My Riviera was built by a shop in Escondido, California known as Hot Rods & Custom Stuff which shop has built Ridler Award winning cars in the past.  It underwent a full, frame-off restoration and it took a little over a year to complete.  The car was featured in the December 2006 issue of Rod & Custom Magazine..

CHASSIS
The factory frame was modified for driveshaft clearance, and the original steering and spindles were kept in place, but SSBC Force 10 disc brakes were added to the front and rear. The suspension includes an Air Ride Technologies Intelliride airbag system with bags in front and ShockWaves in back which can be controlled by a remote which is on the key chain.

DRIVETRAIN

A mildly warmed over Buick Nailhead engine. The 425ci engine wears an Offenhauser intake and dual four barrels, along with finned aluminum valve covers and air cleaner. Custom headers funnel exhaust to a pair of Flowmaster Xcel mufflers. A custom adapter hooks the engine to a Chevy 700-R4, which spins a custom two-piece driveshaft. A narrowed Ford 9-inch rear was packed with 3.73 gears and a Posi traction.

WHEELS & TIRES
The 18-inch wheels are proportionally perfect for a car this long, show off the big disc brakes, and are the primary exterior components distinguishing the car from a stock appearance. The contemporary five-spokes are alloy Cruzers from Wheel Vintiques, with three-spoke knockoffs covering the lug nuts. Radial tires are Pirellis.

BODY & PAINT
The laser straight body was painted jet black.  Hot Rods & Custom Stuff shaved the emblems and door locks, but retained the rest of the trim, and covered the car with mirror-perfect coats of PPG black. While they were at it, they fabricated some custom horizontal trim for the taillights.

INTERIOR
Elegance continues into the interior of the Riviera, where the original seats were stripped of the factory vinyl and covered in red leather by the guys at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff.  Randy Clark modified the tilting armrest between the rear buckets with a padded insert and added three sets of seatbelts in the rear. Engine-turned panel inserts were installed in the factory dash, along with vents for the Vintage Air A/C system.  It has a Grant three-spoke steering wheel which matches the wood grain door panel inserts. Those inserts were dressed up with some subtle stripped flames.

The car has just over 1500 miles since the complete body off, ground up restoration.

Call my consultants Don at 619-804-8033 or John at 760-402-0128 or email them at dburdge@dreamrodlocator.com.

As an added note, the shop started with a pristine 65 Buick Riviera GS that I bought through eBay for $35,000 and then after spending and additional $135,000 I ended up with the car that you see posted here.  That should give you some kind of a idea what it would cost you to duplicate my Buick if you had the desire to do so.  That being said, should someone meet my asking price they will find that they are getting a very good deal.  This car will not disappoint!!  Buy it, Show it, Drive it, and Enjoy it!!