Re: well buick might be gone

by dynchel Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:21 pm

I think so, but I've seen them with 403 olds motors, 301 Pontiac motors, and 350's also

by dragons_lair59 Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:22 pm

As long as not 301 I'll be happy 403 are a tough motor

by dynchel Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:25 pm

My '78 Catalina had a 301. A few words to describe it , slow, detonation, premium fuel. donotcare

gutlass.

by dragons_lair59 Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:29 pm

I've never heard one good thing about the 301. I've had 403 olds and man all I can say is torque monster

by dynchel Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:33 pm

I never had a 403 olds. I had a 350 2bbl Buick, and my brother had a 350 4bbl Buick. They were both slow. My 371 2bbl olds has way more power than I would expect (it is factory rated at 315 h/p though)

by dragons_lair59 Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:35 pm

Wish it had a 455 but I know better

by dynchel Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:39 pm

'76 was the last year the 455 was produced, dosent mean it wasn't swapped in. In high school a friend put a stock one in a '79 cutlass and made a 15 second burnout machine that broke parts. G3's came equipped better for such swaps.

by dragons_lair59 Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:41 pm

Yea heavier rears and transmissions

by dynchel Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:43 pm

Oh within a week he blew the rear end, in another month he blew the trans. He finally bought a 301 from the local classified ads installed that and sold the car.

by dragons_lair59 Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:44 pm

by ant7377 Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:11 pm

I had a 301 in a 80 LeSabre. It pinged too! Had to use premium! I though there was something wrong with it. I guess not. Those 77 78 Rivs were big bucks when they were new werent they? Must have costed close to what a Coupe DeVille was.

by dragons_lair59 Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:19 pm

Yep they basically have that caddy pillow top overly plush seats they are awsome last one I had was 79 and only fwd I enjoyed smokey burnouts with no torque steer

by 77mali Sat Oct 26, 2013 8:59 am

Be careful w/ the Riv, check it over real good. I had a friend who had an 84...nothing but problems.

by dragons_lair59 Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:06 am

84 was front wheel drive and have heard some bad things on 79-85

by dynchel Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:10 am

Most all fwd GM cars from that era left a lot to be desired, remember the citation?

by dragons_lair59 Sat Oct 26, 2013 10:39 am

Now I didn't have any issues with my 79 riv. May have just been lucky though. Though that is why I am concidering the 78 good old rear wheel drive:cheers:

by JB2wheeler Sat Oct 26, 2013 1:20 pm

dragons_lair59 wrote:Now I didn't have any issues with my 79 riv. May have just been lucky though. Though that is why I am concidering the 78 good old rear wheel drive:cheers:

The 1978 "A" body frames were made of thinner material than previous models and were seriously rust prone and they could not take the huge tires that previous models could swallow. Other than that they were good machines. JB

by dragons_lair59 Sat Oct 26, 2013 2:50 pm

The riv isn't an A body beleive it's a B body and def not a G body

by Mcarlo77 Sat Oct 26, 2013 3:20 pm

dynchel wrote:Most all fwd GM cars from that era left a lot to be desired, remember the citation?

I got sucked into buying a Citation after reading all the positive accolades the car magazines were giving it. Hell...Motor Trend magazine gave it "Car of the Year" in 1980. Had a new family and needed something with good gas mileage and 4-drs...so, I buy a 1980 right off the showroom floor. Cars were such hot sellers, they couldn't keep them in stock and there was no bargaining on the prices because of it. First new car I had ever bought and I was constantly washing and waxing that car. After about 3 yrs, things started going south on it. Wheel brgs, cv joints, struts...nothing real serious, but costly and inconvenient for someone starting out in life and only owning one car. But, worst of all were the large rust blisters that began appearing under the paint all over the car...middle of the door/qtr/fender panels and even the roof, hood and hatch. Places where there was no plausible explanation as to how or why. Soon looked like it had some sort of Medieval pox! Extremely frustrating after I had spent so much time trying to keep it cleaned. There were some consumer groups trying to initiate a class-action suit over this widespread problem, but Chevy was able to deflect any criticism of poor quality construction until most cars were off the road and the pressure subsided. Complete P.O.S.! I lost faith in Chevy for many years over this.

On a side note, I remember going to the Spring car show where the new downsized '78 GM models debuted and couldn't believe how ugly they all looked. Most hideous was a black and gold Grand Prix. Knew right then we had entered a new realm of disappointment in car styling.

by dragons_lair59 Sun Oct 27, 2013 8:58 am

http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Buick/78-Buick_Riviera-DV-08_AACA_01.jpgere's a picture of the style

by dragons_lair59 Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:17 pm

Gp has some rust but its a 400 no buckets or console

by dragons_lair59 Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:22 pm

by dragons_lair59 Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:23 pm

He has one of these 75th anniversary rivs and a standard one

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