Buick rolled out the Riviera in 1963 as a personal luxury car much like the Ford Thunderbird. It remained a fixture in the GM division’s lineup through the end of the century (oddly except for 1994). The seller’s 1965 edition was in an accident and its previous owner bought it from the insurance company and worked out a rebuilt title even though some of the damage remains. Located in Murphysboro, Illinois, this project has been refreshed mechanically and now awaits cosmetic attention. Available here on eBay, the opening bidding of $6,992 has yet to be cast, an amount that’s close to what has been spent on repairs.

The Riviera name was used by Buick during the 1950s but as a surname on other products. The chassis used in the first generation (1963-65) was a reduced version of what the full-size Buicks rode on. The company initially tried to make the car seem like an exclusive by capping production at 40,000 units per year, but that hardly put It into the category of “rarely seen”. With less weight and the same engines as the big Buicks used, the Riviera was a stout performer for its size with a 401 cubic inch “Nailhead” V8 for the 1965 model year (a 425 was optional).

Receipts for mechanical work on this vehicle total $5,992 – one for the engine being rebuilt, another for a refresh of the transmission, and a third for renewing the radiator. The car has only been driven 100 miles since all this work was done, and the seller is throwing in an extra hood, front fender, grille, and bumper to repair the damage from its front-end collision. The interior needs work, but we wonder if it was redone earlier as the mix of white upholstery with red trim may not be original (just a hunch).

The seller refers to this Buick as a “street rod project” though you might want to continue down the restoration path already started since all the mechanical efforts referred to have been processed. There is no mention of any rust, so perhaps only sheet metal bending and new paint are needed on the exterior. Besides the broken body pieces, the red paint has completely run its course.