FAQ: Riviera Interior Trim Options, Colors & Materials

Izzmo - I was speaking in relative terms. You SHOULD be allowed to ask whatever questions you want, especially when you're new to the board. The search function isn't the greatest, either. It's gotten a little better, but it's always okay to ask. That's the POINT of a forum, right?

I suppose what I was getting at, was I hate when I see a post like yours - eager, new to whatever it is - and then get shot down by "senior" members of the message board. It's just refreshing that I NEVER see that happening here.

In other words, you're in a great place - and it's always good to have another person on board!

This is easily my favorite message board. Usually when I'm interested in something, it goes downhill because I can't get help on message boards. For instance, the keyboard/synthesizer message board over at www.sonicstate.com. Everyone there's a complete asshole to new members, and it always scares them away. Everything's an inside joke to them, and one member even said "Next time someone asks a stupid question about keyboards, I'm just going to tell them to buy a guitar." Can you imagine if you said "Hey, I'm thinking about getting a Riviera" and we said "The next idiot who comes here and has to even CONTEMPLATE buying a Riviera, well, I'm just going to tell them to buy a Ford."

It sounds funny, but it happens at so many message boards it makes me sick! That's why I spend all of my time on here.

To give another example of what ben said , on oldspower.com , the forum i was on for my 87 cutlass , i listed my mods to my 307 to make it tolerably quick and get flamed so bad because i was wasting my time trying to improve what i had rather than swapping out a rebuilt 350 or big block , which with me being 17 at the time i had neither the money , time nor the ability to do. I never claimed my car was fast , just said it had enough guts to where it becamemore fun to drive. I didn't have a timeslip to prove i made it better , so i was just an idiot. I really lucked out with the riv , because this board , regalgs.org and my local club gp are actually quite hospitable to new folks , rather than expecting them to know all the answers. people come to these things for help and advice , and maybe suggestions ,not to be criticized. And we do well at that.

And look who's talking bill!

Well, I certainly can't expect new members to know where everything is, or how to search as efficiently as experienced members. But those of us who post everyday - these folks need to be the role models. I DO expect those members to learn the ways of searching, post threads where they belong, etc. and I do get on their case at times when it doesn't happen. Keep in mind, I use the same search engine as the rest of us. It's all in the technique; it works well with some experimenting.

Does anyone know if there were different trim levels avalible on the 95-99 rivieras. i was looking at the window sticker for my car and it has an (SE) then it says Prestige option package. how many different options packages were there and where on the totem pole so to speak is my riv with the SE?

Over the years, GM (and others) started making 'options' not so optional... There were probably only a few option packages available on our cars, with the AstroRoof being one of the few stand-alone options.

The first link is expired, but you may be talking about this Dealer Installed thread:
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/for-sale-f22/1998-signature-edition-t2684.htm?highlight=option

98SuperRiv wrote:

its never been on more than one persons posts in the past. or atleast it shouldnt have been. that is me and my ol lady and she dosent get on here. ive been 98superriv since 12-3-08 but took a time where i didnt get online alot so maybe that is what you are talking about.

Looked like two woman to me. It's OK with me if it is, just confused me that's all.
But I could swear someone with a different Name was using that Pic. Sorry if I'm confused. Happens a lot to me these days, eyesight and memory going bad at the same time.
Rick

You might want to plug your VIN into this option calculator:
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/riviera-reviews-specs-f15/faq-how-rare-is-your-riviera-or-other-gm-car-t6444.htm

98SuperRiv wrote:

does anyone know how many options packages there were avalible on the 98 riviera or know any way to find anything out. so far ive came up with nothing

I scanned this from the back of a 1998 Dealer Riviera Brochure. Hope it helps

http://www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot/semcoat.aspx

if you're lucky enough to find a perfect match,great! if not,since you're going to refinish the interior any way,get the closest shade to the oem.or,take this time to do something really unique.not corny. just different with class.

SEM is a great source for interior color paints. If you check with your local SEM retailer, they should have an index of OEM colors provided by SEM. Call a GM dealership with your V.I.N to get the color code of your interior, unless you find it on the car yourself, and give that code to the retailer. SEM has many of the OEM colors on file, if the retailer can't find your color, call SEM with your code and they will tell you if they have that formula or not. In some cases, they don't have the formula because of midyear manufacturers color changes and the like. This was the case with my interior, when I wanted to paint my steering wheel. They didn't have Dark Ruby Red ( code 71 I ) for 96 on file, so I had to send them a sample of my interior. I was lucky enough that the back of the front seats had plenty of material tucked in under the seat, so I cut a sample and sent it to SEM. They then scan the sample and come out with a formula in an Excel file. This file was e-mailed to me and I provided it to a facility that sells and mixes SEM paints. The color match was identical, and they were really professional and pleasant to deal with. Hope that helps.

http://www.lesabret.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5542&start=165

Something I came across. A rebuild of a series one, with detailed pics comparing it to the series 2. Really neat info here.

im new to this site and i was wondering, how can u tell a supercharged riv from a n/a one..... WITHOUT.... the supercharged badge?

either step on the gas or open the hood.

riv_div wrote:

im new to this site and i was wondering, how can u tell a supercharged riv from a n/a one..... WITHOUT.... the supercharged badge?

If the 8th digit of your VIN is a K then you have a N/A riv. If the 8th digit is a 1 then its a supercharged version.

and another question did the riv s/c come with cloth and no sunroof ?and also did all superchargers have the badge ?????

it depends on the year.
I believe in 95 it was possible, but you would have had to special order a riv with cloth interior and a s/c.
leather was pretty much standard on the buick flagship.

And yes all supercharged rivs came with the supercharged badge on the trunk lid (right side).

sounds like you are looking at a N/A riv. what wheels are on it? if it has these then its the N/A base model.

they r stock riv 15 bar rims and its a 96

also it has no woodgrain too

it has the chrome trimmings but i cant see the back

Hey guys, Charlie here. My center console lid latch is broke so I have to tape the thing down so it doesn't rise up, hit my arm, and throw me into a fit of anger and rage . I have a list of places I am calling tomorrow to find a new part but...

.... I have the light grey interior and I think a dark interior would look AWESOME in my car. So I want to scavenge parts from our fallen brothers and slowly transform my interior into that dark cozy cockpit I dream of.

Does anyone know the most common interior color out there? Should I collect black, red, blue? What else is there? What should I start collecting? It's way too light in there right now for my tastes. I know tinting the windows would help but I want to turn the lights way down. It needs to be dark... like my soul.

The reds and the blues are a little darker than the tans and the grays but nothing is as dark as the Graphite that I know of, but the Graphite interior was only put out in '95 and that interior is different, the dash anyway, than a '98 so it would not be a direct fit to change it over. I won't say you can't make it fit but it would not bolt in without some modifications. As for "dark" interiors, I don't really think there was much else made that was that dark.

There is a medium blue and there is a jadestone which i think the name was later changed to teal. I think either would look really cool with the red exterior that you have.

Is there some kind of tech paint you could use on the interior rather than the arduous job of swapping? There's a thread somewhere here that illustrates a complete swap from grey (i think) to a maroon set. It's an ambitious task You could choose your own color if appropriate paints were available, and it may well be less work.

Recently picked up my 95 Riviera. Upon buying it I was surprised it had a steering wheel shifter and a bench front seat. (I would have prefered bucket seats w/ shifter on the floor with a center console, but oh well).
After browsing this site the last couple days I havent noticed any other bench front seat and steering column shifter. Was this an option? Is it rare?

It (bench seats) was the standard, but most Rivs came with the optional buckets n console.