Buick Rescue - 1970 Riviera - $2,100

[TxBuicks]

General: This 1970 Riviera was passed on to me because the previous owner got over his head in the body work restoration on this car. He started doing some body work and then it just sat in his shop for years. He offered it to me cheap and said he would call the crusher if I did not want it. I was surprised when he handed me a receipt from May, 2000 which shows over $5,100 of work done by a local mechanic (which Pete Phillips knows and speaks highly of). So, 13 years ago, this Riviera had a complete engine rebuilt (.020 over) with all new internal parts, including pistons, rings, cam, rods, bearings, lifters, gaskets, etc. He had the transmission rebuilt, rebuilt water pump, oil pump, fuel pump, spark plugs and wires, distributor cap and rotor, belts, hoses, filters, sensors, motor mounts, rebuilt carburetor, new alternator, rebuilt the entire brake system with master cylinder and all wheel cylinders, new radiator, new starter, fan clutch, thermostat, exhaust manifold, and on and on. WOW! According to the receipt and the current odometer reading, the Riviera has been driven 5 miles since then. He had all this mechanical work done, drove it into his shop and started the body work. The mileage is 140,000. I drove it off the trailer and into my garage. The engine runs (although the carburetor needs cleaned again),the fuel system is good, the transmission works, and the brakes are good. It is stored safely in my garage in Denton, TX.</SPAN>

Body: Although the body looks bad due to his amateur body work, it is solid, except for a few spots. He felt like he needed to remove the windshields to fix it from leaking so he took them off. Honestly, that is the worse part of the rust issues, is the areas around the windshields. The fender skirts have rust, but I have a good set of full skirts for it.</SPAN>

Glass: All the glass is good, except there is no front windshield. I have 2 rear windshields, but no front one.</SPAN>

Trim: The stainless trim pieces are all there, and all very nice and straight. All these pieces are in the trunk. There is also a second set of trim, almost complete, taken from a parts car. So, there are two sets of trim pieces. The bumpers are mostly rust free and straight, but there are a few dents. There is a good spare rear bumper with tail lights from a parts car.</SPAN>

Interior: The interior is definitely the worst part of this Riviera. It must have sat outside a while before the previous owner had it, or his shop was not well sealed. It is dusty, dirty, and the varmints had their way with it. Most of the plastic is faded and brittle. The headliner is gone and the seatbelts are hard. The seats are rusty and shot, and I’m not sure they can be reused. There is good rear seat and back from a parts car, though. There is also a roll of seat foam, apparently bought with the idea of repairing the seats. Also, there is brand new carpet, still in the box. The floor is solid except for a few small spots where it was repaired with fiberglass. The dash pad is cracked and the steering column is loose, but the ignition works. It has the optional 8-Track player mounted under the dash.</SPAN>

Engine: 455 High Performance engine for 1970. The engine is very complete, with no parts missing. See the general description above for a complete description of the over $5,100 of work done in May, 2000. I bought a new battery when I received it.</SPAN>

Transmission: Automatic, column shift, and works. No drips or leaks either.</SPAN>

Tires: It has 4 good tires, but they are different brands, and need to be replaced soon. They all hold air. It has the Buick Riviera wheels correct for 1970.</SPAN>

Brakes: The brakes are in good working order, as determined when I drove it into my garage. I have not driven it more than that.</SPAN>

Trunk: The trunk is in very good condition, with almost no rust. The trunk lid edge is rusted out in a few spots. Some of the trunk material and cardboard is there but not all of it.</SPAN>

Price: You can adopt this 1970 Riviera for $2,100.

I just found out my pictures are too large, so I will have to reduce them and post them later. Does anyone know the file size limit for pictures?</SPAN>

Edited March 28, 2013 by TxBuicks (see edit history)

[TxBuicks]

Pictures.

[TxBuicks]

How about $1,800? Any interest for $1,800?

[TxBuicks]

To the top.

[TxBuicks]

I started this 1970 Riviera last night and let it run for 15-20 minutes. You won't believe how smooth and quiet the engine is. Looks like all that work on the engine 13 years ago is still good. Whoever gets this car will not have to do anything to the engine, brakes, nor transmission. Think about how much that is worth.

[TxBuicks]

Still for sale.

[TxBuicks]

This will be in the May 2013 Bugle.

[MrEarl]

Roy, maybe I missed it but what size engine is that. I believe 69 or 70 was the first year of the 455?

If it's the first year 455, I seem to recall something about it having more horsepower than any of the 455's that came later?

Edited March 28, 2013 by MrEarl (see edit history)

[TxBuicks]

Mr. Earl, you are correct. It is the High Performance 455, the same engine as the GS455 and GSX for 1970. They reduced the HP in the following years, mainly due to insurance issues. A lot of hot-rodders have contacted me wanting the engine and transmission only, but, at this point, I would like to sell it whole.

Edited March 29, 2013 by TxBuicks (see edit history)

[JZRIV]

Mr. Earl, you arew correct. It is the High Performance 455, the same engine as the GS455 and GNX for 1970. They reduced the HP in the following years, mainly due to insurance issues. A lot of hot-rodders have contacted me wanting the engine and transmission only, but, at this point, I would like to sell it whole.

This has been an often misunderstood assumption due to variations in posted HP ratings between models. The Riviera engine is not the same as the GS Skylarks and GSX. Primary reason is they do not have the larger Stage 1 valved heads and hence not the same camshaft.

Having said that the Riviera 70 455 in its stock form is a powerful engine as were many engines across manufacturers in 1970.

[TxBuicks]

I thought the Stage I was an upgrade to the stock 455 engine, and that the standard engine in the GS was the same 455. Not all GS 455 were Stage I.

[JZRIV]

I thought the Stage I was an upgrade to the stock 455 engine, and that the standard engine in the GS was the same 455. Not all GS 455 were Stage I.

Yes you are correct the stage 1 was an upgrade to the standard 455. When you referenced "high performance 455" in post #9, I thought you were referring to the Stage 1 since it was the high performance version of the 455.