Pat Curran

That may be but I am not sure of that.

They never came from the factory with them but other GM cars of the era did. I believe the Olds Starfire had them.

I don't know the answer Bryan but I can tell you that all 3 of mine had the star. Two were 401's and one dual quad 425 non-GS.

They also stuck them on the hard cover for the spare tire well but like you stated, I don't think they were doing it in 1977.

The color looks pretty good Bob. I don't know why GM used a crinkle finish to begin with. It certainly wasn't practical.

The repros that I have bought in the past looked fine and the chrome was good but the metal is soft. These are mounted with a speed nut and will tighten up OK when first installed. If you need to remove it for any reason, good luck getting the speed nut to tighten down again.

The drivers door looks like it has had some paint work but it is hard to say for sure. Maybe it is just a shadow but could certainly be determined in person. The rear bumpers on the 68's and 69's are prone to misalignment at the center if they have been tapped. Note the gap between the top of the bumper and the body. The gap should be even all the way across but this one narrows at the center. This is a common problem with these but not sure how much effort it takes to correct it. The 68 bumper is a one year only design due to the location of the back up lights. All in all it looks like a well cared for example and the price seems reasonable.

I haven't seen it reproduced but it is out of sight. There are probably some products out there that you could substitute for its intended purpose.

Guilty as charged!!

At least he didn't say that it was a 465 cubic inch V8 engine. I have heard this error in the past as well.

Only the upper perimeter of the vent was chrome from the factory. However, there is chrome under the paint on the entire vent. Some owners have elected to remove the paint so all the chrome shows. Why GM did it this way I don't really know. Maybe it was easier to chrome plate the entire unit? The paint doesn't adhere well to the chrome over time.

That console looks absolutely great!

1965 and 1969 shop/chassis/body manuals. No missing pages. Send me a PM if you have an interest. Thanks!

NOS 425 Carter AFB carb mounting gaskets. Four in the package and perfect. May fit other nailheads but not sure. Send me a PM if interested. Thanks!

Every first generation Riviera that I owned with the 4 note horns had the hole as well. I like Tom's theory!!

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.