Pat Curran

As most of us know, Cadillac turned down the Riviera when it was originally proposed to be the new La Salle. I have heard a few people say that Cadillac was surprised by the success of the Riviera and complained internally to GM brass. Taking the leather option away would further differentiate Cadillac from Buick. This would be hard to prove and may be just speculation. GM was famous for internal politics back in the day and brand hierarchy reigned supreme. As an example, the Corvette had been protected for many years and had to be the top ranking performance car of them all. Rules had been broken once in a while (GMC Typhoon and Syclone) and spankings resulted. Not so much today. I always wondered why the leather option was dropped after one year. I have seen a number of 63’s with this option. Leather was standard in the Olds Starfire in the early 60’s and Pontiac offered it on the Grand Prix in 1969-1970. It would be great to see an internal memo to answer this question but not sure if we ever will.

My 69 showroom binders do not list a guidematic for the 69. I've seen some Mark III's and Imperials with them mounted outside the car. They were not chrome and were the same color as the body but not sure about this one. If you look close you will see that the mounting gasket on this one is contoured fit to the fender so the unit sits level. That is a nice touch. There is no shot of the dash that shows the switch and the sensitivity adjustment. I would like to see that. This car was on ebay once before, maybe a year or two ago. Nice looking car.

And they made 454 of these, not 425.

The more I look, the more questions I have. There is a cruise control switch mounted on the dash in the correct location but I don't see the cruise unit under the hood? Windshield washer reservoir is missing but the hoses are still there.

The glove box door is out of a 63 as well. The wide whites, well...................................................

It looks nicely done but I am curious about the wheel covers. They resemble the 63's somewhat but the fins on them rule that out. They have Riviera logo's as well. It looks like an individual creation but I like them.

Hirsch's paint is very durable and with proper preparation, will last a long time. I have used it on my Buick's and Chevy's and have been very satisfied.

Great color combo! Good luck and let us now how we can help. Is that a BMW 2002 in the garage? Nice as well!

This car has potential. No visible rust to deal with. The floor pans look clean and solid. Get a seat kit from Clark's and off you go!

If you open all the photos, the first one shows the Riviera script on the fenders, but the rest of the photos shows them missing. According to the seller, the car had rust repair and they weren't put back on after the paint job. He still has the scripts. I have never seen rust go that far up on a fender. The engine compartment looks mostly unmolested. There is another one on Dallas Craigs List that looks very solid but I am having issues trying to post the link.

Looking at both cars featured on the cover you can definitely see different takes on automotive design.

It has all the visual cues except the missing badge below the glove box door. Like you say, the woodgrain has patina and looks original. I didn't see a positraction tag on the rear diff but that could have gone missing over the years. It is a loaded car and with a little TLC, could be brought to a higher level.

I got 10 years out of the original Delco batteries (2 batteries in a diesel) on my 2004 GMC Sierra 2500 Duramax. I replaced them with Interstates and they lasted 4 years. Guess what, there once again are Delco's in the truck.

In your opinion, is it a legit GS?

There is a loaded 66 GS listed on "Bring a Trailer." It has the mini console, wood wheel and multiplex stereo as well. It has all the visual cues of a GS except it does not have the GS badge on the wood trim below the glove box. Not sure if it is legit or not.