Hey Guys, I've never owned a Riviera, heck, I've never even been IN a Riviera. But being a die-hard Buick guy, I sure do like the way they look. I know of a '73 Riviera GS for sale, asking price $3500. I do not know anything about this car as I have not approached the owner. But what do you Riv guys think about the '73's? Visually speaking obviously they are somewhat "heavier" looking than the '71 and '72, but what about other things like ride quality, performance, fit and finish, ease of maintenance, etc? Any thoughts? Is this just a cool freakin' car no matter what?
I had a '73 for a few months and I sure liked it. I think the rear of the car is the best looking for the boat tail generation 71-73. The front bumper is crazy big, and looks like it belongs in a mad max film. The car was very similar to my 72 Centurion sharing almost everything except body panels. If it's a nice car I think it's a good price. The ones I've seen around here have been in fair condition at 3500$ and you need to put out about 5000$ for a nice driver.
I second that :TU: I don't like the rear of the 1971/1972 models with the small tail lights, hunch-back bumper and stupid location for the license plate. In fact only the lower part of the bulge in the bumper is gone to make room for the license plate, look at this photo of the 3 model years together: For the front bumper: Remove the impact absorbers and place the bumper closer to the chassis, it looks much better without that big picknick table up front....:TU: < Click thumbnail :Comp:
You will love the 73 if you get it. Those are very nice driving and riding cars that still have plenty of punch. I don't think they are as easy on the eyes as the 71/72's but they still look good. The huge front bumpers hurt the car along with the less of a boattail look in the rear area IMO. I was never a fan of a rear bumper that housed the tail lights.
The 1972 and 1972 models still use the gross HP ratings, maybe that's why people are thinking that they produce more power. All 3 base engines for the Boattail years have a 8.5:1 compression ratio and the same bore and stroke.
All model years from 1970 - 1976 came with the 455 only. 1977 - 1978 models could come with either a 403 or 350 V8.
How are things looking for restoration parts? I've done some internet searching, and haven't come up with alot.
I have owned a few of the '73's and they are a GREAT car! Especially the GS model. You won't believe how well a 5,000 lb Riviera holds the road and hangs curves. An agile,comfortable car.With that pointed rear glass,the music resonates well from the rear speakers. The upper beltline is nice,the way it dips down,like an old Darrin(Packard). If you're lucky,yours will have the bucket seats and console,which is an added peasure. The massive front bumper juts out way ahead of the grille and gives the '73 a really distinctive look. Good luck with the purchase!:TU:
When I was looking for a Riviera I wanted a 1971 first, then a 1972, then a 1973. I want to stress, I like them all. I think I would have to look at what other options the car had. buckets being the most important. I like the taillights in the bumper in the 73. I don't like the smaller boattail, and I don't like the headlights/signal lights. But this is all personal .One thing that needs to be mentioned is that the interior is less interesting in the 1973. It's a standard Buick dash, rather than the Riviera only dash. I don't want to talk you out of a 1973. I'd rather have a 73, than no boattail at all.
Interesting! I like the 'unique" Riv dash. "only the lower part of the bulge in the bumper is gone to make room for the license plate" The 73 actually has less of a protrusion of the boattail out beyond the rear of the car. Buick toned it down because of the "love it or hate it" attitude of the press and buying public.
My old friend came over a couple of years back. He knows nothing about Buicks. I had my 71 and a 73 I bought here sitting side by side. I ask his opinion. He loved the Boattail look of my 71. But when he looked at the 73 I had just bought he told me in his opinion it wasn't really a Boattail. I guess that lack of point at the rear influenced him. It is a Boattail though. I would like to own one too. No one has mentioned the different seats. I like the 71 buckets much better than the large square seats that came later.
I had a friend who got a cherry '73 Boattail Rivi for FREE in 1991. It was sitting on some property. He asked about it and was told "It's broken. If you can get it running, you can have it, title and all. Needless to say, we ran out with some tune-up parts, drained the gas tank, fresh gas and a battery. It fired right up! Sweet car, red with b&w houndstooth interior, and that big 455. It hauled butt! I say get it. Those cars are still a bargain.
George, Interior and body parts can be hard to come by. Things like switches and knobs are easier to find because they started standardizing them by 71. Parts like door panels and seat chrome parts are not reproduced, so you may have to get creative. Engine and mechanical parts are suprisingly easy to find for such a rare car. In 1971 GM redesigned a lot of things and the chassis is similar on all full size GMs from 71 all the way up to the 96 Impala SS. These are well designed cars, very solid for a hard top. Low noise and rattles, great brakes and good handling. Compared to a 62 Lincoln Continental I drove the other day, the Riviera is light years ahead in handling and braking. It doesn't quite compare to a modern car, but you can drive it in freeway traffic without being terrified.
I love my 72, the rear of the 73 is good looking, but the front is not nearly as sleek. In 73 the Gs was a handling option, and consisted of stiffer swaybars. If it also has the stage one engine I would deffinitely get it. They go down the road great.
I always thought the front end of the 73 Riv looked like GM got caught unaware when the new federal bumper laws went into effect and rushed to change the design. It's still way better looking than most 73 cars, but nowhere near as sleek as the 71-72. The back end revisions are much more successful and better integrated into the boattail theme, though I still prefer the first two years. Still one of the best looking cars of its era, so you can't go wrong.
I really like the 1973 rear bumper and taillights. And I like Erik's idea of getting the front bumper closer to the grille! I also like the 1973 grille and it's side markers. I like it even more with the rare Stage1 badge! I wish I had an all black '73 Riviera GS Stage1 with buckets the wide stainless moldings on the rockers.
I think Kimson hit the nail on the head with the Mad Max description of the front bumper, I think its pretty cool. Too much weight on the wrong end of the car, but pretty cool looking nonetheless. I never noticed the license plate difference in the back before. Huh. I agree with the other opinions; the car handles pretty dang good for a behemoth. My 69 LeSabre weighed probably around 600-700 lbs less and had a 350, but still didn't handle as well as the Riv, which is only 4 years newer. You could "feel" the road more in the LeSabre....but you needed to. To nit pick, the integrated fan shroud/overflow tank/ washer fluid reservoir which was introduced in 73 is kind of a piece of junk, in my opinion. You can't get the longer bottom alternator mounting bolt out without moving the shroud assembly out of the way slightly. The intern in the engineering department must have missed that one, or else I've got that super rare one-off 73 Riv with the longer alternator mounting bolt. I'll start the bidding at $5000. Nick
Nick, mine has that too, I remember undoing that bolt and then I came to the same realization you did. Off comes the radiator hold down, fan, and then fan shroud. But personally I've come to like them more than the 70-72 big cars with seperate washer reservoir and coolant overflow. The earlier car's wheelwells seem way too cluttered. But I do like a black shroud better than the yellow.
