1960 Buick Electra 225 Riviera Sedan

[Centurion]

As I have watched this forum during recent years, I've loved the stories from our members about acquiring their remarkable Buicks.  Over time, I've grown particularly interested in the Buicks of the late-1950's and early-1960's, so posts by Lance and Adam about '57, '58, and '60 Buicks have captured my attention.

 

While I have owned and greatly enjoyed my 1959 Electra 4-door hardtop ("flat top") over the last twenty-two years, I dared to hope that yet another Buick of the 1957 - 1961 era might turn up for me.  I was immediately interested when my friend, Chris Pollak, alerted me to a message he had received.  A family was cleaning up the estate of the late parents, and among the items to liquidate was a 1960 Electra 225 Riviera Sedan.  The car had been purchased new by the grandparents of the seller, who recalls riding in the Buick to Disneyland as a young child.

 

The car was last registered in 1990, and it was last driven in 1991.  It has been garaged on the family's property during all these years.

 

Last week, I finalized the purchase of the car, and set about having the car towed from its long-time resting place to a covered RV storage area at my home.  The Buick's garage was situated at the top of a very long and steep driveway, with limited space for the roll-back tow truck to turn around.  We utilized a small tractor to extract the Buick from the garage, maneuvering it into a position where the tow truck could readily winch it aboard.

 

The car itself has a remarkably preserved body, with nice original paint in the striking two-tone combination of "Pearl Fawn" and "Cordovan"  -- my favorite color scheme for the 1960 Buicks.  The interior is likewise in very good original condition, and the car is equipped with several options, including power windows, power seat, power antenna, Wonderbar radio, and Guide-Matic.  The mechanical condition is unknown at this point, but I obviously hope that the car can become a reliable car for weekend driving tours.  The dual-stripe whitewall bias ply tires are relics of about 1970 / 1971, but hold air for now.  The car is fitted with an ugly, after-market exhaust system that I look forward to replacing.

 

The 1959 and 1960 Electra 225 Riviera Sedan was a pillarless 4-door hardtop body style shared only with Cadillac during those model years.  The 225's extended rear deck and ribbed lower body bright moldings make it a very special model, in my opinion.  The 1960 Buick's heavily-sculpted body design and uniquely detailed wheel covers are among my favorite elements of the car.

 

Here are the photos from last week's retrieval.  I'm very excited to see this car back on the highway!

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Centurion (see edit history)

[dmfconsult]

Wow Brian, that is a stunning car and appears to be in fantastic condition for car that has been sitting for 30-years!  Congratulations on the purchase and I look forward to seeing it at future events in the Pacific Northwest.  I hope the mechanical is in as good a shape as the rest of the car.

 

Cheers,

[TexRiv_63]

What a beautiful car, I have been following your Facebook posts since I will shortly be the owner of a 1960 Lesabre. Looking forward to you getting it runninga nd driving.

[JohnD1956]

What a great find!  It will make it much tougher for you to decide which one to take out each day.  A tough choice I would not have minded being asked to make.  Wishing you Good Luck with it... and looking forward to many more pictures in the future. 

[Centurion]

28 minutes ago, TexRiv_63 said:

What a beautiful car, I have been following your Facebook posts since I will shortly be the owner of a 1960 Lesabre. Looking forward to you getting it runninga nd driving.

Thank you, Don.  We look forward to seeing your '60 LeSabre in this forum!

[Bill Stoneberg]

Nice car Brian, look forward to seeing it.

[lancemb]

Wow!  What a lucky find!  Congratulations to you, I love it.

[wildcatsrule]

Is that ever nice! Congratulations-this proves there are still well preserved cars left to find!

[JanZverina]

Hi Centurion,

In cleaning out my storage I recently came across some nice front mats, driver and passenger from my 1960 Buick Electra 4719 which was also Cordovan metallic. They were professionally painted to match, and look to originally be a dark olive color as shown in the pix. As expected, they're heavy so shipping from San Diego may not be a bargain, but if you're interested please PM me with a modest offer + shipping. I have no need for them as I sold the Electra and bought a '63 Riv some years ago, and they may look pretty good on your new possession!   

[avgwarhawk]

Awesome!  Enjoy!

[sebastienbuick]

Wowww !! Very BEAUTIFUL Buick !!  

[EmTee]

Nice looking Buick.  I will say those dual-stripe whitewalls sure do bring back memories of the 1970 Catalina my family had...