Kink56

You do not want the L05, you want the 1994-96 LT-1.

Nice 1990. I have no idea what the attraction is with the wire hubcaps on so many Buicks and Cadillacs in the 80s and 90s. They really add to the "old lady" aura. Those turbines look sweet. I think Skylark 15" road wheels would look good too. But many caution against 114.3 mm wheels on a 115 mm bolt pattern, even though they fit fine. I guess the stress could cause the studs to snap.

To tell you the truth, I consider my former 1990 Brougham D'Elegance with the Chevy 5.7 L05 engine AND my current 1992 Riviera flatlander cars. I am spoiled with my Fleetwood and Roadmaster LT-1 cars that can pass 7% grades in a single bound, and enter freeway on ramps at 90 mph and drop in merging traffic like a ghost. My measure of a car is how it can get 900 miles behind it, from Tucson to Denver in under 14 hours comfortably. And I have to stop to pee every 2 hours!

If I had the dough, I would have a 1964, 1966 GS and a 1970 Riviera each, right now.

Four of my Northstars were the 4.0 Auroras. One 98 Autobahn and the others were 1999 Autobahns. LOVE THE HECK OUT OF THEM! None of my Northstars used oil. I changed oil every 3000 miles. Tell you what, they performed better and handled better than my 3 1996 Supercharged Rivieras. But both the Rivs and Auroras felt so solid, like they were made of a solid tube of steel. The suspension was firmer on the Autobahns than the Rivieras though. The first thing I do whenever I get a late 90s or newer GM is flush out the DexCool and put Prestone universal long life coolant. I also did this for my friend. Her DexCool was seeping out of the o-rings in the crossover tubes. I change to Prestone yellow coolant and the seeping IMMEDIATELY stopped. You might as well put orange Jello in your radiator as DexCool.

Well that pretty much tells me I would NOT enjoy having one. Thank you! I have also had a 63, but I do not like the Dynaflow. Had a 67 GS and LOVED it. Also had a 1971, and loved it too. I am currently enjoying my 1992. It has the wire caps. I am looking for a really nice set of the Aluminum turbine style wheels for it.

Thank you. This is exactly the input I was looking for. I see a lot of praise on the 1979-1985 Rivieras. So I was hoping for AT LEAST better ride, comfort and handing. I had a 1970 Electra Custom with its 455 engine and 2:56 rear gears. My 1994 Roadmaster with the LT1 and also 2:56 rear gears eats the Electra alive. The fastest 100% stock car I have ever owned was a 2001 Eldorado ETC. I have had 6 Northstar cars in my life. I decided to quit while I was ahead. Don't want to encounter the head bolt pulling problem. ALL except one of mine leaked oil. The one that didn't was a 1996 DeVille with 250,000 miles. Dry as a bone underneath when I sold it. But DAMN, I LOVE that generation of Eldorado. I believe the pre Series I last year was 1990. The Series I ran from 1991-1995. In 1995 the naturally aspirated 3800 in the Riviera was the Series II, but the Supercharged version was still a Series I. In 1996 either version was a Series II.

I currently have a 1992 Riviera. 3800 Series I engine, standard suspension (wish it had the GranTouring option). Has anyone here owned or own both say a 1982-1985 Riviera with the Oldsmobile 307 5.0 130-140 hp engine AND a 1991-1993 Riviera with its 170 hp engine? If so, how do they compare as far as freeway and mountain acceleration, handling, comfort and ride? I have had 3 1996 Series II Supercharged Rivs, miss their performance. But I have other big 1994-96 GM cars with LT-1s to satisfy my need for freeway fliers. I also owned a 1990 Brougham with the 5.7 and towing package. It was beautiful, but a dog on the highway compared to my 1994-96 Roadmasters. I kind of expect even LESS from a Riv with the 5.0 Olds to tell you the truth. Hopefully ride and comfort will be enough to make them enjoyable.

I was born in WI. In fact one of VGG videos shows him driving from MN to Osceola WI (where I was born). He talks just like all my relatives in the area. I now live in AZ since 1978. They say I have an accent when I go back and visit. I notice theirs now. I had a job where I talked on the phone all day for 17 years. Many people noticed a trace of my WI accent, even though it is muted by my being in AZ so long. The more exaggerated WI/MN accent tends to be people further north (think the Fargo movie). Then there are accents from Chicago (think Dan Akroyd character and the later Da Bears skits) and Milwaukee, similar to each other, but Milwaukee is a bit of a hybrid between northern WI and MN and Chicago. It is not only his accent, but his word use choices and some of his local idioms I recognize. It is a ball watching him.

There is more to converting to R134a than just taking out all the R12 and oil, changing the fittings and recharging with R134a and its compatible oil. The pressures required are different between the two refrigerants. That is solved by putting in a R134a spec'd POA valve. Most people know enough to do that. But most of the "converted to R134a" cars I see online do not do a critical thing. You need to change the condenser from the original condenser with 3/8" tubing with a high efficiency condenser with much smaller and more numerous tubes. The cooling fins tend to be smaller and more numerous too on the newer ones. I have bought a few cars from the 60s and 70s that were "converted" and they performed rather poorly UNTIL I changed out the condenser.

Thank you one and all for edging me closer and closer to a logical answer.

Okay. Read the 1970 Chassis Manual. In reference to the 6 digit production code: All I-6 Buicks begin with a "6". All Rivieras begin with a "9" (nothing about what number is used for all the other models, so I guess other models could use anything other than 6 or 9 as the first number) so that leaves the remaining 5 digits as the serial number. Now since there were 666,501 Buicks made and only 5 digits used for the SN. I am thinking maybe say a Skylark and a LeSabre (for example) may share the last five digits, whereas the first 7 alpha-numerics would still render a unique ViN

Yes, I do have a chassis manual. I will take a look. Thank you.

But the last 6 digits on a 1970 DOES NOT represent the order it came off the line, because if it did, it could NEVER be larger than 666,501. If you notice my question is not about 1963 or 1964 Rivieras. If you do not understand the question, you are not being helpful. Butt out.

No I state I have a question. I did not state the question in the title. My question is in the OP. My question is too long for the title. But no matter what type of forum I post a thread MOST people do not bother to read the OP. They make assumptions. You ASSUMED what my question was. You thought it was a run-of-the-mill question asked a thousand times. I can research run-of-the-mill questions. My questions are the result of my having done as much practical research I could BEFORE I ask.

I like the theory, but it does not hold water. My 1970 Electra is a series 48 and the 6 digit sequence begins with 279xxx. And I have been researching all 1970 Buicks online that publish their VIN, and there is no consistency as to a pattern between Skylarks, LeSabres, Wildcats, Electras or Rivieras. The last 6 digits have no online explanation that I have found.

So it would follow the last 6 digits are not a simple sequence number like 000001 through 999999 but a production CODE. I wonder if there is a way to decode the last 6 digits. There WAS a time, probably pre 1963, where the VIN included at actual sequence number or serial number.

I have posted this question in 3 different Buick forums. And most people think I am trying to decode my VIN. I am not. I do not think people read the actual question and only respond to the title. I am trying to figure out how a serial number (the production code) can numerically exceed the model year production number, in this case 666,501 total Buicks built. So far, even those who understand my question do not know either. But I have faith an expert will eventually respond.

In 1970 they make a total of 666,501 Buicks. My question is how can a 1970 Riviera have a Serial number of 936,xxx. I have seen another with a serial number in the 800,000s. How can any 1970 Buick have a SN higher than 666,501? While I am here. Do all models of Buicks pull serial numbers from the same pool? That is can a Skylark and a Electra have the same last 6 digits or are the last six digits used only once regardless of model or manufacturing plant in any given model year? Thank you.

I contacted him through the message option of the forum.

The emblem is a sore spot on an otherwise beautiful car. The other plastic emblems, lenses and so on are all in almost like new condition.

I am the current owner of this very car featured in Hemmings Classic Car magazine. Exclusive Electra - 1970 Buick Electra | Hemmings Motor News Here are pictures of my original emblem. I am not sure if I should leave it on until pieces start falling off. Or if I should take it off now and preserve what I have in storage.

Here is the one I bought from John. Forgive my poor photography.

Got John's emblem today, the $485 one. It is pretty damned good. I would give it 9.5 for accuracy and 9.0 for craftsmanship. I was considering another (see picture) but that one fell short of accuracy. Not sure about craftsmanship because I never saw one in person.