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1958 Buick Super Riviera Coupe


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Putting our '58 Super up for grabs. It's been in our family since 1984 and it's a hard decision to make, especially since we're sentimental about cars. But priorities change and it's time to let something go. On to the car:

It was bought new from Phil Hall Buick in Hollywood and has been in Los Angeles ever since. The car simply has no rust, other than the very minor surface patina you can expect after 50 years. It's does not have any undercoating, and it's still in great shape underneath. The car is very straight with no accidents, although it does have a dent in the driver's side bumper. It looks like a previous owner bumped a pole and that jigged the fender out of alignment. Everything has been repaired, except the bumper.

The car is all original and 100% complete, although it does need a complete restoration to be show quality. Most people would consider this a driver although I will only represent it as what I see. The chrome has pitting, the paint is thin and it showing through here and there, the interior is all there but needs work. Everything works including the radio and speedometer, although the wipers decided to call it quits a few months ago. I think it's a vaccuum leak but I haven't tried to track it down yet.

I had the carb rebuilt last year, and while in the shop the mechanic broke the "switch" on the carb that works the pedal starter. I couldn't find a replacement so a toggle switch was temporarily installed in the glovebox. Anyone who has the part can take care of this in 10 minutes...or if anyone has one laying around I'd love to buy it!

I'm looking at getting $3500 for the car. I'm located in Los Angeles.

And the pictures:

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Guest BJM

This car is a bargain at $3500. When a person considers the overall condition of this car - which is a running/driving 50's era 2 door hardtop - and you see the ridiculous money some people pay for bowtie "projects" it makes me scratch my head.

This is an example of a car providing the present owner with years of smiles who is now offering it for an extremely fair price so someone newer in the hobby can jump right in and enjoy it.

Restore it if you like but ready to enjoy now.

and it's a so cal car? wow

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I agree, in that it is a running / driving 50s 2-door Hardtop with an iconic appearance.

I almost made contact last night when I first saw the ad, but the distance is extreme, and I'm out of garage space -- still, it would be another really groovy boulevard cruiser -- way too expensive to restore -- but to just fix up, lift the headliner, and drive.

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I would be ALL OVER IT if transportation didn't add another $1200-$1500. (at least...2300 miles)

If I could figure out cheap transport....

UPDATE: Found open transport for $999 and enclosed for $1299! Better than I expected!

Can't wait for the new pictures coming today!

Edited by bhclark (see edit history)
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Guest gogar

Is this car still available? I am interested in it for my dad he turns 75 this year and had one when he was a kid.

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Thanks for all the interest guys. I'm going to ask everyone to hold off until tomorrow; I'm going to pull the car out and take more pictures of it. It's a 52 year old car and obviously not in showroom condition, so I want any buyer to be completely comfortable with the condition. I will not be selling the car before I put the pictures up on here.

It's also been crossposted on buick-59.com, and I will shortly be replying to all the PM's and emails I received.

Thanks again.

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Guest AlK

$3500 plus $1500 for shipping. Even at that cost it is well worth it. I am in Alabama and unemployed and if it were not for other projects I would consider going to get the car with my truck and trailer. that has got to be the deal of the century(no pun intended).:eek:

Edited by AlK (see edit history)
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Just cross posted this on the Buick-59 site as well:

Here are the pictures as promised guys. I pulled the car out of the garage and shot pictures of everything I can think of. Just noticed an issue I want to address as well.

The car was parked for about 2 months and had a rough start initially. The carb had been rebuilt about a year ago and all was well until it was parked 2 months ago. This morning it was idling rough and I had to slightly keep my foot on the throttle until it warmed up a bit. After that it was back to normal again. During the rough idle it spit out a bit of black soot which I have included a picture of. Of course, it was all gone once warmed up. I let the car sit until it cooled down and tried again just now, and it's running perfectly smooth again.

I'm going to PM/email all the people who were interested and get the ball rolling. In the interest of fairness, I have saved all the timestamps of the PM messages and emails I got and will be running down the list in the order of who contacted me first.

Please feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks again!

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96rm,

I wouldn't worry too much about the black soot, as all the car needs is a short run on the 405 to blow out the carburetor. Then I bet she'd run just fine. The condition of the car is on par to what my '57 was when I bought her in '92, for $2,000. The things that had to be replaced for safety (tires, hoses, belts, etc.) were done quickly to get her roadworthy, but the car is still an ongoing project.

Otherwise, the condition of both is comparable, with the '57 headliner & paint a bit better, but certainly not show-ready. I drove the car, even showed it in the driver class, for 8 years before redoing the interior (it still has not been repainted) and replating the rear bumper. The "embarrassment factor," by that I mean its condition, was overshadowed by the gem I knew to be underneath, the diamond that would one day be revealed.

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Larger; Thanks DLynskey(!) for this pic of the Roadmistress at last month's AACA SE Nat'l

Meet at Charlotte AutoFair.

The point is, I know these '57-'58 cars pretty well, and your Super is a super deal, and one that can be enjoyed daily during its refurbishment. Although there's alot of pricey shiney bits involved, the car can assuredly be done on a meager budget (as mine was; I just found and installed a pair of NOS backup lenses for $55, an 18-year wait!), and is particularly right for a younger person who has the luxury of time and patience.

Flash, head-turning looks, and a rust-free, running, powerful car that you can start enjoying tomorrow...

I'm surprised it isn't gone yet!

TG

Edited by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)
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I know you have been swampped with questions on the car, but please put me on the list of those that are interested. I do have a couple of questions on the car, so when you get a chance shoot me an e-mail (janselmo_1962@yahoo.com) or call me at 509-951-7133.

Thanks,

Jim

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

What part of "Car has been delivered" was confusing?

Brakes have been serviced and coolant flushed.

She was running hot, but a rebuilt carb seems to have fixed that. I think she was running lean due to a problem with the accelerator pump.

If all goes well, she'll debut at the BCA national in Danvers in the Unrestored class.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

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Thanks Lamar!

The '58 and '59 sitting next to each other in the garage is quite the sight!

That's lots of little grille squares! :)

She pushed the '65 Wildcat to the 2.5 car garage at the rental house, along with the '69 Deuce and the '22 T. (no comments about the "T" being half a car! :)

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