Introduced in 1963, the Buick Riviera took the market by surprise with its unique body design, a rather unusual feature for a GM vehicle back in the day. Advertised as a personal luxury car, the Riviera was redesigned in 1966 and in 1971. While not as valuable and popular as the first-gen model, the third-generation Riviera is famous for its shark-like front end and boat-tail-style rear fascia.
The third-gen Riviera is also a bit rarer than its predecessors, with Buick having built some 34,000 units per year from 1971 to 1973. Some of them are still on the road today, but the large majority of these cars are rotting away in junkyards, barns, and on fields. Fortunately, there are enthusiasts that are trying to save them, like the folks over at Vice Grip Garage just did with a 1971 model.
This Riviera has been off the road for around 30 years. And it spent these three decades out in a yard. That's always bad news for classics, as rust tends to eat away their bodies and frames. This boat-tail has been somewhat lucky. There is some rust around the wheel arches and an almost every body panel, but the frame seems to be fine.
It's missing the original vinyl top, which allowed the elements to turn the roof into a rusty surface, but the chrome trim looks surprisingly good and most of the badges are still there. It still features the original 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8, but is it still working?
Cars like this are usually transported to a shop on a trailer. But this guy is really ambitious and wants to take the Riviera home on all four and under its own power. And he actually manages to fire the V8 up. It takes about half an hour, a lot of cleaning, and some fuel, but the big 455 comes back to life.
Not only that, but he eventually gets the car to move under its own power and takes it on public roads for the first time in 30 years. And not just for a short drive. His shop is some 100 miles away and about two hours of driving away from highways.
At the end of the trip, he admits that he initially purchased the car just to take the engine, transmission and rear end out to put them into his 1965 Buick. But now that the car is running surprisingly good, he might clean it up, fix it, and flip it. Definitely a better option than dismantling it, I'd hate to see an early 1970s Riviera hacked up and sold for parts.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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