i know how much you guys hate these kind of posts,but here it goes. i have a customer who has a nice 65 riviera gran sport.it is missing the motor,but nothing else.(the car was running,and driving before the motor was removed.)it is mint green with green interior.he is wanting to know what it is worth.i don't really care what someone would pay for it,i need a realistic price range to tell him. thanks for your help. -danny p.s. send me a pm if you want details on the car.
Not a whole lot without the engine. Probably a couple grand depending on condition. Is the transmission there? Finding the correct motor for that car could be difficult. Was it a dual quad car? I may have a correctly coded 425 but it wouldn't be cheap . What shape is the body in? Interior? This will all help determine the value. I'm huge fan of those cars and will one day own one...
S**** was $125 a ton the last I saw a price, couple weeks ago. '65 has a lot of high-dollar parts on it, the hidden headlights, tilt column, buckets, etc. Would probably sell a lot easier with some kind of motor in it, though - round up a Buick 455 or something, aught to be cheap and easy to install.
PLEASE don't put anything in there but a 425 Nail head. Preferably with dual quads. I know that it may be hard to find, but a GS Rivi is a rare and beautiful car. Putting in any engine but the 425 would be like shoving an LS1 into a Dusenberg. That car, without the engine could bring a couple thousand dollars, depending upon the condition. With a 425 dual Carter setup, it could bring double that or better. I sold a running '65 GS with original engine (rebuilt for high performance) in 1988 for 2,500 and felt like I got ripped off. Today, I wouldn't sell that car for a dime under $6,000. And it needed paint and interior work. Hope that helps.
WTF? you're kidding right? You obviously don't know what it takes to put a 455 in there... easy would be a Nailhead... 401 or 425, even if it's not the correct code, would make it a runner at least... Thank you...
In my mind an honest price would be whatever the car is worth running, then cut that in half. 20,000 sweet car w/ no engine? 10,000. 10,000 car w/ no engine? 5,000. And so on...
I would guess around $2500-3000 if it's a nice car and he's lucky. In the current marketplace it's going to be hard to sell a project like that when there are so many running, driving Rivieras on the market....GS or not.
As usual, I gotta side with zman... a 455 would not be a barrel of monkeys to install in there. As he said, finding another 425 or 401 would be the way to go.
all true, but 65s aren't as common as 63, 64. also, there is no way to identify a true gs other than having a 425 with matching numbers on the engine and vin. once the original engine is removed, it would be difficult to sell for more than a regular rivi. my guess would be no more than 5k for a nice rivi with no motor or trans. with that said, i saw a gs go for as high as 25k in original condition. i just sold a 65 gs clone to richardd in december and took a small loss on it. the market is kinda funny right now but it should soon pick up when people start getting their tax returns back, i hope...
put it on e bay with a high reserve, what ever the bidding goes up to is what it is worth. With the bad economy I am guessing people will not be willing to pay as much as they would have 2 years ago.
NADA trade in value on a running driving Riv' is about 12k, Mid is 20k and high 40k. No motor really hurts the price. However heed what is said in here already. Especially what J Man said... Mike www.Customikes.com
455, 430, 340, 350, how hard can it be? They replaced the last nailheads with the newer V8 in '67, should bolt to the trans, only issues I can see are what kind of monkeying around you'd have to do to mount the front of it, and if you have to rig up a remote oil filter because they're on the front of the later engine. I'm sure it doesn't take an act of God to figure that out. There's always a small block Chevy, I suppose, just swap the trans for one with a Chevy pattern case. I have to figure the car has no motor because someone was lazy and pulled the one in it for a rod instead of looking for one to build for their car, so odds are to put another 425 in it you'd have to spend a fortune finding one and building it.
The other Buicks will not bolt in. The Nailhead has it's own bellhousing pattern. The 455 family is wider. The motor mounts are different. And on and on. Nailheads aren't that expensive. I've seen running motors for around $1k, which would probably double the value of the car easily. I can buy a core for $500 all day and depending on condition rebuild it for around $1200 and have a helluva car. As for the SBC comment are you trying to get the clueless award?
Danny- Post up some pictures of it. I know I wouldnt let my '65 Rivi go for less than a LOT, but a cherry GS minus motor.....$5k maybe.....if everything else is pretty good shape. I agree it needs to have a Nailhead put back in there. Doubt you find a stock 2x4 for it, but no reason not to 401 or 425 it. When is he looking to put a motor in it?
Anybody got any pics of a '65 Riviera they can post? Are the '66 Rivs the same body style? I drove home a '66 with a 425 nailhead a couple years ago with the intent of using the Nailhead in a rod, but the body is rustfree and almost dent-free, so i decided to leave it alone. The ***le says it is a 1966 Buick sport, anyway. I wonder how it differ from the 1965,if at all.
Similar, not the same. '63-'64 didn't have the functional hidden headlights, they had two non-operational scoops on the rear quarters behind the doors, and the taillights were not in the bumper like the '65s. Adrian (Cochino) has a 401 I beleive is for sale locallly here in Houston. He probably knows where some others are.
this is a high dollar car, almost complete. He's got north of $20k in it with the motor. I talked with him last night thinking to buy it, but it's out of my price range. Nice guy. I just can't see $15k for a non-original, non-matching 65 rivi.
They're pretty, they have good lines, innovative features, and good power. Plus they make kick-*** lowriders. Rivi's rule.
"what is a 65 riviera worth"..it's worth putting in a nailhead to make it run, then sell it. Search out E-Bay for 63-65 Rivs, and see what they are selling for (not the buy it now prices), personally I would value a '65 over '63 and '64, colors make a difference on their value. Finding original GS engine stuff (carbs, intake, air cleaner, valve covers) are expensive, and hard to come by. Great lines on those cars.
It's one of those things that if we have to explain it you won't understand... Seriously guys the thread is over 2 years old at this point....
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