Russ' '72 Riviera page

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Back in early '98 I got bit by the "Gotta get a Boat Tail" bug. So there I was scanning the Auto Trader for Boat tails and I come across this '72. Among other things the ad said "Runs a little", I wondered, is this a typo? Hmmm? I decided to keep looking, but a month later I still hadn't found the car I was looking for and this car hadn't been sold (go figure).

So  I call the owner, make a date and my wife Sandi, my buddy Marty and I hop in Marty's van and drive 100 miles to Tillamook Oregon for a look at this car.

On the way I'm thinking back to the first Riviera I remember seeing. Every Riviera lover has a story and mine goes back to about 1978. I was walking home from a buddy's house and there on this vacant lot was the coolest car I'd ever seen, it was a black on black 71-73, I'd never seen anything like it, it was incredible. I'll never forget that car.

So, back to 1998. We finally find the house and see the car in person. Well, the owner had three preschool aged kids and this was his wife's daily driver so you can guess what the interior looked and smelled like!

The engine compartment wasn't much better. The carb looked like it had been dipped in mud, the A/C compressor was frozen, and the air pump was unhooked and hanging off the motor. The power steering pump was leaking, it was blowing oil out the sending unit, water out the radiator and the timing was retarded at least 8 degrees!

(It did in fact run a little)!

  Man, it was love at first sight.  So I cut a deal on the car, timed it, swapped the carb for a good one, threw some Bars leak in the radiator and drove it home.

So it turned into a " Keep it running while I fix it up " kind of project. I've managed to do the maximum amount of work with the minimum amount of down time. As I write this the car is coming along nicely and I still love driving it.

So enjoy my site and let me know what you think!

Russ Man