Sometimes, it just takes a series of good photos to make you want to hand over the cash to take some new projects home. That’s certainly the feeling I get from this auction for a pair of Buick Rivieras rescued from a Quonset hut somewhere other than the seller’s current location of Texas, where I don’t believe it snows quite so much. Find the Rivieras here on eBay sold as a pair with a Buy-It-Now of $9K; the auction price remains unmet at the moment.
In the top photo, the Rivieras appear to wear equal amounts of barn dust, but they apparently also share common rust areas well. What piques my interest is the likely transportation-related expenses to get these Buicks out of the barn and back to Texas, especially considering the length of the trailer on display here. The white car seems to be the star of the show, considering it has bucket seats and supposedly drove into the hut under its own power.
In terms of what else is in the barn, we’re forced to share yet another photo of the white Riviera. What do you see? The red coupe does have rust around the rear quarter panels and the interior features a bench seat. The seller notes that they have not attempted to turn over either Buick, so it remains to be seen if those gigantic 455 mills will fire up once again. I’d love to know the story as to how these Buicks were discovered, as well as whether the barn owner has other projects they’d sell.
See, Rivieras – despite their great looks and ample spare parts network – aren’t worth a huge amount of money right now. To drive up from Texas, load two of them up on a suitable trailer and drive them back before tossing them onto eBay makes me scratch my head. Perhaps the seller went to the farm for another vehicle and wound up with these instead. Regardless, $9K for two seemingly worthwhile projects looks like a potentially solid deal for Buick fans.
My gosh! Covered in whatever is on these Rivieras and that fantastic design still shows through! Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam, where there’s room in the garage for at least one Riviera…
Top pic is the OPEC Express. All 3 vehicles don’t get 15 mpg combined. My ex- brother-in-law, bought one of these as a family car. He wanted the biggest, and therefore the safest, in his mind, vehicle for his family. Oh, it was big and safe, alright, the downside for that was it’s dismal gas mileage. It really did calculate between 5 and 7 mpg. These were tanks and hauling 2 of these on that setup , they might just be overweight,,,
Three axles on a trailer indicate at least a GVWR of 15000#. But I see 8-lug wheels, meaning they are at least 6500# each. Most are 7000#, which would make sense for this trailer.
Depending on where I looked, weights listed for these cars varied between 4200 and 5050. If they together they added to 11000, that would leave 10K for the trailer…
Looks like it is ok to me.
Thanks for that, but I was making a joke as these cars are almost 5,000 pounds each. Besides, I was never into “Hotshot” trucking. Gimme 18 wheels,,,,
I never realized just how HORRID those gov-mandated “cow catchers” on the front of these cars were! The picture of the red one really displays this! I’d like to take the white one, and see if the front end could be retro-fitted w/ the earlier bumper set up. :-)
If they were 71-2 I would be all over it. 73 front ends don’t cut it for me. I’m still looking.
They are both 1973 Riviera’s.
If they were 1971-1972 model Riviera’s maybe they would be worth the effort and a restoration however these 1973 models are not worth restoring certainly at the seller’s asking price. Nice parts cars for a 1971-1972 restoration!
That ugly front-end on the 1973-1974 model kills the looks of these classic rear body lines on this generation Riviera. Let’s not forget the vents in the trunk-lids on the 1971 models that are so kool!
Hard to understand why Ford and GM went to these lengths to satisfy the 5 mph bumper requirement. Not sure how Mopar got away with nothing but big bumper guards on the Challenger!
Kount Kustoms remade a 74 Riv and by removing the front bumper and adding a custom grille. Don’t write these off just because of the front bumper.
“Have not attempted to turn either engine so condition is unknown.” Flipper 101 for “Their both stuck but we don’t want to admit it, so we are going for ignorance is bliss….”
“Quonset Hut Finds” Another BF business opportunity!
Beautiful cars, but those front bumpers do not compliment the styling at all!
He must think a coating of dirt makes them more valuable. Maybe there are holes the pictures don’t show where it would let water go in bad places if he hosed them off. I would never buy a car covered dirt unless it was dirt cheap. Even seeing it in person I would still expect to get it for less covered in dirt. Give them a quick wash before taking pictures. The snow doesn’t mean they can’t have a quick wash.
My first car was a green 73 Riv’. My Lord did it suck down fuel. For as big of a car as they are, room in the back seat was virtually non-existent. I was a junior in high school when I bought mine. The year was 1979 and I paid $600 for it from a Buick dealer in Sioux Falls,SD. Mag wheels (Keystone classics of course) and dual exhaust were how rolled. Oh yeah, and an 8 track player…
Well, we see a garden hose in one of the photos but I guess the lazy flippers could not figure out how to turn it on. If you expect 9k which is not likely, spend a day washing and waxing the cars. I could never figure this kind of thinking. I would not be able to wait 5 minutes before I had out the soap and water and most of you agree. Boat Tail Rivieras are neat. The guys in the photos also look like they don’t know how to turn on water for a bath themselves….
the 73’s were nice but were nothing compared to the 71 & 72 for power and looks due to smog and safety regulations
rather have the Pontiac in the background…..
Nebraska cars………………
if they didn’t try to turn over why is there a wingnut on the fender of the red one. I had a 71 and it was better looking and fun to drive.
Yep. And that air cleaner has fingerprints in the dust which make it look like the lid was removed on the white car as well.
We just turned over the white one and looks like it will run but not had chance to get new cap and rotor . Every light on the car works to .
We were leaving town to get more inventory during a week of cold weather and rain so that’s why we didn’t wash yet.
Thanks
That bumper gives the red car a fat lip look.