1968 Riviera GS pictures finally

The Riv has been in the same family since new. Dad bought
it for Mom, who street raced it every time it left the garage. I'm
44, and have owned it since I was 18. Grew up (literally) in it,
and it's still part of the family. Mom's not around any more, as a
matter of fact, she passed away nine years ago today. This is
for you, mom. The car was treated to a frame on resto, and the
hood and air conditioning are next on the punch list. The body is
arrow straight, the suspension is super tight, and the laundry list
of performance mods is just too long to start itemizing. It gets more
attention than a topless belly dancer at a funeral when I take it out.
Mph and e/t to remain under wraps for now. The hood is very rough,
covered in surface rust, with minor perforations. I'll do a resto of the
hood and a build of the custom A/C on the forum fairly soon. Sorry
I couldn't get shots of the sides more close up, it's a relatively inexpensive
camera.

Nice Riv! The car looks brand new!

good god that is gorgeous.

i bet that car does grab attention. have u entered any shows before?

xxsupergman25xx wrote:

good god that is gorgeous.

I'm not generally partial to the 8 & 9 as much as the 6 & 7 but that Riv looks GREAT!
You should look into becoming a member of The Riviera Owners Association, you can see more here:
www.rivowners.org

Even the police cant help stopping and checking it out Awesome car!

millerje18 wrote:

i bet that car does grab attention. have u entered any shows before?

I have, and picked up a few trophies along the way. It wasn't built
to be shown, as it's just a member of the family that happens
to idle at 1200 rpm.Trophies don't feel as good as making the guy
next to you a believer in big 'ol red Buicks.

one word only-BEAUTIFUL

Very nice! I would love to resto a car that well someday.

Very sexy.

i want one just like it! pretty car. a real cream puff!

What a nice "hand me down" heh. We should all be so lucky.
You've taken very good care of the family car, that's for sure.

well...
concratulation...you just did it!
ower long time saw something what made me hit my chin against floor...lol...

guess some people would even sell ther girlfriends for that! hehe

theres always more girls....they stopped makin that car

Sweet

Snowdog wrote:

well...
concratulation...you just did it!
ower long time saw something what made me hit my chin against floor...lol...

guess some people would even sell ther girlfriends for that! hehe

An ex fiance wanted me to sell it back in 1987. Riv is still in the garage.
Soon to start the hood resto with a Stage 2 scoop and Buick hood tach. What the factory should have done in the first place! Finishing an engine swap on my best friends '60 Chevy Apache, then comes the hood and a/c resto. I'll come on much more often when the process starts. I know most of you guys have the beautiful ( and pretty dang quick) late models, but bear with me. We all may learn a thing or two. Good bunch of guys around here, glad I found the forum.

i gotta get me a steering wheel like that. what an heirloom!

Outstanding car, John!!!! I may someday be in a similar position. Back in about '65 when I was about 8, my folks got an almost new '64 Rivi and have owned it ever since. It's been sitting the last 25 - 30 years, but still has all the original stuff. My dad, who's 85, has asked me a couple of times if I'd like to take it and restore it. I sorta do, but don't know where I'll find the time, money, and ambition!!

Hey, did you do an engine swap, or just put a "455" decal on the air cleaner? Because unless I'm mistaken, the '68s had the 430, didn't they? Anyway, excellent car. Congratulations on doing such a nice job with it!!

robotennis61 wrote:

i gotta get me a steering wheel like that. what an heirloom!

Wanna know a secret?? It's a Grant Classic, with a plain horn button. I used an"R" crest from the wheel center cup, epoxy'ed to the horn center. The stainless surround is from a bad quarter panel light. Did the best I could to make it look stock, like a Stage 1 Skylark. The three spoke black "bus wheel" was getting cracked and was removed. My goal is to make it look as much like a factory job as possible with all the hi-po gee-gaws. It is a real GS, however,
one of about 5,300 made in '68. Theres plenty of stockers out there still. Believe me, this is way more fun than stock. Boattail Bill, I gotta feeling we have alot in common! If you wanna unload that block by the way..........

Boattail Bill wrote:

Outstanding car, John!!!! I may someday be in a similar position. Back in about '65 when I was about 8, my folks got an almost new '64 Rivi and have owned it ever since. It's been sitting the last 25 - 30 years, but still has all the original stuff. My dad, who's 85, has asked me a couple of times if I'd like to take it and restore it. I sorta do, but don't know where I'll find the time, money, and ambition!!

Hey, did you do an engine swap, or just put a "455" decal on the air cleaner? Because unless I'm mistaken, the '68s had the 430, didn't they? Anyway, excellent car. Congratulations on doing such a nice job with it!!

It's on it's fourth or fifth 455. Finally got the oiling system right. Wish it oiled like a Chevy, though. JUST GET THE CAR! When your Dads gone, as my mom is, every time you take it out, he'll be with you. Trust me. Don't have any video of my mom, but alot of great memories of us in the 'ol car. Oh yes, the heads are heavily ported 430 s'. 67cc combustion chambers, or there abouts. I'm in the same boat (no pun intended) you are. What I wouldn't do for a set of T/A
Stage 4's and a huge roller..... For what it's worth, the '72 block was decked .030" and the heads milled .020". With nearly zero deck clearance, copmpession it right at 11.5 to 1. Somewhat tame, but with iron heads and this much weight, pre-ignition is always an obstacle. Total timing ( 31 degrees) is all in at 2300. Good heads, actually.

this is good to know T R. im getting one!

robotennis61 wrote:

this is good to know T H. im getting one!

Fabbing the horn electrics, with pieces missing from the original, was a head scratcher. Holler if I can be of help.

thanks TR !

The Riv wrote:

Bill, I gotta feeling we have alot in common!

Good advice on my dad's car, too. Maybe once this whole Bonneville stuff is out of my blood (probably once I get a record, or give up), I'll be more interested in doing something like that. I've just always been more into the boattails than the classic Gen-1s from '63 to '65. And speaking of that, I've got a '71 Rivi GS that's gonna be a complete restoration. What spurred me on to buy that one was feeling really guilty for butchering my good ol' '71 for the salt flats stuff. I owned and drove (off & on) that car for 30 years, and now it'll never be able to be legally driven on the street again. That was really bothering me, so I got that old Rivi GS with the idea of maybe making THAT my "new" classic '71.. So really, I'd probably be more likely to do what you did with this '71 Rivi GS than with my dad's old '64

@TheRiv

I like your avatar.

Bert