Pat Curran

I have one. Send me a PM. Thanks!

The paint on my drums from the factory was the same paint used on the wheel webbing.

The black paint I was talking about didn't cover the entire drum. It was spray painted on just in the areas where you would see the drum through the wheel. It wasn't masked either. It was just enough to cover the areas I mentioned.

I know the factory sprayed some black on the drums for the 69's when you opted for the road wheels so there was no contrast with the natural aluminum showing through the spaces in the wheel. Not sure about the other years though.

Do the headlights work?!

Hey Mitch, I have seen an incline for prices for first generation Riviera's as well. They were low on the radar screen for a long time but not any more. Of course, at the end of the day, there are people who are willing to pay more money for a nicely restored or original car.. As long as this is the case, the market will respond to whatever an individual is willing to pay. There will always be dreamers out there who are asking a higher price to see if they can get it and sometimes they do. The key is to educate the buyer and we can collectively do that. There are some cars on the market that look great on the surface at high prices that were made to look pretty for a quick flip. That is true for any collector car, not just Riviera's. There is nothing wrong with a "driver quality" car and it is a good way to get into the hobby. These are usually more realistically priced but there are some sellers that think they have more than what they actually do. Supply and demand comes in to play as well. The buyer needs to do their homework on any collector car before they plunk down their hard earned cash!

I have heard through the grapevine that it is "overseas" somewhere, not sure if it is Europe or not. The buyer sent a consultant to look at the car and the transaction was concluded. He would not divulge who the buyer was or where the car was going.

The vinyl roof debate has been going on for years. I think the color combinations can make or break any car, including those with vinyl roofs. I have attached a couple of pictures of my old 69 that I bought back in 2000 and sold a couple of years ago. This was a special order car in burgundy mist (2.2% of 69 Riv's came in this color) with a black vinyl roof. Most would have come with a black interior but the original owner wanted the sandalwood interior. The sandalwood interior came only as a 2 tone offering which gave this particular car a total of 4 colors. Some think it makes it a bit busy but I liked it this way. I would sure like to know how many were built in this combination. I have never seen another.

I think from a marketing perspective, GM wanted some exclusivity for certain makes and models, particularly the personal luxury cars. It was very popular for the Riviera and Toronado in 1966. GM began to expand the offering for 1967 to include the new Eldorado which had the strato bench as standard equipment and individual bucket seats became an option, the latter of which are few and far. It was and still is a very comfortable seat and certainly looked more upscale compared to the standard bench.

The vinyl top was an option. Darwin Falk had listed the percentage of 69's with vinyl tops in his old column in the Riview but I don't remember what it was. You certainly see more with them than without and they were available in several colors.

I have never seen one in person but would sure like to see a picture of one.

The car was originally equipped from the factory with a 430 cubic inch V8 rated at 360 gross horsepower. It was fitted with a 4 barrel carb and dual exhaust. The TH400 3 speed automatic transmission was also standard equipment. Not sure if yours has been bored or not but obviously some modifications have been made to produce 400 horsepower. I don't have my shop manual handy so not sure about gap settings but 10W-30 oil always worked well in my stock engine. The 430 is a reliable motor with routine maintenance. Looking at your picture, the engine in your car is still a Buick unit at heart based on the distributor mounted in the front of the engine. Most GM engines had them mounted in the back but not this generation of Buick.

Thanks Randall. It is really a nice looking car and the white interior is great!

Hey Randall, what is the serial number of your car? Is it a late build? It is my understanding that the white deluxe interior wasn't available until mid production although the white standard interior was available from day one. Just curious. Thanks!

Just personal preference but a 71/72 front clip on a 73 would be the boattail that I would want. Unfortunately it is not a bolt on swap. I never cared for off-set license plates on a vehicle but that is just me.

There is nothing better than looking out at those pontoon fenders on a first generation Riviera while driving down the road!!

I have used a valve stem cap from a tire in the past. Visually you can’t tell the difference from the repros that are for sale.

Good catch Tom. The molding below the rear window is from a non vinyl roof car as well.

It is chrome plated and the recessed portions are painted black.

The GS badges may have been added but it is hard to say. The air cleaner lid was chrome from the factory but is MIA here. The brake pedal pad on the car indicates that it has the somewhat rare disc brake option but the picture of the undercarriage shows a finned aluminum brake drum. Most likely the pad was swapped out or the wrong one was installed at the factory? Overall it looks to be a fairly straight loaded car.

I have used graphite powder on my antennas as a lubricant over the years and it always worked well and never had a problem.

I lost count of how many mufflers were replaced on my 64 and 65 by Midas. They are famous for condensation and then rusting out. They lasted 2 to 3 years and I owned my 64 for 24 years and my 65 for 8 years. Do the math on that. I no longer have these cars but I still have my 71 Monte Carlo that was bought new. Midas has replaced the dual exhaust on this car numerous times in the 45+ years I have owned it. They replaced it last year with a complete stainless steel system and didn't charge me the difference for the upgrade. I asked them why after all these years did they install a stainless steel system and they told me they want to cut their losses and they hope to never see me again!

It is not unusual for prices to be modified during a model year either up or down.

I guess anything is possible with the right connections but as Ed stated, these were not offered officially by the factory and I as well doubt these are original. There are some very good upholsterers out there that are well qualified to do quality work but they don’t come cheap. Mileage doesn’t necessarily dictate when a car needs to have interior work, particularly with a convertible. If the top has been down in the sun frequently, the interior will prematurely fade and crack. Leather requires more care to keep it supple and some owners never touched it.

C/A is the finest publication of its kind. I have been a subscriber since day one. Yes it is a bit expensive due to no advertising but it is well worth it. You get what you pay for!