[Magick Man]

Out for the day, but going to leave these here. It's coming up for auction soon, 1st gen Riviera, and I'm smitten with it. :rolleyes:

 

[Magick Man]

No thoughts on the Buick? I think it's snazzy. That pillarless roof is gorgeous.

 

[obobskivich]

No thoughts on the Buick? I think it's snazzy. That pillarless roof is gorgeous.

I have a few - it's a purdy car.

 

[Magick Man]

I have a few - it's a purdy car.

Well? Yeah, she's a real looker. That paint color makes my knees weak. My wife knows almost nothing about cars, but she has a good memory for designs. I showed her the one above and she asked if it was the same type of car that was in the movie Roadhouse.

The guys finished my NSX interior last week, and I think it looks good. I changed the seats again, the super light Recaros were just too uncomfortable. The Galaxy Tab is mounted up high now, gauges are low on the console and out of my LOS, Schroth harnesses, also they went over the fuel system and were able to squeeze out ~20 more hp and softened the suspension a little (the Street preset was a little too hard). I'm hoping to have some time tomorrow to give it a workout, weather permitting.

 

[obobskivich]

The interior on that Buick looks very non-stock, and I wanna see the rear-end. I also think it's missing some chrome. It's pretty, but it looks like it's had a lot done to it. If it's a bona fide GS, it looks more right, but still looks like it's missing chrome. I don't know, I'm not a fan of modern "stealth" looks applied to older cars - they should be huge, chromed out, and ridiculous. Not turned into a monochromatic lowrider. Again, it's a very pretty car, but having seen my share of monochromatic conversions in the last week or two on my own carquest, I'm leery without more complete photos and documentation to go along with it. I mean, if you just want something that looks nice and goes down the road, then sure, it's fantastic.

That said, if the price is as hilarious as I'm guessing it will be, I'd vote "pass" and tell you to step up to the bigs:

(I mean, if we're gonna talk GM from the mid 1960s...)
Or even more purdy (and I'm sure y'all knew this was coming):



And I know, fully restored, chopped, and ragged either of those can run very healthy high five figure marks. But in rough shape pre-resto you're probably look at under 10, and you can just build whatever you want onto it. And seriously given the age (and having watched a friend re-do a '66 DeVille, and knowing what the pricing can look like), I'd probably just dump the original powertrain and modernize unless you get a complete numbers-matching vehicle that at least starts as a single lot.

 

[Magick Man]

Actually it's all original, for a GS. All original chrome, special ordered factory interior, wheels, and trim. Part of what does it for me are the headlights, and being a rare 4-seater coupe, such an awesome design. I really have no idea what it'll bring. Some in that range have gone 30-40k, while some rare pristine, unrestored birds have fetched 80-100k. I'm interested if it's in the former category, but not in the latter.

 

[obobskivich]

Actually it's all original, for a GS. All original chrome, special ordered factory interior, wheels, and trim. Part of what does it for me are the headlights, and being a rare 4-seater coupe, such an awesome design. I really have no idea what it'll bring. Some in that range have gone 30-40k, while some rare pristine, unrestored birds have fetched 80-100k. I'm interested if it's in the former category, but not in the latter.

The mother of pearl was actually stock? And that's the original wood hardware? Color me surprised. What kind of miles does it have? Must be a real trailer queen if it's that pristine inside (I mean, we're talking almost 50 years old here, and it looks almost new).

Wheels look right for a GS, but (and this may be the picture) it doesn't appear to have the chrome detail line/hood ornament setup for the hood. The rest of the trim looks right, and maybe I'm just not seeing it on the hood, but it looks like they stripped that to make it "cleaner."

Here's what the one at the GM museum looks like:


And the headlights actually bug me on that car - like I said, not a fan of stealthed looks. h34r:

And $100k certainly fits into the "hilarious" price category. I mean, it's only a Buick afterall.

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

No thoughts on the Buick? I think it's snazzy. That pillarless roof is gorgeous.

As a European, I dislike all the old US "classics".  The finish is nice...but I just think the car is ugly.

 

[Magick Man]

The mother of pearl was actually stock? And that's the original wood hardware? Color me surprised. What kind of miles does it have? Must be a real trailer queen if it's that pristine inside (I mean, we're talking almost 50 years old here, and it looks almost new).

Wheels look right for a GS, but (and this may be the picture) it doesn't appear to have the chrome detail line/hood ornament setup for the hood. The rest of the trim looks right, and maybe I'm just not seeing it on the hood, but it looks like they stripped that to make it "cleaner."

And the headlights actually bug me on that car - like I said, not a fan of stealthed looks. h34r:

And $100k certainly fits into the "hilarious" price category. I mean, it's only a Buick afterall.

I'm not seeing the mother-of-pearl (I think that's tooling to make it look that way), but the wood trim was in the GS. The hood ornament is there (looks that way to me). I emailed the Verde Classics Museum (the seller) in Fla to see if they'll provide some provenance and clarification. The catalog does say it was restored, but not structurally.

I'll admit, I am a pop-up headlamps kind of guy.

As a European, I dislike all the old US "classics".  The finish is nice...but I just think the car is ugly.

The 1963-1965 Riviera met with approval from all quarters, and has since earned Milestone status from the Milestone Car Society. Jaguar founder and designer Sir William Lyons said that Mitchell had done "a very wonderful job," and Sergio Pininfarina declared it "one of the most beautiful American cars ever built; it has marked a very impressive return to simplicity of American car design." At its debut at the Paris Auto Show, Raymond Loewy said the Riviera was the handsomest American production car—apart from his own Studebaker Avanti, that is, the Riviera's only real competition for 1963.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Riviera#First_generation_.281963.E2.80.931965.29

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

I'm not seeing the mother-of-pearl (I think that's tooling to make it look that way), but the wood trim was in the GS. The hood ornament is there (looks that way to me). I emailed the Verde Classics Museum (the seller) in Fla to see if they'll provide some provenance and clarification. The catalog does say it was restored, but not structurally.

I'll admit, I am a pop-up headlamps kind of guy.

The 1963-1965 Riviera met with approval from all quarters, and has since earned Milestone status from the Milestone Car Society. Jaguar founder and designer Sir William Lyons said that Mitchell had done "a very wonderful job," and Sergio Pininfarina declared it "one of the most beautiful American cars ever built; it has marked a very impressive return to simplicity of American car design." At its debut at the Paris Auto Show, Raymond Loewy said the Riviera was the handsomest American production car—apart from his own Studebaker Avanti, that is, the Riviera's only real competition for 1963.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Riviera#First_generation_.281963.E2.80.931965.29

Still ugly, too aggressive, too blocky. YMMV. 

 
The DB5, DeTomaso Vallelunga, AC Cobra, Jaguar S were all nicer looking imo. Different tastes and all that. The best looking car of the period for me would probably be the Porsche 906.

 

[obobskivich]

I'm not seeing the mother-of-pearl (I think that's tooling to make it look that way), but the wood trim was in the GS. The hood ornament is there (looks that way to me). I emailed the Verde Classics Museum (the seller) in Fla to see if they'll provide some provenance and clarification. The catalog does say it was restored, but not structurally.

More detail on that I guess would be important. I know the wood was in the GS, what I mean is that the wood looks VERY good for ~50 years old, in a car - IME its usually pretty dry/cracked if the car has actually been driven (same for the leather; although I have seen garage finds where the leather looks decent enough - it's still usually pretty dry). So either this was fully restored relatively recently, or it lived in a garage and wasn't driven much.

I'll admit, I am a pop-up headlamps kind of guy.

Pop-up can be fine, for example Continental IV, I just don't like the fogged/smoked look or the "hidden behind the grille" stealth thing.

Maybe it's just because it's from the wrong side of Detroit. :tongue_smile:

As a European, I dislike all the old US "classics".  The finish is nice...but I just think the car is ugly.

As a human being, the whole "as a European" and "as an American" thing is getting quite old.

And I think the kind of generic bug-eyed 1960s European look has a place, but it isn't cruising the strip at night. Faster, more economical, sure - but that's missing the point. I mean are you really gonna sit there and tell me that you'd rather go cruising in one of those cramped little roadsters, than a Lincoln, Cadillac, REO, Oldsmobile, Buick, etc? Sure, if we're talking about bombing around the track, those roadsters are going to be a better choice, but again, that's kind of missing the point of the American full-size.

Both are good, but they have entirely different purposes to exist.

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

And I think the kind of generic bug-eyed 1960s European look has a place, but it isn't cruising the strip at night. Faster, more economical, sure - but that's missing the point. I mean are you really gonna sit there and tell me that you'd rather go cruising in one of those cramped little roadsters, than a Lincoln, Cadillac, REO, Oldsmobile, Buick, etc? Sure, if we're talking about bombing around the track, those roadsters are going to be a better choice, but again, that's kind of missing the point of the American full-size.

Both are good, but they have entirely different purposes to exist.

Bred in America for the American way of driving. If I were in America, it'd make sense, big open roads, few sharp bends. Here, it'd be horrid since when I do have to drive, it's mainly on tight, twisty back roads or city centres with lots of roundabouts and curves. The Corvette is the only through-bred American car I wouldn't mind giving a spin over here, don't know about owning one, but they look fun to drive. The aesthetics of the old USA cruisers, we can simply disagree on. 

 

[obobskivich]

And honestly the roads here are more in-line with what you're describing, if you're talking urban areas. Practicality isn't even in the discussion with these boats.

And yeah - I'm not saying your aesthetic preferences are right or wrong; we're just talking two different classes of vehicle entirely. Out of curiousity though - how do you feel about RR? Bentley? Or the non-sporting Jaguars?

 

[Magick Man]

"Big open roads"? Really? Look what's, quite literally, in my back yard (follow the squiggly red line). That's one of the places I go to play.




Around here, the roads are more like what you'd find in northern Italy.

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

And honestly the roads here are more in-line with what you're describing, if you're talking urban areas. Practicality isn't even in the discussion with these boats.

And yeah - I'm not saying your aesthetic preferences are right or wrong; we're just talking two different classes of vehicle entirely. Out of curiousity though - how do you feel about RR? Bentley? Or the non-sporting Jaguars?

Not a fan. The RR is kinda too monolithic for my taste and the Bentleys have a reputation for being driven by dickheads here. Jags are ok. My aesthetic tastes tastes go either all out silly, ie the Aventador or Huayra or for a sensible level of performance and class, DB9, Audi R8, VW Passat or Scirroco. Cars I consider ugly would be the ultra aggressive new Mercs, most BMWs and every pickup ever.