1957 Buick Century Riviera Custom Hardtop

1957 Buick Century Riviera Custom Hardtop

Own a Piece of history. Customized by the famous Richard Zocchi and displayed in the Oakland Roadster Show in 1979. Movie producer William McEuen the movie producer of many Steve Martin movies bought the custom ride in 1980 and used it sparingly for parades and pleasure. The car sat in his move prop warehouse till 2010 when Ray Rapuano purchased the car and started a 7-year extensive restoration adding several upgrades while preserving Zocchi’s original design. Richard Zocchi signed picture of the ride included with the sale. Only shown twice, this car won two coveted awards; October 2017 at Charlotte AutoFair - “Most Creative Build” and spring 2018 the Goodguys “BestBitchin” award.

Zocchi did a masterful job in chopping and lowering the roof 2”, shaving doors hood and trunk, Frenching the front lights with 1976 Chrysler headlight trims, and Frenching the rear taillights with dual lights from a 1956 Buick.

When the restoration was completed, the car was shown only a few times and won some coveted awards. October 2017 at Charlotte AutoFair it received the “Most Creative Build” award and in spring of 2018 it received the Goodguys “BestBitchin” award.

For a short summary, view the attached Display Board photo and for a complete summary of all that was done to the vehicle read on below.

Included with sale – is a beautiful Display Board, Best Bitchin trophy, the Most Creative Build trophy and the signed Zocchi photo from the 1979 Oakland Roadster show, a $1000 light painting of the car, all Buick manuals and all paperwork.

Exterior

Entire car was disassembled

All stainless was sent out to be professionally polished

All chrome was also set out to be re-chromed

Front windshield was replaced

Vent glass and door glass was replaced

100% new weatherstripping

All other glass was polished

We block sanded entire car, and sanded again after epoxy primer

Entire car painted with a white/silver base

PPG Wineberry red applied in 70% overlay until correct matching color to original was obtained

4 coats of PPG clear were applied over and wet sanded after 2 coats

Final cut and buff were performed for ultimate finish

All Stainless interior and exterior were polished

All Chrome pieces interior and exterior and large bumpers were re-chromed

Pinstriping was meticulously done to original specs and even added Mr. “Mills” name to the front of the hood as originally done by the master.

New Rims, original chrome was dull

New Michelin white wall tires by Diamond Back Classics

Interior – retained seating, door panel and ceiling upholstery for original design intent

Retained seating, door panel and ceiling upholstery for original design intent

All seating upholstery was removed, and new foam was installed.

Replaced steering column with new Chrome Tilt Unit

New Billet Aluminum Eagle steering wheel with Carbon Fiber wrap

New Billet Aluminum pedals

New polished aluminum door sill plates

New Wire harness

Power windows added

Power door poppers added

Power trunk release added

Air Conditioning installed with chrome compressor

New Sony Stereo with old school exposed speakers and amp in trunk

New Electric antenna added

Dash gauge pack added, plus clock and tach

Kept original dash – re-polished bezel parts

Installed AC controls and new radio in Glovebox

Door and vent window crank handles replaced

Re-chromed many interior parts around glass areas

New dyna matt and sound insulation applied to floors and back of rear seat

Carpet changed from silver to black loop

Buick Emblem floor mats added

Seat belts added

New LED courtesy lights added under dash

New Curbside lights added in base of doors

New 3 rd brake light added

Trunk – not originally detailed

New Upholstery Installed

Battery mounted in trunk

Stereo amplifier added

Engine Bay – Not originally detailed

Battery moved to trunk

Entire engine bay sanded and painted

Replaced existing 364 Nailhead engine with a 425 Nailhead engine with tri power GM 2GC carbs – approximately 1100 cfm

HEI distributor

Ceramic coated original exhaust manifolds

New high torque mini starter

New AC system and aluminum condenser

Power front disc brakes and all new brake lines

New high performance aluminum radiator with stainless steel overflow

New 16” electric cooling fan in addition to original mechanical fan

Undercarriage – not originally detailed

The entire undercarriage, frame and wheel wells were sanded and painted black

All undercoating was removed in the process

No rust found anywhere

All new fuel lines and original fuel tank serviced

New brake lines installed

New 2” stainless dual exhaust installed

New front Cadillac heavy duty springs installed – new rear springs installed

KYB shocks added for ride handling improvement

Many front-end parts were replaced, including new steering box, steering pump and hoses, ball joints professionally rebuilt, pitman replaced, sway bar links and bushings replaced, etc.

Located in Chapel Hill, NC 27517

For more information, please call 833-265-6113 and mention ID 32116B