FAQ: Riviera Interior Trim Options, Colors & Materials

Gotta love auto'ccorrect', eh Albert?
Seriously though, I wouldn't say rare but definitely not typical. I've seen maybe two pop up around Seattle Craigslist in the past couple months.

llamalor2112 wrote:

Gotta love auto'ccorrect', eh Albert?
Seriously though, I wouldn't say rare but definitely not typical. I've seen maybe two pop up around Seattle Craigslist in the past couple months.

The autocorrect on my laptop is OK -- but on my smartphone is, well, acting like it was trained by comedy writers.

Hey as long as it gives me a giggle I don't mind

Wow, I would have actually liked getting a bench with a stem shift. Must be like driving a Park Ave!

My driver's side armrest and seat could use a little refurbishment. I'm trying to decode these colors and find the equivalent SEM paint. I've figured out that U 301D is GM's color code for silver, but I'm having trouble with the interior codes. I think it's 17I and 174. I'm not having any luck figuring out what the equivalent SEM color is though.

There may be enough info in the service manual about the codes to figure out the rest, or ask you GM dealer if they have any of the old microfiche.

The service manual is helpful, if incomplete.  At least I can say 17I is the interior color.  174 appears to be the leather color.  I wonder what the difference between 2,3,4,and 5 is - different grades of leather?  Maybe Caddies get grade 5?  Maybe it's all the same?

17U (on my tag) is interesting.  "U" is the code for upper body color, which sounds like it would be the exterior paint, but the code for the exterior paint is U301D.  17U must be something else, but I'm at a loss as to what it would be.

I don't seem to have an "A" code for the accent stripe.  I've got no idea what my 1SZ code is.  No idea on 6MF, 7MF - maybe one is floor covering?  8SZ, 9SZ - body design levels, vinyl?

Here's a site with a few more clues - Link

The link goes to 1997, but you can get other years by changing the year in the url.

Unfortunately it does not have the interior color code from the Service Parts Identification tag listed.

I've got to give GM credit for arranging a fine selection of grays. They had 14 in 1997, and a few others that are pretty close to gray. I think I've got either one of the two light grays, or one of the two medium grays.

This link should bring up a .pdf of rpo codes.  It shows three colors for code 17I - charcoal, med gray, and pewter.  

174 comes up as trim combination leather, med gray (4) (97).  

So I believe I can conclude I have medium gray.  Charcoal doesn't appear to be an interior color for 97, and pewter wasn't used by Buick.  So the question is, do I have medium gray GM number 131/wa9654 (Dupont C9110) or medium gray GM number 14/wa9779 (Dupont C9220, SEM sem-17173)?

GM paint codes generally start with WA, L, or U - Link  The U code is the exterior color, the 4 digit code (9654 or 9779, for example) are the WA codes. Not sure about the L code, maybe it is the 131 or 14 part?

412 pages of RPO codes. Really.

They change as the years go by too. I wish automakers were required to release all the info on cars over ten or at most twenty years old.

Abaddon pointed out that the interior panels have a color code sticker on them.

Here is a free VIN decoder that provides color information - Link

Well how about that?  SEM sem-17173 Medium Gray is too light.  

Going by the 97 color chart - Link

It looks like the only other possible Buick color is dark gray - 14/9780, available as SEM 17103.  I guess I'll roll the dice again - it's only money.

Incidentally, here is the original source of my woe, a little bit of damage about the size of a pencil eraser -



Witness the downside of "soft touch materials."  How do you repair this?  I had the edges sanded down smooth but the paint peeled them up as it dried.