My 1975 Buick Riviera...

tonyb

treitz3 wrote: »

My baby was a Gold 1979 Trans Am 6.6 liter w/ the shaker hood and brown/tan bird. Completely stock with the exception of the rims and tires. Great car. Got her as a teen with 36K miles on her. Close to mint condition. Good times.

Tom

Had a 79 and a 80 turbo TA, which both were featured in the Bandit movies. The 80 was a dog compared to the 455 powered TA's of the day. Looked sharp, just didn't have the giddy up of it's predecessors.

One car I just never managed to own for one reason or another but always wanted....the GTO's of the era. The Judge was sharp. Didn't really chase that dream though after having the Buick GS, wish I still had that one.

I see some of you had a fancy for the Griswold mobile, wood panels and all. lol

motorhead43026

Yeah, those Bandit TA's were sheep in wolves clothing.

Love the GS Buick line, 1968 on with the 1970 model being my favorite. I was shopping for a GS when I bought my 68 442.

TNTsTunes

I just wish I would have kept the '71 'Cuda 340 4 speed I owned for most of the '80s. It could run 11's on street tires and pull the front end on hole shots on the street. That was the one that should have never got away for me.

I also liked the '69 Cutlass with the factory 310hp 350, a 4 speed and a 3.73 rear gear. That was my first car.

tonyb

Old Detroit Iron was the best, ya needed some HP to move those heavy beasts too. In a fender bender, those cars were tanks and would total out any of todays cars.

Any Road Runner fans, Superbirds ? Cuda's were sweet, so were the Torino's. So many awesome cars from that era, wtf happened ?

nooshinjohn

tonyb wrote: »

Old Detroit Iron was the best, ya needed some HP to move those heavy beasts too. In a fender bender, those cars were tanks and would total out any of todays cars.

Any Road Runner fans, Superbirds ? Cuda's were sweet, so were the Torino's. So many awesome cars from that era, wtf happened ?

They did some crash testing of old vs. new a while back. The results were shocking to say the least. While the new cars were really messed up, the older cars were even worse. The big difference was the drivers of the newer cars walked away while those in the old stuff weren't so lucky.

TNTsTunes

I watched this awhile back and was impressed with the results.

https://youtu.be/fPF4fBGNK0U

treitz3

tonyb wrote: »

Had a 79 and a 80 turbo TA, which both were featured in the Bandit movies. The 80 was a dog compared to the 455 powered TA's of the day. Looked sharp, just didn't have the giddy up of it's predecessors.

Mine had the Oldsmobile 403 engine (automatic). Plenty of torque to go around but HP was lacking. Pretty much all of the power with that engine was under 3500 RPM. Would have loved to have driven the 455. If memory serves me correctly, I think the TA only went up to around 127 MPH and it took about 5 gallons of gas to get up to that speed.

Freakin' GREAT car though. Man, I had some fun with her.

In my old neighborhood, we had Judges, Goats, heavily modified bugs, Deloreans, Ferrari's, Corvette's, Superbees....oh my gosh, you name it, we had it. Even had a Rolls Royce or two. Right across the street, my neighbor Chad had a.....I think it was a '68 split bumper convertible Corvette. Gorgeous car.

My current neighborhood has some nice cars as well but not one of them would I drool over like I did as a kid. When it comes to cars, the current selection isn't cranking out "legends" like they did back in the day.

Speaking of the Buick station wagon....my friends grandparents used to drive out to the Chesapeake when we were kids and we would drop the tailgate down, lay on it with pillows beneath our heads and stare at the stars whilst flying down the highway at 55mph. If you tried to do that nowadays, the driver would be arrested in a heartbeat. That thing was a boat.

Tom

motorhead43026

Torque, I love torque 4.11 rear gear in the Olds.

SCompRacer

Kewl old iron John.

I learnt my trade on '60's and early '70 cars. Worked in a shop that did everything including engine repair/rebuilds, trans rebuild, rear diff rebuild.

My last street/strip car in mid '90's, '72 Chevelle SS clone, 468BBC, open chamber big port heads, Super Stock rear suspension mods, suspension all poly bushed, 3.5" Dr Gas xover exhaust system. 4,160 lbs with me in it (I only weighed 180 back then...a little north of that now). 10" wide slicks just fit in rear wheel house.

SS mod was to lower the body mount for the rear diff upper control arm to change the instant center to the cars anti squat line and center of gravity. Draw a line through each control arm and where they intersect is your IC, or point of lift.

In '70 they stretched the Chevelle and added hundreds of pounds. It ran high 10's, got an old video somewhere.

mrbigbluelight

The thing about the Buick Roadmaster station wagon was that if you were going on a cross country trip, once you loaded up the 'Master with half of the household furnishings ("Don't forget the couch !"), before you even got out of the driveway you were half way to your destination.

We couldn't afford the King, so we had to settle for a Ford Squire station wagon
Not mine, but this was the same color, WITH psuedo wood grain panels, thank you very much.



Although the local drive-in always had a "Kids Under 12 Free" deal, we would always put the kids in the back, semi-close the dual facing rear seats, put a blanket over them, and "sneak" them in.
Sort of gave them a taste of what real 'Merica was all about back in the day.

erniejade

Nice pickup on the riv even though it needs some work, the inside looks solid. I used to have a 76 with the 455 but it was a dog. Sold that for a 72 cutlass ragtop, got tired of having to mess with it after winter storage and always having to adjust it and got a 2000 trans am ragtop, and 3+ years ago 07 corvette ragtop z51 suspension.

erniejade

Just shy of 23,000 miles on it.

txcoastal1

I started sub-contracting security installs in a big old Old's station wagon like that, all I could afford. Paid $800 for and it started with a screw driver

tonyb

Sweet ride Brian.

Didn't everyone have a beater they had to use a screwdriver to start it with ? lol Had an old one with no tranny linkage, had to get under the car and hit the lever manually to change from drive to reverse. Car started in any gear though, just had to remember to keep your foot on the brakes.

Rich, also sweet, those Chevelles rocked. Probably wish ya still had it huh. Detroit also had some cool colors back then, dark blue metal flake was one of my favs.

ken brydson

My '79 Z28, bought new at age 19. As was mentioned earlier, good torque but not much HP by todays standards. Got me some serious **** back in the day though...

scubalab

TNTsTunes wrote: »

I watched this awhile back and was impressed with the results.

https://youtu.be/fPF4fBGNK0U

I often show the IIHS 50-year video in my highway safety classes. It's surprising how many students would pick the '59 Chevy over the '09 in that matchup. We've come a long way in 50 years with safety improvements not only to vehicles, but also on highways.

One of my favorite (and very effective) highway safety improvement, SNAPs (Sonic Nap Alert Pattern):

motorhead43026

I agree, but you wouldn't want to get t-boned by that 59.

scubalab

True! But, unfortunately we can't pick the vehicles that hit us.

That said, I would 100% rather be sitting in the '09 than the '59 if I got t-boned by a '59 though!

erniejade

I remember in the early 80's I had a 74 Malibu that the floor boards rusted out and you could see the road as you drove and passengers had to spread their legs around the holes. Good times.

EndersShadow

erniejade wrote: »

passengers had to spread their legs around the holes. Good times.

So I take it you ONLY let girls ride in your car

pitdogg2

erniejade wrote: »

I remember in the early 80's I had a 74 Malibu that the floor boards rusted out and you could see the road as you drove and passengers had to spread their legs around the holes. Good times.

Easy beer can/bottle disposal though....
I have had my fair share of those vehicles.

kharp1

Had one just like this right out of high school, only car I wish I'd kept.

mhardy6647

that (^^^) is a fine looking automobile.

tonyb

mhardy6647 wrote: »

that (^^^) is a fine looking automobile.

Yep, my favorite body style for the Firebird. Liked the Camaro LT-1 too .

dkfreebird

This is my favorite Firebird.I picked it up 2 years after high school.I kept it for 10 years and ended up selling it to get a BMW in 1992. Stupid move! It needed work but it was a 400 4 speed.It took about a year to get it up to par but it was worth it. It is worth at least triple what I sold it for today.

mhardy6647

tonyb wrote: »

mhardy6647 wrote: »

that (^^^) is a fine looking automobile.

Yep, my favorite body style for the Firebird. Liked the Camaro LT-1 too .

I have to confess -- I liked the Camaro's styling (front & rear ends) a tad better than the Firebird of that era... but, heck, I would't turn down either one at this late date

tonyb

Beautiful cars gents, brings back lots of memories.

heiney9

Sorry guys............I'd rather have this 1970's automobile









H9

heiney9

mhardy6647

Heck -- when new, they weren't even all that expensive!

And, of course, lacking 12-cyl engines, they weren't considered fit to be called Ferrari by the Old Man, so they were Dinos (in honor of his late son, not Fred Flinstone's pet).




Do you have one (i.e., is that yours in the lower photo)? Is it a 206 or a 246? I am rusty with my Ferraris.