The Second Riv - '95 Burgundy

Wow, it's been YEARS since I've thought about this thread, but that's just because this 95 is my dad's car now and he doesn't do anything to it unless it has to be done, which we just did. Here's a new (to us... came from a junkyard riv) cruise control module to replace the old stock non-functioning one:



I never answered some questions that were posted on here... not sure why that happened :dunno:but let's see...

Riv95SC wrote:

Very nice!  Red interiors are awesome.  There ought to be a law to bring them back.

I'm interested in the wheels, too.  Looks like the factory units, chromed.  There was no chrome factory option in '95, so I'm guessing the former owner had them done.

I'd like to do that.  Did you by any chance get any info on how much it cost, etc?  And are those the factory centers?  I don't see the R emblem.  Since the standard ones are plastic, I've had my doubts about how well they'd hold the chrome finish.

Riv95SC, if you're still around, I'm not 100% sure on whether the former owner had them chromed but I assume she did. She was an older woman who never took the car out in the rain and religiously (  ) drove it on Sundays only. We bought the car from a dealer and the car belonged to the owner's mother, so maybe they had it done for her  Anyway, here are some pics of how the wheels are holding up. There is a TON of pitting and some peeling going on mostly around the valve stems and where the chrome meets the back of the wheel. My pop wants to get the wheels re-chromed, or use my 98's old alloy rims and chrome them. We just don't know what will be less expensive... re-chroming or chroming from scratch:







Here's the center cap w/gold R. We actually went to the ROA meet in 2010 (I think... may have been 2011??) and talked with someone from a business called the Buick Farm about getting another center cap with a gold R on it. They tracked one down for us but my old man bought the whole wheel just to get the center cap. We're actually in need of another one. If anyone has seen one, let us know! I bet we could just gold-plate an R and stick it on one of the regular chrome center caps and have the same effect:

ZEP wrote:

There is a TON of pitting and some peeling going on mostly around the valve stems and where the chrome meets the back of the wheel. My pop wants to get the wheels re-chromed, or use my 98's old alloy rims and chrome them. We just don't know what will be less expensive... re-chroming or chroming from scratch:

My first set cost $800 back in 2000, since I didn't have the garage at the time they were "under" the carport, but they were affected anyway. The aftermarket chrome doesn't hold up near as well as factory chrome. I checked around a few yeas ago and couldn't find anybody that chromed them, I ended up finding an ROA member that had gotten a set off of eBay for $400, he sold them to me for what he had paid for them, plus shipping of course.

ZEP wrote:

We actually went to the ROA meet in 2010 (I think... may have been 2011??) and talked with someone from a business called the Buick Farm about getting another center cap with a gold R on it. They tracked one down for us but my old man bought the whole wheel just to get the center cap. We're actually in need of another one. If anyone has seen one, let us know! I bet we could just gold-plate an R and stick it on one of the regular chrome center caps and have the same effect:

It was 2010 at Hershey, PA and this Riv came in first out of 20 in the 1995-1999 Class!

Hey Randall! Thanks for the chroming info  Sounds like you got a good deal from the ROA member! We might have to go that route too. Right now we have four rims that are peeling and then one perfect-condition chromed rim that the replacement cap I mentioned came with. Wonder how much luck we'll have finding 3 others...

Hey I remember that meet like it was yesterday... thanks for remembering it too! Great time, great people and amazing vehicles. I remember my dad gave a sigh of relief once we realized your car/cars weren't competing in that meet... lol. Can't wait to come back out for a meet once my 98 gets new paint

Hey where does one get the wood dash kit?

Hey highway, I honestly can't 100% remember where we got the one for this 95. I think it was Sherwood Innovations: http://www.sherwooddash.com/products/myCarDash/ Looking at the site now, I try putting options in and don't get the option to purchase and just get $0 as the price. Looks like it may be a special order kind of thing on that site now... hmm...... I think there might be some topics on it on here if you search

I got mine off of eBay. Fitment wasn't PERFECT but it was rather well. ~$140

Hey, I got the one for my 98 off eBay too! Great minds drink... err, think... alike, though mine only came with the main dash piece and one piece to cover the AC vent wing on each door panel. That's all I wanted

I am still around! Would like to have the chrome wheels, but what you have to say about the aftermarket chrome is discouraging (but pretty much what other people had told me).

Hey Riv95SC, sorry to be the bearer of bad news... but the wheels may have been chromed in 1995 or so and really, they still look totally fine if you stand back from them. They've gotten worse since 2009 when we got the car, the water, weather and higher miles obviously did a number to them. But they're still good "10 footer" wheels  .

Hmmm...well I might still think about it.  Right now I've got way bigger issues on hand, though:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t10253-underhood-wiring-harnesses-for-95-supercharged#163349

Looks like a really nice Riviera.

Riv95SC wrote:

Hmmm...well I might still think about it.  Right now I've got way bigger issues on hand, though:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t10253-underhood-wiring-harnesses-for-95-supercharged#163349

Ooh, ouch. I think you might need Riv Jesus for that  When did you finally find out that all your wires had been chewed thru?

J. Chris Davis wrote:

Looks like a really nice Riviera.

Thanks J. Chris. Will have to get some more pics up soon. It's my dad's daily driver now which imo is a tragedy since it was in almost-new condition when we got it

Am I the only one who thinks the painted ones look better than the chromies?

I like both. I have a set of the Chrome ones I use for winter. They have kind of blistered already anyway so they are not in great shape.

Quote :

I think you might need Riv Jesus for that

All prayers are solicited and appreciated! Is there such a thing as a Riv novena? (Who's the patron saint of Rivieras anyway?)

Quote :

When did you finally find out that all your wires had been chewed thru?

Well, it was a complicated series of events. It went to my mechanic with mysterious electrical problems, which eventually got narrowed down to the ignition circuit. The shop was in temporary quarters at the time, due to losing their lease, so when they went to move to the new place, apparently there was something like this dialog.

"Move the white Buick to the new place."

"I can't. It won't start."

"I thought Joey fixed it."

"Nope. It won't start."

"Joey, did you fix that Buick?"

"I fixed it."

"Move it to the new place."

"I can't. It won't start. I'll look at the battery."

"Didn't we just put a new battery in it?"

"Well, it won't start."

"You didn't run all the gas out of it, did you?"

"I put gas in it. It won't start."

"Well, somebody go look at the damn thing because it has to get moved to the new place!"

At that point, somebody looked under the hood and had it towed to the new place. It took several days before they got up the guts to tell me.

matt270avian wrote:

Am I the only one who thinks the painted ones look better than the chromies?

Well I like all 3 types (edit: forgot there were also plastic hubcaps so I guess there are 4 types)... the "style" that the chromed wheels on this 95 are isn't really something I see too often on other cars. I think that's cool, but we have my 98's old alloys, these chromed alloys and the normal chrome rims to switch out whenever. I think it depends on the rest of the car tho. E.g. my 98 has a lot of other chrome on it  , so the alloys would prob. look out of place


Riv95SC lol, there should be a Riv patron saint... of course whenever I think of Riviera I either think of these cars or the Riviera casino in Vegas. That Riviera's deity would I guess be the dollar bill... George Washington or Ben Franklin maybe lol

And wow, that dialogue ugh... just don't do this:

i actually thought that u bought mine for a second by the date u bought it. but i didnt have those rims.