The Other Showroom: Current / Past Rides (Pt I)

Nice car Dave!!!

Beautiful!! Very Nice car indeed Dave!

Wow! I love that car. looks like a beautiful place to be in for a nice long drive

love the two touch screens

Thanks guys !!!

More Pics at: http://www.americantorque.com/page/1/1767/

Very nice looking car.

J. Chris Davis wrote:

Very nice looking car.

Thanks Chris. I'm lovin' this car more every day. It's an absolute pleasure to drive. I can't stay out of it. My wife says she's gonna try to fit a sleeping bag in it for me

Bought her with 94,608 miles in August '10.

here are some of my latest cars ive owned and/or painted!!!


buddies 300c on 30" rims... painted this over summer


buddies 05 navigator painted this over summer



my 99 tahoe i painted LAST summer


my matching 2 dr chevy i also painted last summer


my caprice that is in full overhaul as we speak


uncles candy apple red road king



well thats enough for now! ill post progress pics and info of the riviera as it comes along....

and if people are interested i will post up my 84 caprice full build which include motor/interior/paint/custom fiberglassing which im doing completely all my self.... but only if its an interest... not many people like big rim cars so dont want to waste my time with posting that if no one likes it here!

Finally got my LeSabre registered and on the road yesterday. Will start driving it to autobody class this winter and get the basics taken care of.

Looks clean!

It looks much better wet! It's in overall good shape, but has rust in the common areas - rear window lower corners, above rear wheel arches, etc. The trunk floor and under the rear passenger seat are holey too. But overall it's a very SOLID car!

After almost 50 years it's normal to find rust, but you can't see much from the outside!

What a beast, the shear size makes it cool alone. It would be really neat to see its progress in your autobody class, any chance of documenting its revival?

The quick version of the long story is:
Originally 350 engine when my grandparents bought it new in '73. Replaced 350 in early '90s with a cadillac 500. (origin of my screen name). In '99 I was dukes-of-hazzarding down a dirt road and kicked a big rock into the oil pan, so the crankshaft was banging on the pan from the inside every revolution. I didn't know what had happened at the time, so I stopped driving it. I later pulled the 500, figured out the oil pan dent, and put it into my '86 Suburban. The 'burb had a buick 455 which I had come across, frankensteined it in, and towed a camper 12000 miles cross country. Loss of oil pressure told me I had killed the 455. So I pulled it out and dropped the 500 in there, leaving the LeSabre engine-less. THEN I figured out I had a bad oil pressure sending unit in the 'burb, there hadn't been anything wrong with that 455! Drove the 'burb for a few years like this, finally at 330K miles the body rotted out from under the truck and it had to go. Saved the engine, scrapped the rest. Fast Forward to last year - finally started working on the LeSabre. Got a new engine wiring harness, dropped in the 455 that had pushed my suburban around years before, installed headers found in someone else's buick parts collection, car is running!!! For the investment of a wiring harness (~$200 or so).

I grew up driving this car and am very happy to have it back.

I will definitely take better pics as I get started in the body shop. Did you follow my other auto body shop class thread on my '98?

Anyone need a 500" cadillac engine? The thing is all torque!



This is the first time I moved it under it's own power.

wow

rk0ehn wrote:

Beautiful!! Very Nice car indeed Dave!

Just noticed your comment, Christian.

How goes? Thanks for the compliment and STAY SAFE over there in Juarez.

For those of you who may be interested...I have added some interesting info about the Reatta at:

http://www.americantorque.com/page/1/1767/

It will toast a 5.7 hemi pickup!!!

CooooooL !!!!

NEONS are awesome autocross cars, too. Take it out next summer and slide it around some cones!

flyineagle96 wrote:

What's your take on the newer ones? I had considered the Neon as a 2005-model year vehicle that was affordable and could be a usable replacement for the Riv. Not in spirit but in utility; moreso with 4 doors.

The Neons were my first favorite car all the way back in the early 90's when it was a Plymouth.

The SRT4's looks and sound GREAT but it only came in manual.

I would be using the car in the winter with snow. I realize it is a small car but the newer ones seem more substantial with the body.