1977 Buick Riviera: The Downsized B-Body

The 1977 Riviera moved to the downsized B-body, this record's own overview states, with a Buick 350 V-8 rated 155 horsepower (170 in California) as standard and an Oldsmobile-built 403 V-8 rated 185 horsepower as the option; production for the year was 26,138. This record's own production notes describe the Owners Association's own figure and Wikipedia's own fifth-generation production table, credited by Wikipedia to Flammang 1999, as agreeing on that total.^1,2

This record's own key facts section, drawn from the Owners Association's Evolution article, states that production rose 30 percent over 1976, that 95.45 percent of 1977 Rivieras had power seats, 57 percent a stereo tape player and 4.7 percent the factory CB radio, and that fuel economy was rated at 17 miles per gallon for the standard engine and 18 for the optional engines; the same article's own text also credits an Oldsmobile 350 alongside the 403 at 170 and 185 horsepower respectively, a wording this record's own engines section does not otherwise carry, since its own engines array lists only the Buick 350 and the Oldsmobile 403.³

This record's own options section prices the Oldsmobile 403 engine under code L80 at a $65 upcharge over the standard Buick 350, its own basis note attributing the whole 1977 price list to figures supplied by Buick Motor Division customer service rather than a printed factory sheet. This record's own prices section carries a single figure for the sport coupe, $7,357.85, drawn from both the Owners Association's own options-and-prices transcription and its separately written Evolution article, which rounds the same figure to $7,357.^4,3

This record's own options section itemizes 74 entries in total, most of them priced individually by the Owners Association's own transcription of the 1977 order form, opening with power-seat options such as code AG1 at $143 for driver's-side power on 60/40 and 50/50 seating. The two CB-radio options this record's own key facts cite as reaching 4.7 percent of 1977 Rivieras are priced separately here, a 23-channel AM/FM stereo and CB transceiver under code UP4 at $374 and a 40-channel version under code UP6 at $547.⁴

This record's own paint table carries 17 colours from the Owners Association's 1977 chart, its own note describing three two-tone treatments, Silver with Dark Gray, Light Blue with Medium Blue and Buckskin with Gold, plus seven vinyl-top colour codes. Its interiors section carries 12 trims: a standard vinyl 50/50 bench with armrest in Green or Tan, six white-vinyl Accent-A-Color choices in Green, Blue, Orange, Tan, Black or Red accents, and a standard crushed-velour-cloth 50/50 bench with armrest in Blue, Tan, Black or Red.⁵

This record's own specifications section carries eight 1977 figures from the Owners Association's own tables: a 3,950-pound curb weight, a 115.9-inch wheelbase, front and rear track of 62.2 and 60.7 inches, a 218.2-inch overall length, a 74.6-inch width, a 54.6-inch height, a GR78x15 tire size, and the fuel-economy rating already cited from the Evolution article. This record's own identification, conflicts and unpublished-leads sections are all empty for the year, and its own transmissions and performance sections carry no entries either.^6,3