1957 Buick Riviera: Only a station wagon will do
Station wagons are an acquired taste. Once the taste is cultivated and established, nothing but a five-door will do. Steve Pieper was driving his first modern station wagon, and realized the longer he drove it, the more useful it seemed to become. That’s when he decided to acquire to go big and get a big wagon from the 1950s. He located a 1957 Buick Special Riviera Estate Wagon whose original owner lived in Utah.
The transmission was removed and sent to a repair shop, but when the owner was told the price of the repair, he lost interest in the ’57 wagon. That’s when Pieper stepped in to purchase the 17-foot, 4-inch-long Buick and had it trucked home to Virginia with the disassembled Dynaflow transmission in three boxes in the cargo bay of the wagon.
Returning the transmission to working order was given the highest priority. Pieper found a transmission repair shop in Sandusky, Ohio, about the time he learned of another Dynaflow transmission for sale in Michigan. Hedging his bets, he headed to Ohio with his transmission in boxes — hoping all the pieces were there — where he delivered it to the transmission shop for rebuilding.
From there he motored on to Michigan to purchase the other Dynaflow transmission, just in case the first one was a failure. Four men lifted the transmission into the cargo bay of his modern wagon.
A few weeks later, the rebuilt transmission was reinstalled in the Buick, and it performed beautifully. The Michigan transmission, no longer needed, was pushed to the rear of the garage where it still rests, just in case. Pieper then turned his attention to the 364-cubicinch V-8 powerplant.
“I didn’t touch the engine,” Pieper said. A two-barrel carburetor delivers fuel to the 250horsepower V-8. He removed and cleaned the radiator. At the same time he replaced all rubber hoses and belts.
“I spent four solid days removing the paint,” he said. The original twotone color was pink over red. With the car reduced to bare metal, he discovered no hidden rust or any evidence of an accident. Pieper attributes the rust-free condition of his 75-inch-wide, 58.5-inchhigh Buick to decades spent in Utah near the Nevada border.
The interior, however, was another story. After carefully removing the seat covers and door panels, he found color-matching material that his wife carefully sewed together to match the original upholstery.
As the Buick neared the repainting stage, he wasn’t sure which colors he wanted, but he was certain he didn’t want what was on the car when it left the factory. He decided on aquamarine and silver to create the twotone color scheme. After prepping the 4,309-pound wagon for priming, he spent two days sanding it for the final coat of paint.
Driving the Buick Special Riviera Estate Wagon down the interstate highway on its 122-inch wheelbase, Pieper enjoys comfort second to none. But while doing so, the gas mileage is about 12 mpg.