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1965 Buick Riviera Gran Sport GS 1 of 1 in Bronze


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Love the car and the color. Stunning amount of detail. Almost OVER restored for a guy like me that loves to drive. I'm glad there are folks that are willing to make this kind of commitment to originality so they can be studied if nothing else. Sure would like to point those fenders down a highway on a warm night with all the windows down, though. ?

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It is a very nice car, I believe members here had a hand in the owners research, and other things too. I was not one, just thought I would mention it.

 

One thing I did notice though, he said Gene, of A B & G, was his main source for used parts, it would have been nice if while thanking him on his video he had gotten Gene's last name correct.

 

Just Sayin'

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I spoke with him at Milwaukee, over 100K if I remember correctly. Not a very correct restoration ( done to show car standards, not correct standards). His plans were to show it for a few years then put it on the market.

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                             Regarding being built right after the strike was over, my Dad's 65 was built before the strike started, one of only a handful of

65 Rivieras built before the GM strike. My Dad had ordered his car in July 1964.  The dealer had lied to my Dad about the car having come in. They had

put it on the showroom floor to generate traffic. The car in this video is the holy grail of Buick Rivieras......end of story. The best of the best. Thank goodness

it didn't get crushed and was restored to the highest standard. The car is simply magnificent and unbelievable.  It would be my fantasy to own that car.......

Simply amazing in every way.  

Edited by Seafoam65 (see edit history)
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                         Don't know about the battery, I put my positive towards the inside as per Ed's recommendation to prevent

short circuit to the hood. The correct Riviera insignias from the factory had an open R on the front fenders and a closed R on the

rear deck. I noticed on the A/C compressor he has the repro harrison sticker with no serial number. On my car, I bought the repro sticker

and took it to Fast Signs and had them print up some with the serial number of my original compressor printed on them. On a car like

this he should do that as well. Also, the Blue Harrison decal he placed on top of the A/C box under the hood should not be there....it belongs

on the box under the dashboard. Diamondback is going to be making five more of those tires pretty soon because I'm going to be

putting a set of them on my car!

Edited by Seafoam65 (see edit history)
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A factory brochure for the early 63 shows the + battery post closer to the radiator.  The + cable is snaked between to filler spouts.  And the cables are NOT spring cables.  There is a service bulletin that came out in 63 that illustrates how to run the + cable between the battery and the hold down rod.  That was instituted to keep the + cable from rubbing on the bell of the larger four note horn.

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8 hours ago, Chasander said:

Couple of questions. Had the battery + postion not been corrected by 1965. What is the proper Riviera insigna, Closed or open "R".

The battery in Andy`s car should be flipped around so the positive terminal is next to the radiator and the posts are forward of the caps.

The Riviera scripts on the front fenders should be "open" on a `65 .

There are many intentional deviations from what is "factory correct" on this car. The deviations were intentional to better compete in the World Of Wheels show circuit.  I would advise anyone who has a "factory correct" goal in mind should not use this car as a correct example.

Tom Mooney

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8 hours ago, Seafoam65 said:

                             Regarding being built right after the strike was over, my Dad's 65 was built before the strike started, one of only a handful of

65 Rivieras built before the GM strike. My Dad had ordered his car in July 1964.  The dealer had lied to my Dad about the car having come in. They had

put it on the showroom floor to generate traffic. The car in this video is the holy grail of Buick Rivieras......end of story. The best of the best. Thank goodness

it didn't get crushed and was restored to the highest standard. The car is simply magnificent and unbelievable.  It would be my fantasy to own that car.......

Simply amazing in every way.  

Write a check. I`m SURE it is for sale

Tom

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8 hours ago, Seafoam65 said:

                         Don't know about the battery, I put my positive towards the inside as per Ed's recommendation to prevent

short circuit to the hood. The correct Riviera insignias from the factory had an open R on the front fenders and a closed R on the

rear deck. I noticed on the A/C compressor he has the repro harrison sticker with no serial number. On my car, I bought the repro sticker

and took it to Fast Signs and had them print up some with the serial number of my original compressor printed on them. On a car like

this he should do that as well. Also, the Blue Harrison decal he placed on top of the A/C box under the hood should not be there....it belongs

on the box under the dashboard. Diamondback is going to be making five more of those tires pretty soon because I'm going to be

putting a set of them on my car!

Andy called me to help document this car when he initially bought it so I am very familiar with his acquisition of the car and its condition when found. I do not remember him mentioning the car was found in a junkyard??

I provided exact measurements from the two types of tires which were original equipment on the `65. Both Firestone and Goodyear provided triple white tires. Andy chose to replicate the Firestone version with the scalloped sidewall. Personally, I like the smooth sidewall of the original Goodyear Power Cushion tires. The scalloped tire looks like an old truck tire to me. The Goodyear looks like a classic `60`s bias tire. The whitewalls are the same on both tire types but the difference in their appearance is noteworthy.

  Tom

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                      Tom, what tire did Andy start out with, as the original 8.45-15 tires are not reproduced. I assume he started with a 7.60-15 which has the same

overall diameter and tread width? I have another question regarding the 65 Riviera battery. I saw a post where you stated that the

 original 27 series battery had the battery turned to where the posts were towards the front of the car. In searching the internet for engine compartment photos, I haven't turned up a single pic of a 65 Riviera engine compartment where the  posts weren't on the rear side of the battery. My car had the posts on the rear side of the battery when I bought it. Did I misunderstand what you wrote?Thanks ahead of time

for your help.on these two questions. It is my goal to make my car as correct as possible, except I am leary of the factory squeeze clamps

on the heater hoses. I feel more comfortable with the witek clamps on the heater hoses. By the way, I love the look of the pie crust sidewalls!

Edited by Seafoam65 (see edit history)
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Hi Winston,

  Dont know what tire he started with but obviously it had the scalloped sidewall. It could be he chose to replicate the scalloped Firestone because a scalloped tire was the best he could find to start? Not sure, but he and his car were in the Chicago area this weekend, a friend and I intended to go to the show but last minute issues prevented us from attending. I can give him a call and ask if you would like.

  Yes, I have factory pics of the battery. The service bulletins are a great source for "factory correct" details because obviously they include pics of brand new cars.

Yes, you understood my comment as I wrote it. If I recall correctly, the posts were originally toward the front and the cables ran back across the cell caps.

  Everyone has their preference, I just thought I would mention one might have a second option if wanting to replicate the look of the original tires.

  Tom

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Small emblems?

when this man talked about small emblems he said they moved to the bigger emblem in the middle of December,

my car has small emblems and build date is last week December 64, question is ,can this be possible or does anyone

know the change over for sure? I was surprised by those comments .

thanks Gord Purves 14080

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1st, I'd like to thank all the help & technical knowledge provided by Gene Guarnere, Dick Sweeney, and Tom Mooney these last three yrs, as well as, many other 65 Riv GS Buick owners & part suppliers.  From the start, my goal was not to 100% replicate how this iconic RivGS came off the assembly line, but rather take Billy Mitchell's vision of European styling from Ferrari and Rolls-Royce and transform a Post WWII American production line car into "timeless elegance."  Our goal was to create a hand-built, B-Body Buick, who's Fit & Finish would rival some of the most iconic Pre-WWII European & American cars.  So yes, in order to break "glass ceilings" in concours circles or the International Show Car Association (ISCA) series, we deliberately made several minor deviations to enhance the "Fit & Finish" in order to give the car's exterior or engine compartment a much more elegant presentation.   When judged, we openly disclose these inspection points to educate the judges and ensure others are not affected by our deviations.  We always identify this is an over restored car,  all but two deviation can easily be reversed if one desires.  I have meet and helped many Buick Riviera owners on the show trail this past year, and have identified how we did some facets of the restoration differently, as well as we have a thank you sign posted in the display to Gene Guarnere, AB&G "Gene, sorry I got nervous during filming and mispronounced your last name." Too the best of our knowledge, many judges & writers on the show trail, we are the 1st B-Body Buick to earn the ISCA 2018 Restored Category Championship, earn Detroit Autorama 2018 - Best Restored Car, earn Boga Raton Concours 2018 - Essence of Design Award, and Radnor Hunt Concours 2017 - Timeless Elegance Award. All awards aside, the three best things that came out of this build were; were finding & saving what many claim is the most historically significant 65 RivGS that GM build, all the new friendships & bonds that have been created across North America, and the growing respect B-Body Buick's have gained through this concours restoration & showing these last two years.  

 

Almost forgot to address the tri-band white wall tires.  Both Dick and Tom provided excellent details on both the Goodyear and Firestone tire.  I to prefer the Goodyear tire, however the only off the shelf bias ply tire that was the closest dimension size, had a scalloped designed sidewall, thus we had to replicate the Firestone tire.  If anyone has questions on tire, call Bill Chapman at Diamondback Tires.

 

All our Best, Col Andy Starr - USMC Ret

Owner: 1965 RivGS 1 of 1 Samoan Bronze

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                  Andy.......I tooled up and had correct Frigidaire compressor decals  made up(the black and silver decal) that have the serial no.

on the compressor printed in the serial no. box(I used the number that was on my original 65 compressor). Send me your address in

a private message and I would be glad to mail you one of my extras at no charge(I had ten of them made up) Also, the OK stamp on the compressor

was always yellow in color on 65 GM cars......you might want to change that.........magnificent car and congratulations on a fine restoration of a very

rare and desirable Riviera!

 

Edited by Seafoam65 (see edit history)
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Winston,

 

Thanks on your offer, will send private msg, would like to discuss further.  The original AC compressor decal on my RivGS was a 1964 decal...I’m assuming since the started build in Sep of 64, they didn’t have the 1965 decal available yet.  Yes you are correct with regard to the “yellow” on Buick AC inspection stamp. We went with “white” to provide more detail & contrast under hood, also moved stamping location from side of compressor to top surface.  We will let the next owner & care taker of this rare gem decide what their personnel preferences are, and then make applicable adjustments as requested.  As to tire size, I believe the bias tire we used was 8.55 x 15, which was in line with the heavy duty optional tire offered by Buick in 1965.  It works & looks great on car, very happy with them!

 

Andy

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                   Andy, just so you know, my Frigidaire sticker is identical to the one you currently have on your car except for two things........

mine has a printed serial no. in the serial no. box, and the listed freon charge for the wildcat and electra is 4.25 lbs., not 4.00. The original

sticker on my 65 riviera said 4.25 lbs. I was thinking of going with a 7.60-15 tire for the triple whitewalls.......they have the same tread width and outside diameter as the 8.45-15 tire that my car came with from the factory.

Edited by Seafoam65 (see edit history)
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14 hours ago, Col Andy - USMC said:

Winston,

 

Thanks on your offer, will send private msg, would like to discuss further.  The original AC compressor decal on my RivGS was a 1964 decal...I’m assuming since the started build in Sep of 64, they didn’t have the 1965 decal available yet.  Yes you are correct with regard to the “yellow” on Buick AC inspection stamp. We went with “white” to provide more detail & contrast under hood, also moved stamping location from side of compressor to top surface.  We will let the next owner & care taker of this rare gem decide what their personnel preferences are, and then make applicable adjustments as requested.  As to tire size, I believe the bias tire we used was 8.55 x 15, which was in line with the heavy duty optional tire offered by Buick in 1965.  It works & looks great on car, very happy with them!

 

Andy

Hi Andy,

  Thanks for posting, good to see you on the forum. Just an FYI, no oversize tire option for the Riviera model in `65. I noticed you speced "Buick in 1965" so I`m sure we discussed this at some point but I dont want others to be under the impression that there was an oversize tire option for the Riv.

  Also, in the video, you mentioned a specific date for the changeover from small to large GS emblems. Do you have any documentation? What is the source of this info? Thanks, sorry I missed you in Rosemont,

  Tom

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Tom, 

Thanks for correction on E-body, normally I restore Wildcat’s.  Sorry we didn’t link up at Rosemont.

 

With regard to the Riviera optional oversized tire, I pulled my reference material, and I had size wrong it was 8.85 x 15, which was the standard tire in 1965 for the Electra 225....see attached chart from the 1965 Buick Adjustments Guide...it show’s an optional larger tire for Lesabre, Wildcat, and Riviera.  Also in owners guide on page 54 discussing when to use an oversized tire, but does not specify size.

 

As to transition from small emblem to large, I pulled date of mid-Dec 1964 from ROA web summary document on 1965 RivGS...that said, I also saw an old post on AACA that say’s transition was likely at end of Dec...

 

Best Andy

3832F1EA-A481-4EBF-8225-2C4F379E47BB.jpeg

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16 hours ago, Col Andy - USMC said:

Tom, 

Thanks for correction on E-body, normally I restore Wildcat’s.  Sorry we didn’t link up at Rosemont.

 

With regard to the Riviera optional oversized tire, I pulled my reference material, and I had size wrong it was 8.85 x 15, which was the standard tire in 1965 for the Electra 225....see attached chart from the 1965 Buick Adjustments Guide...it show’s an optional larger tire for Lesabre, Wildcat, and Riviera.  Also in owners guide on page 54 discussing when to use an oversized tire, but does not specify size.

 

As to transition from small emblem to large, I pulled date of mid-Dec 1964 from ROA web summary document on 1965 RivGS...that said, I also saw an old post on AACA that say’s transition was likely at end of Dec...

 

Best Andy

3832F1EA-A481-4EBF-8225-2C4F379E47BB.jpeg

  Oh yes, this is a carry over  of the typo which exists in the shop manual also.

  The factory wholesale car order, which is the form the sales person would have filled out to actually order the car, only lists the F1 tire option which is described as "whitewall tires 8.45 X 15". There is no other tire option listed on the form.

  In addition, the Buick Daily Car Report, which breaks down what Buick actually built, shows 33463 Rivs built with the 8.45X15 whitewall and 1123 Rivs built with 8.45X15 blackwalls which was the standard tire. This total, 34,586 represents total Riviera production including exports.

  In my opinion the ROA web summary document is in error. I dont know where the mid-december guestimate originated but several cars have surfaced over the years, including one in this thread, which are later than mid-december body builds with small emblems.

  I have a `65 GS which is the last week in December body build with large emblems. This car was likely assembled after the Christmas break which is when I think the changeover occurred. I have spoken with old timers who were actively employed by Buick during this time period and was told it was common place to institute running production changes such as the emblem changes over the Christmas break.

  Tom

Edited by 1965rivgs (see edit history)
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Yes - that is one beautiful Gran Sport.  Congrats Andy on your excellent restoration. 

 

Some may quibble about factory correctness, but you know that any of us would be proud to own that car!

 

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