volume 9, issue 6 ovember riview the...

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6 NOVEMBER 2017

Riview The Australian

ROA AUSTRALIAN REGION

I‘ll leave it for others to

recap the Anniversary

Event to celebrate the 50

years of the Buick Car

Club in Australia and we

will include photos and

any other bits and pieces

we receive in the January

edition of The Australian

Riview.

Suffice to say that Laurene

and I really did enjoy the

weeklong event and espe-

cially would like to thank

the organising committee

for their effort in ensuring

that we were entertained

for the entire period with a

great range of things to do

and of course an endless

supply of food.

We hope the food effects

are temporary but that the

memories will last forever!

If you did attend the 50th

then you are probably

ready for another great

event.

The next ROA National

Event is to be held in South

Australia over the week-

end 17 – 21 October, 2019.

This is still a little way off

so you will have no excuse

not to have your Riv ready

or indeed to acquire a Riv,

if you don’t have one al-

ready.

Perhaps one teaser shot

from the 50th Anniversary

Event wouldn’t hurt . . this

Boattail was driven over

from Western Australia by

Lois Haime in company

with Marnie Howe. Great

effort!

The Australian Riview for

January 2018 will be out

after Christmas. If you

have stories about your Riv

adventures please get

them in by early Decem-

ber if possible.

of some 3,300 kilometres

each way, by two Riviera

ladies. What a great effort

- well done girls!

At this event, I was pleased

to be able to announce that

the next Australian ROA

National Meet will be held

17th - 21st October 2019.

Grahame and Terry have

already started preparing

a great event for our Rivi-

eras so put these dates in

your diary and plan on

coming to Adelaide in

2019.

Closer to home, our

Queensland ROA Meet is

fast approaching so if you

At the time of writing, I

have just returned from the

50th Anniversary of the

Buick Club in Australia

Meet held in Echuca, Vic-

toria. And what a great

meet it was. With a total of

100 entrants, we had at

least 14 beautiful Rivieras

in attendance, probably

the most of any one Buick

model. There would have

been more Rivieras but for

illness which prevented

some members from at-

tending.

Rivieras (and other Buicks)

came from all over Austral-

ia, including a 1972 Boat-

tail driven all the way from

Perth to Echuca, a distance

haven’t already booked

your accommodation, do it

now. Our weekend run

will be held 18th and 19th

November. The host motel

is the Boulevard Motel

Stanthorpe - 07 4681 1777 -

don’t forget to mention you

are with the Buick club.

There will be interesting

places to visit and lots of

ROA fellowship. So come

along and join the fun.

Till next time, keep your

Riv rolling.

Editorial

G’day from the Regional Co-Ordinator

“You will have

no excuse not

to have your

Riv ready . . .”

THE AUSTRALIAN RIVIEW

Linda Hall

#10723

Regional Co-

ordinator

John Forster #13148

I was reading an article

the other day and with a

wandering mind came

across a link between two

of our cars, both highly

treasured pieces of auto-

motive architecture,

around my garage at least.

The great GM stylist, Har-

ley Earl, put the direction

into the design of the 1936

Buick. It was his attempt to

create a Buick that, as he

put it, he would want to

buy. The 1936 Buick went

on to become a success

with production soaring for

that year and subsequent

years into the future.

Along comes 1960 and

Buick is locked into a bat-

tle with other division for

the rights to build the Bill

Mitchell inspired and Ned

Nickles designed Cadillac-

intended XP 715 proto-

type. Buick wins with the

help of their advertising

agency and, apart from

working out how to build

it; they needed to consider

a name.

They settled on the name

Riviera, it has history with

Buick and it also has histo-

ry with the 1936 Buick. Not

sure how?

Let me refresh your

memory, or more likely

introduce you to some his-

tory.

It involves the King of Eng-

land, or at least the poten-

tial King if he hadn’t abdi-

cated just prior to his coro-

nation.

Edward had ordered at

least one, and possibly

more than that, 1936 Buick

(s). A formal limousine for

himself, suitably modified

by McLaughlin-Buick in

Canada, and a Roadmaster

for his consort, Wallace

Simpson.

Photos from the time also

indicate that he was seen

in a 1936 Buick coupe at

one stage however, he

may not have been the

actual owner and it is more

than likely one of many

myths that seems to sur-

round royalty.

Following the announce-

ment of his planned abdi-

cation, Wallace, and soon

after Edward, exited Eng-

land for the French Rivi-

era where they hid in lux-

urious retreat for a short

time, finally settling in

France for a much longer

period of near-exile. A

photo of Wallace in the

1936 Buick in the Riviera

is shown with this article,

you may need to excuse

the fuzziness, good shots

are hard to find.

This tenuous connection is

enough for us to feature

our 1965 Riv and our 1936

sedan on the front cover

this month.

About the Cover This Edition

“ a tenuous link . .”

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6

Bill McCausland did a

great article for the last

edition of The Australian

Riview and we have been

able to convince him to

give us some insight into

the car that featured in that

article.

As Bill explains: “I have

had my 65 Riv for about 18

months with a lot of work

completed and I can see

that one day it will be fin-

ished.

It’s registered and

drivable and the hard

stuff is done. I was una-

ble to go to the Riv

meet in Sydney in May

but fingers crossed for

the next one.”

Bill is an ROA member

and has made contact

with the local co-

ordinator, Tom Kunek,

to gain assistance with

advice in tweaking his

65.

He also advised that anoth-

er ROA member, David

Kidd, has been instrumen-

tal in guiding Bill’s work.

“I have the history of this

car from new and it is all

original with matching

numbers and original

books.

I bought it from a guy in

Qld who imported it, did a

paint job and put GS badg-

es on it!!!!!. I can’t take

them off without filling the

holes in the metal so I

guess I will just call it a

real fake (or tribute) in the

interim.”

What Bill has discovered is

the value of assistance

from ROA members. “I

was pretty naive when I

bought it but there was no

turning back, so it’s been a

big investment overall and

probably exceeds its over-

all value. One day I may

break even but it doesn’t

matter as I don’t plan to

sell it!”

Bill’s Sixty-Five

“I was pretty

naïve . .”


Bill’s Sixty-Five

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6

I thought we had our mod-

ified Riv of the month until

Alan Sheppard came

across this 1967 Riv on

eBay!

This Riv was modified in

1980 and licensed to oper-

ate in Illinois a couple of

years later.

This Riv features the fol-

lowing (as described on

the eBay listing):

1967 Buick Riviera

basic vehicle

chassis and stand-

ard interior....No

motor / transmis-

sion

Custom designed

electric drive mo-

tor, having ap-

proximately 75

peak horsepower,

using one series

wound 6 pole mo-

tor

and one shunt

wound 6 pole mo-

tor, inline tandem

coupled with both

motors in electri-

cal series for 36 to

72 volt operation.

Modified trunk area to

accept up to four-

teen 6 volt lead

acid storage bat-

teries. Batteries

are not included.

Cable Form brand

pulse-width solid

state controller to

control the motor

speed efficiently.

Fast acting, cable op-

erated cut-out

switch to discon-

nect battery pow-

er source to motor

controller if con-

troller fails

Manual transmission

with adjustable

ratios to change

motor load condi-

tions

Instrument panel hav-

ing five meters,

plus indicators

and selector

switches.

The original Buick

instrument panel

is complete but

not used for the

electric conver-

sion.

Power assisted

brakes, using

original vacuum

booster system

with vacuum sup-

plied by an inde-

pendent 12 volt

pump.

Interior lighting, head

lights, wipers,

brake lights, etc.,

powered by two

independent lead

acid batteries.

Also, some pilot

control is fed by

12 volts.

Documentation and

schematics for

Cable Form con-

troller.

Miscellaneous

engineering doc-

umentation to

help new owner.

Spare tire (deflated) &

rim included

The body, frame and inte-

rior have been restored

and are in very good con-

dition.

This Riv has been kept in a

climate controlled garage

since 1980.

If you are interested it

should also be noted that

the Riv is no longer run-

ning. The owner points out

that the Riv could be re-

turned to its original con-

dition or upgraded using

modern or vintage engine

and rear wheel drive sys-

tem. It could also be made

to run as an electric vehi-

cle by adding the batteries

and a few slight modifica-

tions. These are not de-

scribed further.

Definitely our Modified Riv

of the Month!

Modified Riv of the Month

“The body,

frame and

interior have

been

restored . .”


VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6

Electric Riv .. What will

they think of next!?!

Last edition we looked at

some Riv in the back-

ground of television

shows.

As promised, this edition

we see what Rivs have

been lurking in the back-

ground of

some of the

iconic films

that have

been around

for sometime.

How about

Smokey and

The Bandit,

Serpico, Ju-

manji or even

Transform-

ers.

Test your

memories

here.

More Rivs on Film

“To catch the

reader's

attention,

place an

interesting

sentence or

quote from the

story here.”

NEWSLETTER TITLE

Smokey and the Bandit 1977

Serpico 1973 – 1963 Riv

Jumanji 1995 – 1963 Riv

Transformers: Age of Extinction 2014 – 1963 Riv

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6

McQ 1974 – 1963 Riv

A View to a Kill 1985 – 1963 Riv

What’s Up Doc? 1972 – 1969 Riv

Our NSW and SA co-

ordinator, Tony Gentil-

core, has been a Riv fan for

a number of years now and

we recently sought his

story of how he got into

RIvs.

It was his son who set him

on the path to the Riviera

when they were looking

for something for his son to

drive.

Tony takes up the story: “It

was 2000 and Dallas was

about to share the Mini with

his sister Stacey, who was

learning to drive. I could

see trouble on the horizon

again and suggested he

should start seriously look-

ing for his own car.

He wanted something dif-

ferent, something big,

something strong and he

started buying Unique Cars

magazine. We'd look and

talk about the pros and

cons of various cars and

then I spotted a 1969 Buick

Riviera advertised which

reminded me of a car my

Auntie in Canada once had

which we saw in Xmas fami-

ly photos sent to us, an

Oldsmobile Toronado.

I also remember driving

next to one in Sydney one

day which I thought looked

awesome, like a giant

Monaro in some ways.

Dallas had never seen one

in his short life but liked the

look of it and not being as

popular as Chevys or Mus-

tangs meant the price was

more attractive and very

unusual, which is what we

both liked.

We decided to make a day

of it and, with my wife in-

cluded, we drove down to

Nowra (3 hours south of

Sydney) to take a look.

Dallas was pretty wrapped

in it and test drove it, talked

to the guy at length about

what he'd done to it and

decided to buy it.

The price was very reason-

able and it was dual fuel

which I thought was pretty

good to save money.

Specs: Paint - Metallic, Audi

Green with Black Interior

Engine: 430 V8 motor and

Turbo 400 gearbox, power

steering, power seat, power

windows, air conditioning

and rally wheels.

First Contact

“We decided

to make a day

of it . .”

NEWSLETTER TITLE

This was the "For Sale" picture I saw of the

Riv in Queensland in June 2001

#10107

I helped Dallas do a bit of

stuff on it and work out what

essential repairs were re-

quired to make it reliable

and you soon learn that it

takes more money than you

first think to get these 30+

year old tanks looking and

going how you want.

One area that these full size

vehicles do not disappoint

is the "Head-Turnability",

would have to be 9 on a

scale of 10 from young kids

to old folk their eyes follow

as you rumble past.

Well I fell in love with these

big monsters of cars and

after visiting the Wintersun

Festival on the Gold Coast

(a Nostalgic Hot Rods and

Rock n Roll Festival) wanted

to get behind the wheel of

my own large American

Car.

I went back and looked in

the very same Unique Cars

magazine and found a 66

Riviera which I had never

before seen in the flesh,

advertised in Queensland.

I started searching for infor-

mation and pictures on the

Internet and quickly grew

to love the shape of this

model. The 66 is the first of

the shape and 69 is the last

but the front fenders and

hood of the 66 are some-

thing else. There are angles

going everywhere to give it

really interesting reflec-

tions.

A friend of mine, Rick, who

has had American Fords for

years lives in Queensland.

He checked it out for me

and he was happy. It was a

sound car with no rust so

Rick's word was good

enough for me.

I negotiated a great price

and decided not to go up

and waste the money on an

air fare but just have it

shipped down. The

transport company charged

me double the going rate

when I told them it was

about 6m long.

When it arrived on the truck

it looked beautiful, the

paint was good, the uphol-

stery was good (bit bright)

but tinting the windows

helped. The guy started it

up to drive it off the truck

and it sounded beautiful.

I took delivery of it in July

2001 and it hadn't been

driven for about 18 months

so consequently it needed a

bit of attention to mechani-

cals.

Cosmetically I've had the

bonnet resprayed after re-

moving the centre chrome

strip and the front springs

reset 3cm lower and the

Billet wheels and fat tyres

put on and drop pipes be-

hind the rear wheels.

There was a box in the boot

with old magazines and lots

of receipts for repairs and

parts from the US, plus the

name and phone number of

the original owners who

actually restored the car in

the mid-nineties. This re-

tired Queensland couple

completely restored the car

at a total cost of A$30,000.

It was then extremely relia-

ble and we drove it to the

Wintersun Festival 2002 on

the June long weekend.

There weren't too many

Buicks there and mine was

the only 66 Riviera and

that's the nice thing about

Buicks. They've got a heap

of luxury appointments, a

ton of grunt, good looks

and they're rare as the

proverbial rocking horse

poo. Now you can't say

that about Mustangs or

Chevs can you?

Specs: Paint - Ford Metal-

lic, Everglade Green with

White leather grain uphol-

stery. SP Turbo 400 gear-

box, power steering, power

seat, power windows, air

conditioning. Engine: 425

V8 340bhp @ 4400rpm, 465

lb-ft @ 2800rpm. Perfor-

mance:0-60 in 8.6 sec, 1/4

mile in 16.4 sec @ 84 mph,

not bad for a car which

weighs in at over 4000 lbs.

(2.1 tonne)”

Tony has since moved on

from this ’66 Riv and now

has a ‘71 and a ‘65 in the

garage.

If you have an interesting

story about your first con-

tact with Rivieras then let

us know here at The Aus-

tralian Riview and we

would be pleased to share

your story.

“Well I fell in

love with

these big

monsters . .”

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6

like many suffered in this

area as even on maximum

brightness, the 50+ year

old instrument lighting was

poor. The gauge lenses

were scratched and dusty

which didn’t help either.

Upgrading your Riviera

dashboard and interior

lighting to LEDs is one of

the best visual improve-

ments you can make. Re-

sults that I achieved were

outstanding, far better than

I anticipated. This article is

about changing dashboard

and interior lighting over

to LEDs.

Why LEDs?

Original globes in the Rivi-

era are incandescent and

generate heat as well as

light and they consume

considerable battery pow-

er. Opening the doors on a

first-generation Riviera

looks like a Christmas tree

when all 6 courtesy lamps

come on, and I love it!

Over time, heat blackens

the globes and causes the

lamp lenses to become

brittle and turn yellow-

brown, reducing the light

output.

It is usually not a good

idea to replace the globe

with a much brighter one

because of the extra heat.

You may even cause a fire

if the replacement globe

gets too hot. This is where

LEDs have the edge as not

only do they generate al-

most no heat, they con-

sume very little battery

power, meaning you can

use a brighter globe if you

choose. They also have

much longer life over con-

ventional globes.

Brighter globe = more

heat + more battery pow-

er + shorter lens life +

fire risk

What LEDS do I use and

where?

Riviera owner’s hand-

book, the shop manual and

parts catalogue have a list

of the globes used, their

part number and bright-

ness in Candle Power. (see

note 1) At the end of this

article is a list of LEDs used

and a photo of the globes

and their replacements.

Super Bright LEDs

(www.superbrightleds.co

m) has a good website

with an application chart

for our Riviera and other

vehicles, globe inter-

change numbers and dia-

grams. However, it is not

100% accurate, so best to

check the actual globe if

you can before ordering. I

found it useful to take the

globe out and check the

base type and the globe

number.

The site also lists LED

globes that look more like

the incandescent types

they replace along with a

range of lighting colours.

They also have some easy

to read technical infor-

mation about using col-

oured LEDs. No doubt

there are other LED suppli-

ers as well.

I used “warm white” LEDs

for all interior courtesy

lights, glove box light,

heater and air condition-

ing controls and indirect

lighting for instruments.

Warm white gives a similar

lighting effect to the origi-

nal globes and the dim-

ming function still works

too! The effect on the indi-

rect gauge lighting is truly

amazing, as it brings out

the crispness and clarity of

all the numbers in the

speedometer and the

words OIL, AMP, TEMP

and FUEL

LEDs in Your ‘63

AA

NEWSLETTER TITLE

Original ’63 Riviera owner’s handbook. All globes

and their rated Candle Power. Some numbers have

changed.

#15004

http://www.superbrightleds.com

http://www.superbrightleds.com

Colour lenses for OIL,

AMP, PARK and TEMP hot

and cold lights are in a

removeable black and

silver face plate, however,

after 50+ years these had

faded. I chose to use red

and green LEDs for these

warning lights to bring

back the vibrancy in the

colours, however you

could also use white. (see

note 2)

What other improve-

ments can be made?

With both the speedom-

eter and fuel gauge

chrome binnacles re-

moved, it is easy to re-

move dust and debris from

the gauge housings and

background plates. Both

clear lenses can be

cleaned and fine scratches

can be polished out. Just

this process alone on a 50+

year old instrument gives

amazing results.

The other lighting upgrade

was the transmission shift

dial. Riviera use a single

globe to illuminate the

dial, not only a poor light

source, but the position of

the globe socket creates

some difficulty when fit-

ting the shift dial and

brightwork back into the

console.

I used LED strip lighting

glued into the well of the

shift dial. It is a series of

LEDs joined in a continu-

ous strip, with an adhesive

back. In the photo is the

strip of 9 LEDs installed

with wires that finished up

in a two-pin socket, allow-

ing it to be removed. (see

note 3)

Weldbond was used to

secure it in case the adhe-

sive gave up as it dries

clear and bonds to most

materials. Careful when

you clean the underside of

the lens as the silver divi-

sions between PNDLR

wipe off quite easily. I had

to replace mine with alu-

minium tape. If not wanting

to use strip LEDs, the LED

replacement globe is also

listed.

How easy is it to swap

over the globes?

Replacing interior globes

in the Riviera is interest-

ing. The console and sail

panels are straight for-

ward, other globes are

difficult, some are very

difficult, and a few are ex-

tremely difficult. The re-

sults are worth the effort

and I tackled my upgrade

over several attempts,

starting with the easy ones

first. Here are just a few

hints that might help when

changing them out.

Removing both chrome

binnacles gives access to

the clear lenses and allows

for proper cleaning. Undo-

ing the small grub screw

with an Allen key releases

the bottom of each binna-

cle and allows the top clips

to be disengaged. Another

grub screw releases the

trip meter knob on the

speedometer.

Once these binnacles are

removed you have better

access to the clock, which

just requires an anticlock-

wise twist to release it. Its

tight, so a rubber “jar lid

gripper” helps here too!

The clock is on an ex-

tremely short wire and

socket, so short that it will

pull off before it comes

clear. I’m certain that

Buick saved 5c on the cost

of every Riviera by keep-

ing it so short!

AA

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6

Clean up of the lens face

and face plate. Coloured

lenses glued back in to se-

cure them. Green is the

cold light, blank is for fuel

gauge

With binnacle and face

plate removed, easy to see

the three indirect lighting

LEDs. Warning lamp

openings match the lenses

on face plate. To the left is

clock LED, access to

turn signals and Hi

BEAM best with steer-

ing column lowered.

Gauges now clear, bright

and easy to read at night.

Vast improvement and much

safer. Small red LED in top

far right is Sonomatic radio

Aurora Design conversion.

Difference is dramatic.

PARK brake light certainly

on. Blue jar gripper on dash

pad helps remove the clock.

#15004

New extension wires for

clock. Heavy metal lugs

on side lock it in place,

removed with anticlock-

wise twist. Globe socket

fits hole at rear. This

clock is now a “goer”

too!

After cleaning all the

gauges, I used Weldbond

to secure the red and

green lenses inside the

face plate as it prevents

them being dislodged dur-

ing re-assembly. You ac-

cess these warning light

globes and indirect light-

ing globes by removing

the small access panel to

the right of the steering

column.

Globes for speedometer

indirect lighting can be

reached by removing the

left access panel, however

one globe on the lower

right is best done with the

steering column lowered.

And you just thought you

would swap out a few

globes in a couple of

minutes!

With both access panels

removed, two ½”AF nuts

holding the steering col-

umn can be undone and

the steering column low-

ered to rest on the seat.

This gives easy access to

the lower right speedome-

ter globe as well as both

turn signal and hi beam

warning lights.

As to the clock wiring,

even with the steering col-

umn lowered, it would be

a struggle to get it

plugged back in so I made

up a 100mm extension

cable with a new plug to

make it much easier to re-

install.

In summary, an upgrade to

your Riviera dashboard

and interior lighting to

LEDs is one of the best

visual improvements you

will make. Although not a

straight forward task, the

results will astound you

and be far better than you

could anticipate. And you

keep the dimming function

too!

Rodney Beauchamp ROA

member #15004

Original globes and their

LED counterparts. LED

on the extreme left looks

more like the #90 it re-

places than the others.

The LED with green

wedge base fits both

“cold” and turn signal

warning lights.

Strip lighting with 9

LEDs glued into trans-

mission shift housing.

Terminals end in a plas-

tic two pin socket, allow

easy removal. Rubber

grommet fills the hole

left by the

globe socket.

Strip lighting for the P N

D L R transmission shift.

Lighting critical as the

‘63 Riviera shift pattern

is different, 1964 on are P

R N D L L

Two LEDs light heater

and A/C controls. Red

LED is for Sonomatic ra-

dio.

The following page has

details of the bulbs re-

quired to undertake this

conversion and notes that

also apply to the task.

AA


#15004

NOTE 1: LED outputs are

often given in Lumens, where-

as the output of Riviera globes

is listed in candle power. One

CP is 12.57 Lumens. CP =

Lumens / 12.57

NOTE 2: A coloured LED or

globe emits only light waves

in that colour spectrum,

whereas a white LED or globe

emits all colours of the spec-

trum, Red Orange Yellow

Green Blue Indigo Violet. For

example, green LEDs emit

light only in the green spec-

trum and red LEDs emit only

in the red spectrum.

A coloured lens filters out all

emitted light except the lens

colour. For example, red

lenses filter out all but the red

emitted light, and does not allow the other colours to pass

through. The same applies to a green lens. Using the same

colour LED or globe as the lens makes the light appear

brighter and more vibrant as you have more light of that

colour passing through the lens.

NOTE 3: ROA member, Eric Schmid from Meikirch, Swit-

zerland gave me this solution via his post on the ROA mem-

bers forum www.forums.aaca.org.

Our regional co-ordinator,

Tom Kunek, featured with

Brain Dean and their com-

bination of a 65 Riv and a

26 Tourer.

Something for everyone at

the 50th Anniversary meet!

The stars of the October

RACV magazine were easy

to spot, if you were a Buick

fan that is.

Seemingly relegated to the

later end of this very popu-

lar magazine, over 1 mil-

lion copies produced

monthly, still is a great

result for the 50th Anniver-

sary Buick event in Echuca

in terms of publicity.

Rivs in Print

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6

WW = warm white

* Original fitment 1816 3CP but changed to #57 2CP refer Buick Service Bulletin

Location OEM Base CP LED Colour Qty

Console (side) #90 BA15D 6 1142-WW12-G WW 2

Console (rear) #68 BA15D 4 1142-WW12-G WW 1

Sail panel #90 BA15D 6 1142-WW12-G WW 2

Dash board courtesy #90 BA15D 6 1142-WW12-G WW 1

Glove box 1816 BA9s 3 BA9S-WWHP5 WW 1

Clock #57* BA9s 3 BA9S-WWHP5 WW 1

Speedo gauge indirect lighting 158 wedge 2 194-WWHP5 WW 3

Fuel gauge indirect lighting 158 wedge 2 194-WWHP5 WW 3

Oil AMP HOT 158 wedge 2 194-RHP5 Red 3

COLD 158 wedge 2 194-GHP5 Green 1

PARK 1816 BA9s 3 BA9S-RHP5 Red 1

Heater / A/C control 1816 BA9s 3 BA9S-WWHP5 WW 2

Turn signal 158 wedge 2 194-GHP5 Green 2

HI BEAM 158 wedge 2 194-RHP5 Red 1

Transmission shift 1816 BA9s 3 BA9S-WWHP5 WW 1

Transmission shift strip (9LED) - - - Strip LED WW 1

http://www.forums.aaca.org

Dan’s Classic Auto Parts of Port-

land OR - www.dansclassic.com

Rob Croxford has had dealings

with this firm and advises their

prices are reasonable, their

communication is terrific and

they are very good to deal with.

BJ Panel Restoration and Fabri-cation,

Thornlands. Qld.

Bill - 0403 120 921

(panel beating, rust repairs, fibereglass repairs, modifica-tions)

Bill works in conjunction with -

Carr Creation Auto Refinishing,

Graham Carr - 0411 588 272

Thornlands. Qld.

(spray painting specialists).

Annvid Auto Upholsterers,

24 Smith Street,

Capalaba. Qld. 4157

Tel: 07 3390 3444

Mt. Cotton Auto Electrics,

Mob: 0429 193 815

Spectrum Rubber and Panels Pty.Ltd.

P.O. Box 328,

St. Marys. N.S.W. 1790

Tel: 02 9623 5333 Fax: 02 9833 1041

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.spectrumrubber.com.au

Repco now stock K & N filters for Rivieras.

The K&N E-1360 Aircleaner suits single carb Buick and Riviera ap-plications from 1965-1967,

see listing:

http://www.knfilters.com/search/applications.aspx?Prod=E-1360

Note: There was a Dual Quad fil-ter, if you can’t find listing try by Dimensions.

The K&N HP-2003 oil filter suits Nailheads and Rivieras up to 1978, check listing:

http://www.knfilters.com/search/applications.aspx?Prod=HP-2003

Go to www.knfilters.com and click on BUY you get a list of sup-pliers and installers for your Aus-tralian postcode.

Parts for 60s Rivs

Larry Daisey operates a parts supply business for 60s Rivieras. Visit his web site at www.RivParts.com

Brown's Springworks P/L (David

Mitchell)

New coil and leaf springs custom

made at a very reasonable price.

New rear springs made for my '67

Riv.

11 Lipton Dve, Thomastown, Vic.

(03) 9460 8622. (Recommended

by: John Offer)

G.J. Drivelines (Gary or Mac)

Driveshaft balancing including

2 piece shafts balanced as one

unit.

2/189Cheltenham Rd,

Keysborough, Vic (03) 9706

3166. (Recommended by: John

Offer)

All American Auto Parts.

(www.allamericanautoparts.com.

au)

Supply of just about any me-

chanical and chassis parts for

Buick's at very reasonable pric-

es. Fast delivery.

Ballarat, Vic (03) 5339 6533

(Recommended by: John Offer)

R. Kent & Sons (Vic) P/L. Automo-

tive Engineers & Suspension

Specialists. (www.kents.net.au)

Reconditioned the ball joint in

my RHD '67 Riv draglink.

66-68 Renver Rd, Clayton, Vic.

(03) 9544 7326. (Recommended

by: John Offer)

Maynes Motor Trimming

72 New Street, Ringwood, Vic.

(03) 9870 0391. (Recommended

by: Tom Kunek)

Note: This is not in any way an endorsement of these business-es. It is just giving members leads to businesses that other members have had a good expe-rience with.

67 - 69 Riviera Top Radiator Support Panel - $30

66 - 70 Rear window exterior louvre (smooth and for vi-

nyl tops) - $40 each.

69 Riviera Stainless Steel Centre Hood Spear - $30

71 Riviera Tail Light bezels - need rechroming - $30

63 64 65 Buick Riviera Power Steering Internal Gears

18:1 ratio - $40

63-65 Riviera Factory Radiator Top and Bottom Tanks -

$40

Shipping not included, email me for photos or more info.

Tony Gentilcore 0408 964 217 email: to-

[email protected]

For Sale

NEW! 63 64 65 Riviera Remanufactured fibre-

glass Fan Shrouds - $250

63 64 65 Riviera Console Ash Tray Lid - New

Wood - perfect chrome - $60

65-66 Wildcat Electra Remanufactured fibre-glass

Fan Shrouds - $250

Suppliers and Repairers

The Market Place


If you have had a job well done from a repairer, then why not let others know about it.

Send in details of your good experiences so they can be printed here.

We will run ads until advised to withdraw

them. Please ensure that when your items

are no longer available you let us know so

that we can ensure the freshness of the

information contained w thin this section of

the magazine. Many thanks!

http://www.RivParts.com

http://www.allamericanautoparts.com.au/

http://www.allamericanautoparts.com.au/

http://www.kents.net.au/

Parting Out 1968 Riviera, complete car, was

weekend driver before rear end smash. Car is in

USA but can be dismantled and parts posted to

Australia or packed in my next container coming

over for nominal shipping fee. Ring Doug Hawkins.

0418 631 233 or 07 5543 6927

For Sale: 1 x 1968-69 n/s fender with small marker

light, excellent cond., no rust or damage.

1 x 1966-67 headlight motor, good working order,

includes one flexible coupling.

3 x 1968 rear side marker lights (tri shield design).

1 x 400-430-455 waterpump used or will trade on

any 1965 parts.

Steve Moore 02 6884 9904 Email: rivi-

[email protected]

For Sale: Riviera parts

1966-67 door shells R,L, straight, no rust $300 each

1966-69 door window glass R,L $90 each

Electric window motor $120

1966-67 air grille panel (base of windscreen) $30

1969 RH front mudguard straight, no rust $300

1969 rear window guides $25

1969 sun visors (black) $80 pr

1975 tail light assemblies $90 each

NEW - Riviera script, the one with large R, early

60’s ? $80

1963-65 lower chin parking light assemblies VGC

$250 pr

1975 bonnet emblem (new) $70

Riviera Sales brochures -

1963 - 8” x 10” colour 6 pages $40

1966 - 10” x 10” colour 6 pages $40

1968 - 10” x 10” colour 8 pages $40

1995 - 5” x 10” colour 4 pages foldout $20

Ron Noonan 02 9631 4763 Email: buick-

[email protected]

For Sale 1974 Riviera. White with black roof. ONE

OWNER. Original paint. RHD. Comes with spare

tyres and spares. Rego LUE-666 $18,500 ono John

Stewart 03 5358 1787

For Sale 1967 GS400, Complete and 90% assem-

bled and running. Greg Naris

[email protected]

Wanted 1965 Riviera, Alan Wren 07 3282 3474

For Sale1972 Riviera Boattail – Vintage Red in

colour white trim

Recon motor and trans excellent condition

$27,500 or near offer ph: 0409 664 236

For Sale - 65 Buick Riviera

Original condition 401 (6.6 L) nailhead, Twin 4 Bar-

rel Carburetors, V8 , 3

speed auto with Shop and Body Manuals. With

unique Clam Shell concealed headlights.

Built in Flint Michigan and sold in Jacksonville, Illi-

nois, imported to Australia

in 2010. It is in exceptional condi-

tion throughout, has had paintwork

previously

but overall condition will not disap-

point.

It is a pleasure to drive and will

pass any inspection.

Previous winner of Australian Rivi-

era Owners Assn National.

$45,000 ono

Location - Victoria

Rob Croxford Call 0402 829497

email: [email protected]

BUICK Disc Brake Conversion Kits

(63-70 Riviera, 61-70 Electra, LeSabre, Invicta

and Wildcat)

(these kits will fit factory 15" rims or larger)

View details at www.mako.com.au

Tony Gentilcore 0408 964 217

email: [email protected]

Wanted: 65 Auxiliary Gauge Face Plate

(with idiot lights) picture attached

and 66 Riviera back axle (diff housing)

Tim Harper - Adelaide

Contact Phone: 0419 820 623

Email: [email protected]

For Sale: 1968 White GS RHD

Disc brakes, new white wall tyres, full size

wheel trims, 12 stacker cd player, original radio

in car

$22,000 Riv in QLD Ph Peter 0419 652 940

Wanted - '63 - '65 Riviera Centre Console frame.

contact Grahame Line in S.A. on 0427674224 or

by email at [email protected]

The Market Place continued

Why not take

out an ad in

the Review?

All new ads

are also

emailed to the

Australian

ROA group as

soon as they

are received!

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6

mailto:[email protected]






http://www.mako.com.au




ROA AUSTRALIAN REGION

AUS + Qld National Co-Ordinator

Linda Hall #10723

PO Box 383

Cleveland Qld 4163

[email protected]

Vic + Tas Regional Co-Ordinator

Tom Kunek # 3845

[email protected]

0419 658 500

NSW + SA Regional Co-Ordinator

Tony Gentilcore # 10107

[email protected]

02 9453 9199

This e-magazine is produced under the auspices of the Rivi-

era Owners Association USA and the Buick Car Club of Aus-

tralia Qld Inc. to cater for the needs of car enthusiasts with

an interest in the Riviera produced between 1963 and 1999.

Riviera Owners Association – PO Box 261218, DENVER, CO

USA, 80226

303-233-2987, [email protected] , www.rivowners.org

It is a medium created for the exchange of stories and ide-

as. Its aim is to support enthusiasts in Australia in the

preservation and use of the Buick Riviera built between

1963 and 1999.

The editors welcome contributions at

[email protected]

ROA AUSTRALIAN REGION REVIEW

In our last edition we included

some information on the 1965

Riv in die-cast model form and

proposed it as an ex-

cellent choice as a

stocking filler this

Christmas.

Since then we have

come across another

option for the boat tail

brigade for this Christ-

mas.

This model is an O

gauge RailKing Auto

Carrier Flat Car with

not one but four ’71

Rivs on board the De-

troit and Mackinac

auto carrier.

Available from

www.mthtrains.com

More Christmas Stocking Fillers

Share The Pride

W E ’RE ON THE WEB ! WWW . RIVOWNERS . ORG

Membership

Please encourage any Riviera owners you meet to join

the R.O.A.

It's simple, just log on to the R.O.A. web site.

DON’T FORGET, IF YOU DO SELL YOUR RIVIERA, LEAVE DETAILS ON JOINING THE ROA IN THE CAR


http://www.rivowners.org

http://www.mthtrains.com

volume 9, issue 6 ovember riview the...

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