1997 front control arms

I understand the 1997 Riviera has unique to the year front control arms in that 1. The are the first year for aluminum and 2. They are the last year for vertical/horizontal combo bushing configuration. So why is it all the online part stores show that they are the same as the 1998 model year that has dual horizontal bushings? Was there a mid-year change in 1997 or something?

I am thinking of buying a 1997 Riv, but if I cannot get new control arms, I would not want to bother with that year.

1 and 2 - you're right.
All the online part stores are wrong.
I never seen or heard of 97 with horizontal bushings. Mine is not an exception, 1 and 2.

Thank you. Having owned 76 cars in my life and done many restorations, some body off frame, I have encountered MANY parts stores so wrong about so many parts. It is quite frustrating.

I really appreciate your confirming this for me.

If your 97 candidate is in exceptionally good shape, I'd go for it. There are ways of changing bushings in 97 LCA.

... 76 cars? Wow, dude )

I am thinking about it still. Isn't there a bit of fabrication involved changing bushings? There is no direct replacement for the 1997 bushings is there? Sometimes I wonder if changing the mountings to 1998 or newer wouldn't be a better idea. The rear mounting is the same, right? So someone would only have to weld in the front mounting bosses to accept a 1998 control arm. (I would have to hire someone for that idea). The 1998 and up control arms fit 1998 and up Auroras LeSabres, Park Ave and a host of other cars.

No direct replacement for the 97 LCA bushings, right.
One way is to fabricate sleeves or rings so you can fit 95 front bushings, they have smaller outer diameter and they are available.
Another way is, indeed, to weld new mountings.
Both these options are tested by the members of this community and described somewhere on this site.

I have always been a stickler for suspension and steering. GM has historically had great ride and handling. I like to keep my cars "like new" in this regard. Weak shocks or deteriorating bushings drive me crazy. So many people ignore this aspect of their car's maintenance. So whenever I buy a car, that is one of the first things I like to address. The 1997 Riviera poses challenges that a 1995-96 or 1998-99 do not.

So here is another question. Will new replacement stamped steel control arms meant for a 1996 Riviera FIT a 1997 Riviera with no problems?

I asked the very same question here back in 2016 and didn't get answer.
I'm about 90% sure they will fit, but somebody has to confirm it. Would that be you? )
In fact right now I have my passenger side LCA off and I can take all the measurements of it. Somebody has to measure 95-96.

I cannot confirm because I am doing research BEFORE I buy a 1997 Riviera. I am beginning to think that 1997 Rivieras and 1997 Auroras should be avoided due to their unique and unavailable suspension parts.

And, by the way - are 95-96 LCAs still available? They were in 2016, when I got my Riv, but now I can't see them on rockauto.

If you wanted to get nutty you could finish up Codith's HiPer strut idea - Link

It sounds like you have the skills for it.

I think the most conceptually simple solution would be to remove the front bracket holding the vertically mounted bushing and fabricate and weld on a new bracket to accept 1998 and up horizontal bushings. I do not fabricate or weld, but I would hire it done. That way I can use the readily available new lower control arms that fit so many 1998 and up Buicks and other cars.

Would my idea work? Or are there other considerations I am not aware of?

If you had a 98-99 for comparison, that would help to get the spacing/placement right.

The way I envision it is to mount a 1998 control arm fastened to the back mount and at the ball joint. Then place the front mount where I want the new bracket to be. And weld the fabricated bracket in place. This assumes the back bracket on a 1997 is the same as the back bracket from a 1998. The junkyards are full of 1998-up FWD Buicks.

1. It has been already done, I read about it on this forum.
2. Unexpected twist: you may as well consider replacing the whole subframe with the 98+ one.

I would consider getting a subframe if I found one in the junkyard with the powertrain already removed. Not impossible.

I guess 1998 and up Park Ave subframes and 1998-1999 Aurora subframes are identical. How about LeSabre? Let's face it, there are a LOT of LeSabres out there! I would guess 2000-2005 might be the same subframe.

In '98 the Park Ave, Riv and Aurora used the same front cradle. GMPD shows it for the one year, GM 88951956. My guess is this is a crash part number and supersedes the 2xxxxxxx that probably was original. My further guess is that a smarter move would be the 99 cradle if it fits. The number is 25766845 and it was used on a bunch of models (LeSabre, Park Ave, Deville, Seville, Bonneville) through like 2004 and on some into 2005. I think the LCAs for the 98s fit it as well - at least, RockAuto shows they do. SO - unless GM did something funky like change the chassis mount points on the body pan, you'd have lots of donor cars to choose from to get a solid subframe that you could descale and treat with POR-15 then chassis paint. If you got it from Texas or Arizona you might not even have to do all that.

I live in AZ where cars in junkyards from the 1940s don't have any more than surface rust on them. And some not even that. But there is not any good rubber or plastic to be found!

I was raised in Wisconsin where it only takes a couple of years for rust to screw up a car. I never understood why car enthusiasts ever drove their nice cars in the winter! Back in the day I kept my 1957 T-Bird for fair weather summer days only and drove my 1962 Falcon 4 door in the winter and as a daily driver to work. I am on several car forums and I see people driving their pride and joy on the salty winter roads. Heck, buy a Toyota Corrola for that. Keep your nice Rivieras dry and clean. I moved to AZ primarily so I would not ever have to contend with rust again. And rust free has a completely different meaning here than it did in Wisconsin. In Wisconsin a car was rust free because all that was left is huge holes in the sheet metal.

albertj wrote:

In '98 the Park Ave, Riv and Aurora used the same front cradle.  GMPD shows it for the one year, GM 88951956.  My guess is this is a crash part number and supersedes the 2xxxxxxx that probably was original.  My further guess is that a smarter move would be the 99 cradle if it fits.  The number is 25766845 and it was used on a bunch of models (LeSabre, Park Ave, Deville, Seville, Bonneville) through like 2004 and on some into 2005.  I think the LCAs for the 98s fit it as well - at least, RockAuto shows they do.  SO - unless GM did something funky like change the chassis mount points on the body pan,  you'd have lots of donor cars to choose from to get a solid subframe that you could descale and treat with POR-15 then chassis paint.  If you got it from Texas or Arizona you might not even have to do all that.  

Do you remember someone saying the 2000's Monte Carlo front cradle fit? I've been trying to turn it up to no avail.

Jack the R wrote:

albertj wrote:

In '98 the Park Ave, Riv and Aurora used the same front cradle.  GMPD shows it for the one year, GM 88951956.  My guess is this is a crash part number and supersedes the 2xxxxxxx that probably was original.  My further guess is that a smarter move would be the 99 cradle if it fits.  The number is 25766845 and it was used on a bunch of models (LeSabre, Park Ave, Deville, Seville, Bonneville) through like 2004 and on some into 2005.  I think the LCAs for the 98s fit it as well - at least, RockAuto shows they do.  SO - unless GM did something funky like change the chassis mount points on the body pan,  you'd have lots of donor cars to choose from to get a solid subframe that you could descale and treat with POR-15 then chassis paint.  If you got it from Texas or Arizona you might not even have to do all that.  

Do you remember someone saying the 2000's Monte Carlo front cradle fit?  I've been trying to turn it up to no avail.  

No, I don't remember that; and I would not be surprised if it *did* fit, GM is notorious for re-use from it's hard parts bins. Take for instance the vacuum harness for the 3800 engine. Look it up as a Riviera part number, it's discontinued, not superseded and not available. The more experienced parts folks know, however, that the one for the SC3800 in the later Chevrolets fits 100%. The rear shocks and springs for the Lucerne fit the Riv, giving variable-rate springs and better tuned shocks availability. Again, except for those experienced, you'd have no idea.

i think it was bbyshrk that mentioned the monte carlo

albertj - Thanks for the tip on the Lucerne shocks and springs. I'll make a note of that one. I found a thread where Turtleman had purchased an SSEI front cradle, but I haven't gotten far enough into it to find out how it worked yet.

Rivieraz - Thanks! I bet that's it.