Paul K.

Is there a Stutz Club for the modern Stutz Blackhawk revival cars built in the 70s and 80s ? I have the same inquiry on the Stutz forum here but I guess that is only for the "real" Stutzs. THX

It looks like this forum is reserved of the original or "real" Stutz cars. Is there a club or forum for the modern Stutz cars built in the 70s and 80s? I found a registry page but it hasn't been updated in 10 years.

Might be a real car. Seller says the miles can be documented. Low optioned but the paint looks like it would buff and make a nice survivor. https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/cto/d/1963-buick-riviera/6264354455.html

Looks nice. Didn't know there was a 303 cleaner.

Best deal on car covers IMO is ebay. I recently bought one by KONO covers that advertised as 20 layers whatever that means but it is just as good as the ones I see for well over $100. Its also somewhat reflective so the interior doesn't get too hot. But if you want custom fit, you're going to pay $$.

Totally agree. The 307 was a dog. The 305 Chevy motor was so much better. Not sure if they made it into any Rivieras.

^^^ This! If I wanted that body style in an Eldorado, either a 79 or 80 I would buy. Lots of engine swapping in those days or sure. The 79 had the same engine as the first gen Seville, an Olds 350 V8 with Bosch fuel injection. The 80 Eldo had the downsized 368 Cadillac V8 (from 425 cid used in the DeVilles in 79) but it had a feedback carburetor because this was the first year of computer controls for GM called the C4 system. 81 Eldos had the 368 again but it was equipped with the cylinder canceling 8-6-4 system which was a disaster. In 82 came the HT4100 engine which as mentioned had big problems with coolant mixing into the oil and early engine failure. If it were me looking for an Eldo, I would want a 79 or an 80 in that order.

Thanks Tom for the explanation. I'm curious, that it seems balancing the shaft in a lathe with working angles, would still only be close if a generic angle were applied due ride height differences between cars. This would an incomplete balance unless working angle measurements of the driveshaft installed are taken and then applied to the set up in the balancer. I would thing an off-road shop that does suspension lifts has the ability to do this or works with a driveline shop that can do a proper balance for the Riv.

However, the driveshaft being in phase or out of phase is a moot point if the driveshaft were balanced which mine was.

Thanks PWB and 1965RivGS for taking the time to reply. I went through my rearend last fall and had the driveshaft rebuilt while it was out. You guessed it, the shop said it was out of phase so they put it in phase. I haven't driven the car on the freeway yet so I can't say if there is a vibration at higher speeds.

telriv, please explain in detail and what is 67 1/2*?

I think you are right on this ^^^^^ Thats how online dating services stay going

I agree, seems like a decent price in the 30-ish range. "Fully Restored"? Don't think so. The chrome on the car is weak and the rear bumper pretty scratched up. Glove box scratched and other imperfections make it a good driver.

Ed, Could you post the math formula to figure final engine RPM? I remember needing the transmission final drive ratio, tire circumference, and rear axle ratio. Can't find my notes for the order of operations. THX.

This car is a good example of the stories and representations sellers make such as original miles and the such. Take them for what they are. Stories. I purchased this car for my brother in 1986 from the 2nd owner who lived off College Ave in the Del Cerro area of San Diego. I remember the ad just said "1965 Buick". I called and found out it was a Riviera. Got there and it was a GS. At the time it had 94k miles and that was original. They owned the car since 1968. The daughter showed me the car and said she had driven it in college and so did her sister. Sort of a beater 3rd car for the family. I remember cringing when she said she knew she needed to add oil to it when she would hear the engine tick. Surprisingly, the car ran strong and did not smoke. They were asking $1100 and I drove it away for $700. The car came with both shop manuals, owner's manual, and Protect-O-Plate showing the original owner by the last name of Stein who lived and worked at a body shop in nearby National City. According to the seller, he liked to show the car. He added some non factory items such as the Cadillac power door locks and a passenger power seat. In addition, he installed those ugly chrome Landau Bars mounted on the sail panels. He removed all the Gran Sport and Riviera badges and filled the holes. It also had those aftermarket 60s style headrests which were cylinder shaped, like the ones installed on a Porsche 356. It also had the Franz oil and transmission filter systems installed under the hood which were popular in the 60s and 70s. I got Stein's number from 411 information (remember that?) and spoke to him confirming his ownership and the modifications he did. Originally, the interior was deluxe woodgrain, all black vinyl and it was a non-A/C car. Options it had were deluxe interior, AM/FM radio with reverberator (which looks like it is now missing), vacuum trunk release, road wheels, tilt wheel, tinted glass, power windows and power vent windows, power antenna. At the time, it had a vinyl top but not sure it was originally equipped like that. Thats all the options it had. My parents owned a restaurant and we did a trade out with one of our customers that owned a body shop for a paint job. It was a nice PPG Deltron 2 stage and the car looked like glass. They stripped the vinyl top and removed the landau bars but we did not locate or install any new Riviera or GS badges. The chrome was pristine and original. Also had a headliner installed and the two front seat cushions recovered in vinyl. A few years later, my brother was getting ready to go to law school and wanted to sell the car and get something newer with better MPG. I ran an ad but just couldn't get the $6500 we wanted because a non- A/C car was a deal breaker. So as luck would have it, my brother got rear ended and also hit the car in front of him. He got a check for $4500 and I sold the car wrecked but very driveable to Chuck Goode an ROA member for for $2200. Chuck did a great job of putting the car back together replacing the hood, grille, bumper and left fender. Plus replacing the rear bumper and had the left qtr and panel above the rear bumper repaired. he also rebuilt the engine. He also located the small GS emblems and Riviera scripts. The car was not repainted, only the damaged areas were painted. At this time it was around 1989 and the car had about 120k miles. Chuck also installed factory A/C, cruise control and installed the cloth seat inserts. When the seat inserts were new, they looked real nice and really elevated the luxury feel of the interior. You can't tell in the ebay photos today but the seats had a line pattern of gold thread going through them. He also installed a vinyl top which is now gone again. I became friends with Chuck after that watching him restore the car and admiring his restoration skills Chuck won a lot of shows with that car before selling it to Dick Sweeney who is on our forum. I always wanted to know where this car was/is and although it has gone down hill it has been in worse shape a couple of times in its life. Fast forward to 2010. I'm at Jack's Mufflers on University Ave. in San Diego getting a muffler installed on my 78 Bentley T2. A guy riding on his bike stops and asks me a question about my car. Somehow we start talking about some of my other cars and the conversation goes to Rivieras (I own a 64). The guy says, "you know, back in the 60s, when I was in high school, I worked at a body shop in National City. A guy that worked with me had a beautiful black 65 Riviera GS. That guy really loved that car". I asked: "Was his name Stein" The guy's jaw dropped, "Yes". Small World.

Does anyone know if the new owner of this car is a member of this forum? I know the history of this car.

Cars lists as the outer lens only and OPGI doesn't say. Is the inner sold separately?

If the hose to the distributor vacuum advance has manifold vacuum I usually use a piece of paper to seal the hose. No screws or golf tees to find and it does not stretch the end of the hose. You just have to remember that it will fall off when you shut off the engine and needs to be put back on if going back and finishing the timing adjustment.

All due respect but a Buick Riviera is not a muscle car. It can go fast and blow the doors off many respected muscle cars as I proved when I street raced my 64 in high school but it is first and foremost a personal luxury car. Period.

Advance hose disconnected and plugged yes. But what do you mean "by 3' idle" ?

AC have always worked fine in my 64 and other GMs, but haven't run them in a while. Agree Champions are the worst IMO... they just don't burn even or last long. I made a move to NGK plugs years ago for all my old cars which are carbureted and am very happy with them. One feature of any spark plug is its ability to self-clean. I feel NGK does this better than others. They burn clean and last long. I just use their basic copper plug "V-Power".

It does look "right". Distributor in the front, original fan shroud and radiator all seemed to fit in. Someone gave 20k for it which I think is pretty strong. I would like to drive it to see how much different a first gen Riv feels with the 455 vs the nailhead.

+ 1 on everything you said above! I've owned mine since '81 when I was 17.

UPDATE: The front and rear Timken pinion bearings matched up. Putting it together this week.

Konga, I called my guy that owns a differential shop. The Timken # are still good and he has them in stock. Bringing in the old ones to match up and confirm. THX