How do you follow up a classic? In Buick’s case, you unveil the second-generation Riviera. Led by stylist David Holls, Buick deftly created a car that was still distinctly and plainly a Riviera while looking completely different from its gorgeous 1963-65 ancestor; Car Life Magazine called the 1966 Riviera “far and away the most handsome car of the current crop.” With such spectacularly successful styling, how do you make a ’66 Riviera any better? Give it a GS badge and a dual-quad intake manifold; only 179 Rivieras were factory-equipped with dual four-barrels (receiving an “MZ” block code), but the intake was also available as a dealer option. The seller doesn’t mention which engine code this car has, but what is clear is that it’s a very nice example of the breed. Brought to us by Barn Finder Curvette, who found it on craigslist in Mount Vernon, Washington (an appropriate name!), this beautiful black Riviera has an asking price of $39,000.
Here’s the torquey 425-cubic-inch Nailhead, in its last year of availability in Buicks. When equipped with the dual-four-barrel intake manifold, it was dubbed the “Super Wildcat,” and it produced 360 horsepower and 465 lb.-ft. of torque. The only available transmission was the Super Turbine 400, and the GS came standard with 3.42:1 rear gears (this one has a limited-slip differential, too). Thus equipped, Car Life’s test car accelerated from zero to sixty in 8.2 seconds and finished the quarter-mile in 16.7 seconds at 87 miles per hour. The GS clearly had lost a half a step on its 1965 forebear, most likely because the second-generation car was a little bigger and a little heavier (the test weight was 4,710 pounds—Car and Driver’s ’65 GS came in at 4,480).
The seller says that this GS is in excellent condition, with a newer paint job but an original interior. Considering that the odometer reading is 87,520, the interior is absolutely immaculate. One thing that might scare a few buyers away is that this Riviera doesn’t appear to have air conditioning (there’s no compressor in its usual location in the engine compartment), which seems to be a deal breaker with many potential Riviera buyers. Aside from that, the buyer says that “everything works, including [the] original rear defrost, clock, all gauges, electric windows, cigarette lighter, [and] AM/FM radio with electronic equalizer. Notice that bucket seats were no longer a given on Rivieras; the march toward the bench had begun.
Most importantly, the car is apparently rust-free. It might not be a 100-point show car, but it looks very nice.
In addition to its obvious good looks, the Riviera’s beautiful Buick road wheels were recently rechromed, and the redline tires are a nice touch. Really nice Rivieras bring strong money these days, and while $39,000 might seem rich for a lot of us, it’s probably a pretty fair ask for a car like this. Like its immediate predecessor, this one was a hard act to follow.
Love the dual fours on this Rivy!!
Beautiful!!
I was at a recently passed neighbors shop and one of these engines was sitting on the floor. (Carbs and all)
His granddaughter is trying to sort through all the goodies in the 8,000 sq ft shop. Many engines up on shelves 10′ high. And many cars covered up along one side of the building. Not to mention many aircraft parts. It will take her a long time to do it correctly. But she seems determined. I have offered her help. But have yet to hear from her.
Looks great in that color,as do the Red walls.
Beautiful car at a reasonable price. If I had the room, I would consider it.
This Riv is absolutely beautiful. Love the Buick factory mags with the redline tires. That little bit of chrome and the red lin3s really dresses up the black paint. Very classy.
And the dual quads is really icing on the cake here too.
No need for ac on the West Coast up here… or as the folks in the USA call it the Pacific Northwest. What a machine. Big bad Buick muscle here 👍fast with class…. too cool 😎
This is a beautiful gentleman’s ride. You can add AC to this. Many good AC heater shops install kits in rides that don’t have them. Here on the NE coast you need it. It’s a fair price and when was the last time you seen a Riv in a GS setup look this great? With over 87,000 miles looks brand new. That engine compartment looks great. I seen a 64 Riv and outside and inside was beautiful looking but, 425 engine compartment was a mess and didn’t have 2-4s on top. If I had the extra funds and a garage I would be calling them!! Love that front seat. I can have my wife next to me in the Drive-in!!😂 I hope it goes to a good home! 🇺🇸🐻
CLOCK WORKS. Should be $40k even for that
Bill Mitchell really knew what he was doing.
I love this car, but man I just don’t understand why GM only kept the gen 1 body for three years? You’d think they’d milk at least another 1-2 year from the first gen.
This is an interesting question, but given the hindsight we have, I think that the first-generation Riviera was getting a little dated by 1965 (I say this with love; I own a ’63 and it’s one of my favorite cars ever). Sales rose by over 10,000 units for 1966, so the public must have liked the change.
Also, GM put the Riviera on the E-Body platform that was shared with the Toronado and (for 1967) the Eldorado, so maybe they wanted the new car to coincide with that being that they were putting the effort in to the new platform anyway.
You’re probably right, wouldn’t make sense for Olds to get the new platform/body before Buick. But still think they perfected it with the clamshell headlights in 65!
Are you sure it’s on the same platform as the front wheel drive Toronado and Eldorado. Doesn’t seem like a rear wheel drive model would be on the same “platform” as the front wheel drive models.
Yep. Here’s a good article about how GM pulled it off.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/1966-buick-riviera-versus-1966-oldsmobile-toronado-closely-related-yet-so-different-part-1/
What a shame. Everything right except no A/C.
AC in the PNW in the 60s was unneeded. Car was optioned correctly for its time.
I totally agree it definitely needs AC for this price.
Beautiful. Wish I could afford it.
these are nice looking rivs. like the road wheels but would have went with the triple white stripe tires these came with. price seems fair for what it is. too rich for me
Beautiful ride! ❤️ I just reeeeeeally like the ‘65. Something about the clamshell headlights……..
Beautiful looking car. IMHO, it’s the best looking car since the 1963-64 Buick Riviera.
No doubt, a beautiful car! But it is a bit perplexing. The dashboard appears to have all the duct work for a factory A/C setup. But the HVAC controls only seem to indicate heat and defrost. There’s definitely no A/C compressor or any other components to the system under the hood. I find it hard to believe that a 66 Riv would be ordered without A/C when new. But if it was, that would make it all the more intriguing. It’s unlikely someone is going to daily drive this, so the lack of A/C shouldn’t be too much of an issue. But I call on the Buick folks out there to tell us if it was the norm for the dash to have the vents even though the car has no A/C. Thoughts?
Astro Ventalation…. GM started making many models with A/C ducts in dash cause by then, almost everyone was ordering cars WITH A/C. If u didn’t order it, the vents were old school pull out knobs that just let fresh air in
If perfection had a black paint job !!
If only more pics were posted. IMHO, there’s no such thing as too many pics. There is such thing as too few pics. I’ve seen both from craigslist ads. I like to see more pics of the gauge cluster, including the speedometer, the tach if available, the gauges, etc.
A very interesting info blurb Aaron! I was a little confused about the same body shell comment. Knowing that the Toro/Eldo. frames ended at the front leaf spring mount. 1 body shell 2 different frames. Very cool and interesting.
Thanks for the info!