Hello all! New to this site and wanted to post a bit about myself and my new project I just picked up. I have always been a Ford guy and have had several Fords that I've upgraded and restored. My last project was a 2000 Mustang GT convertible that I bought as a salvage and totally restored. It's been a lot of fun and I've had plenty of fun weekends fixing it up but wanted to get my hands on something different now that it's done and looked to get a classic car to fix up. I was mentioning this to a buddy and he told me about a 70 Riviera that he saw for sale nearby. I went to go check it out and this is what I saw: Don't laugh I know...... This is NOT what I had envisioned when he said a 70 Riviera and I initially turned off by the looks of it but decided to give the guy a call either way to see what he was looking to get price wise for it and see if I could get it for a deal. With a bit of haggling I was able to get it by trading him my fishing boat (I used the thing twice in the last year) and a little cash and now I'm the proud owner of my first Buick!! This will be a major restore project and my goal is to have it redone in a Tuner style setup (Dark silver paint with all moulding/trim work shaved, 17" Torq style rims/tires, Complete redo of interior in black, freshen up the engine for reliability). I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment but once my buddy and I get started on it this spring (I'm in Minnesota with a non heated garage!) I'm sure it will be ok. The previous owner installed the hydraulic suspension in it and in the process the frame was stripped and reinforced so I'm not sure how easy it's going to be to put the stock suspension back on it. I've already ordered a front end rebuild kit to get started and figure I'll work my way front to rear in restoring the suspension first. I'll sell the hydraulics to buy the new rims and tires hopefully.... My close friend owns a Auto repair and body shop and I've made a deal with him to sort out the engine, body work, and paint on it in trade for my mustang so this really only leaves me the suspension and interior left to restore once that's done so it shouldn't (famous last words) take me too long to finish up! Well that's it for now and I'm sure I will look to you all for help and advice once this gets on the way...until then how about a few more pictures of the heap!
Oh my God! Was it owned by a circus? Welcome to the board! And thank you for rescuing that car from continuing to have a humiliating existance.
Hey what size are the tires on those wheels I may be interested..... also cars that have hydros if the frame was not reinforced it may be bent or cracked I have seen this before....
Bruce, who do I drop mine off to to get it like that!! Seriously, that is a very nice looking Rivi! LOL, my first impressions were of a Cheech and Chong movie..... I had a very good body guy who will straighten this baby out and spray it perfectly for me. Thanks, I'm excited to restore this so more will come! I'll verify that in the morning and PM you tomorrow! As far as the frame is concerned I was told that it was "boxed" and when I have the body done I'll have them go through the frame and underside and fix any issues that may be. Luckily the paint guy is a buddy of mine so with a little sweat equity and me trading him my mustang for his work this Rivi will be nice and straight when done. Looking to strip and coat the underside so we will see how it goes! My budget is 10K on this one for the rest of the stuff like suspension, interior, and drivetrain so hopefully I can get this done with some wheeling and dealing and doing some of the stuff myself. I will be rewiring the car also and I have plenty of experience in this. For the engine I plan on a mild rebuild with a EFI kit just not sure which one yet. That's a little ways down the road so I will have time to decide if the budget will allow it or not!
Welcome to the board. Looks like the last owner put all his efforts into appearance and nothing into drivability. I noticed he whacked off the A/C lines at the evaporator. Your gonna have your hands full. Good luck. One piece of advise... Remove any mirrors or reflective surfaces from your garage. If she sees herself she may burst into flames.
