Mike's Riv Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 I am a new member . I just bought a 1965 Buick Riviera. I am wondering why there seams to be Two different style door panels? We saw an H indicating its original color is Seafoam and 609 Indicating that it had saddle interior originally. We want to put it all back original. does anyone know where we could view original pictures of the Interior? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Hi Mike, Welcome...Buick offered 2 interior trim levels in `65. First was the standard interior trim and the second is more plush and well appointed called "custom" trim. There are quite a few differences in the trim levels. If you go to rivowners.org you will see a ton of information free for the general public to view. If you decide to join The Riviera Owners Association there`s a hell of alot more including access to tech advisors who are very familiar with your model. Try doing an image search on Google specifying 1965 Riviera saddle interior (or on this site using "custom trim differences") and compare the photos. Take note of the differences and revisit this thread with any questions. Seafoam Green with a saddle interior? Sounds very "Buick"... Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike's Riv Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 Thanks Tom. We just joined ROA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 9 hours ago, Mike's Riv said: Thanks Tom. We just joined ROA Good move! Over the years many members have related to me that joining the ROA was the best value they experienced as owners....in that case I am one of your tech advisors for the `65 models. Feel free to call or email (at this early stage calling is better as I am a 2 finger typist and there will likely be alot of info to share) if I can be of any assistance. Sending a PM to you with my contact info...welcome to The ROA! Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 (edited) Mike.....your code 609 interior is a base interior in the color of Saddle. There are several differences in the base interior versus the deluxe or custom interior on 1965 Rivieras.......... The custom interior has wider front seats with a different upholstery pattern than the standard interior, and the vinyl used on the custom interior is thicker and more expensive. Also the custom interior was available with cloth inserts in the seats instead of all vinyl in some of the available custom interior codes, and extra Custom only colors were offered, such as Champagne cloth, and Dark Green vinyl and Light Green cloth.The standard interior has just a small wood rectangle on the doors with no wood in the rear seat area side panels, while the custom interior has wood all the way down the sides front and rear. The armrests on the base interior are small chrome plastic bases with upholstery on top, like a Chevrolet of the same year, while the custom interior has very long boxed armrests with no chrome plastic and door release handles on the front and rear of the armrest instead of just in the front. The base interior has chrome interior windshield pillar trim with painted trim surrounding the headliner and back window, while the custom interior has chrome trim in all these places. The base interior has painted cardboard kick panels, while the custom interior has carpeted kick panels. The carpet and dash and console and rear package tray and steering column are the same in both the base and custom interiors. If power windows were ordered, the base interior just had switches mounted on the door panel where the window crank would be, while the custom interior had boxed extensions of the boxed arm rests that ran all the way to the front of the door panels,with the window switches mounted in chrome bezels sitting on top of the boxes like the same year model Cadillacs had. Both the base and custom interior cars could be ordered with either the standard molded plastic steering wheel that matches the interior color, or the optional imitation wood steering wheel. Edited August 21, 2019 by Seafoam65 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Part of the custom package includes the ribbed aluminum rocker moldings. But you could order those as an extra cost option with the standard package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Seafoam65 said: Mike.....your code 609 interior is a base interior in the color of Saddle. There are several differences in the base interior versus the deluxe or custom interior on 1965 Rivieras.......... The custom interior has wider front seats with a different upholstery pattern than the standard interior, and the vinyl used on the custom interior is thicker and more expensive. Also the custom interior was available with cloth inserts in the seats instead of all vinyl in some of the available custom interior codes, and extra Custom only colors were offered, such as Champagne cloth, and Dark Green vinyl and Light Green cloth.The standard interior has just a small wood rectangle on the doors with no wood in the rear seat area side panels, while the custom interior has wood all the way down the sides front and rear. The armrests on the base interior are small chrome plastic bases with upholstery on top, like a Chevrolet of the same year, while the custom interior has very long boxed armrests with no chrome plastic and door release handles on the front and rear of the armrest instead of just in the front. The base interior has chrome interior windshield pillar trim with painted trim surrounding the headliner and back window, while the custom interior has chrome trim in all these places. The base interior has painted cardboard kick panels, while the custom interior has carpeted kick panels. The carpet and dash and console and rear package tray and steering column are the same in both the base and custom interiors. If power windows were ordered, the base interior just had switches mounted on the door panel where the window crank would be, while the custom interior had boxed extensions of the boxed arm rests that ran all the way to the front of the door panels,with the window switches mounted in chrome bezels sitting on top of the boxes like the same year model Cadillacs had. Both the base and custom interior cars could be ordered with either the standard molded plastic steering wheel that matches the interior color, or the optional imitation wood steering wheel. Winston, You forgot the chrome door lock pulls in the custom interior versus the colored plastic in the standard interior...but, that`s OK, your coming around...lol Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 59 minutes ago, 1965rivgs said: Winston, You forgot the chrome door lock pulls in the custom interior versus the colored plastic in the standard interior...but, that`s OK, your coming around...lol Tom Right you are Tom! I also neglected to mention the rocker panel moldings that were part of the custom interior option, but Ed straightened that out. Tom, one detail I've been curious about.......when you ordered a 65 Riviera with a factory wood steering wheel, were the plastic knobs on the steering column for the tilt wheel and turn signal colored to match the interior, or were they some shade of brown to match the steering wheel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Seafoam65 said: Right you are Tom! I also neglected to mention the rocker panel moldings that were part of the custom interior option, but Ed straightened that out. Tom, one detail I've been curious about.......when you ordered a 65 Riviera with a factory wood steering wheel, were the plastic knobs on the steering column for the tilt wheel and turn signal colored to match the interior, or were they some shade of brown to match the steering wheel? They were color coordinated with the interior color...so saddle, blue, green, dark grey, etc... Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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