It just disgusts me to see this. And both Ken Lisk and I were saddened while doing our task-at-hand today. Ken bought a bucket seat/console 72 Riv GS for parts. Today we parted it out. And it was NOT pretty. The only part of the interior floor that was left was the under the rear seat. We literally stood in the interior with our feet on the ground - Flintstone style. Every part of this car was rotted beyond repair. Just a wasted hunk of metal. The console was lterally full of water. We could only get it out by cutting the floor out from around it. Same with the passenger seat. We pulled the engine, tranny and rear. The seats are so rotten and rusty that Ken will just find a set of A body buckets and have them recovered for his Riv. Ken told me there were just a hair over 2100 72 GS Rivs built. What a waste.
That sucks, We just parted a 73 Riv that was bad but nothing like the 72 your describing. You should see the 72 Riv parts car we have, I bet its just as bad.
Seems hard to belive that at one time that car was brand new. Someone bought it and was proud of it. Maybe even took it to the dealer for its first oil change. Washed it and waxed it even. It always facinates me how cars get that like. What events happened that turned it into a rusting hulk? When did it start going bad for that car? 1975? 1980? You wonder what ours cars would say if they could talk. I traced the entire ownership of my 70 GS all the way back to the kid that bought it in 1971 off a used car lot. I spoke to almost every owner. And it wasnt pretty. Kind of like finding out your new wife was a porn star.
I'll try to snap some pics tomorrow of the carnage. This thing was literally pulled out of the woods. The guy I got it from told me he bought it 20+ years ago in case he needed a spare 455. I got the impression it was a running car at the time. Damn shame. It was a burnished cinnamon color (not sure if that was the actual color name), with a black vinyl top and black bucket interior. It must have been a beauty when it was new. And thanks, Yards, for putting a full day of hard labor. I know I'm hurting this evening! So I'm guessing you are too. Even had the original spiral shocks on it...
Nope. Feel good. Going to hit the shower (finally) then to bed. Oh, and Mary and I walked Tru down to Russian Beach to watch him chase the waves. Over a mile walk after crawling all over your driveway today. Sore, but good... Can't wait to beat the snot outta the Riv as soon as I can!
Ever watch that show American Pickers? It's amazing to me what people will buy and keep shoved away in the corner of their yard, or barn, or basement, whatever. Some of those people have these valuable cars or bikes or whatever just sitting out in the yard to rot. I don't understand why. Or look at the guy they bought that old Packard from. It was sitting in the basement not doing anything with it. He didn't want to sell it though. THe car is just rotting away and he wanted to keep it still. Some people, I understand, just don't have the $$ to fix a car or do anything with it. So it sits and rots. That's too bad. At the storage place I work out of, there's an RV lot in the back. One guy used to have cameros back there, over 20 of them in various states of rot. Not doing anything, just sitting out back in the rv lot. I was cruising through there last week and saw some guy that had an old Apollo. It kills me to see these cars rotting away.
Oh, and here's the kicker.... the AC system in Ken's car still held a massive charge! Lots of pressure still in it! After 20+ years of sitting in the woods and rotting. Go figure.
I'm sure some of you remember a few years back when a guy had a lot of six or seven GSXs and Stage cars for sale on Ebay. They just rotted away. He had NOS stuff too, but mostly the cars were junk. Too far gone to do anything with. Makes me sad looking at them in that condition.
The first post in this thread shows it in its "as found" condition: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=186053&highlight=wa+code It does have a 3.42 posi rear, WA code motor, and a BC trans. Funny thing is it has original spiral shocks, so it looks like it was never touched, but no rear sway bar. I suppose it could have been harvested, but I don't think so. Seeing as how the passenger side motor mount was NEVER connected to the frame, I suppose a few things might have been left off this car. It was built in September '71.
That's a damn shame! :rant: I would bet it wasn't all that bad 20 years ago when parked. It kills me to see someone park a solid old car on an unpaved surface! :ball:
You never know. 20 years ago was only 1990. Even by the 80's these cars were starting to rot away. Ive bought my share of rotted Skylarks in the 80s. Im sure parking it the woods didnt help matters any. Think of it this way- at least the parts are going to good use and the car didnt get crushed. As far as the Packard sitting in the basement- There is nothing wrong with taking an old car and locking it away. Jeez, my white Riv was sitting for 16 years in a garage. I got it and let it sit for another 10 in my garage. As long as a car is inside and relatively dry, at least its being preserved.
Here's what's left after yesterday's work. Still some more items to pull (like the back glass) then it's off to the junk yard to become a Hyundai or two. Engine bay with drivetrain pulled Harvested the front bumper for a future split bumper The Riv GS... Most of the floor could be pulled out by hand Rear Quarter Trunk I was able to remove the back glass trim by hand as all the clips were rotted Another view of the Flintstone interior The VIN tag was rotted away No cracks on the dash pad- except where some idiot decided to stick a dome light bulb into it! :rant:
What floor? There was nothing under the carpet. That hole in front of the gas pedal was ripped out easily by hand. Step on it and you're on the ground. I did cut out the section where the console brackets attach for reference. The sawzall whipped throught that thin crusty metal like a hot knife through butter.
Well, I guess on a more positive note, it's one less in existence, making the rest worth more. Wonder if somebody pulled the VIN to make another Riv GS? Hey, after being with my Riviera GS for 42 years, I feel you pain. Dang shame, what a waste.
