1971 Buick Boattail Riviera

[hgs_notes]

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.