Somebody wasn’t content with GM’s decision to not make Riviera ragtops, and took matters–or Sawzall– into hands. CJCars just posted this to the Cohort, and it certainly looked like it could/should have come from Flint. Well, eventually Buick did offer one in 1982, but that was almost twenty years after the Riviera took up battle with the Thunderbird, which certainly came in convertible versions (through 1966). Somebody just couldn’t wait.
The ’70 Riviera is hardly anybody’s favorite year, a rather blobbified version of what started out in 1966 as a classic Bill Mitchell-mobile of the highest caliber. And its front end has been drastically toned down, looking way too much like one of the lower-rung Buicks. Maybe that’s why this owner took a 1970 to be put to the torch: the least desirable of the gen2 Rivieras. And losing the top has done it some good.
I’m going to have to assume that there’s nothing under that rear cover other than the amputated stumps of the former C-pillar, as fitting a working top would be a mind-boggling undertaking. And those snaps along the belt line suggest a tonneau cover to protect the interior if need be. This car looks to be in California anyway, so it probably goes and hides in the garage during the occasional rain.
And there’s no locks for a top on the windshield header. A Riviera Roadster. Seems like the dash has come in for some customizing too. Someone order too much white vinyl?
Note: A rerun of an older post.
I’m guessing that there was no structural reinforcement to the OEM X-frame. Can you say “cowl shake”?
Did gen2 still ride on the old x frame?
I believe it was one of if not the last ones. The rest of them went away around 64 or 65 but the Riviera hung around until the 71 boat tail model.
Correct. 1964 was the last year for the cruciform (X) frame on almost all GM cars, coinciding with a big redesign for all of the B-/C-body cars in 1965, which had perimeter frames. Likewise, the A-bodies debuted the year prior, sporting perimeter frames. The Riviera was the only car to retain the X frame, and did so through 1970.
I have no idea why Buick did this. We know Buick wanted its Riviera to remain longitude-RWD even as its platform mates (the Toronado and Eldorado) debuted GM’s Unitized Powerrplant Package…comprising a longitude-FWD setup with a U-shaped transmission that routed power back to the front, and a partial perimeter frame that terminated ahead of the rear wheels. *However*, I still don’t see why the Riviera needed to retain the X frame, especially as it would have required beefed-up side sills and stiffer floors to handle side collisions.
I have no idea why Buick did this.
The Toronado and Riviera shared much of their body shells. Since the Toro was largely unibody, the reinforced sills and floor were an integral part of the body, so it was easier (and structurally stiffer) to adapt the E-Body to the X-frame. The result was an exceptionally stiff structure (contrary to popular myth, the X-Frame was stiffer than the perimeter frames that followed).
More details here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/1966-buick-riviera-versus-1966-oldsmobile-toronado-closely-related-yet-so-different-part-1/
Pretty neat for a Sawzall job, but if God wanted a Riv` ragtop, he would have commanded GM to produce real ones.
My obvious question is, “What do you do when you’re out and about and it starts raining ?”
Contrary to what the song says, it does rain in California.
‘it pours, man it pours’,
Don’t tell them how you found me. Please, don’t tell them how you found me.
“Give me a break, give me a break.”
‘Seems it never rains in Southern California, seems I often heard that kinda song before’.
Excuse me…
“Give me a brake, give me a brake.”
Thx
I’d like to see the top up, or on.
My compliments to whoever did this, it improves the styling by at least 100%
Thanks for reposting this. I hadn’t seen it before. I often wondered what my 77 Riviera would have looked like as a convertible or a roadster. I really enjoy your website!
Although you obviously can’t see it here, I never realized just how much the rear window differed on the 1970 from the earlier cars in this series from 66-69. Apart from the refreshed styling in 68 and 69, Buick gave this series another makeover in 1970 that included a completely new rear window.
Amazing they must have seen my 70 Riviera. I did the same thing to mine,except I had a real working convertible top. I took the top off of a 69 Olds Cutlas Supreme. I had the hydrolic lift for the top fully functioning. Every tech. told me it couldn’t be done. When I was finished they were amazed.