Hey folks, I'm doing a resto-mod on a 1972 riviera. The goal is to bring up a stock exterior and interior while modernizing the engine, transmission and axle. My problem right now is that I want improved suspension, braking and gears. I have learned that I cannot use chevy gears inside the buick 9 3/8 rear end, can I swap a chevy car axle in to get the gears I want? Does anyone know of a source for tubular control arms for boattails? Has anyone upgraded their front disc brakes?
Front breaks from the factroy are very good just put new rotors, calpers and a good quality pads. If you want better you can find drilled and sloted rotors and I have seen 2 piston calpers on evil bay. Put the GS package springs, KYB or other performance shocks, poly bushings front and back. Bigest bang for the buck was poly bushings on the front sway bar and KYB schocks. Rearend 9 3/8 3:42 corprate big cars from 71 to 76 hard to find or ford 9in custom built housing about $3000 by the time you are done. After market wheels so you can put more rubber on the ground. sorry about Spelling errors can't get spellcheck to work. Good luck Bob D
Rear control arms are the same as any other b body.. Fronts, you can box yours, i don't know if some of the b body arms will fit or not.. Wilwood has a d52 caliper upgrade,,, but good pads and rotors and properly adjusted drums will stop your car pretty darn well..
come ad your riv to the boattail registry http://www.boattail-riviera-by-buick.com lots of info factory pubs in the libraries and our members shared downloads available to registry and All BUICK libraries members. some B/C suspension parts will fit - but problems have been encountered with bushing sizes when using those and the aftermarket kits. See discussion on the registry facebook group - Come talk to a couple of guys doing exactly the same thing as you are panning. Factory disc brakes working properly are some of the best in the industry - I recommend you stick with the big heavy brakes for the big heavy car. there are lots aftemarket "enhancments" out there including four disc conversions, but most are weight reducing only give you benefits for extreme use or use components designed for lighter cars/ weight and just happen to fit and thus shorter life cycles. - My 71 riv brakes work better than those on my newer buicks/pontiac/olds weighing far less including the four wheel anti lock 4 disc disc ones - nearly as good as my old Jaguar.
From what I've found I can't even replace the control arms let alone go tubular. So i will probably have to strip and paint. Are the B body axles the same length? Maybe I can find one local and restore it. Federal-Mogul makes all the replacement bushings/ball joints and etc. My goal with disc brakes was to use a more open rim so the discs are visible and it looks nicer in my opinion. For reference here is an axle I found, but it's pretty far away. http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...t-posi-rear-end-3-23-gears-W0QQAdIdZ456763338 Thats all i've figured out for now. My progress stalled because the car I have has almost no body left underneath the carpet and in the trunk, the rockers are gone and rear quarters are beyond repair. The only salvageable part of this car was the interior; white bench seats in pristine condition and undamaged center console, and the engine; very little core shift and low mileage. Now the quest begins for another car. I will be going to look at this one in the coming weeks. http://www.bentonfryfordsales.ca/ce...-Riviera-e54ee853404638bf005e70bc3b8aaa71.htm Can cloth tops be removed?
Where are you located? I am in St Thomas, Ontario. Working on a frame off for my '72 GS riv. I used the PST polygraphite busings. While I am a long ways away from driving the car, the PST stuff seems like a good product and have had good luck dealing with them.
Hey Tony, didn't know you were on here , tried to get dbriv into the registry to get him contact with you. but ???? - so far looks set up to have the same problem you did without your advixe.
Rob, I've been meaning to add my car to the registry. I haven't really had a chance to yet. Tony, I'm not too far from Woodstock.
Rob, I stop in every now and then to soak up some good info. NOt a lot of time to be online right now though. dbriv, You are not too far from me. If you would like you can come by sometime and see where I'm at with the frame, and check out the PST stuff. Shoot me an email and we can talk. thoffc507@rogers.com I would add you car to the registry as soon as you get a chance. There is a lot of great info available to you there both online in downloads as well as very knowledgable people to be in contact with. It has been a great resource for my project. P.S. what does your name come from? I suspect its not what I think. haha
Yes, vinyl tops can be removed. However, as has been said for many, many years... sometimes you just have to cut your losses. To replace all the sheet metal under the car and on the quarters will cost more than just finding a solid "project car" and transferring your good parts over to it. I think that is what you are leaning toward. There are plenty of boattails still out there looking for homes. I hope you find one. You should check in the ROA mag The Riview. ---------- Post added at 05:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:05 PM ---------- Here you go... http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.p...ATTAIL-and-a-cellar-full-of-parts-to-go-along
There's no direct swap rear axle for these things. You will prety much need to have a custom rear sized for your Riv. The lower rear control arms are the same as the A-body types but the uppers are longer. You can easily box them if you have even the slightest welding ability and putting new bushings in are fairly easy. Theres a dual piston caliper that Wilwood and some other companies that will bolt right in but the discs are pretty beefy as is.
My plan for the last week or so has become to cut my losses and move on. I am now on the hunt for another Riviera. I will be saving the parts I have incase the car I get needs replacements. I still have good doors, windows, trim, interior and engine. The last thing i need to do before I take my rust filled junk body to scrap is to remove the windshield and rear window, any inout to make that task easier?
Sounds like a good decision With all those good parts am- I dont think the http://www.bentonfryfordsales.ca/cer...bc3b8aaa71.htm is the one for you either the price pretty highnd wanting to do a resto mod, for what its is and its not they say it is, Your in southern Ont thats Boattail central as far as Canada goes - 6 or 7 a year on kijijij alone and just south of guys is Ohio it and surronding states seem to have more than thier fair - I would exercise a bit of patience - and wait for one as good as that for around the price to come up. Be sure to check any potenetial in the regsitry historical sales database. PS Get a pic of the body plate for your junk yard dog before it goes to scrap to add to your members page.
I think my body plate is in one of my bin of parts, so it might take a while to find. From talking to the guy at Benton Ford its sounds like the price is pretty negotiable. They traded 2 used cars for it; most likely they want space back. 2 months ago the car was listed for $9500. I think I'd be in at $7000. I think I can Bargain for this one too, he's been selling it for almost an entire year. http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-classic-cars-1971-Buick-Riviera-Coupe-W0QQAdIdZ419629190
Can a skylark rear end bolt into the Riv? Just asking because I saw this in the buy/sell http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?264819-3-42-3-73-10-bolt-8-5-pre-built-rears-71-72-Skylark
As far as rear lower control arms, as has been stated they are the same as B-body cars. I also recently looked and a '96 Impala SS (I used to own one) and a '72 Riviera have the same PN replacement bushings. Tom T gave me a set of worn out lowers out of a mid-90's Roadmaster and they line up length wise perfectly with '72 Riviera lowers. I haven't pulled the trigger on a set, but I'm pretty certain that later model tubular lowers would be a bolt in. The one caveat is that the relative locations to each other are different on the later B-Body cars, so a different method of mounting a rear sway bay would have to be devised. I purchased a Mercury Marauder rear sway bay and plan to attempt to mount as Ford does- from the axle tubes to the frame. As far as uppers, I have not checked these out yet, but am hopeful that a set of later B-Body adjustable length uppers might make for a workable retrofit.
