1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

I've been hunting for one of these for a few years. I've seen plenty for sale but most were out of my meager budget and the few that were affordable were too rough. Until this one came up. Located north of Fargo the seller bought it 12 years ago from someone in Morehead. He said it was sitting there for at least 8 years. He brought it home and never touched it. The car is almost all original and unmolested. Only the radio has been changed. He thought the motor was stuck because it didn't roll over by hand, it did when he bought it. The gas tank started leaking after he was moving it around, I can see a pinhole. Unfortunately new tanks are not reproduced yet. So I'll drop the tank and see if it's worth cleaning up.

What's really great is the lack of rodent damage. Very few mouse nests and no stink. What's bad? Well the fuel system for sure. Might need a new brake booster. Headliner is hanging loose. Front seat upholstery is cracked and split. Armrests are bad. Rust on the quarters, fender, passenger side floor, little in the trunk and I'm sure more yet to be found. It is straight though. The only dents are on the bumpers.

When I got it home I put a battery in it to see what still works. Three of 4 power windows work. Wipers work. Heater fan doesn't. Most of the lights work. I put a socket on the crank bolt and it rolled over fine. Tried the starter and the bendix sticks but it will grab and crank the engine. Didn't have spark so I filed the points and then it did. A little gas down the carb and it runs!

The lower radiator hose tore from my chain hitting it but the radiator was over half full when I checked it before loading. I ordered a new fuel pump and sending unit. The cranking and few seconds of run time and nothing came out of the hose at the carb. I think someone tried to get it running before and probably failed because of that. Had clean oil in it, new air/oil filters, points and condenser and I think new plugs.

I have a feeling it's been off the road since 1986-7 based on a few little things. In the trunk was a bag of car parts with a receipt from 1986. In the console were coins and some stamps. The newest coin was 1986 and the stamps were issued in November 1986. The odometer reads 52,163 and in 1986, if it had been driven average miles around 10k per year, that would be about 150k miles. It had collector plates and there's no old registration cards or insurance cards to show any use. But it sat at least 20 years and possibly as many as 37.

I have a few active projects now so I'm not planning much for this right now. I'd like to get it drivable. I might try cleaning the paint and rubbing some compound on it and see how much paint is left on it. That's about it for now.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Nice, I like Rivs, One of my mom's boyfriends had one and a Toronado, he was a luxury car guy!!

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

My Dad had a gold Boat tail Riv. He had a late 60's Riv before that. I've always had a liking for the Riveras

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

What engine does it have?

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

The standard 455.

Waiting for parts delivery and thought I would see if there was any paint left on the top side. It's basically all brown from either surface rust, paint oxidation or maybe the primer showing through. I picked one of the worst areas on the car and started buffing with some compound and under a substantial layer of oxidation, paint appeared. There was a streak through it where the paint was gone and the primer was showing, but there is still some paint. It's going to be a long slow process bringing that back but over time it'll get done.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Very cool. It's such a great body style.
Maybe leave it patina but everything new underneath?

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Cool ride. Had a 68 with a 425 Nail head. Wicked fast for a boat! 14 flat in the quarter.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Nice. A neighbor of my father in law had one a few years ago I wanted to buy. It was NFS so I forgot about it for a good while only to see it had disappeared. Hope the new owner did it justice. Always liked that body style and the 65 model.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

The car only came with 1 ignition key, which is as worn as I've ever seen. No trunk key. I ordered a new lock cylinder for the trunk, it even had an AC Delco one, with multiple sites saying it's an exact fit. It's not even close. Maybe LockDoc can help me out. I've been in contact with him and I'll be shipping out my cylinder to get rekeyed.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

As I mentioned before, it does fire up. I tried hooking up an electric fuel pump from a gas can and I could get it running but I had to keep pumping the gas for it to stay running. The carb is clogged up for sure. Rebuild kit is on the way. I really want to have it running ok so I can try the transmission. At least some of the brakes work. I used them while moving the car into a garage stall.

Here's some more pics showing it's blemishes up close. It's a nice car but really needs a lot of work.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

The dash has cracks but probably repairable unless it's super brittle. The front seat covers are beyond saving. I thought the rear my be saved but the tops where the sun hit it directly is super brittle and cracking. The stains are not coming out very much yet either. I pulled out the headliner because it was hanging and split and the insulation kept falling out. New seat covers and headliner are still available for this. So are the armrests.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Dang! That's a worthy back seat! Any girl would be proud to spend some time back there,:metal:

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

I tried a different cleaner on the rear seat that worked pretty good. I did one side for comparison. It was CLR bathroom cleaner. Previously I used some Lucas interior cleaner and 409, neither did much with the stains.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Today I got the new fuel pump and radiator hose in. Then I dropped the tank out. Oh boy. Not good. Not sure I can fix this one. Pulled the sending unit out. There's a good inch of crap in there. Looks like it's baffled too so fun times getting around that.

The old fuel cell in my garage is looking like a good option.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

I found an alternative gas tank. The same year buick centurion tank is the same size and dimensions, uses the same sending unit, but has the filler tube in the middle rear where the riviera has it on the driver side corner. So I will need to graft my filler tube onto the new tank which should be delivered tomorrow.

LockDoc made me new keys for my trunk. When I took the lock out the studs broke off from the emblem that covers the lock and holds the cylinder. I've got one of those super solders that melts at 350f so I tried it on this and it seems to be holding. The lock I bought that didn't fit the riviera came in handy anyway. I put in for a refund and got it without having to send the part back. My kid busted his trunk key off in his lock on his 75 monte carlo. This lock fit his car. Bonus!

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

The Centurion tank was delivered today and I needed to decide how I was going to swap the filler neck. FYI the centurion tank is 2" narrower, the other dimensions are similar. The area where the tank straps go is also narrower but should be fine. Welding on the new tank can be done but with difficulty. The steel used is Ni terne treated which is coated in nickel then with a tin/lead mix I think. Basically solder. The old neck is soldered into the tank so I heated with a torch and blew it out with air. With a little effort it pulled out. Next I hammered the corner of the new tank where the neck would go. There is an internal copper tube that runs diagonally across the tank as a vent and the tank wall was punctured by it. The filler neck is about 2" diameter. I used a 1.5" hole saw and could have used slightly smaller. The extra material is for the inward flange. I cut off the vent tube shorter to get it out of the way. I used a 1-7/8" hitch ball to form the flange by simply hammering it into the hole. There is a baffle that goes across the middle of the tank and the filler tube should go through it but doesn't fit. The hole in the baffle is just a bit small. So I shortened the filler tube 6" and then cut a taper in the end so at least part of the tube fits through the baffle and is supported. All that's left is for me to solder the joint like the original. And to cut off and plug the center filler neck.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

My soldering seems to be alright. I test fitted the tank in the car before soldering though. I cut off the center filler and used a 2" copper cap which I also soldered on. I plugged the vents and gas lines and put some air pressure in for a low pressure pneumatic test. No bubbles, no hissing. I think it'll be good.

Also got a new battery for it. Carb rebuild in the morning and hopefully it's a yard cruiser after lunch.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Very cool ride, love the Rivs

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

It's not a driver yet. Ran into a problem with the carb kit. First issue was that the kit that was sent was not what I ordered. Not even close. Looks like a kit for a 2 barrel holley. My fault for not confirming the part number after delivery. Second issue was that the kit I did order might not have worked anyway. The carb wasn't original to the car. It was a 1975 version. Which we then found out matched the engine. Someone swapped the engine for a 1975 version, confirmed by checking casting and production codes I found. Not a big deal to me if it's not numbers matching, etc. just that the later engine was more of a choked down dog than the 71 version. Less compression, less power, probably worse gas mileage.

Got the new tank installed and we cranked over the engine until gas pumped to the carb so that's all ready to go. Mike took the carb home with him and is getting the correct kit to rebuild it then we just need to figure out how to get it back to me.

The other thing we did was try out my new buffer/polisher. It takes forever to get through the crust on top of this paint but wait til you see the results. Even better than I expected from my initial attempt. It's like one guy said on my FB post, it looks good once you get that coat of primer off.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

That's gonna look sharp after the buff!
That '75 engine won't have the HP, but the torque should be about the same as the '71. I doubt you'll notice the difference unless you're after a time slip. Riv's are built for comfort, not quickness (but you know that).

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Yep, I'm really hoping it just runs well enough that I don't have to consider the next swap for a while.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Wow, that paint seems to really be cleaning up well. It's a lot of work, but will be so worth it.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Got the rebuilt carb installed and she's a runner! Still needs some tuning and may have a vacuum leak. Kind of a rough idle. I set the dwell and then had a problem getting it to run but think it was just flooded. It drove around the yard no problem. Transmission felt good, brakes are a little soft but work. No loud screeches or other noises. Has good oil pressure, doesn't smoke. Runs a little warm but if it's the original thermostat they were set at 195. I ordered a new stock one at the 195f temp. I went for a drive down to the county road and it rides nice. Power steering works great. No noises or major leaks. I don't trust the tires to risk a highway run so I just ordered a set of fresh white walls for it.

It's kind of amazing. Sitting at least 20 years, maybe as long as 35. New fuel system, clean the carb, file the points and go. It even did a little burn out in the driveway, both tires digging. It had the tag on the diff to use limited slip additive so that works.

Let's see of this link will work...
https://www.facebook.com/1769108114/...0760669850582/

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Nice score

And the progress is coming along nicely

Just keepnthose update(s) coming . . .

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

It runs but not great, especially when cold. Replaced just about all the vacuum lines and used some sealer between the manifold and steel shim under the carb. Still acts like a vacuum leak somewhere. It makes a rattling sound from the driver side when cold like something in the exhaust. Did a compression test and they are all over the place which also obviously is going to effect how it runs. Needs some miles on it which I won't do until the tires are replaced. New ones should be here tomorrow.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Tires came last Thursday, got them mounted and on the car Friday. So off we go and about 1.5 miles and ran out of gas. Lol. It was not running great, it was misfiring and not much power. I pulled over to the shoulder near the end of someone's driveway along the highway. I walked to the house, noticing a gas can by a Chevy luv being worked on. Nobody home but the dog. I borrowed the gas can, put a couple gallons in the Riv and head back home.

I add another couple gallons from one of my gas cans and check the timing again. I finally get the timing somewhere close to 8 BTDC. The spec is 4 but come on, nothing is going to run good with that little advance. But I also noticed that the vacuum line to the advance canister didn't have any suction. On a lot of these old GM cars there was a temperature vacuum switch with ported vacuum. Mine was stuck shut. So I ran the vacuum line to another manifold port.

I loaded the gas cans into the trunk and try again. Much better results this time. I actually made it to the gas station. It had a bit more power but was still misfiring. I filled the gas cans and returned the borrowed one fuller than when I took it. It did drive nice though. Good smooth ride, the transmission worked great, the brakes were good. Oh yeah, when I took the wheels off to get the new tires on I inspected the brakes. Everything looked good. The pads and shoes are worn fairly evenly but have a lot of miles left in them. No leaks or broken/loose bits.

I already had a pertronix ignition conversion kit ordered so I didn't mess with the points anymore. I installed that on Sunday and it was a huge improvement. The misfiring is pretty much gone. I considered putting an HEI distributor in but for a buick 455 they are really expensive compared to a Chevy one. Like $300 from summit. I got a good deal on a scratch and dent pertronix kit at Amazon for $70. The Sunday drive went much better. More power, smoother running.

Monday I installed the new PCV and grommet. The rattling noise from the driver side exhaust is some kinda valve thing that is actuated after it warms up. Today I replaced another vacuum line and rerouted the other vacuum lines from the temperature switch. And also found why the vent fan wasn't running. Just a bad ground. Easy fix.

Next up is replacing the belts, and thermostat. Then put more miles on it.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

That Riv sure is solid for where you're located...

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Put some new wipers on. Tried for days to find 18" refills with no luck. I got some rain x beam style but they are ugly, black and have a big clunky mount. I'm keeping the old chrome ones around in case I find refills.

Also replaced the thermostat with a 180f compared to the 196f original. It held in the 180-190 for a while then crept up to 210 by the end of the 20 mile drive. Not great considering it was a cool evening. I'm going to have to see if I can find a radiator shop and flush the system. It ran decent though and I had a pleasant drive.

The odometer hit 52222.2 and I really don't know if it's rolled over 100k yet. Wouldn't be surprised either way.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

It's been a busy month. I work on the riv occasionally. My daughter got married a couple weeks ago. Sold a couple parts cars. Worked on the cobra a little. Helped a friend swap the transmission on his square body suburban. Did that pesky job thing to keep the bills paid. Etc. Etc.

I have been trying to flush the coolant system off and on the past couple weeks. It helped quite a bit but during the last longer drive it still creeps up to 200+. Going to keep flushing it and see what happens. The cleaner doesn't cost much.

Changed the oil for the first time today. When I got the car it had clean unused oil in it. I added some marvel mystery oil to it and drove with that a while. The oil came out dirty but no moisture and still very good viscosity. Put the same mix back in it. I'm going to add some additive to the gas also and see if it helps the valves. The compression test didn't improve yet and for the one very weak (45 psi) cylinder I used the endoscope and I could see pitting on the wall. Probably had some water in it at some time. The spark plug actually looks good on it.

Today I wanted to see if the cruise control would work. I got a new ball stud connector for it since the original plastic one melted on the intake manifold. The dang exhaust crossover really gets hot. Didn't find a direct replacement so I used a steel one and made it work. Then found a loose vacuum connection on the cruise. Then found no vacuum at all to that system. Started tracing vacuum lines again and found that the line from the carb to the vacuum pot on the firewall wasn't connected. Replaced that line but still wasn't getting vacuum to the cruise.

I bought the service manual off ebay and found the right routing and got everything connected properly. The ventilation system works now! The fan worked intermittently and I found a bad connector on the high speed relay. The controller on the dash is working now. The ac compressor works and there's still some pressure in the system but it doesn't blow cold air. Old r12 system that was never converted but I think I can get it working.

I had intermittent power to the cruise unit when I push the button on the stalk. Going to try and follow the service manual troubleshooting steps and see if I can get it working.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

The original AC system was intact and still had pressure in it. It's still R12 which is expensive and hard to get. But I learned that there's an alternative other than R134. Look up duracool or 12a refrigerant. There's YouTube videos and it's widely available. You can get it on Amazon. I bought a kit off ebay that had refrigerant with dye, sealer, oil, the adapter and instructions.

If you look up the SDS for 134 you'll find it's basically flammable gasses. 12a is pretty much propane and something else like butane maybe. Anyway the 12a will mix fine with R12 so you don't have to evacuate the system. Just need the adapter for a 134 connector to put on the R12 system Schrader valve. My system is a 4.5 pound fill which is bigger than most so I opted to get extra cans of 12a. I started with 23psi still in the system, just a little low after sitting 20+ years.

I started with the can that had the oil in it, figuring it wouldn't hurt. Then added the sealer, then straight 12a. Added 5 cans total and the pressure came up to 32 and blows cold. Couldn't be simpler. This stuff is more efficient than 134 and a larger molecule so less prone to leaking. It cost me about $100 with shipping and I have an extra can if I need to add more.

I put the new trunk seal on the other day. Had to adjust the catch to get it to latch with the new seal. Hopefully I can tighten it down over time because it sits up higher than the quarters now.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Such a nice old ride. Loving these updates.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

I'm not sure if I want to see that Cobra run or this Riv's paint rubbed out first.
You have a lot on your plate. I hope it all stays fun for you.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

I guarantee the cobra will be on the road before I finish buffing this.

I always have multiple projects going. When I get tired of one or hit a snag or waiting for parts I always have something to play with.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Started putting some time into this project. The starter has been hanging up, the solenoid clicks but doesn't engage with the flywheel and crank. Took it out and bench tested it, nothing wrong that I could see. Lubed it and reinstalled. So far it's working.

I've been wet sanding with the random orbital. Did more of the hood, got the roof and the tops of the rear quarters and half the trunk lid. I'm pretty sure I know what's going on with the paint. I thought the hood was extremely oxidized but now I believe it was primer. The car was resprayed once. Not a good job, probably one of those cheap earl schibe jobs. The color you see on the bottom half is a darker shade than the original. On most of the upper area that darker paint has oxidized off. You can see patches here and there but it's very thin. Then there's a brown primer over the factory paint. I'm basically removing a respray job with a buffer and 1500 grit. Fun times.

In some of the pics you can really see the transition of darker newer paint, brown primer with fish eyes, and factory paint.

I think I'm pretty set on doing the standard LS swap. I've already got a couple engines, an LM7 and an early 6.0 with iron heads. I have a set of rebuilt heads on the shelf. So probably just go through a short block, swap the cam and valve springs, go through the factory harness and do it as cheap as possible. Looking for a used 4L80 now.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

That hood's as big as some backyards LOL.
An LS/4L80 would drastically change the character of the car. After careful deliberation, I say "go for it!".

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

I'm a big time LS fan.
A well built 4L60E will handle a semi stock 6.0 quite well. May be a 2800 stall converter depending on you cam?
So let me spend some of your cash.
24 tooth crank reluctor 6.0 iron block. So you need one ECM for the engine and trans control. I like and use the OEM ECM's but some like the Holley stuff.
Add L92 heads, upgraded valve springs, upgraded push rods, LS7 lifters and maybe a truinion rocker arm upgrade?
LS3 intake and 42 .lb injectors. LS3 DBW throttle body.
Cam wise a 220I/225E. Around .600 lift. 114 CL?
3.73 gear wise.
Headers?
I'm up in west central MN if you want to talk LS swaps.
Good luck with your project.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Time and money, that's all it takes right? Once I knew the engine was hurt from sitting forever I figured the swap was inevitable.

I learned a lot doing the first LS swap in my crewcab. I'm sure a 4L60 would handle a mild build 6.0 just fine but since it has a TH400 now that has the same spline count as the 4L80 and is just a more stout transmission. Looking at the used market there isn't much cost difference for one coming out of a drivable car.

There is almost zero info out there on doing an LS swap in these cars. Several builds on earlier Rivs but not the boattails. They are an E body and the other brands E body cars are front wheel drive. So no off the shelf mounts are designed for it. But it has a big engine bay, the steering is in front of the crossmember like a GM truck, rear sump oil pan, similar exhaust manifold outlets as a truck. It's probably not a big difference from the 454/TH400 swap I did on the crewcab. I can get universal mounts and just weld the tabs where they need to go or make my own. Not sure I'll jump into this this winter or not. I tend to get into things while other projects are waiting and I do want to get the cobra at least ready for paint if not completely finished. And I would like to finish up the crewcab too, which needs body work and paint and the heater/AC system done.

So I "should" be letting this be as is and just drive it until I'm ready to tear into it. Anyone reading this that is familiar with other projects of mine knows everything I have is a long term project and I rarely give up on them.

On another note, the last time I drove the car I heard a rattling sound from the front of the engine. Fan/water pump pulley was loose. Weird because the bolts were tight. I took it apart the other day and the pulley was missing the center, like it had been hacked out for some reason. The bolt holes were a bit oblonged out, the bolts were damaged on the threads from it rubbing. So I bought some new bolts and figured I would try and just bolt it back in and see if it would be tight enough but then I looked at the nose of the water pump and found the middle of the pulley. Never seen one break before. A friend is going to see if he has one on a 455 he has. Otherwise I'll have to search around on my own.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

New radiator came last week. I ordered an aluminum 3 row with a shroud and fans. I'm saving the shroud and fans for after the engine swap. It was only $50 extra for that. Last time I got the radiator without the shroud and it costs like $100 or more just for a shroud. The new radiator fit pretty good. I did cut out a small area by the radiator cap for clearance.

Refilled the radiator with antifreeze and then stopped, momentarily because I don't have a good pulley for the fan. I should next weekend but what about now? So I welded the center back into the broken pulley and installed it. I don't trust it for anything more than a short drive and that's what I did. I let it warm up and vent the air out, then drove it around. It stayed between 180-185. When I got home I kept it idling for another 10 minutes or so and it didn't go over 185. That's without the fan shroud. I didn't put it in because it's easier to put the fan and belts on without it in the way. I gotta replace the fan and pulley anyways once I get them.

Another problem fixed for a couple hundred bucks.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

Almost a month later I finally found a good pulley. It's kind of odd that you can't really find pulleys for sale new other than aftermarket. I tried one of those too, off ebay. Aluminum pulley that was too large of diameter. The one my friend had was on a 71 engine which has a short water pump and doesn't fit. I called every junkyard within an hour with no luck. So I grabbed the broken pulley and went to the local junkyard. He had already told me he didn't have any old 455s but I figured I could find something that would fit if I looked around.

He had a half barrel full of miscellaneous pulleys and eventually he pulled one out that matches. It has a part number on it that said it was for an Oldsmobile 3.8l 6 banger. OK, don't care as long as it fits mine. Oh and just $20! And I got a refund for the ebay one that didn't fit. Some sandblasting and paint made it look presentable. There is an aluminum spacer between the pulley and fan and it really didn't fit right. The in the middle wasn't quite deep enough. Someone put a narrow washer in as a spacer. Not thin, just narrow like a lock washer but not split. I think that's why the pulley broke. Not enough area to spread the load. I drilled the spacer a bit deeper and sanded the face down a bit flatter.

So the cooling system is fixed. I stopped by a guys place here that has an RV I'm going to pull parts from for my free candy van. Wanted to show him this beauty. has another LS (LM7) with about 130k miles he'll sell me for $100. Deal! Driving the riviera it has a miss, likely from the nearly dead cylinder and the other 2 very weak ones. It acts like it's surging on the highway and IDK if it's just from the misfiring or if the tranny is momentarily slipping. I haven't done anything to it yet beyond checking the fluid level after I got it home. I just don't trust it for a longer drive yet. Needs more work.

Re: 1971 Buick Boattail Riviera
 

As said I'm big time LS fan but I would be very tempted to pull the Buick engine apart and see what's good and bad if it's a 455. I would not rebuild a Buick 350.