viper771 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Hey everyone! I am usually an olds guy but I couldn't pass this car up. I have always been a fan of the boat tails. I hope to get more pictures of it and I will post soon. It is all original though and in great shape. I had a question about the rally wheels. It has the standard wheels now with caps, but I think I am looking for the 5x5 bolt pattern 15 x6 JJ code rims right? What kind of tires do you guys recommend? I am not sure if the tires I have on the car now will be able to be put on the rally wheels. They are in good shape though.I need to do some minor work to it (replace hoses, fluids, filters, etc) so she is ready by spring. I am not sure if the tranny is shifting right or not. The modulator O ring was leaking bad, but that was replaced.. but it doesn't seem to shift out of first. I added fluid but didn't change. I will check the vac hoses next to see if that is the problem. Then again, it may shift so smooth that I can't tell it is shifting? This car is nothing like my father in laws GTO.. it is a bit softer and fatter.Anyway I will get to taking more pictures, but enjoy the ones I have for now. It is a crystal blue metallic with blue full vinyl roof. Bench seat, AC, power seats, etc I don't think it has any special options other than the ugly front bumper guards. I will take better pictures soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest my3buicks Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Very clean looking. It's enjoyable seeing one with wheel covers - many came that way, but few remain that way. There is a Riv GS that an old couple in my area drive every day and it even being a GS has the standard wheelcovers. Great Find!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Nice car.....congrats on your purchase! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper771 Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 I dunno, I kind of like the rally wheels. I guess I have time to decide. Worst case, I will just keep the orig rims as spares. It is a clean car though and came with all the orig documentation and a box of stuff from when the orig. owner joined the riviera owners association in the 1980s. I am the third owner actually. When the first owner passed a few years ago, the 2nd owner just bought it and drove it to golf on the weekend. Even the orig owner just drove it once in awhile. There is NO RUST on this thing.. and this is a locally bought Ohio car. The interior is almost flawless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest my3buicks Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 The Chrome Plated Wheels dress them up without question - would give it twice the pizazz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest my3buicks Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 It's hard to tell from the pictures if it's Cascade Blue or Crystal Blue - appears light enough to be Crystal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) Congratulations on the 72 and welcome back to the forum. You will find those are great driving road machines despite the size. That car looks like a nice straight example needing very little which is good because certain boattail parts are becoming hard to find. The no rust factor is a huge plus. I noticed the Riviera Owners Association sticker in the rear window indicating a previous owners membership.Not sure if you are from OH and if so what part but the ROA has an active regional coordinator in the Akron area. There are quite a few boat tail owners up that way if you wanted to converse with other owners.As far as the chrome wheels found on these full size Buicks, I think they were one of the most significant engineering designs from Buick in the 60s era. Their style is timeless and they can transform total personality of any full size Buick. There were different versions of these wheels from 64 through the late 70s early 80s and to the layman they all look the same. Be sure to get wheels specifically for 71-78 which is code 895 stamped on the inside. Fortunately these are the most common and therefore reasonably priced to buy.Probably crystal blue unless it was special order. I don't believe cascade blue was available on the Riv. Edited January 23, 2015 by JZRIV (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 If you're an ROA member, there are a couple of good tech articles on the ROA website that describe the rally wheels and what to look for to make sure you're getting the correct ones - members only section. If the wheels are not mounted with tires, as Jason says the code number is a sure way of telling that you have the correct ones. If the wheels have tires mounted, one thing you can look at is the center hub of the wheel. If it extends outward beyond the plane across edge of the rim, it's probably correct. All center caps for the 71 - 73 cars are the same and don't resemble the earlier ones. They're mostly silver, where as the early ones were black. Nice car as it is. Just make it suit your needs / fancy. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper771 Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Thanks for the info guys!! Actually the orig owner was in the ROA. The car came with ALL of the info from when he first joined back in 86.. so I have tons of magazines to look though. I have to get the tranny to shift since it won't go into 2nd. I am putting in a new governor, modulator, filter, fluid, kick down switch and solenoid. It just needs some other minor stuff... valve cover gaskets, rear diff cover gasket. The clock and front radio speaker do not work... but the rear speaker works great (cool that it has an AM/FM radio too). The interior is SUPER clean. Only the arm rest part of the drivers side door panel has 2 splits in it. All the orig paperwork from the dealer was still in the orig envelope in the glovebox. The only area of rust concern is by the back window... its small spot that looks like it is a crack in the metal, i suspect from body flex (my 62 olds starfire has sometime similar) and there is a tiny bit of rust there. I suspect that this must be semi common, and the vinyl roofs didn't help. But other than that one spot, everything else is good to go. Going to put new door hinge bushings too since the heavy doors wore out the orig bushings. If I can figure out how to add more pictures I will.The car is crystal blue by the way and I am already looking for the rally wheels. 5 x5 bolt hole pattern, but I haven't decided if I want the 15 x6 or 15 x 7s yet. Will update more soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper771 Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 and yes this car was locally purchased here in Middletown ohio at Guyler Buick (the 2nd owner bought it and lived on the next street over from the orig owner). It is only about 6 blocks or so from where the 2nd owner lives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 For your reference here is a pic of what a crystal blue 72 looks like with chrome wheels. Taken in beautiful town of Galena IL at ROA national in 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerboy Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Also lots of info here:http://buick-libraries.boattail-riviera-by-buick.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper771 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Yep already a full member to that site with picts and data to my 72 uploaded. Been to cold to work on her though. I will put rally wheels on eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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