Welcome to the Riviera Owners Association Homepage

Hi All

here in the Netherlands it is a different i think, to stuck by a Riviera i have owned plenty cars, saab's bmw's mercedes nissan zx ,al european or japanees cars, i'm looked for a US car that was different, no mustang, corvette or firebird, these are here plenty, i wanted something else a ''boattail'' a US car that is big and powerful and a car that everybody ask; what the hell, what that for a car!! the boattail i saw for the first time in a tv serie,
i found one bud at the time i go to check it was already sold, bud wat i saw there was a 69 Riv that just arrived from fresno CA i said to my self; ''what the hell, what that for a car''

i take it for a test ride and bougth it, so thats my first Rivie, this was back in 1997. bud i sdtil wanted also a boattail, after 3 years i finally found one , a red one, imported from nordridge CA. back in 1999, the owner had to sell it. i take it fore a ride and i was impressed what a smooth ride! so thats my story, now i'm a very proud owner from two very nice Buick Riviera's

Roland
R.o.a.#8301
the Netherlands

My wife couldn't understand how I knew it was my car, but you just do. Larry-How true-I have a friend that bought a '67 Riv new at Stephen's Buick here in Minneapolis. He drove it until about 1980 and sold it to a private party. About 3 years ago I saw a familiar looking Riv for sale in the parking lot of a Brainerd, Mn. (150 miles north) dive/scuba shop. I mentioned to him that it looked a lot like his. A few months go by, and the car is still sitting in the lot, except that it is now winter and snowplows have buried all but one corner of the Riv. We were in the area so pulled up to take a look it, and he just said-"That's my old Riv alright." I couldn't figure how he knew, but there was a small scrape on the bumper that he recognized. "When you wash and wax a car as much as I did that Riv, you KNOW it".

Why A Riviera?
Ed Gunyo ROA 101. Why a Riviera for me. Back in 1963 I went with my father to the local Buick dealer and found a beautiful 1963 Riviera Silver Cloud with Red interior sitting on the show room floor. My mouth dropped. The design was years ahead of any other car at the time with no fins, clean and no chrome around the windows. Bucket seats, console and wire wheels. WOW! I told my father that car I will own some day. He said at $5,000 dollars it costs as much as a Cadillac. He said good luck and keep wishing. In 1980 I bought my 64 Riviera with only 24k on the odometer. White, blue interior with most options including the heavy duty suspension and quick ratio steering. After over 20 years I still have the car with 54K on the odometer and the original spare still sitting in the back. When I look down the hood so beautifully sculptured at the R hood ornament I fall in love with the car every time I drive it. Funny, some people get tired of a car but how many folks can continuously fall in love. As a early member of the ROA our goal was and is preservation of that wonderful car. My car is totally original down to the second set of US Royal tires which are in perfect shape. I love the car so much I put correct matching belts and oem GM hoses, Gold original Delco shocks which work fine and original spark plug wires. Buick made a great car and I for one want mine to be just like it was in 1964.The car came originally from Butlin Buick in Reseda CA. I now the original owner and this year I was at a junkyard here in Minnesota and a couple was going over the car. I talked to them and they were from Reseda visiting friends here and when I mentioned the original owner they knew her! She was their English teacher and they remembered the car. They said a reunion is coming up and they will mention my name and let her know her car was in great shape. Just think 20+ years later and 3000 miles away I run into folks who know the owner of my car. I got in and drove away and thought.... see.... a great car and recognized by someone who knew it back in 64. I went home, washed her and back in the garage to wait for another drive. I have a 1983 Riv XX which I also love that belonged to a Hollywood screen writer which was at many Hollywood premieres. Another love affair continues. So, great styling, good handling and to me continuing to preserve a great Marquee. That is why I collect Buick Rivieras.

It is great to see all these Riv stories. The car brings out the passion in all of us I do believe.

My first Riv sighting was in the early 70s. The local Buick dealer had one on their used car lot. A white 65. I had no idea what it was, and asked a friend of mine who was older and knew cars. He told me, and I just ogled it every time I went by. One evening, I stopped and looked, sat in it, and waited for a car salesman. Obviously, none was interested in helping a 14 year old car shopper. So I left, vowing never to return. But, I did return, and this time I brought my MOM!!! A deal was made, $695 for a 66,000 mile 65. My payments were something like $35 a month. Big bucks for a kid with a small allowance and a job at the local A&W!

My Riv was the greatest. It was a hit cruising the school and the town square. The light covers gathered lots of attention. The sound was awesome. It had four Walker continentals on it, factory sport wheels, and a standard interior with an AM/FM radio. I had to put in the mandatory Craig underdash 8 track!

I got my first ticket in this car, won my first drag race, and lost my you know what in the back seat. Ahh, what a car. As the years passed, college, marriage, children, mortgage, and then divorce. The 65 Riv was paid for, so it went to my ex! I realized quickly what a mistake I had made, but too late. I had a 67 Riv GS that I kept, but wrecked it a couple of years later. So I was Rivless for a while.

Jump ahead almost 20 years, wife number four. A new house, and right around the corner, a white 65. Almost daily I passed this car on my way to work. What a cream puff. If the wife or one of the kids was with me, I would tell them a story about "My ol' Riv" ( never the one about you know what though)! Then, the car was in the paper for sale. We went and looked, but I wouldn't do it, as I mentioned, new wife, new house, etc. So I put it out of my mind. And then, fathers day, I go pick my son up at his Moms, and when we arrived back home, everyone was out on the front porch waiting for me. I had no idea why, as I had not noticed at the far end of the driveway, there was a car cover covering....a car! I knew exactly what it was. And there is little I could say then, or now. I had found the perfect woman. To allow me such an indulgence, and to make the effort herself to get it for me. But, as we know, there is a chain reaction. My boat tail replaced my Porsche weekend toy, the mini van got replaced by a supercharged Riv, my daily driver went from a late model econo box to a beautiful 84. Another spot was found for an 85 t-type. A good friend parted with his 70 due to lack of space. An unusual bunch us Riv folks! And a great bunch!