1968 Buick Riviera: Buick Refreshes Its Second-Generation Masterpiece

Learn more about the 1968 Riviera, complete with a walkaround of a beautiful, Silver Beige Iridescent Mist vehicle.

[@P.Galore]

For some reason between 1965 and 1972 there was an undefined creative muse that inspired the best music, art, design and creativity of enormous proportions. Once you get passed 1973, it dissipated into thin air.

[@ahoorakia]

those were last years of vietnam war and they did the best to distract the people mind with every thing they could ,so they didn't have to explain their failure in war😡

[@Richard4point6]

Agree.

[@Richard4point6]

The '67 styling is superior to the '68.

[@zeroceiling]

I think it was a time of un-recognized limits. Anything seemed possible…from Warhol….to the Mustang to monstrous thirsty engines that torched gas with no fear of the future. We had The Doors opening a psychedelic world through music..simultaneously co-existing with Janis Joplin…with a devil-may care “live for today” attitude that..actually turned out prophetic. This was the cauldron…the zeitgeist I think you are referring to. Oh yeah…and the cars were awesome as well…like a second wind coming from the direction of Frank Lloyd Wright…only in a mobile form…

[@Humandriver5280]

Perhaps it was the drugs.

[@TinHatRanch]

I️ normally don’t like silver or vinyl tops, but the car featured in this video is just right!

[@kaybroughton9004]

Loved watching this! Thank you so very much. I'm old enough to remember the first generation of Rivera automobiles and they were truly a work of art. Thanks once again for a very interesting and informative experience!

[@rogersmith7396]

Patrick Swaze used them as beaters in "Road House". His good car was a Merc. Of course he blew that up at the end.

[@TalismanPHX]

Beautiful Buick

[@JeffKing310]

Agreed - the colour is great!

[@douglasrizzo9210]

Dad had a '68. I loved that car, and to me, 1968 was the nicest of the 2nd gen cars. Dad's was Ivory Gold Mist with a black top and black interior. Dad's had the buckets, console with floor shift, headrests (rare for the time) Rallye Wheels, and many other options. Long gone, I still remember it fondly.

[@JJ-df4kx]

The example from this clip is just beautiful ☺️

[@user-gk1ro1hr6o]

Another great video, my weekend can officially begin now.

[@judgegixxer]

Love these cars. I have pictures of my 5 year old self standing next to my dad's silver 67' with black interior. Thanks for showing us this one.

[@Leo-DaGreek]

Thank you,i truly love my 67 Riv!Happy Father’s Day to all Hot Rodders

[@doriandenard5846]

Anything made in 1968 has my heart ❤️. My first car was a 68 Chevrolet Camaro Deluxe with a vinyl top. Stay doing the 68s Adam👍

[@damianbowyer2018]

The Buick Riviera's of The 60's were Beautiful Cars, Adam😊🙌

[@XCELERATIONRULES]

GM 68-72,best cars ever.Every model across all lineups, beautiful.

[@christopherkraft1327]

This is the most handsome generation of the Riviera, my favorite model is the 1969👍👍🙂

[@dagapper1526]

I got a 69 Rivera for sell

[@MH-fb5kr]

My favorite year… 1966. What a beauty!

[@dominickserignese8837]

That black 68 is SHARP!👍😎

[@fob1xxl]

I've always loved the Riviera ever since 1965. It was always it's own beautiful design. In 1968, I was 23 and had a new job and new apartment. I wanted this car SO much, but I couldn't afford it. I loved the sleek design from front to back even more than the Toronado. So what I wound up buying was a new 1968 Buick GS4OO convertable. It was red with a white top and white interior. Same wheels as on this Riviera. I got the car with $25.00 down and paid a little over $3,200 for the car. It was my first new car, and I was in heaven. I kept the car until 1974 when I traded it in on a new Pontiac GRAND PRIX. During the time I owned the Buick , the only problem I had was the water pump, which I replaced 4 times ! It just couldn't handle the engine. I still loved the car. It's been one of my favorites.

[@robrobster9148]

How many miles did you do on the 400ci? Or was it the 350ci?

Growing up I saw the first generation , 2nd gen and the "Boataill" version everywhere in my great, California, Central San Joaquín Valley!

[@Bossrich6287]

Beautiful car

[@hughjass1044]

When I was a kid, my Dad's best friend and our next door neighbor at the cottage, was a Pontiac / Buick salesman. He would always be seen in a variety of cars because they still gave salesmen demonstrators in those days. The Rivieras were his favorite and I often got rides in them. Reviews like this bring back a lot of great memories. Thanks once again Adam, for a great video.

[@DSP1968]

A very pretty car in a great color combination. And who wouldn't like that spiffy interior?

[@johntamlyn6383]

Beautiful styling inside and out. Current car designers please note that it’s possible to have a light coloured interior, it doesn’t have to be black!

[@markdc1145]

The second generation Riviera is truly a masterpiece!

[@miltcamp4255]

My next door neighbor had a 64 Riviera LOADED Silver interior and exterior A 425 cubic inch Nailhead V8 with a Dual Quad carburetors induction system Dual exhaust High output engine which put out 430 gross horsepower. The car had everything except an AM FM Stereo radio. It had the Sonomatic AM radio. Her Rivvie had this AWESOME exhaust sound coming from the dual exhaust and it also had a 140 MPH speedometer in the dash. I just loved it when she’d let me drive it to our lunch or dinner out In Glendale Ca. We had lots of really good restaurants thatMrs Brown would take me and her daughter out for a meal. That car had GUTS!!! I wish I had owned one like it.

[@edwardpate6128]

The Dual Quad engine was rated at 360 horsepower. The numbers that Buick put on the air cleaners were the engines torque rating.

[@miltcamp4255]

Interesting, thanks for the info.

[@eartha911]

Excellent. Thank you! My favorite is a 1969 with no vinyl top, cornering lights, and deluxe interior....just like my 1st car in 1972. Thanks Mom!

[@user-ol3zn7yq8g]

Doug is a lucky guy. What a beautiful car.

[@greggstankowski5073]

Good to see these cars,,I loved my 69 GS riv,,these cars stand by themselves!

[@DanEBoyd]

Those really were rather good looking cars, and I've just never really noticed in the past. I also dig that Highland Green '68 XL Sportsroof (and especially its wheel covers) parked next to the Silver-Beige example. It surely has a MOONSKIN headliner...😃

[@dave1956]

I had a 1966, 1969 & 1971 Rivieras. The 1966 was the most unique. I especially loved the revolving drum speedometer.

[@Just-a-guy926]

The ‘66-68 GM cars styling was beautifully done.

[@keith536]

Love the Riv. A family friend, now in his 80's, has a 69 Riviera that has been sitting on blocks for the last 30+ years. He will not sell it. I remember riding in that car in the early 70's. Had best rumble at idle.

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

Love cars from the 60's and 70's

[@fhwolthuis]

Beautiful ton-sur-ton colour combination of paint, roof and interior.

[@stevenwolff6866]

The only negative about this car is the vinyl roof. It broke up that beautiful paint which would've looked terrific covering the whole car. The 67 was my favorite. Had the 66 looks with the new engine

[@whitsundaydreaming]

And yet after drooling over these Rivs I still want the 73 most. I love that thing.

[@MarinCipollina]

The 1971 first year for the boat tail Riviera was the purest expression of that design, and superior to the 1973, which was bloated with 5 MPH bumpers, and the point of the boat tail in the rear was lost.

[@ThymeBottle]

I acquired a 1973 Rivvie Biarritz, in all black with the stainless steel ribbon running midway across the top; after much body work done by my brother to the smashed-in right rear panel--the 'hump'--he painted the entire car a cream color. I already was driving the 1968 Rivvie that had been my grandmother's. My father called from work one day to say that he spied from the freeway overpass this boat tail sitting in a field of grass below, and it had a telephone number written in large numbers taped to a cardboard sign. The guy who answered said he wanted $200.00 for the car. My father knew that I'd always desired a boat tail Rivvie, so he asked me if I wanted it; of course I did. He bought it and had it towed home. He and I put a new 455 engine in it as the original one had been blown. The entire car had been ill-treated in its seven years. I recall the safety air shock bumpers being massive and extremely heavy, as was the hood, when we took each off to put in the engine and to do the rust proofing and painting beneath those bumpers. I sewed new ribbed black vinyl seat covers for the ripped front seats, and put in new black carpeting. The restoration, inside and out, looked really well. It was a fine, fun, and fast ride back in 1980, and may have saved my life after coming out of a tunnel with a fully loaded dump truck bearing down on me. I goosed it and left that truck far behind me, passing everything on the road for miles before my turn off. What fun, and not what some expected at seeing such a behemoth of a roadster.

[@addiewinnie]

My parents had a 1969 Riviera shortly after they married in 1965, it was kind of a golden brown color with a floor shifter automatic….. I was born in 1975 and they had a Volvo by that time, but they had taken a few pictures of the Buick when it was new!!!

[@lilitharam44]

Gosh, that colour @5:00 is really pretty! Wish they had something like that now. Thanks for the great video!

[@NativeMainer53]

GM had the best looking cars in the 1960’s and early 1970’s.I had a 1968 Buick Skylark Custom convertible that was similar in color. It was a beautiful vehicle.

[@tombrown1898]

Agree with you regarding the vinyl top, although I'd like to see the car without it. Great color for the car. Rolls-Royce had a similar color for quite a long while.

[@filipfaraci2751]

My Grandmother was 5’10. My Grandfather was 5’5. All their Buicks always had split seats!

[@mjg263]

Great presentation as always on a beautiful car. The only thing I would disagree on is the headlight actuators, they were vacuum operated in the ‘68-‘69 models. There was a large vacuum reserve tank in the drivers side inner fender between the wheel well and the firewall and hoses going to the headlight switch and vacuum actuators (one for each set of lights). The actuator diaphragms and seals were the biggest problem, they would dry out and slow down causing the car to “wink” when you turned the headlights on because one actuator moved slower than the other. Eventually the bad actuator would leak enough to cause the vacuum to leak out of the system altogether and both headlights would roll down into open position. This was the failure mode for the system, vacuum kept them shut against the spring pressure that would open them. Back in the mid 70’s it was very common to see ‘68-‘69 Rivs on the road with the headlights showing during the day. One of the actuators on my ‘69 Riv was just starting to let go when I traded it in, I really miss that big beautiful car! It was Azure blue with a parchment white vinyl top and interior (with buckets). Had the very cool pistol grip floor shift / console too!

[@rnt45t1]

beautiful car!

[@kevinz8930]

Very nice predecessor to the wonderful boat tails.

[@frankbrowning328]

The 2nd gen Riv has Amazing Styling!!! Its a very aggressive looking luxury car. This car in particular looks as good coming at you as it does going away. In my opinion GM, Ford and MOPAR had their very best body styles from 1960-1973, These were the days of beautiful lines and aggressive styling.

[@wam44]

I am fortunate enough to have driven a 68 Riv when I was in high school. Belonged to a guy I knew. He had the bucket seat and center console. The car was fast, smooth and quiet. I have been a fan ever since.

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

😍Beautiful Rivi👍

[@MARKB3946]

Beautiful vehicle and awesome color. I owned a '67 Toronado Deluxe for almost 15 years. I sold it about 10 years ago.

[@kroge007]

I love the hidden headlights but my favorite was the 69 and 71-72.

[@averyparticularsetofskills]

👌Adam, _ALWAYS_ a tremendous treat listening to you effortlessly exude knowledge of yesterdays treasures, be it the 60s, 70s and up through the 80s I simply cant get enough and without fail I've learned something from _Every_ vid! 'Rare Classic Cars'™️ is and for a long time now has been my favorite -domestic- classic car channel with zero doubt. I'm looking forward to seeing more 80s like the 'Electra Park Ave' but no matter the year just keep em coming. Stay Safe ✌ Be Well

[@markharkey2480]

Love your videos Adam! We had a 1968 Buick Electra 225 back in the day. Nice car.

[@oscargeorge1]

Gorgeous car! Thank you Adam!

[@edwardpate6128]

The 66 my favorite 2nd gen, but I'm' biased as my dad had one. Plus I'm a fan of the Nailhead and that was its final year. However all the 2nd gens looked great to me with the exception of the 1970 where the styling just veered off course.

[@dannyg6592]

The paint color is stunning. Probably the best looking '68 Riviera I've seen. I prefer the styling of the 66-'67 models, but the second gen Riviera was a very pretty automobile.

[@playtimehulot7383]

Beautiful color!!❤

[@Jack_Stafford]

Something else I would note is the absence of those vent windows, although a lot of people like them, on cars like this the absence of them really clears up the side greenhouse in a hardtop Coupe making it seem much sleeker and cleaner Along with the hideaway headlights and thin pillars, this look is particularly elegant and modern in the age of very cold efficient air conditioning and high speeds interstates, vent windows just tended to not be as useful , made a lot of noise, whistling, but were still great and practical options on family sedans and trucks, but on a luxury coupe where sleek and smooth looks are the order of the day and most of the time you would have the windows up at any real speed and enjoying the radio in the air conditioning I think these look so much nicer.

[@davidallen5776]

My kind of Buick for many moons!

[@rustyrobinson8027]

Nice

[@PedroConejo1939]

Thanks for this. I've never quite thought the 68 was as attractive as the 66/67 and now you've told me why, the W front end was lost. If they'd thrust those front corners forwards a bit, bingpot, it would have been the dog's. I'd love to see what you make of the 70.

[@randyfitz8310]

Now colors like this paint are called ‘Greige’ it looks very much like the color of my great uncle’s Oldsmobile 98 of the period which had a black vinyl roof and black cloth and vinyl interior. Also a wonderful automobile!

[@MrMarkOlson]

The cream colored top with this color paint is spectacular. I have only seen vinyl tops that were black on 2nd gens. Beautiful!

[@shawndifer7198]

Im blessed and grateful that I own a 68 Riviera GS I've had it for the past 25 years and ready to sell it if interested.

[@billh4477]

Dad had a 67 in gold with a black vinyl roof, very highly optioned. It had the console with bucket front seats, and I loved the drum speedometer in that car. I always begged him to let me sit on his lap and let me "drive" the car when we were on rural roads during family vacations in northern Wisconsin.... such great memories!

[@rjbiker66]

Kids nowadays don't get to do that. I remember as a young kid sitting on dads lap and steering his mercedes 250 slowly down the road.

[@ralphl7643]

A '68 Riviera was one of the first car models I put together. There's a good chance it's still out in our storage shed.

[@rightlanehog3151]

Adam, This is one fine Buick. I note that you have done several Riviera and Monte Carlo videos, when do we get a Monaco? 🤔

[@HowardLewis2]

My parents drove a ’68 Riv when I was born in ‘71. Beautiful ride.

[@turdferguson4124]

I agree that the color on this Riv is just gorgeous. It does really show off the design details of the sheetmetal.

[@d5352]

My dad let me pick out a new Buick when I was 14, to replace his ’61 Electra. Some how it developed a bearing knock…… after my big bro did a speed run at about 120+. I chose a ’66 Riv GS in “Riviera Red”, loaded, except for air, and the 2x4 carb setup which was a dealer installed option at the time - later in the year it became a factory installed option. Had the Strato bucket seats, horseshoe shifter and console too. First car I ever drove legally when I got my license…. replaced the shocks with Koni’s and added a rear sway bar - “cornered like a weasel through a drain pipe” ( ref: Tom McCahill ). Kept it until the mid 80’s when I moved to the city…. a regrettable parting.

[@markbehr88]

Nice car. There is a 1968 or 69 model featured in the movie Harold and Maude.

[@hughmackellar7941]

Nice.

[@paulparoma]

I like vinyl tops. Good in the rain and as an additional layer of sound insulation.

[@MarinCipollina]

On this car, I would prefer the metal roof. I'm not a huge fan of vinyl roofs these days, although during the early 1970s, I felt cars without them had an 'unfinished' look about them.

[@califdad4]

My sister-in-law had a 66 loaded Riviera, just a gorgeous car, the 68-69 is nice too but lost some of the Riviera only things on the 2nd generation. The 68&69 is very good looking. My parents had a 69 Electra limited, also a very nice looking car and my dad always was having the oil changed every 3-4 thousand miles and had the water pump changed at the Buick dealership

[@robrobster9148]

My favorite model. Vacuum operated headlights. The 69 drives even better.

[@edwardpate6128]

They were electric, not vacuum.

[@mjg263]

@@edwardpate6128 actually they were vacuum operated in the ‘68 and ‘69 model year. Worked on many of them and owned one for years. I wish they were electrically operated, that would have solved so many problems!

[@MrOnemanop]

Hello Adam. I think you said you were heading out to a Detroit area show. I wanted to say how unique your channel is and how much I appreciate your content, and how it always adds to my day. Take care.

[@georgewilson1184]

If I am going back to the Sixties for one of these I want a Patrick Swayze Roadhouse Edition Riviera with 4 extra spare tires & a extra windshield & arrial your fan club will be loyal !!

[@chesterthawkins7510]

gorgeous!

[@Forge17]

My favorite year and favorite personal luxury car, it blended coke bottle muscle styling with the beauty of the 66’s rear styling. The interior is quite beautiful and unique as well, nicer than the eldorado’s in my opinion.

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

Love that color. Thinking it would look really good on a 1963 to 1968 Cadillac as well with that white interior. Just something about it really pops, even if it is a sort of greyscale color, I see a good bit of green in it.

[@keithstudly6071]

A detail that changed between the 67 and 68 that you missed. The bumper has bolt heads that show on the 68. The 67 model did not show any bumper bolts. This was a change which had happened on many Buick's in that time period. My Dad's 65 Wildcat had bolt free bumpers while the 67 LeSaber had bumper bolts.

[@AlexRamirez-lf1wj]

Glad to say I have I have 2 68 Rivieras one is a rare GS option

[@troynov1965]

Ive seen a video on that Ford XL ( on Tony's channel ) its one of my all time favorite cars on You Tube.

[@MarinCipollina]

I find it fascinating that Adam claims the XL rides better than the Riv.

[@brucesamuelson7541]

Seen this exact car driving next to me this morning but for a black vinyl top beautiful classic!

[@HypocriticYT]

Great cars 😊

[@marko7843]

Actually it was the 1967 model that was the first year for the new 430-soon-to-be-455 engine... Also, it not only was the last year for the slot-machine speedometer, it was the last year for the Super Turbine 400 with the switch-pitch torque converter. I admit they really should have been building overdrive automatics with all these torque monsters, but it gave the owner insane acceleration plus almost no "idle creep" at stop lights. Oh, does anyone remember if the '67 was also the only one to have the supercool red phenolic dual-snorkel "Star Wars" air cleaner on the GS? When that car went to heaven, we should have saved all four original center caps and that now-insanely-expensive air cleaner...

[@eduardodickle6195]

Love my 66

[@Sedan57Chevy]

I remember back when I preferred the first gen, and almost completely ignored the second gen. Then I discovered your channel, and ever since the 2nd gen has actually been my favorite of all Rivieras. The 66-67 are arguably the cleanest but I really like all of them. Even the 70, with it's heavier overall looks, is still a pretty amazing looking car. Thanks for sharing this one!

[@OLDS98]

Thank you Adam. They really focused on the details on this car. It is so interesting how it shared so much with Oldsmobile Toronado and was so different from that car and the Eldorado as well. In the interior you see the family resemblance to LeSabre and Electra as well. They had a winner with this one. The lines are so clean. Riviera by BUUUUUUICK!

[@donaldhollums3278]

Adam, keep up the great work you obviously do to bring interesting and informative content to your channel.

[@jazzvictrola7104]

Riviera styling got a lot busier after the clean, sleek lines of '66-'67. More bright trim was added and a '68 and later are much more likely to have a vinyl top to clutter up the lines where the "C" pillar meets the body than the first two years. I love the first generation Riv's, but in some ways the '66-'67 are even more lovely! I would choose '67 because of first year 430 and last year for the variable pitch stator in the new Turbo-Hydramatic 400. Each year just added more external emission controls too. In '67, the air cleaner just sits demurely on top of the Rochester Quadrajet. In '68, an ugly metal tube connects the air-intake to a heat box down on the exhaust manifold to shorten warm-up time.

[@hiitsstillme]

Thanks for this review Adam, it points out many of the changes from the earlier ones. Although most of them were evolutionary, we agree that there now appears to be a disconnect between the front and the rear styling around the bumpers. We always thought the front re-style gave the illusion of it sitting too high, with a slightly upswept suggestion. The interior seemed somewhat de-contented from the earlier ones, although still very nice if optioned correctly. We still prefer the '66-'67 versions, and maintain them as being some of the finest looking GM products ever.

[@destry232]

Interesting design of the front end. From head-on, it looks fine, but from the 3/4 view, it looks like a corner of one of the sides has been hit.

[@chrisbaskett808]

Adam, really enjoy your channel. Born in 1959, so I grew up with a lot of these cars. Our main car when I was growing up was a 71 LTD 4 door in a teal color with a white vinyl top if I remember correctly. Had a 351 motor. Really pretty car

[@baerster]

I ❤ your videos. Are you in the Detroit metro area? I was there a few weeks ago and thought it was very nice there. I first visited Detroit in the year 2000 and back then then it was much more run down and some of the beautiful Office Buildings downtown were abandoned. Now I am happy to see that those buildings have been saved and are occupied. In 2000 I had the impression that Detroit has a spirit that will never give up. I love that town. In my recent visit I tour the Motown Museum and it was amazing.

[@WhittyPics]

I like the mid 80s Riviera the best

[@WhittyPics]

50,000 units would be considered a failure today. Ford Canceled the Taurus when it was selling 100k units

[@texanfournow]

I would take the green Ford XL any day. I will see myself out, thank you.

[@MrBeeradb1]

My dad bought my mom a 70 riviera,71 electra 225 then went down to a 73 regal.Then she bought a 78 riviera after my dad died in 76.She also got remarried in 78.Then in a few years my step dad bought my mom a 85 lesabre collecters edition.and i sold it for her cause it was too much of a challenge for her.She liked something that had fuel injection better.

[@PerryPapanier]

That color reminds me of Mazda Platinum Quartz metallic color you see nowadays.

[@fleetwin1]

So beautiful. I kind of prefer this heavier front bumper on the 68 models to the previous years, I think it looks great. The earlier bumpers were pretty "dainty" and were easily damaged making the car look horrible. I remember our neighbor's wealthy friend had one of these cars. I only saw it a few times, but was in awe for sure. Beautiful cars like this were way out of our family's financial reach for sure.

[@Paramount531]

C'mon Adam, you know you were really staring at that 68 XL next to the Riviera! I'd really rather have the Buick.

[@seanbatiz6620]

As original ads for these beauties did often include “beauty” models to assist sales, really, that wasn’t necessary at all, as the curves & lines of these cars, WERE SEXY AS HECK all by themselves! I might be mistaken here but, from what research I did off & on within whatever pertained too my two ‘55 Buick Super 56R’s, just as obsessively as I’ve researched any other of the 30+ vehicles I’ve owned before, was from what I read in some of the original literature for 1955’s, of what “Rivera” referred too… since the body style/type of my Super’s are also called Rivera’s; has to do with being specifically two door hardtop design with NO window frame pillars/posts, referred to as being a “hardtop-convertible”, as with its windows rolled down, “converted” the otherwise-inclosed interior to being as near fully wide open to the outside as a car could be, while still having the advantage of hardtop roof. This design style, presumedly on my part here, became so well received & ordered by customers at enough rate over the proceeding 5 to 6 years that Buick must’ve eventually decided it’d just make more since to drop the whole “Super” name with then establishing the Rivera as a Series line, alongside other series/model/style lineups like Lesabre, Electra & Invicta?

[@jittychitty]

Buicks are pretty cool cars overall... would be my choice if I turned.

[@user-yt5ds1up2n]

I enjoyed your video very much I had a 1969 Riviera when I was a kid. Just wanted to correct you on one thing, the headlights on the front of a 1968 or 69 Riviera are pneumatic air driven