1973 Buick Riviera
Quick Summary:
Purchased on 6/9/08 for $250. I found this car in a storage facility in Laramie, Wy. She
is in decent condition. Minor rust, interior needs redone. Body is straight, but has some obvious bondo work. There is no engine, but there were pieces of the engine in the car, ie pistons, heads, intake, etc (photos at bottom of page).
The car belonged to a student that didn't pay his storage rent. The storage facility had the car since 2002, sitting outside to rot. It was last plated in 2000.
Car needs a full overhaul, and will be a project for many years to come.
Details:
A few months after purchasing the Riviera, I picked up a '73 Buick Electra for $500. The electra had in engine (Buick 455), and ran like a champ. The engine was pulled from the Electra and put into the Riviera. The tranny was also taken out of the Electra and put into the Riviera, as the Electra had LSD. I kept some parts from the Electra, and scrapped the shell for $50. With all of the misc parts taken from the Electra, the Riviera came to life. She was now running, with only minor issues. The AC isnt hooked up, but in theory should work. I was able to find a rear seat at a junk yard, so the interior is complete (though needs redone for sure).
Here are photos of the Riviera at the storage facility, the way she was when I bought her (she was a dirty girl!), truck bed of spare parts that came out of the inside of the Riviera, and a portion of the spare parts in my storage unit:
At the storage facility
<page 1> Home/Su mmary
<page 2> The joys of owning a 35+ year old car
<page 3> Aftermarket mods