I think that the 66-67 Rivieras are a real work of art!!! I'm a pushover for hidden headlights!!! Thanks Adam for sharing another exciting video!!! 👍👍🙂
I remember a friend back in the 70’s purchasing a sweet pre-owned and loaded burgundy 67 Riv GS with black lthr buckets. Was the coolest car of any kid I knew lol. Those cars were sooo friggin’ gorgeous. Not to mention fast! Thanks Adam.
The first time I laid eyes on the '63 Riviera was when the father of a friend delivered him to our house for an overnighter. I was about 10 or 11 at the time, and when I saw that car sporting it's beautiful Glacier Blue paint, my jaw dropped. I wasn't all that much of a car enthusiast kid, but that Riviera made an impression on me that lasts to this day. Simply one of the most beautiful cars out of Detroit, sharing the spot with the '63 Stingray. GM had it going' on in '63. Thanks for bringing back that memory, Adam.
i HAD A 67 which I bought with 20k miles in 1970. The most beautiful car at the time and since... I remember just staring at the car, at an auto show in 66, lusting after it. So when an elderly couple advertised this, I snapped it up. White with white interior. and road like a dream.
I own a 67 Riv,now12 yrs,Buick Plum/white interior w/console,it’s a dream to drive,needs paint/and a interior refresh ,the 430 runs well,but I hope some day I can give it the face lift I truly deserves,TX
I love anything Buick Riviera. Maybe because my parents took newborn me home in a ‘68 Year Riv. With a few exceptions I would take a same year Riv over a Toronado, Eldorado, or T-Bird anytime. Riviera were always such class.
My sister in law had a beautiful white 66 Riviera, she bought it in late 67, and I was a middle school kid when my brother introduced her to the family, she really loved that car. It's. Interesting that he brought up the nice handling, because her best friend had a 67 continental coupe, and out for the evening she would have to drive her friend home in the continental and she told me it was like driving a square box around and told me that her Riviera handled so much better. She was a platinum blond and looked very good in that white 66 Riviera
While the '63 Riviera could be described as a handsome car, the 66-67 Riv is truly in a class of one. There is probably no other car from any GM division before or since that had this level of design elegance and cohesiveness. It is true automotive art. I feel these cars are still very underrated.
Unique in design, the 1966/1967 Buick Riviera is that rare automobile that looks good in every color and is stunning without a vinyl roof. The sight of a Riviera cruising past as I walked to school caused me to stop in my tracks. The Riviera was like an automotive time machine, from 1966 I had a glimpse into the 21st century. The future looked wonderful to me growing up in the 1960's, but like that song says, "you don't know what you've got . . . til it's Gone!". That you, Adam, for making such marvelous automotive video commentaries.
I took possession of a 1966 Riviera just last week after eight years in a '64. This video was a great primer for my new ride and I learned and appreciated some great information. The '64 I kept very close to factory, but I'm going to be more adventurous with the '66. First thing to go with a complete redo of the interior? The front bench seat. Buckets all the way, and a custom center console that I'm designing with a cabinet maker. The two Rivieras are the only GM cars I've owned out of a current count of over 20 rides. But they certainly do stand out in the crowd.
These were stunning designs when the new models were released. As a teenager I lusted for and loved the Buick Riviera the most, it looked like a car from the future.
I think you termed it right: design perfection. These Rivieras are beautiful in every way, always loved buick V8s as well. A car like this was totally out of our family's financial reach when I was a kid, but I remember drooling over them and wishing we had one.
At 7:31 I wonder what the minimum distance is allowed between headlights? I know the early 67 Shelby Mustangs had some driving lights in the grill that were to close together and had to move them apart in the later cars to meet Fed regulations. That's one fine car. Thanks to Adam for keeping automotive history alive and well.
I do own a 1965 Wildcat with a 401 and a 1967 RIviera GS with the 430 and I have to say that I prefer the 401 to the later Buick engines. Both the Nailheads and the 430 had the same valvetrain oiling through the rocker shafts, that also includes the small block engines of the time. The Nailheads had stronger (forged) crankshafts than the later 430/455 and didn't have the oiling issues that most other Buick engines had (those that had their oil pump mounted to their timing covers). About the valvetrain oiling, Buick switched to pushrod oiling on the 1969 400 Stage1 engine and then on all 1970 engines (350 and 455). As for the transmissions, I agree that the 1965-66-67 ST-400 with the variable pitch feature were great. Buick had that feature on their Dynaflow transmissions since 1955 and when they replaced it in 1964, their Super Turbine 300 which found it's way on the small block cars (including the LeSabre which went from having a 401 Nailhead in 1963 to a 300 V8, except for the Estate Wagon version) did have a switch pitch torque converter but the new 400 transmission that cars with the Nailhead engines had didn't have it. Nailhead engines had agressive cams to compensate for their small valves so they benefited from being coupled to transmissions with the variable stall speed. So for the 1965 model year, Buick got the variable pitch feature for their 400 transmissions too. The switch pitch feature not only changed the stall speed to a higher one at near W.O.T., it also did at idle. That feature was gone from both the ST-300 and ST-400 in 1968 and I think it wasn't a great move to stop using it.
My favorite designs of the 1960's! I was born in 1959 and I loved all of the cars of this era and it showed by the car styles of my "Hot Wheels" car collection.
My grandfather bought the '66 Riv brand new. It was a _beautiful_ car. I hated to ride with him, because he'd push hard on the gas, bring the car up to about 45 mph, then let off, and coast down to about 25 mph, push hard up to 45 ... lather rinse repeat. It was awful to ride with gramps, compared to dad, who pick a speed and go with it. But, we kids _did_ enjoy that "barrel" speedometer. Gramps sold the car to another old dude, who dropped a lit cigar in his lap, who while looking down trying to get the cigar out before it caught his pants and privates on fire, wrecked the car.
Your black 1966 Riv is one of the finest designs ever to come from GM design staff. The great Dave Holls was a classic car enthusiast & collector as well as a brilliant designer. His Riviera has a grace and sublety that in my eyes really set it apart from the sister Toronado. The smooth panels and simple shapes worked to perfection on the Riviera make it a classic and one of the finest designs ever to wear the Buick badge. Mr. Holls did it again a few years later when he and his team brought the 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to market. That car has the proportions and elegant body panels of a classic as well. Most folks would never know it was really a Chevelle beneath that beautiful body. (It even shares the deck lid.) GM design staff was and is second-to-none when the divisional personel get out of the way and let them do their thing. Thanks for another great story.
Thanks for a great review of this era of Riveria. The car is imprinted in my automotive memory due to my Dad's fondness for them. He had a 64, 67, and a 69 Riviera while I lived at home. I did a lot of pre-licensed driving in the 67 and 69 on back roads during our vacations to northern Wisconsin. Some of my favorite times with my Dad. Thanks for making them so vivid again!
Best car I ever owned was my '66 Riv. I paid $1800 in '89 for it and drove it daily for the next 7 years. Amazing build quality, solid ride and all metal/pot metal buttons and controls. I never had any issue with the 425 or trans except for a seal job. The A/C, pwr windows, antenna, cruise, trunk release and rear defog all worked perfectly. Unfortunately by the 2000s the body was suffering rust and I couldn't fix it but I did sell it to a guy in the Riviera club. Insane what some are asking for those now.
The 430 big block in 1969 made more power and breathed better than the old Nailhead V8 still used in1966. Always thought the exterior was better looking on the 66-67 models though, didn't look as fat as the 69.
@@brianklamer3328 yes. Correct. I prefer the front end of the 69...more balanced in my opinion. Same goes for the rear end, for me it's a perfect design of the Riviera.
Thank you Adam. I appreciate the studio photos and design concepts that they were considering. This was an interesting Riviera story. The 1963-1965 Riviera was a hard act to follow. The wheels were grand. GM was something else in the swinging 60's in a good way indeed. GM was something else with the parts sharing. It is always interesting to see what was shared and no one thinks about. The last Toronado in the 1990's used turbine spoke wheels. Thank you so much again Adam. The thing that gets me is how the brands lost that uniqueness and distinction they had after 1984-1985. I worry about Buick in the United States as they are doing fine in China, but Buick does not have a stand out car in the competitive crossover and suv world.
Having learned what I've learned from Adam, I'd have to say the Buik was the best engineered of these series of cars from GM. And it helps that it looks great!
I always enjoy your videos! I was 9 years old when Dad bought Mom a 65 Riviera. We were kings of the neighborhood in Waynesville NC. It was gorgeous, but it was a total lemon. Dad drove Wagoneers, so that became our reliable ride. When I was 13, one day we were, once again, at the Buick dealership in Asheville NC, and I spotted a showroom beauty.....a 1969 in green, that would later become my first car. I LOVE these cars! I really would love a garage with a 65, 67, 69, and 71 one day. Besides the 67 Eldorado, there isn't much more beautiful from Detroit.
My memories of the Riviera from ‘63 through ‘67 were that they were very popular with young lawyers and doctors (in their 30s). I’d love to own a ‘65 and ‘66! Great video, Adam. 👍👍👍 Edit: After watching this, I just had to go into your archive and rewatch your review and drive of this beauty. Still jealous! 😉
Thanks for this look at this gorgeous car. It's just at the end of my favorite era in automotive design. In fact, I've always preferred a car with non-curved door window glass.
Yep Adam, The Buick Rivieras in '66/'67 were beautiful cars and handled better than the others mentioned, because of the rear wheel drive....Cheers from Damo.😊👍
The fact that the US Auto industry in General was putting out a multitude of different cars each year, and those cars were redesigned or highly tweaked each model year is a feat in itself. They were not able to do that in Europe. Most foriegn cars stayed basically the same for years.
My first car, age 15. in 1976. Brown 67 GS Riviera. Needed freeze out plugs so I drove down the hill from me from a really nice guy for 100 bucks. He was so nice he threw in a non running red 66 Riviera which I glided down the hill to my home.
I like the flat floor of the Toronado. My grandmother owned two Toros, and i remember how roomy they were with the flat floor in the front. I could ride in the middle as a little boy and didn't have that annoying hump in the center of the floor.
I was not a fan of the ‘63 to ‘65 Rivieras. Each to their own, I guess. But the ‘66 and ‘67, WOW. When I first got my license in 1970, a neighbor let me drive his ‘67 Riviera. I was in heaven. However, a memory I have to this day was the power brakes. The pedal seemed to have about 1 inch of travel and for a novice driver that made for a few very abrupt stops until I learned to baby that pedal. Should I win the lottery, I would love to do a resto-mod of a ‘66 or ‘67 Riviera. Thank you for the video about, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful cars ever built.
I had a 1966 Riviera that I got for $700 in 1980. It had a bad rod, so I rebuilt the 425 nailhead. I then acquired the Super Wildcat carburetion setup. That car would pass anything but a gas station. I averaged 5mpg. LOL
I traded my '70 Challenger convertible for a beautiful '67 Riviera in bronze with a white leather interior that had been all refreshed. I was an art student in those days, and drove the car through the Rockies with my mother, to Vancouver, where I was attending school. It was a wonderful car, but too big for Vancouver, so I regretfully sold it. P.S. It was the first time my mom had ever driven a car in the mountains, and she handled that beast like a champ! She loved to drive, and always preferred a powerful car, later purchasing a '76 Eldorado for her personal use!
I was in sixth grade when the Toronado and this model Riviera were introduced, and a neighbor bought that first Toronado. I always thought the Riviera was prettier and I remember how that first Toronado just ate tires; seemed like the guy was always buying new ones!
I would love to have a 65 Riv. My brother had a 66 many years ago Great car. However I have owned a 1995 & 98 Riviera. Best cars I've ever had both were exceptional
My personal favourite was the 65 but GM was just on a roll in the mid 60s from the vet and Corvair to these personal luxury two door lanyauhts Everything was gorgeous.
I dated a girl whose Dad had a gold 66 Rivera I think it had a 425 engine with dual quad carbs, I accidentally locked my eye in my car and he let me drive it to get my other set of keys what a screaming machine.the 65- 68 were awesome years I'd love to own one
X-frame Buicks were around at least in the 1950’s. It was a Buick thing. If I am not mistaken, I may well be mistaken on this one, Packard and/or Hudson may have used an X-frame. I seem to recall seeing written someplace this but would need to spend more time than I have now to verify it. But Buick did because I saw an old Buick x-frame with my eyes.
Excellent video and I learned a lot of detail. Of the Old/Buick/Caddy trio, I'd argue the Toronado was the best looking, but I think Buick made the right choice in sticking with RWD. I'd call the styling of the 63-65 vs 66-67 pretty close. The later car was sleeker, but I prefer the slightly more compact size of the original.
I would agree about the looks, but the front wheel drive paved the way for the front wheel drive vehicles we drive today. Front wheel drive is better in bad weather, mostly snow.
Not to quibble but I would definitely throw in the ‘64 and ‘65 Riviera in the mix of iconic GM mid century designs. (And I’m a Mopar guy so that’s saying something!)
