FEATURE: A feast of luxury - 1964 Buick Riviera

Octane Fix Online Issue 11

LUXURY A Feast of

1964 BUICK RIVIERA

You are bound to have seen some of the BurgerFuel’s fleet of awesome muscle cars cruising around some of the shows that we get along to, or rolling down the drag strip at Meremere Dragway getting amongst it and proving that they are not there to just look good!

I finally managed to get my hands on this stunning Buick Riviera to fully feast my eyes on. This deluxe model here is from the beginning of GM’s launch into the personal luxury automobile market and is simply stunning as to how they built and how they finished their cars way back then! I always rave on how the designers back in the fifties and sixties were fully designing cars as pieces of art and this model here proves my point! The Riviera was built and named as such to evoke the passion of the French Riviera, alluring the emotion of class and affluence. Unlike the standard luxury cars of the day, the rear seats in these Riviera’s are also bucket seats, defining the car into four separate areas with a walnut wood finished centre console and aluminium trim to give each passenger their own personal area. Hence their marketing of a personal luxury car. The seats are as if straight out of your lounge from back in the sixties with deep buttoned trim and wide arm rests. The detailing with the electric windows all round, personal cigarette lighter for the rear passengers, electric seat control for the driver and the multiple interior courtesy lights not only looks classy but adds luxury to the ride. It really is a comfortable car to cruise in! It’s not just a cruiser either. Fitted with a 465ci V8 and weighing in at around 180kg lighter than the earlier Buicks and Thunderbirds, these awesome looking luxury cars will still get along at over 100mph. The dealer cards stating 115mph (185kph) max speed for the smaller 400ci versions. The finishing, style and grace of the Buicks has always done it for me. They are truly a step up in the luxury sense. The grill covers protruding over the headlights tying back to the centre grill giving a custom feel to the car. The stainless side trims alluding to vents to the rear wheel arches all makes for a staunch looking muscle car but luxury at the same time. The metal forming of the panels around the car including the moulded bonnet to

the Riviera “R” emblem is truly a credit to designers and builders of the time. I can certainly understand why BurgerFuel picked the Riviera. This is one of those cars that could be comfortable anywhere. Parked outside your local diner with a burger tray hanging off the window or in the courtyard of a mansion. The rumble from the factory twin exhaust putting that smile on your face as soon as that growly ole V8 starts up, letting you know this is a special car that could rip down the quarter mile no worries at all. The plate “DOOFER” referring to the multiple speakers and amplifiers filling the custom lined boot space certainly steps it into the custom show space but still carrying its classiness with it. It really is awesome to see the passion and enthusiasm that BurgerFuel put into their builds. The paint work on their cars is truly awesome. The custom three tone pearl colour fading through purple tinges to blue honestly catches your eye on the curves as it transitions. It simply sparkles in the sunlight and makes these classic cars stand out by accentuating the factory lines and style. You could honestly rock into a hot rod show with any one of their builds. Vika is the rev head that looks after their fleet there, and believe me, she certainly has attention to detail and knows how to keep them wheels turning, which as we know, isn’t an easy task some days with these old rides! Definitely take your time to check this ride out if you get the chance, it really is a stunning piece of luxury auto-art!

Give me the dirt…

OWNER: BurgerFuel Group

MAKE/MODEL: 1964 Buick Riviera

COLOUR: Custom 3 tone pearl fade

ENGINE: 465 cubic inch, triple carb with mild cam

TRANSMISSION: Auto

DIFF:

Factory

BRAKES: Disk brakes & vacuum booster

WHEELS/TYRES: 15” unique wheels wrapped in P325/75R15 Cooper Trendsetter SE tyres

So how long have you owned the car? 7 years

Where did you find it, import or around NZ? On good old TradeMe

Any other cool cars in the shed? At HQ we have a ‘72 Ford Fairmont, ’65 Dodge Coronet and the Buick and our awesome franchisees around the country have an array of cars like: Valiant Charger, Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Torino, Plymouth Barracuda, Oldsmobile Cutlass and many more

Favourite style of car? We do love a Coupe but anything in the muscle era

What’s on the stereo right now? Radio BurgerFuel of course!

Are you involved in any car clubs? We host many at BurgerFuel stores around the country. We have 58 stores nationwide

Did you buy the car as is or build it? Bought and modified to our taste

What condition was it in when you got it? It was a baby blue colour and relatively stock

Anyone you would you like to thank for helping with the car? Rapid Radio for the sound system, Fuel Conversions and Auto Repairs for the mechanical maintenance, Steve Levine for the custom paintjob and Jonny Promo for sourcing our fleet

What’s the background to the fleet? The BurgerFuel fleet is made up of customs, classics and muscle cars built in ‘the muscle car era’ between 1965 and 1972 and, like our burgers, they are all customised in some special way and branded the iconic trademark 3-tone fade pearl paint job.

Four machines reside at HQ and franchisees throughout the country own a wide range of branded custom classics – they might be parked proudly at store fronts, seen cruising the streets on the school run, at local events… or sit languishing at the mechanics, waiting for some rare part to be flown in from The States, to get it cranking again. Anyone who owns a classic will know well the investment, in both time and the dollars, not to mention foregoing reliability all together. Just getting from A to B shouldn’t be an expectation, but a bonus, when you’re rolling in a ride that’s been around for 30+ years. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

The BurgerFuel Franchisee Collection consists of a varied and eclectic range of machines, such as a ’71 Chrysler Valiant Charger, ’66 Chrysler 300, ’72 Holden Kingswood, ’72 Ford Torino Ranchero, ’67 Plymouth Barracuda, ’69 Chevrolet Camaro, ’71 Ford Torino, ’75 Holden Ute HJ – and the list goes on...

Our burger names pay homage to all things cars, from the Bacon Backfire, V8 Vegan and Ford Freakout, to the American Muscle and Burnout. And a glance back at the menu from the early days show we’ve always been keen on a bit of word play, with burger names like Chicknition Pear, Studnut Stilton and Pontiac Pickle.

Some cringey, some pure genius – but one thing’s for sure, we’ve got plenty more Burger/Car puns where those came from!

Each and every BurgerFuel is unique and designed to set our instore environments apart from the rest. Look around and you’ll find subtle hints of auto influences throughout the dining room. From the specially engineered piston Doofer dispenser and retro car interior inspired bench seating, to the hanging ‘lollipop’ signage above the counter, a nod to speedo dials on a dashboard. Perhaps, the most infamous is the spark plug chandeliers, made bespoke and hung above most stores’ communal tables (watch your head). Next time you’re in Taupo, stop by and check out the car parts suspended from the ceiling.