Adam's white 1998 riviera

sorry about the delay everything has been crazy

this is my car a 1998 riviera. 173k miles 40k on tranny supercharged and all the bells and whistles i could ever want. paid 1300 for the car about to put 1800 into it for repairs seems as though i saved it from salvage yard

so far i havent done much yet, ive cleaned ive scrubbed and ive degreased. and put in new speakers as the old ones were shot.

as far as mechanical stuff we checked the brakes and all were new so i ended up saving 400 but found tie rod ends were shot so new ones were put on now this week we are gonna have all new brake lines all new gas lines as well as radiator hoses and a new radiator put in. the serpintine belt is going to be changed as well as a camshaft position sensor then itl be roadworthy

this is my first car hopefully itl last me a good long while as i intend on babying it lol


as far as mods go i really dont plan on doing much maybe a air intake and a better exhaust setup the cat is allready gutted so it has a nice growl to it (will post video later) but mufflers are starting to leak at seams (13 years old and still truckin lol, i want to look at possibly putting in new shocks too something similar monroes probably something i can pump up if need be and maybe a new stereo w/ a sub provided it is compatible with my steering wheel controls

and in the spring it will be repainted same color ... pearl white


this will definitley be a slow process but in the end itl all be worth it



hard to believe after 6 hours of scrubbing i made such little progress maybe my standards are just high maybe it was just really filthy i dunno but it looks somewhat presentable now

BEFORE CLEANUP
no excuses why an engine should ever look like this. soon to be steam cleaned

really gloomy day car was filthy



AFTER CLEANUP

not bad on this side minimal body damage

a little dent on bumper nothing some bondo and a sander cant fix

at least the seats are in good shape

need new seatback

side view

rear view

side view

woo hoo sun shine

trunk finally vacumd out

engine post tidying ....steam cleaning soon

shees got a few miles on er

new front speakers (cheapies)

the car has its fair share of rust, all of which i want to take care of ASAP (trunk lid is allready rotten through) but i think i made a great choice i figure spend 1300 on car and 1700 on repairs that makes 3000 .... for 3000 i can get a cavalier or a neon ..... who the heck wants a neon hehehehe

Adam bro,for $1700 they can give you such a paint job,you won't recognize her.....bbbaammmm 2011.

thats what i am thinking, dont want to put a crazy amount into it as far as paint seeing as how it is 13 years old and has a good amount of miles on the ODO but a new paint job will definitley be nice

Welcome! Pearl white looks great on a smooth round car like the Riv, and for $3,000 after everything you're fixing it should last a while for ya.

Nice car.It looks like you,re gonna take good care of her.

Very Nice !!! Thanks for saving another Riv.

gotta love mechanics lol it is going to shop on friday to have some issues fixed and its more than the 1700 i figured now its 2200 lol and will prolly be more when all done

adam14212 wrote:

the car has its fair share of rust, all of which i want to take care of ASAP (trunk lid is allready rotten through) but i think i made a great choice i figure spend 1300 on car and 1700 on repairs that makes 3000 .... for 3000 i can get a cavalier or a neon ..... who the heck wants a neon hehehehe

I am a little concerned -- if you needed brake lines and gas lines I would take a VERY close look at the front subframe mounts, especially the mounts that are hidden under (above) the front radiator air deflector.

Albertj

Oooooooo, I'm not alone in saving a junkyard bound riv this year

And since it's your first car, I'm guessing you're about my age too (I'm 21 for reference and I love the idea of a big giant supercharged buick ). I will make a fair warning since I've been doing my own restoration every night since.....well since i got mine basically - Go out and buy something better than a good rag and rubbing compound for restoring the paintwork. I spent a whole weekend trying to get one area of the car right and all I did was make things worse....I spend one afternoon with a buffing wheel and some good compound and my trunk has a mirror like shine to it despite the flaws.
Oh well, live and learn.

I will also say this because I was impatient - take lots of before pics when you're doing work on the car, it makes progress easier to see and makes it easier to keep working on when it looks like you've gone backwards some days.

albertj wrote:

I am a little concerned -- if you needed brake lines and gas lines I would take a VERY close look at the front subframe mounts, especially the mounts that are hidden under (above) the front radiator air deflector.

Albertj

definitley something to look at when i get the chance tommorrow. as far as underside goes it has its rust but its not bad.teh lines were shot but i tapped on the frame and it sounded solid all over. all of the holes (towing ones) were still neat looking and not eaten away as well. this fall i am going to have teh underside sprayed with oil to help keep the rust at bay

themanwithsauce wrote:

Oooooooo, I'm not alone in saving a junkyard bound riv this year

And since it's your first car, I'm guessing you're about my age too (I'm 21 for reference and I love the idea of a big giant supercharged buick ). I will make a fair warning since I've been doing my own restoration every night since.....well since i got mine basically - Go out and buy something better than a good rag and rubbing compound for restoring the paintwork. I spent a whole weekend trying to get one area of the car right and all I did was make things worse....I spend one afternoon with a buffing wheel and some good compound and my trunk has a mirror like shine to it despite the flaws.
Oh well, live and learn.

I will also say this because I was impatient - take lots of before pics when you're doing work on the car, it makes progress easier to see and makes it easier to keep working on when it looks like you've gone backwards some days.

as of right now i am not worried about the paint as it is shot. cracks all over and large sections missing the paint but so far not as much rust as one would expect, i am going to treat it with a rust neutralizer and sand it down /prime and paint with rattlecanpaint for a temp fix but like i said it is going to be resprayed bumper to bumper in the spring

i myself am 19. shoulda had my first car long ago however between work and general laziness it ended up getting backburnered now that i am working a ways away andgoing to school even further its time for a change and a car is just what the doctor ordered. once all of the main stuff is done the little spurts of maitnince i can do.... with help from this forum so far i have learned a lot and quite frankly i cant wait to dive right into it just gotta remember if it aint broke dont touch it lol ......... one question i do have .......where is the controls for hte air shocks? if anyone knows itd definitley be of help

oh man, the same thing with my riv, the back of the drivers seat holder is missing, i attached it back on and fell off again so im just confused now because it bothers me...

@97buickriviera

i believe there are plastic clips that hold them on but you can use dental floss and an embroidery needle to overcast stitch it back on which is what i am thinking of doing

Enjoy the ride of the Riviera,nice!!!

UPDATE:

rivis coming home from the shop on mon night. $2500 later lol at least i know that the work is getting done the right way (last owner crammed SAE standard fittings into metric holes .... EEDIOT! lol.... cant wait to fill er up and go cruising

Happy for ya, Adam ... ENJOY !!!

so far so good sanded the whole top of the car down following the body line and sprayed it down with white primer, replaced the rotted trunk lid with one from my uncles riv (frame completely rotted) was in much better condition. cleaned up the interior a bit and got a bunch of the missing pieces like the seatback and the lighter socket cover found out my check engine light was not the camshaft sensor but a magnet on the camshaft gear did some playing around and got my glovebox light to work again and replaced my rear window as some vandals smashed it with a rock overall this car has been a perpetual headache and finance drain but it has been worth it. as all of you know that feeling that hitting the gas petal makes is better than any drug