Pat Curran

It is nice to see these wheel covers on a 65 GS. The road wheels have become so common over the years ( and in addition to the Pontiac 8 lug wheels, probably the nicest wheels that GM ever produced) the wheel covers get my vote!

I think the coral one was a 64.

I believe the Midnight Blue 65 GS is the same one that took best of show at the ROA meet in Lexington, KY?

I hope so too Randy. If not, I will take them to Hershey in the Fall and see what happens there.

These showroom binders are in really nice shape. No missing pages or samples. They also contain bulletins from Buick that were inserted from time to time as options were added or deleted during the production year. Lots of pictures, upholstery samples, carpet samples and detailed information on all Buick models including the Riviera. I bought these from the Buick Dealer who originally sold my old 69 when they retired and closed the dealership. Send me a PM if you have an interest. Thanks!

Here is a picture of my old 69 with the antenna fully retracted. The antenna was original to the car. I am assuming the 69 is the same as the 68 but not 100% certain. Hope this helps.

There is a set for sale in the latest ROA Riview for a 63. Price is $350 and listed as nice driver quality.

Hey Randall, thanks for posting those notices. Hope you are well. I miss the NC climate!

Some Buick dealers were offering these conversions back in the day. Don't know if it was ever an approved accessory by Buick or not. Maybe someone can chime in if they know more?

Everyone has their favorite for some reason or a combination of reasons. Bill Mitchell envisioned the car with concealed headlights from the get go but it took a couple of years to make it happen. I think the 65 was the first GM car to have tail lights fitted into the rear bumper? I know the Thunderbirds had tail lights as part of the overall rear bumper design prior to the 65 Riv but look how many copied that in the following years. The merits of every year/generation of Riviera have a fan base but just having one is what counts. My two cents.

You're right Ed. I once saw a 1964 Wildcat and the owner had put the cast wheelcovers on his car. He swapped out the emblem and put the Wildcat emblem in from the standard wheel cover. It looked great. BTW, I know you and I have questioned this before but is the spinner on the 65 GS wheel cover the same as the cast wheelcover? They look the same but I have never tried to swap them. If so, it could be another source for an emblem.

Like any other parts for our cars, condition dictates the price. I am not sure what the going prices are these days as it has been some time since I have seen a set for sale. They are easy to maintain compared to the wire wheel covers of the same era. I had them on my 64 that I owned for 24 years and they looked classy on the car. The 63 and 64 were the same casting but the 64's were painted black between the vanes. It is not difficult to add or delete the black depending on which year you need. When I bought my car, the aluminum had oxidized a bit and I had them bead blasted and re-painted the black areas. They came out great. The spinners are the same for both years but of course the logo in the center is different between the two years. The Buick tri-shield for 63 and the "R" logo for the 64. I would guess that you would have to pay at least $50.00 a piece for presentable examples, quite possibly more depending on condition. A number of these were damaged over the years by unsuspecting people who tried to pry them off not realizing that the spinner pops off to access the lug nuts. Curb rash took its toll as well.

The finned aluminum brake drums that Buick used back in the day were considered the best in the business and praised by articles in many automotive publications at the time. I realize that technology marches on and there are advantages with disc brakes in some applications but I don't think the cost of swapping to discs will increase performance that much under normal circumstances to justify the cost. Hot rodders used to search out the Buick aluminum drums for their effectiveness and aesthetics and you still see many rods still fitted with them at car shows today.

I saw this ad a few minutes ago. A beautiful car! Note how well the moldings line up at the bottom of the fenders and doors as well as trunk lid moldings where it meets the quarterpanel. I'm surprised there is no A/C but it has the somewhat rare stereo multiplex unit. The color combo is spot on. The price seems a bit high but if you bought one in average condition at half the price you really wouldn't be in that much better shape if you spent the money to get it in this condition.

As Winston states above, the last generation Riv's are famous for sending units failing. The good news is there is an access panel in the trunk so you won't have to drop the tank to replace it. I bought my unit for my old 97 from Rock Auto several years ago. Not sure if they still have them in stock but if they do, you can't beat their prices and quick turn around. Not sure what your issue is with the speedometer but you can expect a few electrical gremlins as the cars get older. Mechanically, the 3800 V6 is very reliable and durable and will go 200,000+ miles if it has been properly maintained. The weakness with the Series II which your car has, is the intake manifold gasket will fail. Chances are yours has already been replaced. Good luck and please keep us posted.

What a nice example! Don't see many without a vinyl roof and still wearing the original full wheel covers. I hope it goes to a good home.

They were actually made of plastic to look like wood. The base is chrome plated metal so they held up well. The top was cone shaped and glued in and sometimes they get loose from drying out but all you have to do is unscrew the entire top, clean it and re-glue it in. You could probably make a real wood one if you had the right tools. All 64's and 65's came with them probably to match the wood veneer on the console.

Or if you really want to jazz up the appearance, find a set of the cast aluminum bolt on wheel covers that were offered for the 63 and 64. If you have the correct wheels on your car, they should already be pre-drilled to accomodate these covers.

Make sure your lug wrench is visible to the judges. I had mine tucked away under the spare tire so it wouldn't slide around in the trunk and forgot about it. Ding!

Congrats! I think you have a nice ride there! Keep us posted.

Hi Kreed. In addition to the items that have already been mentioned above, the headlight housings should have a frost finish to them. Just the outer rings should be chrome. There is chrome under the frost so chances are it was buffed off. Same with the cowl vents. They should be body color and just the outer edge should be chrome. Buick painted over the chrome and you see numerous ones out there that look like this. Neither of these are a big deal if factory correctness is not important to you. The trunk material is not correct. It should be a tan weave. The spare tire cover looks like it is MIA. The door jamb switches probably need to be rebuilt. If you look at the photos, some shots show the courtesy lights illuminated and in others they are not. This is a very common problem and there is an ROA member that rebuilds them. These switches were junk from the factory but the rebuild with better materials fixes the issues. The seat covers look a little baggy in a few areas but all said and done, the car looks really good in the photos. The wood veneer looks really good as well. The car looks straight and presents well in the photos. The asking price is top dollar for sure. The thing is if you bought one that needs some restoration you would be into it for close to what they are asking for this one by the time you are done. It all depends on what level you want to be at. It looks like a nice ride and I wouldn't mind having it in my garage. Keep us posted!

Looks like a clean example overall but a few liberties were taken that could be corrected if you wanted a 100% correct car. This company usually shoots for the moon with prices but if there was room for negotiation then it would be worth checking out.

The patina on these sure makes them look original. If the line worker ran out of chrome ones then the swap would be explainable. I guess the only way to know for sure is for an original owner of a car to offer their input. I have owned two 64's and three 65's all with deluxe interior and all of mine had chrome. Things can happen on an assembly line due to running changes or supply shortages. I have a 1971 Monte Carlo that I bought new. The rear brake drums on mine are not finned even though the shop manual specifies that they should be and I have seen other original '71 Monte's with finned drums.

I agree as well. Unfortunately, the Feds had their way beginning with the 1973 model year and the stylists and engineers did the best they could do without a wholesale design change. The 71 and 72 have a much cleaner look to them. I like the rear of the 73 better though. Having the license plate in the middle gives it a balanced look.

This looks like a vintage piece based on the style of the GM logo. They offered generic units as well as brand specific ones over the years. In most cases they were a dealer accessory bought over the counter.