1964 Buick Riviera

1964 Buick Riviera — Fully Restored, 425ci Nailhead V8, Red and White


Why This Car Is Special

The 1964 Buick Riviera occupies a very specific place in American automotive history. When the first-generation Riviera debuted for 1963, it was Buick's answer to a question GM had been asking for years: could an American car compete with European grand tourers on design and refinement while still delivering the performance and comfort that American buyers expected? The answer was yes, and the car that delivered it was styled under the direction of Bill Mitchell and largely executed by designer Ned Nickles. The result was one of the cleanest, most purposeful shapes to come out of Detroit in the 1960s.

By 1964, Buick made meaningful updates that collectors now recognize as improvements over the debut year. The front end received a revised grille with a more refined look, and the hidden headlights — one of the Riviera's most distinctive features — were refined for smoother operation. More importantly, 1964 was the first year Buick offered the larger 425 cubic inch Wildcat 465 Nailhead V8 as the standard engine in the Riviera, replacing the 401 that had powered the 1963 model. That displacement bump, combined with the Nailhead's unusually high torque output, gave the 1964 Buick Riviera a mechanical edge that the first-year car simply did not have.

Buick produced 37,658 Rivieras for the 1964 model year, up significantly from the 40,000-unit cap that had been placed on 1963 production. Every one of them came with the 425 Nailhead as standard equipment. The car was not cheap when new — it stickered at over $4,300, placing it firmly in luxury-performance territory alongside the Cadillac Eldorado and Chrysler 300. This particular 1964 Buick Riviera has been fully restored and presents in white over a red vinyl interior, one of the most striking color combinations the car was offered in during the first-generation run.


Features List

- Buick 425ci Wildcat 465 Nailhead V8
- 340 horsepower, 465 lb-ft of torque
- Super Turbine 400 3-speed automatic transmission
- Air conditioning
- Power steering
- Power brakes
- Power driver seat
- Power windows
- Front bucket seats
- Rear bucket seats
- Red vinyl interior throughout
- Center console
- Wood grain interior trim
- Digital Dakota gauge cluster
- Magnum 500 wheels
- New whitewall tires
- Dual exhaust
- New brakes
- All-new suspension
- New AM/FM Bluetooth stereo
- Chrome bumpers, front and rear
- Clean undercarriage
- Fully restored
- Restored trunk


Mechanical

The Nailhead V8 was a Buick-exclusive engine family that earned its nickname from the unusually small, vertically oriented valves that resembled nailheads when viewed from above. By 1964, the engine had grown to 425 cubic inches and was offered in two states of tune. This car carries the higher-output Wildcat 465 version, rated at 340 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. That torque figure is the number that matters in real-world driving — it arrives low in the rev range and makes the Super Turbine 400 automatic feel effortless under normal acceleration. The ST-400 was one of the better transmissions available in this period, a General Motors 3-speed automatic that was smooth, durable, and well-suited to the Nailhead's torque characteristics.

The undercarriage photos tell a clear story: this car has had a full suspension rebuild, with the frame, control arms, and related hardware coated in satin black. The brake system has been replaced as well, which is the right call on any 60-year-old car regardless of how it looks on the surface. The dual exhaust exits cleanly at the rear and has the correct look for the car. The undercarriage itself is solid and clean, with no visible rot or patch repairs — an important detail on any unibody car of this era. The Riviera used a perimeter frame rather than full unibody construction, which is part of why well-preserved examples tend to hold up structurally better than some of their cont