to 4:10's made for extreme launchs..

here's my 71 Cuda after it rudely met a pole...

 

[tRustyK5]

Nice Cuda... Were you driving it when the pole jumped out?

'68 Dart (not mine)

Rene

 

[tRustyK5]

A bodies are cool. I had a 74 Dart Sport. It came factory with 360 Thermoquad, 883 4 speed, posi 3.55. It was bronze with the black hockey stripe down the side. It also had a manual sun roof. That critter would melt the tires through 3rd gear. ANOTHER ONE I let get away.

My '72 was like that, it could liquify the tires pretty much at will. My Mom borrowed it one time because her car was in the shop. She took it downtown and got a ticket for 'loud and unnecessary noise'. I guess she got a little frisky leaving the lights (too used to her old barge she was driving normally) and there was a cop sitting at the intersection. Didn't even give her a break when she told him it was her son's car and she wasn't used to it.

When I think back to all the smoky burnouts i did in that car, all the light to light street racing etc etc...and I never once got a ticket in it. My mom borrows it once and get a ticket.

Rene

 

[ryoken]

Ah, my Cuda.... So sad.. It's my one crash.. Car had great potential, factory 150 speedo, tach, etc....

Ironic story... Had a brand new pair of N50-15's that I bought that day sitting the garage to go on the next morn.. Spent the day, ummm, killing off my old L60's

So I get a call at dinner to see if I could pick up my girlfriends friend at Newark airport that night... So we're coming home in the rain, went to do a lane change, back tires caught that grade change and the backend came out.. Kept it on the road for quite sometime but eventually she went sideways.. Very industrial area on Rt 22 in Hillside, no open areas, just buildings and poles!

Watched that pole cave my door in.. Longest second of my life, like slow-mo.. Left the pole tag #'s imprinted in the sheetmetal.. broke the tranny in 1/2.. The pole too! Probably shoulda been dead..

The car was so bent in 1/2, it ripped the passenger striker out of the qrter and there was a 5" gap between that door and qrter... The front and back was hanging off one side of the flatbed, the middle of the car off the other side...

 

[tRustyK5]

Any broken bones? Looks like it would have been tough to not have a busted leg or arm or worse seeing how far the drivers side is pushed in...

I've been somewhat lucky, never hit any poles or severley destroyed anything. Had a few bad wrecks on the freeway involving vans though. The first one I clipped the front corner of a Chev van coming onto the freeway, the guy made no effort to avoid anything...I had one small dent, the van went endo into the ditch. We both got tickets and the blame was laid as 50/50...

Second one a '64 Ford van broke something in the steering on the freeway and in front of me but in the right lane. i saw his tires shaking like horrible death wobble and he was trying to pull over and stop. I hung back a bit then decided to pass and as i was almost alongside him the edge of the road at the shoulder turned his right front tire for him and he shot right across the highway...I T-boned him in the drivers door and got bounced into the ditch. That van rolled 6 or 7 times. The '69 polara i was driving was totalled, the only straight panel left was the trunk lid. Broke two ribs on the arm rest in that one...

Weirdly enough it turned out i knew the guy in the '64. He was friends with my Mom and Dad at the time. Messed him up but good, he went through the windshield and did the funky flop for 100 feet or so. That one pretty much stopped traffic on the freeway for about 4 hours.

Rene

 

[ryoken]

You + Vans = don't agree apparently

Man, a Polara, thats a big car iirc...

Amazingly, I walked away with 2 stitches in my head... The first guy on the scene comes running up to the window and had this look on his face. I guess with the headwound and rain, the blood looked bad. My girlfriend got a sprained ankle.

The humorous part to me was they took the 2 girls out, then wanted to get me out. But I was pinned between the door and center console at my hip area. So they leave to go to the truck and get the jaws.. I'm sitting there thinking "screw that, I don't want them things chopping away around me." So I start wiggling and got myself free..

 

[tRustyK5]

Funny stuff! Amazing you weren't hurt worse!!

The Polara was a pretty big car.

Mine was a 4 door though. It was my buddy's Grandpa's car, needed some freeze plugs and a tranny but otherwise very solid. They gave it to me because I didn't have a rep fro totalling cars or wrecking them . I yanked the motor and replaced the freeze plugs and then found a freshly rebuilt 727 TF for free at a buddy's muffler shop. It had been there forever, some customer never paid the bill and he was sick of it taking up room.

Mine was in about the same shape as the one pictured, but was that turquoise/green with black vinyl interior.

Rene

 

[ryoken]

some customer never paid the bill and he was sick of it taking up room

I had a bud back in those Mopar days that gave me this tricked out rebuilt BB 727. Think it had Fairbanks stuff in it... Never used it as I had all sb stuff, then got into Chevelles..

I lugged that tranny around for years from place to place, eventually I gave it away too...

 

[surpip]

my first car, 1971 dodge dart swinger, except mine was canary yellow.
it had a slant six, i paid 400 bucks for it. It had no title, and my dad diddent know i went and got it, we took it back to the guy and he got my money back for it

 

[BranndonC]

this one, but brown

 

[fabjunkie]

Here is what my first looks like now sitting in the garage. '70 Cutlass Holiday Coupe, 350/350, 2.56 rear. She was no drag strip beast, but man would it cruise down the freeway. She used to be a lot better looking, I have some scanned pics somewhere.

I'm in the process of selling it all. I just don't have the time or money to do it. That and I've lost interest in it over the past almost 10 years now.

I had thought doing something like this with it. Anyone got a spare chassis sitting around?

Here is one of the other Olds' that I sold when I bought the Blazer, '68 442.