parobellum

Also - my name is Mike. And thank you all so much. I wasn't going to buy without an inspection, but things seemed off and I thought I would come here immediately and you all came through - special thanks to RivNut for these responses and all the other information you have provided on the forum.

So interesting - I pulled the plug FYI. The seller has had the car for 5 years, younger, first classic - not sure he actually knows Rivieras all that well - or just pretending, either way same result. So shift pattern - here is a pic and from the test drive this was correct - R toward front. I will admit it was the strangest gear shifter I have used - there was no catch, just slide back and forth, but stayed in gear.

Yikes - that is frightening to me. I’m sure it’s going to look fantastic. i think it’s domestic - this is the riviera from the Philadelphia Craigslist ad - owner is very nice and pretty straightforward with what he knows and does not know. I’ve had non-original cars before but it was always for a bigger motor. My search continues. Thanks again for al the quick and thorough help. Invaluable (though I can put a pretty specific value on this info).

Seller is telling me the 401 (at 401cid) was available on 64 riviera - I think this is wrong - I thought for 64 the 425 cid became standard with the super being the option.

You are a good soul for this - now I have to decide how much this matters. I am thinking a lot. I was hoping this was not the case. Makes me more worried about that weird damage in the trunk.

I am wondering if these are the right numbers even

I think you are right on vin - its a 1 as for stampings - I flipped them - can make one sort of? 2I181264?

That is interesting. I got a pic of engine code I think

Thanks so much - I found the very helpful build decoder from this site - it’s pretty correct in the car but for the addition of front seatbelts - power options work, ac not working despite some expensive bills, etc.

So I have a tentative deal on this Riviera, awaiting an inspection but I was hoping to get some guidance if anyone has a moment in case I am wasting my time. I'll stick the photos below. I have owned many older cars (63 Impala, 67 Mustang, 67 Fulvia, 67 912, 69 LeMans, 72 2002tii, 92 RR County LWB are some - so I am not unfamiliar with having to get work done and some of the major issues, but this Buick is new to me and a Riviera is on my bucket list of cars. I also do not pretend to by a mechanic - I enjoy them, have done some work, but engines remain a mystery. On the test drive three main issues: 1. the car stalled while driving - which I will say does not trouble me too much as the seller was very honest about never driving it - he starts it and lets it run in driveway, which is not the greatest plan. 2. Shifting the automatic you could slide it back and forth without hitting the button, it would stay in gear but i have never had a shifter act like this I assume something is worn?; 3. Oil drip developed (almost certain it was oil) as shown in the photos below, then seemed to stop shortly after we stopped. Oil was very clean FYI. The car was where it was parked for a long time (you could tell) and no big pools of fluids beneath, just some drips and drabs. Some other questions I have 4. the vin tag in the cowl is "7K4065743" which would be Kansas City right? The options plate says "FB10032" which would be Flint - is this normal? One thing I will note, the color has been changed to black and I will admit it looks like a good (though very aged) paint job - I see little to no evidence of the original color. 5. It has the finned covers, nonchrome air filter and an edelbrock carb - stated as a super wildcat but I dont think so - I thought I took a picture of what i thought was the engine code but it was only the engine stamp (1374603) - can anyone tell - I assume it is the normal wildcat that someone stuck finned covers on. I put all the photos here - maybe there is some clue from the single carb fit? Did I get any of the numbers I need to match the engine to the body - I could not see the engine code for the life of me. 6. There is a picture of below the package tray from the trunk - some of the support looks like its been cut or snipped - maybe ripped from a long ago accident? Any thoughts appreciated. - not sure if i got the perspective right in the photo. 7. Decent amount of rust under package tray in trunk, but very surface - some bubbling around rear wheel wells and at corners of rear side windows. I am not too troubled - unless I should be... The cross struts of the floor looked good - surface but solid. There is a bondo looking patch in the corner of the trunk in one photo. 8. Any other comments would be welcome. This forum has been invaluable reading as I have looked for a Riviera over the years. Full size photos in link https://photos.app.goo.gl/2LdnoW2zvTSm7KeH9