Hey Ryan, the first one I saw I thought it must be a factory custom, there's no way they would build something so sweet. There used to be a GS in our area and I always figured it was a 2-4's model, never did find out. One of the nicest cars GM ever built, even if it a Buick!! Just kiddin',Cat
I count 11 Buicks in the family over the years. Every time you see one of those 'best-of' lists in a big name magazine or wherever, the first gen Riv is always there. Usually among some pretty expensive, foreign iron. Mitchell et.al. really 'nailed' it.
Substitute a 1965 factory 4 spd., BUILT 326 Pontiac Lemans 2 dr hardtop with all of the GTO stuff on it that I bought myself for my 20th birthday in place of your Rivi in that story, and you've basically got my 'one that got away'. I miss that car everyday. What was probably one of the funniest stories (there where MANY!) that happened involving that car was when my ex had to drive it to work everyday for her daily (we were POOR), and came home one night stating 'you need to show me how to shift the car better! I almost got beat by a jerk in a Camaro!' She learned...
Regardless if it was or wasn't the car of your dreams,... just about every car guy has a similar story,... yep,.. the dreaded "ones that got away",... The thing is, with a specialty car,.. (your personal mode of transportation) you can replay cruising around in it, road trips, just driving to the store or cleaning it up for a hot date, and things that happened in that car, like a movie in your mind,... capturing sights, sounds, smells, moments, emotions, even a vivid recollection of the weather and the environment you were in,.. and especially the people you were with, and the things you did. As with anything of this world, things,... like cars, start to deteriorate and as time goes on, the luster starts to fade,... little things start to happen,.. and finally you feel the need to let it go,... you don't have the time to re do it,.. or there are other projects lined up,.. you can't stand to see it fall apart,... or the things of life dictate having to sell it. And unfortunately it leaves a void in your life,.... I look back on cars I have had in the past that are gone now,... cars I really miss,.. and even tho I really do miss the the car,... it's that time in my life, the people I shared it with, and sometimes the way life was back then that I miss the most,... These special cars provide us a personal time machine,... And at any instant,.. no matter where we are or what were doing, we can go back to those moments in time,.. we can hear the engine, feel the steering wheel, remember the street lights gleaming on the hood,... the warm summer nights air rushing in the windows,.... And for a little while, that car is ours once again. I am sure most car guys have a big barn full of "cars that got away" in there hearts and minds, where there all still in the very best condition they ever were,.. where every little problem they had doesn't exist,... and we can take them for another ride again at any given moment,..... Sorry about rambling on,... But I just felt a need to put this on the record,.... ( And one more thing,...Geeezzzz ,... this is some really good cold medicine ! )
Have you looked lately? One of my friends neighbors hit me up to sell his and I was surprised how cheap they are going for. It's a buyers market. If I didn't already have 10 lifetimes worth of projects I would have bought it. If you have ever wanted one, there is no time like the present.
Funny, my 65 Riviera is one of the many that I would buy again. As close to a full custom as G.M ever made. Mine was a 65 Gran Sport, my first low rider. Back in 1971. Too bad you had to sell yours.
won 2 grand ? used rad 300-500$ tops two gal of af ... water pump t stat ... and some hoses and ya still could gamble and stay in couple more places .and eat good ... college kids sheeses and yer good luck charm to make more ?????? oh ya my riv was a 52
"But the car always looked the part, ya know? It was one of those cars that you could park next to a Ferrari and it would still look ready to pounce. It looked illegal. It looked pissed. It looked like it was ready to eat whatever was sitting in front of it. The car was a gangster of steel." ... fuckin fantastic.
i had two at one time but i ended up selling my 64 i needed money. i took the motor and trans out for my 63 full power riv and i let my 64 go for 700 the guy who bought i asked him so are you gonna build it and the prick says no i part them out and make more money . i wanted to knock him out.
Hey Harms Way - pass that stuff over here! Great write up man. I think you really described the whole old classic car purchase/ownership/sale story very well here. I have similar memories of old cars I've owned in the past and later sold for other cars, etc. Ryan's Riv story is really cool. I cringed at the end when he said the car was totaled after he sold it. But, the car still lives on - with him and his wife. Mike
Totally understand.. I really miss my -64 but WILL have another someday, best car I've had and I think that's one of the reasons I let it go. Paid my old harley chop so not too bad, everything has it's time and memories are still fresh.. damn, now I gotta start search one right away.. http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r176/bobber51/20070717055.jpg
I haven't been on here in a long time much less posted on here in forever. Ryan, I know how you feel. I've been going through the same thing lately. That is one car I will always miss.
Ryan, that is a great story. At least you weren't in your car when it got totaled! Wish that I could write mine so well. I moved to LV in Jan. 1980. After returning the u-haul trailer I was turning left on a four lane road and got cut off by a Jeep that was pulling out. Already half way into the on coming traffic, I punched it, and baaa-waaaah! Just enough to get me perpendicular to the Karman Ghia that broadsided me. My mom was in the pass seat and both brothers were in the back. I can still see it in slo-mo. Glass coming at me... Here's a pic after it was towed to our house. Broke the hinges clean off. I loved that car... Later, Mike ps had the same gangster whites! what the heck were we thinking?
Ryan That Riv was bad, and the W/W's were difference makers! But, you kept the one that matters, the 39, which looks so much better than a 40 to my eye. Keep up the good work, and don't sell out to facebook when they come callin' with the big $$$ Cheers, Nick
Mopar or No Car....but, I do miss my white 66, and the So-Cal beaches as well. (Rivi's - the other white meat...)
I love the Rivi. I am a Buick fan through and through. I have had several over the years but the Buick I am chasing and dreaming of now is a 1941 2 door special. Semper Fidelis
That style of Riv has always been a favorite of mine and I don't know why I never owned one or at least yet. My wife likes the boat tails and still wants one for her toy. But you know Ryan that there are plenty of really cool little aftermarket heaters from the same period that the car is from floating around that would get the interior of the car up to close to comfortable. I'm planning on putting one that I have in the roadster I'm building even though it won't have a top, just a snap on cover with zip out openings for the driver an passenger.
Man!! Reading this story reminds me of the first Rivi that ever gave me a hard on. Its owner was the lead singer of a band called "Big Daddy Alright". They played at a bar I worked at in Dalas. I remember shortly after first seeing the car, it was rearended and cought fire. Bubba was one sad SOB! I think of that car everytime I see a rivi That car did have all kinds of additude!
" It looked illegal. It looked pissed. It looked like it was ready to eat whatever was sitting in front of it. The car was a gangster of steel." im certain that the photo in color wasnt staged, but the writing on the wall says it all. As if the car were a "KING ANYTIME" priceless
Cool story Ryan. I love the picture of the cars in front of the house. A 65 Riv is on my Lottery win wish list!
That is some good writing Ryan. I store mine at someone elses house. And sometimes think of selling it to further my shop. Then I will go over to get it or pay rent. And it all changes when I see it. Mines not a cream puff. But I love driving it. And it tows good too.
Great story! After reading all of the stories about the Rivieras kinds of builds a fire under my ass to get back to work on my 65 GS. The wife will be pissed because that means that her 66 GS is going to the back burner. God I need to win the lottery!!
My fondness starts around 1968. Me, a little shaver back then. A Dealer car lot in Stevens Point, WS, and my Mom was looking at a used 63-5 Riv. It was Bitchin. And then she picks a clean used 66 le sabre 4 door. Got me a 64 now. One day the project will be complete. Get burned out sometimes, and want to sell. All I have to do is look at her...... and
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