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Category: Classics
The Mid-Eighties marked anniversaries for two groundbreaking personal luxury coupes: the Ford Thunderbird, which turned 30 in 1985; and Buick Riviera, which marked 20 years of production in 1983. Each celebrated its anniversary in style.
Thunderbird got its new aerodynamic and very modern body in 1983, the same year as Riviera's anniversary. But because of regulatory, planning and cost issues, the whole package as envisioned by the designers in Jack Telnack's studio wasn't completed until 1987. They wanted smooth headlamps, oversized taillamps evoking a bird's wings and a digital dashboard. They won on the taillamps for 1983 and had the dash ready to go for 1984, but had to hold it a year. Then, in an extremely unusual situation for any automobile, they were able to make the digital dash standard on 30th Anniversary Edition and Turbo-Coupe models for 1985, while it was optional on other series. Anniversary Thunderbirds also got the special and snazzy Turbo-Coupe 10-hole alloy wheels and fuel-injected 5.0-liter V-8. Unique to the 5,000 Anniversary Editions was Reatta Blue paint with a tri-color stripe and blacked-out or painted trim. A bucket-seat sport interior was still reserved for Turbos, while the Anniversary got a standard up-level matching full blue interior.
"The biggest thing for that era was that Ford was able to do a unique powertrain/suspension combo," said Houston, Texas, owner Dr. Sanjay Mehta. "If you wanted the sport suspension, you were stuck with the turbo 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine." But the only Thunderbird to get a V-8 and the Turbo-Coupe's quadra-shock sport suspension and 60-series Goodyear Gatorback radials was the Anniversary Edition. Comparable to Mustang suspension, it makes the tidy coupe an excellent handler, with very good ride quality for a car on a 104-inch wheelbase. "However, what they really should have done was put the high-output V-8 out of the Mustang into the Thunderbird, instead of the low-output standard V-8," Sanjay said. "It's more fitting with a personal luxury car of that era, although the automatic HO engine of that era was only 170 horsepower--this version was 140hp--so it's not a huge difference. They were trying to be fuel efficient." Indeed, much of the reason for Thunderbird's aerodynamic look was to help it meet CAFE regulations.
Ford's V-8 with EEC-IV throttle body injection makes horsepower at much lower RPM than the carbureted Buick.
If you really loved your Thunderbird, Ford included an order form for a Thirtieth Anniversary Limited Edition Thunderbird Celebration package, which delivered interior and exterior adornments including pewter badging and uncut keys in a velour pouch; embroidered floor mats; anniversary booklet; and leather Members Only jacket. Most people left their badging in the pouch, but it's been applied to our feature car as per specified instructions. It all adds up to a very special Special Edition, which at about $15,000 was an extremely competitive car.
The Thunderbird might be a better car, but compared to the Buick Riviera XX, Ford was just playing in the special edition sandbox. It's not hyperbole to say that the $3,759 package put the Riviera into Rolls-Royce territory, in interior accommodations, anyway, if not in performance. Our feature Buick has numerous additional major options, such as four-wheel disc brakes, power passenger seat, a $328 radio and an Oldsmobile's 307-cu.in. V-8; but all the spectacular pieces come from the WD6 XX equipment.
The production car was inspired by Buick's wild Indianapolis 500 convertible pace car. This twin-turbo convertible Riviera took the base 4.1-liter Buick V-6 and found 410 horsepower in it, delivered to the ground through a modified Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission. Many people hoped some high-performance turbo would make its way into the Buick, and it did go on to be the basis of the Riviera and Regal T-types, and eventually Grand National; but the XX's base engine was a naturally aspirated, 125hp 4.1-liter.
Everything else, though, made it, and everything you see is real. Those gold-toned badges are 24K gold-plated; the wood is real walnut; the leather is real leather with suede inserts. The wire wheels are real wire wheels, made by Appliance Wheel Industries. "I don't know how they snuck this one past the bean counters; I'm sure that was a loss," said Sanjay. "It's nicer than any domestic car I've seen from that era, including Cadillacs and Lincolns."
How it really did come to be, we haven't heard. "Buick decided to commemorate its anniversary in a more elaborate fashion than everyone else did," said Sanjay. A Buick Player's Club jacket came with the car when Sanjay bought it, although unlike the Thunderbird, it wasn't part of any official package. Younger brother Sajeev has researched it, and while it looks professionally produced, it doesn't appear to be an official Buick piece. The original owner didn't have the car long before turning it over to a long-time Buick collector, so it's possible he had it made--or it could have been a promotional piece from Bob Bryce Buick-Opel in Norman, Oklahoma, which retailed the New Jersey-built, one-of-502 special edition Riviera.
The Buick's Beige appearance package makes it even more color-coordinated than the Thunderbird. The only interior elements that aren't rich chocolate brown are metal buttons and the gold-plated badge on the glovebox. Actual walnut covers the entire instrument panel, two very large door inserts and even the horn button and rear speaker grilles. The steering wheel is genuine wood and leather, and all four seats are leather with suede inserts. That leather is very high quality: After 29 years and 41,636 miles, the stitching is still tight and there's only a hint of shine in the driver's seat suede. Completely flawless and crack-free burl veneer indicates that it's both much thicker than usual and has a high-quality finish. The carpet is handmade German 26-ounce pile. Even in the few places where there are plastics, they are in innumerable different matching shades of brown. Like the Thunderbird, the Riviera's two-tone exterior includes very little brightwork; almost everything is painted to match, including the wheels. Bumper inserts, mirrors and window surrounds are dark brown--it is, perhaps, the brownest car in the world. It even has an exclusive grille, which became standard for 1984 and 1985 Rivieras.
While both coupes have what their manufacturers called 5.0-liter V-8s and were part of the same personal luxury market, they couldn't have more different characters. The Thunderbird's sleek styling makes it seem much longer than it is, but the Buick, with a basic body dating back to 1985, is actually nine inches longer--and about 500 pounds heavier. Both base price and as optioned, the Buick was at least $5,000 more, as well.
With less weight and torque, the Thunderbird is the sporty one. "The Thunderbird is a bit more European, more forward thinking, with the aerodynamics and the more snubbed-down suspension; and the Riviera is more traditional Buick," said Sanjay. "The Ford with the Quad Shocks and the 60-series Goodyear Gatorbacks is a far more athletic car...it's not even close." In character, it might not be as sporting as the Mustang with which it shares so much suspension, but the Thunderbird is definitely a GT. The short wheelbase makes the ride what we'd call European: There's good road feel and communication, without being harsh. The rear end benefits from the Quad Shock suspension, which put one shock at each wheel in a conventional upright position and added a second horizontal pair. This was an unusual solution to controlling wheel hop caused by soft control-arm bushings, and it keeps the rear end very planted. With aggressive radial tires, the car is very composed and happy in hard cornering.
Sanjay said the Riviera felt just like his previous 1979 Buick: "Floaty." The 140-MPH speedometer suggests capabilities the car does not have. Where the Thunderbird could be steered with the rear end, the Riviera will demonstrate front-wheel-drive plow. GM did not intend the comfortable lounge chairs you sit in to hold you tight. However, unlike the Ford, it's a fully independent torsion-bar suspension with a rear stabilizer bar. It has what might once have been called "road-hugging weight:" You have the feeling that it's not just absorbing bumps, but actually making the road smoother. Acceleration is adequate in the heavy coupe, and an overdrive four-speed Hydra-Matic keeps it turning at low revolutions on the highway. As with the Ford, the Buick has a torquey V-8 that puts a good reserve of power at your command in a downshift, especially around town. We'd take this car on a long highway trip, or out to dinner, any day when we wanted to arrive refreshed, and take the Thunderbird whenever we were looking for fun.
If you're a car person from the Houston area, you might be surprised to find these cars in Sanjay's possession; he's known as "Dr. V-8" for his collection of high-power sports cars. A garage that includes a twin-turbocharged Ford GT, Lingenfelter Corvette, supercharged Mercury Marauder and exotic imports from Italy and Germany is jaw-dropping, and easy to appreciate. On the other side of town, however, in a warehouse shared with his brother, Sajeev, are the cars they really love: Seventies and Eighties Lincoln Continentals and Marks, Ford LTDs and 5.0 Mustangs, Mercury Cougars and Grand Marquis. The sports cars are fun, but these are serious business.
From these, you can tell that Fords are Sanjay's heart and soul, but as the occasional Cadillac Fleetwood Talisman or ZR1 Corvette indicates, there's room for The General as well. All of these cars are important to their owner, but some have additional significance beyond that which might not be obvious at first glance.
To Sanjay, the appeal of these cars is not performance, but history: "The Riviera, although it's nicer, was still very evocative of my first car, which was a 1980 Buick Century; my second car after the Century was a T-Bird," he said. "The T-Bird is identical; the Riviera is, for all practical purposes, the same car, just with everything turned up a couple of notches...I'm basically living out my 16-year-old high-school car fantasies."
Sanjay's recapitulation of his youth goes back even farther than the Buick, to a 1970 Cyclone that replaces the 1970 Montego that brought him home from the hospital. He says that when he was two or three years old, he could point out a passing Cadillac with Oldsmobile hubcaps, and the moment the car turned 100,000 miles is printed indelibly in his memory: He was four years old, sitting on his dad's lap, steering it in a parking lot as the odometer rolled through. That Montego, and inadvertently his father, were the seed of his collecting passion. "My dad laughs now--he didn't know he was creating a monster at the time--but driving that old Mercury is what got me started." Pulling out into the street one day, Dad hit the gas and woke the 302 up: "See, son? That's a V-8 engine." His brother got it with both barrels: "Sajeev, of course, had no hope: I'm almost six years older than him, and that's all he ever heard about." They work closely together now in acquiring, maintaining and modifying their Seventies and Eighties cars. "We were all obsessed with V-8 engines down here," he said. "There were a lot of import guys, too, but to me, there was no comparison. The big-bore V-8 sound--that just did it for me over any small-displacement sports car."
Sanjay has taken off the old Goodyear Gatorbacks and Royal Seals on his cars, and with new tires, he and his brother are now heading out, cruising together in the cars of their childhood. That's what they're for. "All the little things that come back to you, it reminds me of old times," said Sanjay. "The thunk of putting a Turbo Hydra-Matic into gear; the little things that whir behind the dash of the Thunderbird when you turn the key." Those are the things that are really important.
"On one hand, you've got performance, you've got things you can actually measure objectively; on the other, you've got intangibles. And those cars have the intangibles for me the new ones will probably never have. As much as I love my Lamborghini with 1,100 horsepower, it's never going to be my first cool car the way my Thunderbird was. As an 18-year-old, getting a V-8 T-Bird was bigger than getting an exotic car now. The first time you feel the torque of a V-8 engine, the very first time you have a car with a digital dashboard and power windows--from an 18-year-old's eyes, those were better than anything I as a 40-year-old could ever see."
SPECIFICATIONS
1985 THUNDERBIRD
ENGINE
Type -- OHV V-8
Displacement -- 301.6 cubic inches
Bore x Stroke -- 4.0 x 3.0 inches
Compression ratio -- 8.4:1
Horsepower @ RPM -- 140 @ 3,200
Torque @ RPM -- 250-lbs.ft. @ 1,600
Fuel system -- Force EEC-1V throttle-body injection
TRANSMISSION
Type -- Ford AOD four-speed automatic
DIFFERENTIAL
Ratio -- 3.08:1
STEERING
Type -- Rack-and-pinion, power assist
BRAKES
Type -- Four-wheel hydraulic, power assist
Front -- 10.1-inch vented disc
Rear -- 9.0 x 1.7-inch drum
CHASSIS & BODY
Construction -- Unit steel
Body style -- Four-passenger, two-door coupe
Layout -- Front engine, rear-wheel drive
SUSPENSION
Front -- Independent; MacPherson struts, lower A-arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear -- Live axle, upper and lower trailing arms, coil springs, dual tube shocks, anti-roll bar
WHEELS & TIRES
Wheels -- Ford "10-hole" cast alloy
Front/rear -- 15 x 7JJ
Tires -- Goodyear Gatorback radial
Front/rear -- 225/60VR-15
WEIGHTS & MEASURES
Wheelbase -- 104 inches
Overall length -- 197.6 inches
Overall width -- 71.1 inches
Overall height -- 53.2 inches
Front track -- 58.1 inches
Rear track -- 58.5 inches
Curb weight -- 3,228 pounds
CALCULATED DATA
Bhp per cu.in. -- 0.46
Weight per bhp -- 23.06 pounds
Weight per cu.in. -- 10.7 pounds
PERFORMANCE
Top speed -- 120 MPH (est)
PRODUCTION
Total built -- 5,000
1983 BUICK
ENGINE
Type -- Oldsmobile OHV V-8
Displacement -- 307.1 cubic inches
Bore x Stroke -- 3.8 x 3.385 inches
Compression ratio -- 8.0:1
Horsepower @ RPM -- 140 @ 3,600
Torque @ RPM -- 239-lbs.ft. @ 1,600
Fuel system -- Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor
TRANSMISSION
Type -- GM TH 325-4L four-speed automatic transaxle
DIFFERENTIAL
Ratio -- 2.73:1
STEERING
Type -- Recirculating ball
BRAKES
Type -- Four-wheel hydraulic, power assist
Front -- 10.5-inch disc
Rear -- 10.5-inch disc
CHASSIS & BODY
Construction -- Body-on-frame
Body style -- Four-passenger, two-door coupe
Layout -- Front engine, front-wheel drive
SUSPENSION
Front -- Independent; upper and lower control arms, anti-roll bar, hydraulic tube shocks
Rear -- Live-axle, upper and lower control arms, coil springs, tube shocks
WHEELS & TIRES
Wheels -- Appliance/Keystone 71-spoke painted wire
Front/rear -- 15 x 7J
Tires -- Uniroyal Tiger Paw radial
Front/rear -- 205/75R-15
WEIGHTS & MEASURES
Wheelbase -- 114 inches
Overall length -- 205.6 inches
Overall width -- 80 inches
Overall height -- 54.2 inches
Front track -- 59.3 inches
Rear track -- 60.0 inches
Curb weight -- 3,858 pounds
CALCULATED DATA
Bhp per cu.in. -- 0.46
Weight per bhp -- 27.56 pounds
Weight per cu.in. -- 12.57 pounds
PERFORMANCE
Top speed -- 107 MPH
PRODUCTION
Total built -- 502
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