bepnewt

Hello, Are any of you guys from the St. Louis area familiar with this particular '64 that's on eBay and know anything about it past what is listed in the auction? Buick : Riviera - eBay (item 180613702479 end time Jan-24-11 08:30:28 PST) -BEPNewt

Thanks, guys. The idea of having to "true" the spokes now and then will probably keep me away from them. I just haven't seen a wheel that looks better on the '63 - '65, yet. I'll be going for the "Sporty, yet Classy" look. -BEPNewt

Once again, words of wisdom. Thanks, Steelman. I definitely need to keep that in mind. I plan on driving my car to work 1-2 times a week and Tulsa roads are horrible in general. Darryl's name is Gold in this area, for sure. -BEPNewt

Thanks, Ed. I didn't realize how prevalent the wheels are. I found someone just a few miles away selling a set this evening. I'm going to search now to see what numbers I need to understand to find out what I need to look at when purchasing these style wheels. -BEPNewt

I'm going to be looking for some spoke wheels in the near future to fit a '64 / '65 Riv. I've seen pictures of these on the early Rivs and I really like the look. Where is the best place to look for these? Thanks, -BEPNewt

As you guys can tell, I'm new to buying an older car. These are the areas I'm thinking about when I look at the Rivs to figure out what I will have to put into it: Drivetrain Exterior ( Paint / Rust / Body damage ) Interior ( Dash/Instruments, Upholstery ) Odds/Ends ( Working Lights/Gauges, AC, Options: Powers Seats/Windows, Rear Defrost, etc. ) As random numbers, I've been assigning: $4k - 7k : Drivetrain - rebuild all $3k - 5k : New interior, top to bottom, assuming all trim, etc. is in hand $4k - 6k : Fix multiple rust spots and dings, new good paint $1k - 2k : Random small pieces missing, refurbish AC, fix random small things I may be way off base with my $$$ assumptions so feel free to correct me if I'm crazy in any area. So, my goal is to find a car that is solid in 2-3 of the 4 areas so I can focus on just dealing with major problems in just 1 or 2 areas. The silver/silver one looked like it was relatively solid in the interior and exterior. There was a little damage showing under the front left bumper but the leather looked good and the dash / instruments looked good. So, I was looking at drivetrain and the small things. This was all based on the pictures. After I saw it in person, things changed quite a bit. The leather is in pretty bad shape and cracked badly, now. The body has quite a few small rust spots and scrapes that aren't visible in the pics. So, it went from having an interior I could keep for a while to one that really won't work and a body that I would want to have repainted soon before any of the rust got worse. Throw in the non-starting engine and this one is pretty much out of contention unless he's willing to dump it for $3-4k. And the whole Dynaflow tranny worries me in the '63s now that I've been reading on this and other forums. I think I'd be more comfortable having a '64 or '65 and not have to worry about finding someone who can work on it. Between the '64 and '65, I'd prefer a '65 but the right '64 will get my attention. I'm looking at a '64 right now that's relatively nearby at 4 hours away. It doesn't have the correct engine, but it does have the Super Wildcat engine in it. The car is generally clean so it's worth me looking at. -BEP

What I'm finding is I like them standing normal for the dark colors and lowered a little for the lighter colors. That color is just gorgeous. If the Riv I end up with needs paint and for some reason I don't want to go stock, a color like that is where I will end up if I don't go Black or Verde Green. Looks good. -BEPNewt

The Jonesin' has been building for many years, and it's peaking now, for sure. I saw the silver one today and was disappointed. The paint is much worse than appears and so is the leather interior. The dash and instrument panel looks good. It didn't have a battery in it so I couldn't mess with any of the electric. The owner is a very nice guy who does understand that he's not going to get a good price for it based on out chat. His plan is to get it running in the Spring and knows that no one is going to want to buy it "dead" for much money at all. With all of the knowledge you guys have armed me with, I'm going to be more patient and make sure I get one that's a lot closer to what I really want. -BEPNewt

Wow, very nice, Chris. I'm with you on the Red and the Vinyl. She's gorgeous. Congrats. -BEPNewt

Thanks for the reply, Paul. If the body / interior is good and all the lights, etc. are functioning, I'm going to consider this car. I'll factor in a worst case engine rebuild into the equation keeping in mind the tranny if I make an offer. Again, thanks for the clear-headed information! I'm also waiting for my mechanic to call me back. I left him a message asking if he would look at the car with me today. Short notice, but maybe he'll have time. Chris - email sent. Thanks. -BEPNewt

Thank you gentlemen, I really appreciate the insight. I've learned quite a bit about the early Rivs in the last few years, but it's the little things that experts like yourselves can spot that I never would have known until it was too late. I visited one at lunch today that was listed as a '65, but it turned out to be a '64. The exterior was gorgeous. The interior was usable, but would need to be replaced at some point. The price was definitely too high for what it was. I'm going to look at this one tomorrow at lunch: 1963 Buick Riviera More pictures here: More Pics! The good: It has most of the options I want. It's local - 3 miles away. He's been trying to sell it for 10 months - I remember the original listing back in March of last year. The bad : It turns over, but doesn't start. I don't like the silver leather or these particular wheels/hub caps. He had it listed at $10.5k last year and now has it at $9.5k. I'm sure he'd take $9k cash. We'll see. I'll know more tomorrow. I joined the ROA this evening; hopefully, I'll have access to the Members Only section soon to see the new classifieds. Again, thanks for the information above. My perfect Riv ( '65, Green/Green GS, all options ) is out of my price range, so my goal is to get as close as possible that I can afford. -BEPNewt ( Brian E. Parker )

Hello, all. I'm new to the forums and hopefully a new owner of a '63 - '65 Riviera soon. I've been looking for the perfect '63 - '65 for me for a while and I think I found it on eBay in Santa Monica. I'm not expert by far so I'm not sure what to look for in these pictures and the description that would hint at any kind of problem. The only thing that stands out to me is nowhere is it mentioned that this engine is the original engine for the car. Again, I'm no expert, but the engine sure looks like it has newer parts on it than a '63 would have. Anyway, I am going to call these folks tonight and if you guys can think of anything I should ask them about the vehicle, I'd appreciate it! Buick : Riviera - eBay (item 180610270268 end time Jan-15-11 11:43:29 PST) Thanks and I hope I get to join the ranks soon! -BEP