And now for something completely different...

[Ace-Garageguy]

1968 Buick Riviera, 11" engine setback, Winters QC rear end, real carbon fiber flared fenders and panels, fabricated suspension, 780 crank HP, 718 ft.lb. torque. Definitely cool, definitely different.

 

 

[Snake45]

The front end could use some cleanup, but that's the coolest '68 Riv I've ever seen. (I consider the '66 to be perfect, and everything they did to it after that to have made it worse [except the improved engine, of course].) 

This ALMOST inspires me to model it on a common '69 kit. (I bought three of them JUST for parts to restore a couple of '66 and '67 kits and promos I have). 

[cobraman]

Tough car but that front end ? I have to agree with Snake the front could use some work. Cool car anyway.

[Scott Colmer]

I like it too, but if I wanted to play rough with it, I would like a roll cage or at least a roll bar. I assume it's not a unibody.

[iamsuperdan]

I respect the work, but that front end styling is not my taste at all.

 

 "50 Year Old Buick That Can Outperform Super Cars With 780 Horsepower"

Well of course. Give me any car ever made, and a mega-buck budget, and I'll build you a car that can eat exotic supercars too!

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'm not a fan of the front end either, and I agree it needs at least a roll-bar.

There are always things individuals would do differently...and I grant the blurb about its performance in the vid is pretty silly. The lack of outside shots of the car is annoying too.

BUT...if the owner is telling the truth, this is an owner-built car primarily, in the true tradition of hot-rodding. When asked why he started with this car, he said "it's the car I had". There you go. Hot-rodding.

It presents some interesting ideas for somebody who has a gluebomb lying around, or just an unloved kit that needs a fresh sense of direction.

That's all.

Maybe the thread ought to be moved down to the reference pix section anyway.

Edited October 13, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Snake45]

4 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Maybe the thread ought to be moved down to the reference pix section anyway.

No! Leave it here! Lots more views and comments and ideas! 

For example, I'm now trying to imagine what I could possibly do to a '69's front end to make it actually look good. 

[BigTallDad]

Yeah, but what kind of gas mileage does it get?

[Ace-Garageguy]

11 minutes ago, BigTallDad said:

Yeah, but what kind of gas mileage does it get?

Probably not as good as a 9-second Geo Metro...

 

Edited October 13, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Mark]

I'd like to see the chassis...how'd he get that much engine setback?  Did he ditch the stock X-frame?  Boyd Coddington did one of his builds ('59 Chevy) with about that much setback; the engine/transmission got raised a bit so everything cleared the "X".  He'd already chopped off the frame ahead of the firewall, and behind the front seat, leaving me wondering why he didn't just lose the rest of the frame and start over.

The car looks neat.  As for the front end treatment, it works as-is but would look better with a chrome bumper.  But then again, the whole thing "works" just the way it is.

[slusher]

9 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Probably not as good as a 9-second Geo Metro...

 

Fast little car.. Thanks Bill for posting the neat videos...

[espo]

Neat videos. I like the look of the Rivera and agree the front end may use a little clean up. The supports for the Spliter are unavoidable but the grill bars could be changed for the better. I think if he painted the body all one color would also help, and yes it would be a shame to paint over the Carbon Fiber  body panels.   

[Jon Cole]

Looks to me like it's a "work in progress", with the raw 'glass nose, and lack of finished paint.

[Ace-Garageguy]

18 hours ago, Jon Cole said:

Looks to me like it's a "work in progress", with the raw 'glass nose, and lack of finished paint.

You've probably seen the tuners who run bare carbon so that everyone knows it's carbon, even though much of it is fake overlays.

The carbon on this car is real, entirely hand-crafted, not out of a catalog, and my guess the owner is proud of the effort and skill that went into making it. 

Only real downside to running "bare" carbon is the potential for UV damage to the resin. That can be dealt with pretty effectively with an automotive clear that contains UV inhibitors (as most of them do these days).

This car also seems to be trailered a lot, and probably lives out of the sun most of the time.

[ChrisBcritter]

Agreed on the front end (I thought it had a bra on at first ), but it does look like an alternative treatment you could try on a '66 Skylark Modified Stocker (or any other AMT Mod Stocker).