Stunning 16k Miles 67 Charcoal (eBay)

[Chimera]

Not Mine.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1967-Buick-Riviera/292306796453?hash=item440ed7bfa5:g:JdcAAOSwO7hZ8QTv&vxp=mtr

[Schmiddy]

What a beauty! This 67Riv looks like it came directly from the production line.... Would like to have it as second Riv    (I wonder for how much it will be sold!)

[Matt Harwood]

6 hours ago, Schmiddy said:

What a beauty! This 67Riv looks like it came directly from the production line.... Would like to have it as second Riv    (I wonder for how much it will be sold!)

 

You get a big thumbs up from me just for your proper grammar and no dangling participle! Well done, sir.

 

"Bad grammar is something up with which I will not put!" -Winston Churchill

[Seafoam65]

                              It's a very nice car, but I just learned something about 67's............I've never seen that front seat

in any 67 I've ever looked at. I thought 67's either had bucket seats with console, bucket seats without console and column shift,

or the strato bench front seat with center folding armrest. The front seat in this car looks like it belongs in a Checker cab. I could never own this car with the interior

 that is in it. It looks live a Chevy Nova on the inside.

Edited October 26, 2017 by Seafoam65 (see edit history)

[PWB]

55 minutes ago, Seafoam65 said:

                              It's a very nice car, but I just learned something about 67's............I've never seen that front seat

in any 67 I've ever looked at. I thought 67's either had bucket seats with console, bucket seats without console and column shift,

or the strato bench front seat with center folding armrest. The front seat in this car looks like it belongs in a Checker cab. I could never own this car with the interior

 that is in it. It looks live a Chevy Nova on the inside.

I believe it may be correct? The stitching pattern seems correct for base bench.

A very rare non-custom/deluxe bench here? The ashtrays are in the armrests rears. The deluxe bench has a center ashtray / powered facing the rear seats. No armrest ashtrays.

JZ - you have eyes on this?

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2017 by PWB (see edit history)

[Chimera]

Looks like non-delux interior. 

 

Yeah, I don't know if I have ever seen this type of bench.

[JZRIV]

Thanks for posting Chimera.

Absolutely 100% correct seats. My first 67 I bought in 1977 had the same exact seats only in dove. To this day that was the lowest optioned 67 I have ever seen and at the time I had no idea. Not being weighted down with options, it was also the fastest 67. It had a Holley double pumper on it that looked like it came from factory but there was never any record of that happening but I digress!

 

My first thought was when I saw the standard interior was darn, why does it seem like the ultra low mileage Rivs have standard interiors. I also owned another 67 that was same color (Charcoal) no vinyl top but it had the black deluxe strato bench.

 

It looks like the A/C may have been converted to 134A

Edited October 26, 2017 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[Pat Curran]

For comparison purposes, look at the 9,000 mile original 67 that RK Motors in Charlotte has on their website.  They have had this car a while now.  It also has the standard interior but with buckets and a console.  I think the trunk and engine compartment in the gray one looks much nicer than the one at RK.  

[RivNut]

Here's a picture that I found on Google.  Looks to be basically the same no nonsense bench seat but covered in cloth rather than vinyl.  Was cloth an option or has this been recovered?  I can't find any pictures of the back seat for this car.

 

Opted for the standard interior with basic bench seat but added power windows.

 

 

 

 

Here's another vinyl covered bench.  Crank windows on this one.

 

Front and rear

 

 

[68RIVGS]

. . . for '68s, vinyl with cloth inserts was an available option - the front  'Custom Strato'  bench seat also had a centre armrest that could be left raised or lowered for comfort.

Not 100% certain about the cloth option in '67s, but it was probably available in the optional ' Custom Strato' bench seats.

 

[Seafoam65]

I am baffled as to why they would offer a front seat like that in their top of the line flagship personal luxury car.

I am even more baffled as to how they sold the base bench seat interior to prospective buyers. Surely the nice looking

strato bench didn't cost much more to manufacture......it should have been standard in a car like the Riviera.

[JZRIV]

Tom Mooney probably has a good reason why they did that. My guess is since the deluxe interior was the 3rd highest cost option under A/C and AM/FM w/antenna, making a bare bones car keeps the "starting at" cost low for advertising to be competitive which helps get customers into the showroom. Then the optional deluxe interior is an easy sell when customer sees major difference.

 

Cloth not available on the standard "cheap" seats.

 

Be interesting to see if that supposed original spare is a blackwall or 3 stripe whitey

Edited October 26, 2017 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[KongaMan]

IMHO, the 2nd gen Riv requires bucket seats and a console.

[68RIVGS]

The '68 Custom Strato-Bench in vinyl, or vinyl and cloth were the same price.  An additional cost option of + $168.40 over the Regular seat.

Head restraints, or a reclining passenger seat, and power seats (. . . 4-Way, or 6-Way) were additional cost options.

Edited October 28, 2017 by 68RIVGS (see edit history)

[PWB]

37 minutes ago, 68RIVGS said:

The '68 Custom Strato-Bench in vinyl, or vinyl and cloth were the same price.  An additional cost option of + $168.40 over the Regular seat.

Head restraints and a reclining passenger seat were additional cost options.

 

$168. + $95. for 6 way power  =  that's  > $1500. in todays US dollars per Measuringworth.com.

 

I'll be taking out my Strato-varius this winter for buckets.

Kinda sad.

 

Edited October 26, 2017 by PWB (see edit history)

[Seafoam65]

                       To me the strato bench is the coolest front seat ever put in a car. I flipped the first time I saw one in a 66 Riviera

when I was  14 years old. I just can't imagine why they would make that taxi cab seat standard equipment when  the total savings is only

168.00. You know they never would have dreamed of putting one of those seats inside a 63-65 Riviera. It sounds to me like a bean counter

got promoted into a management position at Buick....perhaps a former employee of the Checker Cab Co. Could you imagine Ford putting one of those seats in their T-bird? I think not!

Edited October 26, 2017 by Seafoam65 (see edit history)

[Pat Curran]

Seafoam, I was thinking the same thing.  The Riviera was built to compete with the Thunderbird but the T'bird came standard with what I consider a deluxe interior.  But, like what has been stated above, the base price gets customers in the showroom and then the sales pitches begin to unfold.  The common phrase in the car business is that there is a butt for every seat.  

Oldsmobile took the same approach with the Toronado.  They had a deluxe interior option as well and many were sold that way.  The Strato Bench was used across all GM brands back in the day and if you wanted a bench seat, it was certainly the way to go.  Beginning in 1967, it was even available on the Chevy Caprice and Impala Super Sport and you really don't see many of those around today or even when they were new.

[dr914]

Really too bad it does not have buckets, center console and power windows, beggars cannot be choosers, but like previously stated why in the world would Buick make their flagship car with old overstuffed bench seats?  I would certainly be a buyer for the car if it had the bucket seats and power windows.  (at least it has ac and am fm!!)

[KongaMan]

No kiddin'.  If the original owner wanted a bench seat and manual windows, he coulda bought a Chevy.

[1965rivgs]

As Jason has observed the base interior was a way to lower the starting/base price of the car for those "value" oriented buyers and this notion started with the very first Riviera in `63. Buick buyers, then and now, are value oriented buyers. They wanted/want Cadillac qualities at a Buick price. In my opinion, the same holds true even now for Buick antique enthusiasts.

  A few years ago I found a page issued to Buick dealers which was intended to be added to the `63 dealers book which announced the availability of the standard interior in the new Riviera. There was some speculation between myself, Ray Knott and Jim Cannon that this was just a regurgitation of the original design/marketing intention and not necessarily an indication the Riviera was originally intended to be offered with ONLY the custom trims.

  Well...I have recently purchased a very rare `63 Buick advance information factory brochure which DOES NOT list any standard interior trims for the `63 Riviera. I am now convinced, based on the absence of any standard trims in this brochure, the Riviera was initially intended to be offered with the Custom trims only and  Buick decided to make the standard trims available for their "value oriented" customers.

 

Tom Mooney

49 minutes ago, dr914 said:

Really too bad it does not have buckets, center console and power windows, beggars cannot be choosers, but like previously stated why in the world would Buick make their flagship car with old overstuffed bench seats?  I would certainly be a buyer for the car if it had the bucket seats and power windows.  (at least it has ac and am fm!!)

I would rather have the ultra comfortable Strato bench seat with folddown armrest in a luxury car than buckets. And it adds more seating capacity if needed. Pretty hard to put your arm around your girl while driving with buckets!

  Tom

[1965rivgs]

7 hours ago, JZRIV said:

Thanks for posting Chimera.

Absolutely 100% correct seats. My first 67 I bought in 1977 had the same exact seats only in dove. To this day that was the lowest optioned 67 I have ever seen and at the time I had no idea. Not being weighted down with options, it was also the fastest 67. It had a Holley double pumper on it that looked like it came from factory but there was never any record of that happening but I digress!

 

My first thought was when I saw the standard interior was darn, why does it seem like the ultra low mileage Rivs have standard interiors. I also owned another 67 that was same color (Charcoal) no vinyl top but it had the black deluxe strato bench.

 

It looks like the A/C may have been converted to 134A

I have noticed over the years it is very, very common for the low mileage survivors in any brand to be Plain Jane versions. Not too many triple black loaded convertibles were left to sit in the garage or only for church on Sunday!

Tom

[RivNut]

3 hours ago, 1965rivgs said:

 

 Pretty hard to put your arm around your girl while driving with buckets!

  Tom

I surely do miss my '55 Buick and the farm roads between my house and my girlfriends house.  Something to be said for growing up in a rural setting. 

[68RIVGS]

On ‎26‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 5:13 PM, PWB said:

 

 

 

I'll be taking out my Strato-varius this winter for buckets.

Kinda sad.

 

 

Kinda sounds like a huge big ' make work ' project to me Mr. Paul, GOOD LUCK !

 

BTW - When you Bucketize your Strato varius,  all those seat rail bolts 'n brackets should be hidden under the carpet and not exposed !

You can always sell your old Strato varius on good ole 'evil-Bay' ?

Edited October 28, 2017 by 68RIVGS
spelling (see edit history)

[RivNut]

So sad!  

[PWB]

They are asking for $45,000.

No Strato, no bag of chips