Bill Mitchell magnificent is one way to describe this 1966 Buick Riviera. It just oozes the Michell light, breezy, full-speed-ahead, slightly aggressive styling touches. Oh for the time when domestic manufacturers offered automobiles like this! Well, we’re 58 years after the fact but those times can be enjoyed again with just such a ride as this East Lyme, Connecticut resident. Interested parties will find it available, here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $20,000.
The seller mentions a mileage reading of 23K miles but then adds, “and the 23,000 miles on the odometer may be actual miles” so there is no authentication but this Riv does appear to have been gently used and well maintained. The interior is an interesting study in that it is upholstered in green vinyl – not exactly a shade that I would expect to find with a silver exterior, but it does work. The front seat is a strato-bench arrangement that combines a bench seat bottom with bucket seat backs – and it appears to be in fine condition. The instrument panel includes a neat roller speedometer – it’s a special touch, along with the panel’s entire layout, which is unique to the Riviera. The carpet is displaying a bit of fade but that’s about it – the entire environment needs no attention. Of note, this is a non-A/C equipped car.
Let’s talk power. This car should be equipped with a 340 gross HP 425 CI “nailhead” V8 engine. The seller adds, “When the engine came out, it was painted and unfortunately, the engine number is not visible, it is believed to be the original engine. It is a 425 based on the casting number and the twin bumps near the bell housing“. The engine came out? Why? There’s a mention of a “freshening up” but further details will necessitate an inquiry. I will state that Buick’s ’66 marketing literature states the inclusion of cast aluminum valve covers and a chrome-plated air cleaner lid – two things that are not present here. But then again, the included brochure engine image mirrors what’s here so that one’s a bit hard to reconcile. We’re told of a carburetor swap to an Edelbrock unit and operating characteristics are summed up with “accelerates well and drives smoothly“. A Turbo-Hydramatic 400 automatic transmission (Super Turbine 400 in Buickese) puts the power to the rear wheels.
The exterior displays as spotless though the seller indicates, “The paintwork is at least 5 years old and it is still in very good condition. There are a couple of spots where dirt may have gotten in the paint and those are shown“. So this one’s a repaint and the exterior hue is silver green – not just silver, which explains the green interior. I’ll give the exterior two thumbs up, it projects fabulously. It’s said that the stainless trim is untouched but it still glimmers as originally intended and that luster extends to the chrome-plating too. The Buick road wheels are always a welcome addition and they set this Riviera off perfectly.
So, what’s not to like? Nothing! As I have said about big V8-powered two-door hardtops before, you won’t see cars of their ilk produced again so get’em while you can. And I’d say this Buick Riviera would be a good starting point, wouldn’t you agree?
A Riv without A C? A car of this caliber demands it!
By 1966, it’s hard to imagine that such a car would not have had factory AC.
A/C was an option you could order along with power windows and seats am/fm radio also
Air conditioning was viewed negatively by some engineering types – as a power-sapper, as something that added weight and complexity. Back in those days, you rolled the windows down to keep cool.
And those criticisms were not without merit. Back then, an AC setup added belts; the electric clutch to engage the compressor was problematic; and when turned on, it was ALWAYS on. Only in the late 1990s did designers add cycling to air-conditioning systems.
My old man was an engineer by training, and he shied away from the complexities offered by the then-new geegaws – power windows, A/C, power locks. He favored automatic transmissions, but liked the PowerGlide two-speeds. Less to go wrong.
This car would be fine without AC in parts of Canada.
Although it’s a gorgeous Riv in great condition, I’m partial to the 67 model. That was the first year for the 430 engine and the only engine offered in the Riv. But the 66 was no slouch either. Big power, two door and style. What’s not to like?
Loved my 67 430 v8 but it started running hot and found out this was a problem with the 430 because of the water openings in the heads and block were too narrow and long and eventually clogged
I liked the 65’ Riviera look of the nose better!
Still a good looking car but doesn’t match the previous 3 year models in looks. It was the start of the bloated Buick which seemed to get bigger every year. Living in the south I never saw one without AC, but back then it wasn’t so hot as it is now.
I’m one of those that LOVES the boat tail design
Just like now, the past has been colder, but it’s also been hotter.
OK Dave.
I have a 1976 Buick S/R that came from the factory without a/c. And in New England it’s not hot all the time. Thank you.
I’m with you, I’m on long Island and my parents used to call it 4-60 or 2-60 A.C….Two or four windows down and sixty mph! 😄
We called 4-70 air conditioned here, 4 windows down at 70mph here in Michigan
My father didn’t believe in A/C and never owned a car with it.
His last car was a ‘75 Impala.
My first car a ‘78 Monte Carlo didn’t have air either
My family in Kansas used to call it “Oklahoma air conditioning “ by rolling the windows down.
A/C was an option for many years on nearly every vehicle on the market. It was quite a luxury, even in homes, when I was growing up (early 1950’s). We had what was called a ‘swamp cooler’ for the house.
When I was a kid there was a family in town who owned a Cadillac (the only ones who did) and one summer afternoon they gave me and my brother a ride home…with the air conditioning on! Thought we were in heaven.
We still have houses in Arizona with swamp coolers and it’s 2024, what about the old cars that had swamp coolers hanging from the window?
Had one same color combo with air. Repainted with a darker shade of green and it’s still on of the cars from my youth I would like to have back. She was a looker. Had a compound u-joint in the driveline that I had to grease frequently.
Mom and dad bought a 65 sport wagon about 3 or 4 months before I was born. I then received the said sport wagon as my first car. It was white, and had a similar color of green vinyl covering, carpet, and dash, as the one shown here. By the time I finished with it, it had 332000 miles on it, and ran like a top. Of course it has a Buick 300 in it, and a slappy piston. Every 300 I have ever seen had a slappy piston, so who knows. I had rebuilt the engine, trans, and cooling system. Was getting ready to start on the body, frame, and electrical system, when a California guy came along, and paid more for it than it cost new. We were both happy, but in retrospect, I still regret it. Y’all have a nice day pondering on this beautiful Buick!
I wish I could bring it back home to Flint!
With Buick headquartered here for over 90 years and having the Buick city complex which in its time was the larger manufacturing complex in the US I saw a lot of Buicks growing up.
We would sit at a bus stop on S. Saginaw the main street and watch the Fisher Body trucks loaded up with cars heading to Buick to see what the new models would look like before they came out.
I have motor oil for blood and nothing excites Me more than the TRI-SHIED! I remember as a small child pouring over the brochures at all the many color combinations and engine options, interior options!In those days the sky was the limit! Thank You Alfred p Sloane and Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell!
No A/C, no problem nowadays. Vintage Air awaits. She’s a beauty!
Not as good as it gets. That would be a GS with buckets, console and ac
Yeah? Well good luck finding one of these as nice as this – one that’s affordable too.
JO
Oh they are out there. I passed on many because I’m looking for a 71
Super Turbine = TH 400 with a switch pitch torque converter. That’s two different stall speeds in the same converter. That mod can be made to most TH400s. I did that for my 69 SS/RS 69 396 Camaro. I just used a manual switch on the shifter to control it. Terrific hole shot.
No a/c is disappointing. I live in Mn. and my Dad never got a/c until his last car, an ’84 Skylark. OMG, it even had AM-FM🤭. He enjoyed it for only 4 months before he passed on.
I swore to myself that I would never own a car without it, and I haven’t.
Joke. Rich farmer lived next to the poor farmer. One scorching hot day, rich one sees the poor one walk down the road and picks him up in his a/c car. Poor farmer says he’s going to hoe his corn. They stop at the corn field. Poor farmer just sits there until the rich one says, “You’re going to hoe your corn, right?” Poor farmer says, “Yeah, but with the change of weather, I think I’ll go home and butcher my hogs!” Lol!
Overall, looks bogus as all heck. Hard PASS !
Hi All,
I’m selling this car for the owner. I knew the person he purchased the car from and that person is the one who said the engine came out for “freshening” by the person HE bought it from, so, unfortunately, we don’t really know what that freshening amounted to. At 23K miles, (if that is the actual mileage) one would think it wouldn’t really need freshening but I was told by the owner before this one, that the car sat for a bit (at least 10 years) and hadn’t run… So, maybe they did some top end stuff and painted it.??
Any questions, please feel free to reach out.
Thanks for all the comments, aside from the fellow who feels this is “bogus as all heck”, not sure what makes you feel that way.
Thanks for chiming in, much appreciated – this is a fine example! Forget about the negative comments, some just have to see their supposedly informed words displayed on the “interweb”.
Good luck with the sale!
JO
Always loved this style riviera but interior compared to the previous few years they lacked. Maybe if you had the GS in black it would have been sharp enough. Shiny black vinyl with wood console lots of chrome trim. At night very sharp looking combo.