BadgerRivFan Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 The antenna on this '63 currently for sale on eBay is on the wrong fender. Can anybody shed any light on this or am I mistaken...Buick : Riviera Buick : Riviera | eBay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrlforfun Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 OK Riviera people: Look at the facts and draw your conclusion from there. It looks like it's fairly unmolested. The interior could support the 46K showing. It has a Sonomatic radio (rear speaker unknown), It's not too loaded, clear glass, no a/c or pw, base hub caps.My theory, just a wild guess, is that it might not have had a radio from new and the Sonomatic was added after it's assembly. Perhaps the installer figured the antenna went on the left side.Also my opinion, a set of wire caps with a thinner white wall radial could really make this old Riv pop. Any other theories on the antenna?? Theories aside, wouldn't it fun to know the real reason the antenna is where it is? Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 In the '63 Riviera, the only speaker for the entire car was in the rear between the seats. The a/c and heater controls took up all of the room under the dash. In '64 and '65 because the a/c and heater controls were placed on the console, a front speaker was able to be placed under the dash. Why the antenna is on the right side is a groaner. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) Good "i" Al . . . once that fender is holed, it's too late to change !! I contacted the seller to see if they know why - they have previously listed and sold some other very nice Rivieras on 'evilBay'. Edited December 22, 2011 by 68RIVGS add info (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Great eye Al. Buick issued two `63`s for press review before the production cars were available. The antenna placement on those cars is unique but still on the passenger side. I`m surprised no one noticed the outside rearview mirror.I think Mitch may have explained these quirks. This does not look like an early car, as in possible prototype, so it is most probably a plain jane that has been added on to.BTW, what does the "XP" notation stand for in your avatar? I`m sure I should probably know the answer to this... Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I googled it and found it. Nice touch Al. Are you hinting at something to come? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dship Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Was it to be a Cadillac or become a Buick????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mt65riv Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 That's just wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheezeMan Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 (edited) XP-715 was to become a Caddy, a revitalized La Salle to be exact. Cadillac didn't want it, though (no capacity available, and probably ample amounts of the "we didn't think of it" syndrome from the top bananas). Elvis only bought Cadillacs, but he bought a Riviera.If you look at the XP-715 closely you will notice that they originally wanted a pancake hood design, but factory engineers just couldn't do it in volume. Buick won the bidding war because they promised not to change a thing, which was Bill Mitchell's requirement. Ed Rollert's quote "...Buick Motor Division was awarded the honor of engineering, developing and producing this formidable machine. We won it by our ability to deliver on three challenges from General Motors...". Oldsmobile wanted to make too many changes, so they lost out. I don't even think that Chevy or Pontiac were even a consideration. Edited December 23, 2011 by CheezeMan (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Based on some things I have in my assortment of Riviera literature, Cadillac did not want the Riviera, they were satisfied with their sales volume as it was. Buick had slipped from third to ninth in car sales from '55 and needed a boost; the Riviera was it.In Car Exchange, March, 1984, there are prototype photos of the "XP (experimental project) - 715 as Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, Centurions (a name Buick was considering), and LaSalles (what Cadillac would have called it had they wanted it.) All of the cars use the vertical grills for the turn signal housings. This was in the original plans to offer it to Cadillac as a replica of the LaSalle Grills from the late 30's. On the LaSalle version, there was no grill to speak of, what was there looks like panels that would be thermostatically controlled to allow air to the radiator. Bill Mitchell eventually did this to his personal Riviera - Silver Arrow I. The Pontiac grill is a fine bar grill with the bars spaced the same as the turn signal grills. It had a single head light in the grill and fog/running lights in the lower bumper. The "Centurion" had the same single headlight, but the grill bars were wider and had more space between them. One pre production grill shown on the Buick Riviera (no longer a Centurion) was a single headlight in the production styled egg crate grill. The rear bumpers of the Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Buick prototypes are very much like the production 63/64 rear bumpers. The LaSalle rear bumper, however, was a two piece per side nerf bar bumper with the tail light sandwiched between the upper and lower bars on each side. There was no joining of the nerf bars to the license plate housing on the LaSalle bumper. In the same article there are also pictures of a four door Riviera - imagine a '63 Electra 225 four door hardtop with a Riviera front clip and you'll know exactly what it would have looked like. Other pictures include a preproduction model of a Riviera convertible, and an artist's conception of a four door Riviera Phaeton (convertible,) complete with a wind screen for the rear seat passengers. There is also a 1960 photo of a clay mock-up of a Riviera parked next to a "Square Bird" Thunderbird, probably a '58 or '59.If you'd like a copy of this magazine, I think that Gene Garnere has a number of them for sale.Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 A couple other early 1st gen concepts.Including a T-top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheezeMan Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Thanks Ed... I stand corrected. GM offered the car to 3 divisions after Cadillac rejected. Pontiac was one of the 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 Good "i" Al . . . once that fender is holed, it's too late to change !! I contacted the seller to see if they know why - they have previously listed and sold some other very nice Rivieras on 'evilBay'.The reply came back: ". . . no idea, sir !" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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