Vehicle Description
1983 Buick Riviera
The Buick Riviera is a personal luxury car produced by Buick from
1963 to 1999. GM's first entry into that prestige niche, the
Riviera was highly praised by automotive journalists upon its
high-profile debut. While early models stayed close to the original
form, eight subsequent generations varied substantially over the
Riviera's thirty-year lifespan. In all, 1,127,261 were produced.
The name Riviera, Latin for coastline, was chosen to evoke the
allure and affluence of the French Riviera. It first entered the
Buick line in 1949, as the designation for the new two-door
pillarless hardtop, described in advertising as "stunningly
smart".
For consignment, a well kept, all original, low mileage, and
pampered Riviera with a mere 89,445 original miles, however the
title is showing 90,000 actual miles. A 1983 Ad has in bold type
"Collectible" and then goes on to say that they cannot guarantee
that the new 1983 Riviera will be a bona fide future classic, but
with its looks and styling, how can it miss? Were they telling the
future?? Read on for more excitement.
Exterior
Bathed in its factory paint and in the color of Sand Gray Firemist,
we can see some aging areas in the form of paint bubbles and slight
surface rust on the straight steel panels. The car is from 1983,
but has low mileage, and this car presents as such. Clearly always
garaged, this car even has the plastic fillers which go behind the
front bumper, and in front of the rear bumper intact, as well as a
caring owner. A lighter grayish tanLandau style vinyl top is seen
above the rear passenger compartment on the exterior. The chrome
bumpers show as nearly new with a shiny finish and no dimpling and
the brightwork on the body is in matching shape. The 80's square
and rectangle shape is present throughout the body and conforms
nicely to the GM design of the era. Nice chromed wire wheel covers
are spotted on all 4 corners and are wrapped by nearly new
205/75R15 thin white wall rubber.
Interior
Luxurious gray velour cloth buckets, (only in the sense there are
two seats and they are separate), and spacious rear bench are seen
with the opening of one of the massive doors, which is also covered
in gray velour cloth. Burl feathered veneer accents abound in the
seats, door panels and cover the dash. All straight and square and
rectangle design right out of the 1983 design playbook, the dash is
very clean and unmarred. A small center console glovebox is flanked
by the front buckets and is gray vinyl. Conveniences such as
climate control, an AM/FM/Cassette radio, power windows, power
locks, power mirrors, cruise control, power steering and power
brakes are added. A lighter gray headliner appears to be losing
some of its adhesive, and hangs loosely in some spots, particularly
near the front of the ceiling. Fairly clean gray carpeting with a
few stains covers the floors, and carpeted floor mats cover the
carpeting.
Drivetrain
A little dusty with a little patina can be seen on the 307ci V8,
and it is mated with a THM325 4L 4-speed automatic transmission to
its rear. Power is transmitted to the front tires via a 2.73 geared
front axle.
Undercarriage
Save for the occasional surface rust on straight steel parts,
(mainly suspension), the undercarriage maintains its integrity with
plenty of rustproofing coverage on the floor pans, and
undercarriage surfaces. Looking underneath the doors we see clean
rubber weather stripping, and no rust on the bottom of the doors.
Independent torsion bar suspension up front works with a torsion
beam and coil spring set up in the back to provide the ride and
single exhaust is seen. We note the muffler has corrosion and
exhaust leaks at the bottom rearmost section. Power disc brakes
work with power drums in the rear to provide the whoah factor.
Drive-Ability
I just can't get enough of these tufted broadcloth velour seats,
they fit perfectly to myample andsoft frame. There is something
warm and fuzzy as opposed to leather, although once leather is
broken in, it is durable...but...I digress and this car started
right up, ran flawlessly, and is a wonderful comfortable cruiser
with a kick with only the power antenna and power seat being non
functional.
A nice example of a very nice Riviera from 1983. Well kept, a few
faults, but all in all easy repairs to make the car nearly perfect
on the exterior and interior with faults noted. Square and
Rectangle late 70's early 80's design, and possibly a classic as
stated by the future predicting advertising?
1G4AZ57Y7DE402007
1-USA
G-General Motors
4-Buick
A-Manual Seatbelts
Z-Riviera
57-2 Door Coupe
Y-307 CUI V8
7-Check Digit
D-1983
E-Linden NJ Assy Plant
402007-Sequential Unit Number
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.
