1968 Buick Riviera GS Tucked Away for Decades Emerges With Allegedly Super-Rare Color
The 1968 Riviera received a major refresh, and many people believed the facelift contributed to Buick’s amazing sales for the entire model year. The company sold over 652,000 cars, and the Riviera accounted for approximately 50,000 units.
Buick also made the Riviera more expensive, so the base Riviera could now be had for $4,615. For $132 more, customers could order the GS package, which included handling upgrades and a new chrome lid for the air cleaner.
Only 5,337 GS models rolled off the assembly lines, and few are still alive today. One of these rare Buicks landed on Craigslist this week.
The car spent decades in storage, and the owner explains that it was parked inside in 1991. It hasn’t moved since then, but a previous owner disassembled the car for a restoration project. They never started the work on the car, so the Riviera is still unrestored, with most parts now in boxes. You’ll get the complete package, so if something’s missing in the photos shared by the owner, they are likely in a box.
The engine has also been removed. The car rolled off the assembly lines with a 430 four-barrel mill—the only engine available on the Riviera, developing 360 horsepower. The same unit is allegedly available for the buyer, albeit its condition is unknown. The engine is also disassembled.
The bit that sets this Riviera apart from the crowd isn’t just the GS tags. The car is painted in Scarlet Red without the vinyl top, and while I couldn’t find any numbers on this, the owner claims this configuration is extremely rare. They said they talked to Riviera experts and have been told that less than 20 examples used this setup. Again, I couldn’t find any data to back these claims, so you should take the information with a pinch of salt.
Otherwise, finding something that could make you walk away if you’re interested in a Riviera GS for restoration is hard. It checks all the essential boxes for a restoration candidate and comes with original black license plates. It’s not running, but depending on your ambitions, you could restore the car to factory condition and turn it into a rare museum piece.
The selling price makes sense for a ’68 Riviera GS, although I would have expected it to be higher, considering how rare it is. The owner wants only $10K for this rare model, so it’s probably a matter of time until someone finds this Riviera GS and takes it home. It’s parked near Ventura, and you’ll need a trailer to take it home.
