After the car landed in New Zealand, Marin took it to its first-ever Repco Beach Hop at Whangamatā but once he got it home, the hard work began.
"I bare-metal stripped it and pulled the whole car apart, which took about seven months."
With the help of mates Craig Newman and Ian Johnston and the support of wife Petra and his children Julia, 14, and Dominic, 11 - who were very understanding about the amount of time Marin was spending on the car - he was able to gradually restore it, repainting it in its original pearl white, which offsets the gleaming trim and maroon interior.
Inside, the upholstery and headlining were in pretty good condition but the doors had to be relined and all the trim, which is stainless steel, was taken out, sanded, polished and cleaned.
The engine, the original 401cu inch V8 with nailhead valves was increased to 407cu in. It was in "pretty good condition" but was taken out and dismantled. Marin added a performance camshaft, increased the compression and improved the cylinder heads, carburation and roller rockers. He said much of the work was done by Dave West, "a fantastic machinist" based in Taumarunui who has redone many engines for Marin over the years.
The Wildcat's transmission is a TH400-based automatic, and Marin says the same gearboxes were used by Rolls-Royce in the same period because of their smooth shifting. Although the Wildcat will never be the most economical car to run, when it's tuned well fuel usage is "not too bad". He runs it on unleaded with an engine additive to compensate for not being able to have hardened valve seats in the engine.
The Buick is the only '64 Wildcat in New Zealand and for that reason it attracts a lot of attention, including featuring in Classic Car magazine last year.
Marin says he enjoys taking the Wildcat up to Beach Hop, seeing the other cars and just enjoying the atmosphere.
"The last couple of years we've gone up with the whole family and it's just me and Dominic going this year. It's a great atmosphere and you meet people. We're going to put our bikes in the big boot of the Buick and do some walks and some rides too. It's just a nice time out.
"I love talking to people about their cars. The people are more interesting than the cars sometimes, and I love the social aspect of it too."
Marin says the Buick is a bit more understated than some of the other American cars at Beach Hop.
"It doesn't scream too loud, it's not too extreme in its styling. It's a gentleman's muscle car. The insurance guys or the bankers of the day might have had them, they weren't as classy as the Cadillacs but were well turned out, fairly nicely appointed cars.
"There's always someone who's bigger and badder than we are, bigger fins or a louder exhaust but we don't need to be the centre of attention."
Marin's next car project will be a car restoration between himself and daughter Julia, once normal shipping resumes and they can get the vehicle brought over from the USA.
"She's very passionate about cars and we're going to do up a 1969 Buick Riviera."
