When Buick released the Riviera in 1963, they had Ford’s Thunderbird firmly set in their sights. The personal luxury car was a market dominated by that model, and Buick’s response was a vehicle that was widely praised by motoring journalists at the time. When it was new, this Riviera would have been a stunning and well-equipped car, but it has since fallen upon hard times. It is not a lost cause, but it will require a dedicated enthusiast to return it to its former glory. Located in Brandon, Florida, you will find the Buick listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has made it as far as $3,350 in a No Reserve auction. That means that it would seem that the dedicated new owner is just around the corner.
When it was released, the Buick was considered to be a sharp and handsome car. When it was finished in a color like Silver Cloud, that simply served to reinforce this belief. There is no doubt that this would have been the case with this car, but now there are some rust issues to address before this would be the case once again. It’s there, but it actually isn’t that severe. Both lower rear quarter panels show rust, as does the leading edge of the hood, the front edge of the passenger side front fender, and an area around the rear window. There is also some rust present in the front floor on the passenger side, but that would appear to be about it. The external trim and chrome look like it would respond well to some polish, while the tinted glass looks to be free of significant scratches or cracks.
What is luxury without a bit of power to back it up? In this case, the Riviera is fitted with the 401ci “Nailhead” V8, producing 325hp. Standard equipment also included the Twin Turbine automatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes with enormous finned aluminum drums. As a luxury car, outright performance was never meant to be the Riviera’s strong point. However, it was still capable of covering the ¼ mile in a respectable 16.7 seconds. In spite of the somewhat shabby appearance of the engine bay, the news with the Riviera is that it runs and drives. There is no doubt that it would benefit from some cleaning and detailing under the hood, but if the car is in sound mechanical health, then there would be no cause to rush this.
When I first saw the interior shots of the Riviera, I’m not ashamed to say that I whimpered slightly. When it was new, this was about as luxurious as a Buick could be. Today, it is no longer a pretty picture. The general wear and tear on the upholstery looks like the sort of damage that you might expect to see if a large dog was allowed to run loose inside the car. The leather upholstery on the seats is battered and bruised beyond redemption, while the console also sports some damage. The driver’s door trim has been cut and hacked to fit aftermarket speakers, while the carpet will also require replacement. However, it isn’t all bad news. Apart from the fact that the passenger side door trim appears to be missing, as is the vent insert from the dash on the driver’s side, the interior does appear to be complete. In addition, both the dash and the headliner appear to be in good condition. The dash pad is cracked, but I think that this could be repaired. I decided to undertake a bit of searching, and even though the seat upholstery is leather, a complete interior trim kit can be sourced for around $1,600. I was also able to locate a source for a good wheel to replace the cracked one on this car, and it proved to be a surprisingly affordable $100. Beyond that, the Riviera is equipped with enough luxury touches to keep most owners happy. This includes air conditioning, power windows, a power antenna, AM/FM radio, and a tilt wheel.
There is no doubt that this 1963 Riviera could be returned to its former glory, and if this was done, it would be an eye-catching car that would attract plenty of attention. Today, it is possible to find tidy examples for around the $14,000 mark, but good to excellent examples will push closer to $25,000. If this one sells for somewhere around the current bid region, then that would leave a significant amount of money in the piggy-bank to undertake a restoration before it got to the point of not making financial sense. That makes this a project car that would be well worth consideration.
In my mind the ’63 was the best looking of the series. GM kept fooling around with the exterior and not only degraded the original beauty of the car but the major body style change later on was not the greatest. This car restored would be one of those you either drove on dry weekends or sat in the garage with a beer and a chair and just looked at it, or both.
Bob, your comment made me chuckle. I do both of those things!
Fantastic!
Ditto…if I had one !
Looks like a ‘Modelo’ on that bucket. Good times.
Rex… my kind of guy, my kind of garage.
Rex, I see the car, I see the chair, I see the beer! I sure hope you don’t have far to walk to the fridge, looked real hard in picture, I did not see that!! (every garage should have one)
No worries Bob, the fridge is out of the frame, left of the car! I try to wait till 5 when working on the cars…
Love the first-gen Rivieras. My fave is the 1965 model year…(pop-up headlights)
Grille looked clean during the daytime…and aggressive at night. One of the best cars out there for restomods. My neighbor spent a sum he STILL won’t divulge…on a ’65. Airbag suspension…4 wheel disc brakes…custom interior…classy retro rims…sound…rebuilt and freshened motor.This ’63 here should be headed for something like that.
Not a big gm fan but these are one of the best looking cars ever made.
The car looks unmolested under the hood but the interior needs some help!! I never did understand why people put huge holes in there doors insert speakers then after slamming the door a hundred times or so the speakers fall out and leave a gapping hole!! Could be a real nice ride though!!
Check out the EBAY photos. It is really interesting to see the passenger door card (“panel” if you prefer) removed from this car. Notice that you only see a stamped metal panel…you don’t see the window or the motor or the regulator, or anything else. Why?
The reason is that access to the inner workings of the door comes from the OUTSIDE, believe it or not. The outer door skin is attached with bolts that run around the perimeter of the door, so any work on the window motor or regulator involves removing the outer door skin. AND, all the interior door trim can only be removed from the outside, with the door skin off..there are no concealed screws allowing the door card to be pulled off. I imagine the door card on this car was trashed in the removal process. I’ve never encountered any other classic car that operates this way.
But I am glad to see this photo, so now I know not to attempt to remove the interior door card to access the window works, should that ever be necessary on my car. I suspect that whoever removed that door card (and ruined it, probably) was unpleasantly surprised to find that stamped slab of sheet metal.
Never knew that about the door skin – that would probably make repop skins easier to fabricate. Any idea whether they are available?
I had a relative’s boyfriend own a same year and color combo Riv back in the late 80’s. He was restoring the car but lost track of him when they broke up. Liked all first gen Riv’s.
Here’s something I read recently about the first gen Riviera, it was initially assigned to Cadillac division, but they turned it down, the article didn’t go into why or how it went to Buick. To me this was one of the most beautiful cars of that decade, along side the C2 Corvette, other manufacturers had lots of catching up to do.
Not sure, but wasn’t there a Buick Riviera in the 1950’s . Maybe 1953. Wouldn’t this be the first generation?. Just asking. I’ve had seven 63, 64 and 65 Riv’s. The 65 gran sport with dual quads, 425, and clamshell headlights was my favorite.
Those early Riviera models were sub models designating pillarless body style. 63 was the first year Riviera was its own model.
I love your garage layout Rex, but how do you keep family from using it for a storage shed for their junk? I had to hang one of those overhead storage units in my garage for spare parts and Christmas decorations. It’s a constant battle to keep my daughter in law from wanting to put their junk in my garage.
God bless America
Well John, my wife got the whole detatched garage and the 10X10 garden shed. And still she has a few totes in my space. But it’s OK. This week I am building another shed for the mowers and power washer etc., so maybe that will free up some space in my “compound”.
God bless you Rex. I just built a 8×8 foot shed on the back of my garage. It took me about 6 months to finish it. The deck took about two weeks. I used 4″x4″ x8′ treated base sitting on concrete blocks and covered with 3/4″ treated t&g plywood flooring. Then as I felt like it I framed it with 2″x4″ studs. Then I put 4′ x 8′ obs, then covered that with 4’x8′ t-111 trimmed with 1″x6″ boards. It’s fully insulated with white peg board inner walls. I wired it and installed 5, 3′ lights and 6 electrical outlets on a separate breaker. The roof is a metal with a 3″ grade from front to back laid flat. I put a window a/c unit in one wall for summer cooling. The total cost was a little over $1000.00
God bless America
“Jeesh, all it is out here is his ol junk. And this ol car, it isn’t even new. Takes up all the room. Lemmie just place this box on da hood.” Slam !
Take a lookit Clint’s face when this almost happens to his Torino!
U C ‘Harry’ ‘come out’ !
My comment on this is all ways the same. How far do U think the jaws dropped in mid 60s when 1 a these or a Tornado went dwn a st in UK or on the Continent?
Can’t wait to see the transformation made on this 1…
Hey Bob! Is that the same one arm chair that the guy that killed Dr Richard Kimbles wife had in his office?
Bob… Refer is on the right just inside the door. The yard stuff is in the back yard building but the second floor of it is full of car stuff. Man said I couldn’t expand it from 10 by 10 but could make it 32 feet high. So….
Garage shot.
Are you in FLA Hess?
Yes. The shed pic was taken two years after being ground zero for hurricane Irma. Looks even better now.