Pat Curran

Some of the little details that typically are issues with the first generation cars appear to be working or are in good shape like the door jamb switches and glove box door. The door panels look very good even though the wood veneer has faded. The veneer isn't lifting and it doesn't look water stained. The veneer may benefit from a good dose of Old English! The interior chrome looks to be in great shape as well.

Make sure the heater works. Replacing the heater core in a first generation Riviera is a royal pain!

Early production example as well.

It was not upside down. A friend with a 65 did most of the work 17 years ago. It took him an entire day. He used his car for reference.

When I bought my 65, the upper front bumper was mounted incorrectly like this one. I have seen a few others like this over the years. It is an easy fix that just takes a little patience. Beautiful color combo!

Just as an FYI, the standard wheel cover on the 1969 was also used on the 1970 if you need to expand your search.

Does it have posi?

There was a fair amount of color sharing back in the day but each division had there own name. My 64 Impala was Daytona Blue and my 64 Riviera was Diplomat Blue. Both cars had the exact same color. Some divisions had exclusive colors. An example would be Verdoro Green. Pontiac had an exclusive run of 3 years with this color and it seems like every Pontiac you saw in the late 60’s were painted this color, particularly the Grand Prix’s.

Sharp car. I like the license plate!

Great article and beautiful car. I’m surprised they didn’t touch on how the early builds had the small Gran Sport emblems.

Pictures?

I think you are right Steve. The passenger seats were all manual on the first gen’s and none of mine ever had a trim piece. It seems logical that a manual driver’s seat wouldn’t have it either with all things being equal.

Not 100% sure but the trim pieces for a power seat may be different for a manual seat. Can anyone verify?

I believe the Ternstadt plant was in Elyria, Ohio. As an additional note, the turbine wheel covers were made at this plant for the 63’s and 64’s.

I have never seen an original rag top in anything but white or red colors with a white top and red interior.