Money Pit

1957 Super Riviera Coupe 56R I suppose my love for the Buick came about from reading an article in the Street Machine Magazine early 2004. Before then I really didn’t know much about them. The car was purchased in the States Mid August of 2004 and my time since it’s landing late November 2004 has been full on trying to get it to look like a car that I would be proud to own.The car once home turned out to be a Fred Flinstone vehicle where the floors had to be replaced from the boot to the front. The front guards were prefabricated to hide the battery compartment, which is now in the boot area. The engine bay now gives one the impression that there are no wires. Due to the costs involved in repairing/maintenance on the original Dynaflow transmission & 364 Nail Head Engine a decision was made to change the complete driveline. The car is now powered by a warm Chev 400 followed by a tricked up Turbo 400 tranny, which runs down to drive a Ford 9inch rear. The ride of the vehicle is now running on airbag suspension. The slowing down of the vehicle is done by a Power Booster & Master Cylinder from a V8 commodore. The front brakes are custom made by using  the disc off a BA Ford. The rear stopping system consists of large finned drums out of an XA GT. A four bar link system keeps the rear under control. The cooling system is a four-core polished brass radiator. The car has been totally re-wired and the lighting has been changed to LED globes. I am now waiting on a good set of 20" rims to complete the ride. The amount of money that can be/has been spent seems to be endless and that is why I dubbed the ride 'Money Pit'. There has been many more changes that make this ride different to that of the original design.Special thanks goes to two close mates for without them the whole thing wouldn’t have been possible. They are, my wife Julie for both her support financially and mentally and Darren for the Body fabrication, paintwork and mechanical assistance not to mention headaches for pointing out things that were wrong. The wheels shown at the top of the page are my next quest so once again money is being put aside in the so called 'Money Pit'. A big thank you goes out to all those who have voted on our ride as your support and comments help us know that it was all worth it the end.