Heather from Saskatchewan, Canada, and just took over ownership of my Dads '66 Buick Riviera Looking to get the car running and looking sharp again after many many years of being parked in the grass behind the yard at the family farm ... Car is in surprisingly great shape, considering my dad has owned the car since the early 70's and it has been sitting outside/uncovered for its entire life with us. The paint is oxidized but comes back up to glossy with a bit of work (Car was repainted white in the mid 90's, orignal colour was the bright grey) all of the glass is pristine, the chrome is all 100%, all of the fender trim, window trim and badges are 100%, there are three quarter sized surface rust spots to deal with on the rear quarters and trunk lid, and one marker/signal light bezel/filler broken. The interior is about 75% (front dash is cracked, rear dash speaker grille is warped from the sun I think, and both of the upholstered "drops" (where the roofliner comes down the C pillar to meet the rear deck) are coming apart ... Mice also ate all of the carpet from the firewall to the seat fronts ... lol ... so that will have to be replaced for sure Seats are still soft and stuffed well (it has buckets), the headrests are missing (apparently it never had them when my dad purchased it, but the hardware is there for the headrests) and the center console has wood inserts in it that need refinshing .... Little stuff needs loving ... ashtrays in the rear show a bit of chrome bubble, steering wheel is cracked, signal light levers are rusty ... etc ... little stuffs.... The car has not run for 10-15 years, but was parked running. I believe the car has the 401 Nailhead in it. It was parked due to issues with the brakes, and I believe the parts to fix the brakes are sitting in the trunk. I have pictures of me sitting in this car 30 years ago (I was 2 ... lol) and I am looking forward to getting back in the drivers seat for my childhood car Anyhow, that is my intro ... This will be my first classic car, but my 7th vehicle in the stable. I race autocross and have a couple cars for that, an ice race car, a truck to pull trailers (horse trailers and car trailers) and a daily driver Nissan Sentra SER Spec V A lot of my artwork features classic cars, and I sold restoration car parts for a living before striking out as a career artist a few years ago I will likely be looking for interior components, the light that is currently broken, and advice on the NailHead if it gives me troubles ... I have pictures of the car from every angle, inside and out, and look forward to sharing it as it comes along, as well as look forward in advance to any help this forum's members can provide Heather Gessell www.gazellefineart.com
Not original ... original 425 failed (in a most entertaining and exciting fashion apparently) .... my dad was looking for a rebuilt or new 425 as his original was not salvagable, but there was nothing available at the time, so he replaced it with a 401 out of a '64 Wildcat (?) Heather www.gazellefineart.com
Checked out your gallery. Focused intently for a while. Heather, you are, without a doubt deserving of the title; ARTIST. I can see why you find the 66 Riv is worth saving. Those were designed by someone with tallent. Your dad had good tast.
I too checked out your gallery. Very nice work!! My cousins wife just opened an art school in Regina and I am quite proud of her so seeing your site was very interesting for me. Cheers, Larry ---------- Post added at 01:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ---------- I too checked out your gallery. Very nice work!! My cousins wife just opened an art school in Regina and I am quite proud of her so seeing your site was very interesting for me. Cheers, Larry
Oh! Thanks for the artwork compliments! My Dad had many cars in his life time, some really awesome cars, and all the cars came and went .... but he never got rid of the Riviera Heather Gessell
Welcome to v8buick Heather !! You are obviously a very talented individual, judging by your website. There are quite a few Riviera owners here, and on the Riviera Owners Association (ROA) website - www.rivowners.org Great place to gather info on your Dad's '66, as well as a possible parts source. Hopefully it will have survived the ravages of time, outdoor storage, and the Saskatchewan winters. Good luck with your new/old car from a fellow Riviera fanatic !! :TU:
Welcome Heather! I used to own a '66 myself, and have never forgiven myself for letting it go years ago. Beautiful art! You are truly talented!
So... I don't know what was better? Spending the whole day wrenching with my Dad, or the moment the Riv fired up? I need a starter... This one has been rebuilt and inverted and rebuilt again and it barely turned the car over... But it fired up and ran after an afternoon of fuel tank removal/flush and screwing around with the starter Loved my Dads face when it finally started running Great day for this girl Drove it up behind the house and washed it... It had moss growing on it lol... And in the trunk I found a box of porno magazines, some costume jewelry and a watch case with a finger nail in it... An entire fingernail... Wtf? My brother has some questions to answer when I hand that stuff back to him, as he was the last "owner" of the car! Lol Heather Gessell Www.gazellefineart.com
Heather, After checking out you art work and reading your story (there is always a great story behind every classic car) I had to check out your Riviera. It is screaming for attention. You got something, so few of us will ever get, first hand knowledge of the history. No doubt about it, a Riviera is a classic. The next car I build is a 72 Riviera for my oldest son.
