BrianM Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 So I have about $3500 from an ATV project I just sold and I can't decide where to spend it. I was looking to get a set of TA Stage 2 heads and all the parts needed to install. Or I could get Justdashes.com repair my door cards and spend the rest on random parts/repairs. The last option is the one that really has me thinking. I found a mostly complete barn find 70 Riviera that "Ran when Parked" in the early 2000's, that I could purchase as a parts car (has title). So should I upgrade, repair, or go for parts car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianM Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 The current 70 Riv I am looking to get parts for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 what do you need from the parts car? I wouldn't pay more than $500 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 I think you would be better off to put a listing in the parts wanted section rather than buying another whole car for parts. Once you get what you need, IF any that you need are actually good/better than what you have already as the vehicle above looks to be in outstanding condition, then you have to get rid of the carcass or what's left. IF you start to sell parts then you need to spend the time nec. to remove those parts & actually describing to the best of your ability to give an ACURATE description of those parts. Then packaging & shipping can get to be another whole concern that takes valuable time & resources. Once the customer receives these parts & is NOT happy with his purchase what do you do now??? Then you have to worry about the neighbors complaining you are running a junk yard which carries another whole new slew of problems. Something to ponder. Tom T. P.S. IF it has disc brakes I would be interested in the set-up, COMPLETE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianM Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 (edited) I currently only need a couple hard to find parts but having a complete spare motor/trans and rear diff almost seem worth it. I have seen the short skirts sell for $800+ in pretty bad shape. The guy is asking $3k My wife voted that I get the door cards redone and buy a passenger side mirror. Edited February 28, 2022 by BrianM (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Well, for 3k I hope he likes it because he'll have it for awhile unless he gets it running. Actually even if it was running its not worth that......IMO, but I know value is very subjective. There isn't $3k worth of sellable parts on it. Plus the market for 70 parts is small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Listen to your wife! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 53 minutes ago, BrianM said: I currently only need a couple hard to find parts... The guy is asking $3k But...but... they sold one-a them Rivairas for fitty thousand on thet Bert Jackson's teevee auction!🤑 Mm-hmm. If the car has a lot of good spares that you can use, it's worth a few Bens. Owning a 1st gen Toronado I well understand the importance of having spare parts for an uncommon car. But... storage, disassembly, and a dozen other things figure into it. Again, unless the car has plenty of things your car needs or can use, follow your wife's advice. And then kick yourself everytime you need some obscure little clip or something!😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianM Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 Well my wife did convince me to go over my self imposed budget to get the car I purchased and I haven't regretted that so maybe I should continue to listen to her. I did send pics and a quote request to justdashes to see what they will charge me to redo my door cards/armrests. Wife is a smart lady but I am going to hold off on reupholstering the whole interior in ostrich even if I do think it would look good with the blue exterior. Ever since she saw that 64 Caddy with ostrich interior she hasn't stopped talking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 If you took your $3500 in hundreds and laid it out behind a tree in the backyard with a big rock on top of it so the wind wouldn't blow it away you and the man with the Riviera for sale could sit around and swap stories about managing wealth. I think I might go over to the guy's place and get him to sit on the back porch step. Ask him how he arrived at the price. If he gives a lame answer ask him what he would buy if he had a little extra cash, think in your head "under $1,000" If he hems and haws tell him "The car will be gone Saturday, there will be a fresh skim of topsoil and grass seed where it sets, deal?" If he says know tell him "You know, my wife is pretty smart. How about yours?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Bargain w him for just the parts you need if possible. If not, do the door-cards! & think hard before going w the ostrich hide. Someone might mistake you for Paul Manafort! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Check Clark’s Corvair for pre-cut and punched door cards. Nothing a local upholsterer should not be able to do. Just dashes has a vacuum machine to help them form things, you don’t need to vacuum form door cards. Nor do you need to vacuum form arm rests. The Turbinator has recovered first generation dashes without vacuum. I can think of nothing on a first generation Riviera that would require talent that a local shop would not have. Save that money for something for your wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65VerdeGS Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 Many years ago I would very rarely come across a 1st Gen Riviera sitting forlornly in someone's side yard and wondered if I should buy it for parts. One in particular stands out for me - a complete '65 Riviera in the exact same color combo as my car: Verde green with custom green interior. I drove by to look at that car several times before stopping to ask about it. An older dude answered the door and said he was planning to restore the car so it wasn't for sale. I knew he was dreaming, for the car had been left sitting outside for a long time, had grass growing up around it and was pretty rusty underneath. But, the stainless trim and glass were excellent and the interior pretty good, if musty smelling. The body was clean with a few small parking lot dings. But, it was not worth restoring. In addition to the usual rust around the back window, it had ominous bubbling along the quarter panels front and rear, was crusty under the hood, etc. It was sad to see it being left to crumble in place, uncovered and exposed to the elements for many years, so I was tempted to 'adopt' it and save whatever parts I could as spares for my car. Anyhow, this car sat where it was for two more years undisturbed, so I banged on the door again. The guy actually recognized me and said he was now "maybe thinking about selling it." My excitement was soon extinguished when he began telling me how extremely rare and valuable his car was. I knew where this was going. I told him I was looking to buy it for parts, not to restore. He seemed to take offense and told me it was worth "at least five grand." Sigh. Sure enough the car sat there for a few years afterward, progressively rotting in place. One day the house was sold, and the car was gone. That Riv likely wound up at the crusher when the old guy died and the family needed to clean up the property for sale. On the subject of parts cars, I got this bit of wisdom from a Buick collector: If you buy a parts car, don't part it out right away. He said he did this once and learned his lesson. The parts from a disassembled car will take up way more storage space than is needed to accommodate the parts car itself. So, whenever he buys a parts car he'll park it on his property, covering it with a tarp. He'll pick parts off it as needed, then send the hulk to the crusher once there's nothing of value left to pick or sell. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usnavystgc Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 1 hour ago, 65VerdeGS said: An older dude answered the door and said he was planning to restore the car so it wasn't for sale. I saw this exact same thing with a 65 Falcon Sprint V8 convertible I wanted. I had the 2 door hardtop version. The car was sitting in the driveway and the top was deteriorating quick. I asked the guy to sell it to me but, he scoffed and said, he was gonna restore it. I offered him $5k on the spot (way more than the car was worth in 1994) but, he scoffed again at me and told me to get on my way. 15 years later I returned to the spot, the car was still there but, was totally gone, convertible top completely gone, floorboards gone, everything that was nice was no longer recognizable. Rodents terrorized all the upholstery down to the springs. weeds grew thru the floorboards. I still regret that he wouldn't sell it to me but, it was obviously his loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 2 hours ago, usnavystgc said: I saw this exact same thing with a 65 Falcon Sprint V8 convertible I wanted. I had the 2 door hardtop version. The car was sitting in the driveway and the top was deteriorating quick. I asked the guy to sell it to me but, he scoffed and said, he was gonna restore it. I offered him $5k on the spot (way more than the car was worth in 1994) but, he scoffed again at me and told me to get on my way. 15 years later I returned to the spot, the car was still there but, was totally gone, convertible top completely gone, floorboards gone, everything that was nice was no longer recognizable. Rodents terrorized all the upholstery down to the springs. weeds grew thru the floorboards. I still regret that he wouldn't sell it to me but, it was obviously his loss. This is an extremely common phenomena, and although I don't have a degree in psychology, I believe that people like the ones described above get an adrenaline rush by parking their old derelict mistreated cars outside in the rain in plain sight so that people will come to their door asking to buy said car and they will get the power trip of turning the would be buyers down....... They don't give a rat's about their cars or they wouldn't treat them like that.......and no.....they have no intention of ever actually restoring the cars.... again, in order to want to restore a car you have to give a rat's about it, which these people obviously do not. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XframeFX Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 5 hours ago, 65VerdeGS said: He'll pick parts off it as needed, then send the hulk to the crusher once there's nothing of value left to pick or sell. I regret sending parts cars to the crusher when I was finished stripping them (no way my wife would approve having a hulk parked long term). Since getting back into my projects, I discovered 2 vintage wrecking yards on either side of the city. Send the remains there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 1 hour ago, XframeFX said: I regret sending parts cars to the crusher when I was finished stripping them (no way my wife would approve having a hulk parked long term). Since getting back into my projects, I discovered 2 vintage wrecking yards on either side of the city. Send the remains there! White Buick Wildcat looks like the first car I had when I got married in 1968. Most of my friends were driving tri-5 Chevies or Chevelles, Mustangs, or other muscle cars. I like to have a closer look at that one just for nostalgia reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XframeFX Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 5 hours ago, RivNut said: I like to have a closer look at that one just for nostalgia reasons. That is a yellow LeSabre and has cornering lights. The same yard has an awesome '64 Wildcat with the nailhead and bucket seats missing. Car meet rumour has it the owner passed away last summer shortly after my visiting his yard with these images. Hopefully the estate doesn't crush them all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jframe Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 4 hours ago, XframeFX said: That is a yellow LeSabre and has cornering lights. The same yard has an awesome '64 Wildcat with the nailhead and bucket seats missing. Car meet rumour has it the owner passed away last summer shortly after my visiting his yard with these images. Hopefully the estate doesn't crush them all! Wow, the wheels, center caps, and tach and console have got to be worth something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Curran Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 That is a 58 Limited next to the LeSabre. You don't see many of them in a junk yard. Cool yard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usnavystgc Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 13 hours ago, XframeFX said: I discovered 2 vintage wrecking yards on either side of the city If you happen to see any 56 Roadmasters there, I need the O on the trunk lettering. I will pay you a finders fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 There is something in the interior pic of the `64 Wildcat that is very seldom seen in a `60`s Buick...can anyone venture a guess? Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Curran Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 12 minutes ago, 1965rivgs said: There is something in the interior pic of the `64 Wildcat that is very seldom seen in a `60`s Buick...can anyone venture a guess? Tom Mooney The white floor mat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 7 hours ago, XframeFX said: That is a yellow LeSabre and has cornering lights. The same yard has an awesome '64 Wildcat with the nailhead and bucket seats missing. Car meet rumour has it the owner passed away last summer shortly after my visiting his yard with these images. Hopefully the estate doesn't crush them all! The Wildcat wheels still have the 1964 Wildcat centers. Gotta be as original as it can get. My Wildcat was similar but It did not have the tachometer but it did air conditioning. That one could be saved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 5 hours ago, Pat Curran said: The white floor mat? YES!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XframeFX Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 7 hours ago, usnavystgc said: If you happen to see any 56 Roadmasters there, I need the O on the trunk lettering. I will pay you a finders fee. There were two restorable Specials back-to-back there. There might've been a Roadmaster in there somewhere. The yard specialized in Oldsmobiles, hundreds there. I took 380 pictures and ran out of batteries! Practically all parts cars but good for extracting VIN and cowl tags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Somebody needs to latch on those rare 64 Only Chrome wheels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, Pat Curran said: The white floor mat? When I bought my 63 Riviera, it had white - extremely well worn - floor mats in it. Hatdly any ribbing in the and the Buick emblem was almost worn out, but they were still being used. Edited March 10, 2022 by RivNut (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usnavystgc Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 14 hours ago, XframeFX said: There might've been a Roadmaster in there If you happen to see a 56 Roadmaster that has an O on the trunk, please grab it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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