So when would you go to pickup this unseen vehicle ?
I might be the only one here who thinks a 350 is a step backwards. The big slow-turning 455 had lots of low end torque which is great for a big heavy car and was quite a durable powerplant. The throttle on that 350 will be open more than if it were a 455 and I doubt there will be any fuel savings.
The 700R4 is a nice modification though.
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A person should not buy a 1972 land cruiser ( no matter what engine is in it ) if fuel mileage is a concern or even think about it being a daily driver.
A 455 had somewhere around 510 ft lbs of torque. The 350 has maybe 400. 1st gear in the 700R4 is 3.06:1 compared to the Turbo 400’s 2.48:1.
So the small block in 1st gear 3.06x400 gives 1224 ft lbs to the driveshaft
The fo fiddy fi pumps 510x2.48 or 1265 ft lbs
Pretty close.
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JMHO, but I don’t see a problem with a Riviera although I do prefer the mid/late 60s over the later boat tail models.
The OP is working a job and at least with the Buick he would have a car that is not a generic garden slug. IIt will get a lot of looks. My only issue is with the 350 although the 700R4 is a plus. I much prefer the 425s, 430s, and 455s. Just personal taste is all… 
Hope the A/C is operative in the desert SW with that greenhouse at the back. Friend back in the day had a 65 Barracuda with a greenhouse on a non-A/C car. Vinyl seats in the summer…
I think this Young Buck is going to have a lot of fun with the Riv…if he buys it. As a master of steering a Car Talk thread into the weeds, I must say… this time…it wasn’t me!
That being said I and most kids back then. all walked to school…HS was about 1.5 miles away. They would never ever cancel school and most days we had to walk uphill both ways to get there. No problems at all…
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At what rpm’s?
…HS was about 1.5 miles away. They would never ever cancel school and most days we had to walk uphill both ways to get there. No problems at all…
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Only 1.5 mile’s try 5 mile’s & 5 foot of snow ? !!! city kids!!! ?
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Barefoot!!
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Good point… the 455 will peak torque at a lower RPM than the 350 but then I don’t know how loose the torque convertor is either. Lots of unknown details.
Yes there is no end here of people deciding how others should behave. 350 or not though, I still think it would be a shame to put a classic like that on the road every day. People are concerned about you losing your money but I look at it this way: So you spent $10,000 on a car that turns out to be a hunk of junk. A semester in college costs more than that so gotta ask which is the better buy for life lessons?
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True, the reason I prefer big blocks is that I can get power to pass at highway speeds without the noise and vibration of a downshift. Once my 62 Caddy is in 4th, it usually stays there. Until the mid 1960’s, most automatics didn’t even have part throttle downshifts.
Good point, though I wonder about getting 400 ft/lbs out of a 350 that’s not really that wild of a build.
Also I was thinking…I bet the stock diff in that Riv was what, maybe 2.79 ratio? I wonder if that’s been changed.
I once had a 69 Olds 98, 455, Turbo 400. All stock in primo tune at 65mph I could see 17-18mpg. Not bad for a car that heavy.
Agree… very likely that low. With overdrive, you could split the difference a bit and may use a 3.23 for a tad more snap and still have a lower RPM at highway speeds.
No it isn’t, agree. I figured a “stage 2” cam would be a bit higher lift and duration than stock. A good dual plane manifold and not-so-big 4 barrel carb, it would be a conservative number.
A stroker 383 could be a nice compromise… in-between displacement and big torque at lower RPM.
That is very good for a big car with a big engine!
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You’re only young once. . .Enjoy! At age 18, when the gas embargo was in place (yes, I’m that old), I bought a 64 Chrysler Imperil Convertible with a 460cid and enjoyed every minute behind the wheel. I’d like to have that behemoth back today, along with my 78 Chevy one-ton 4X4 van conversion which I sold after 37 years. That van was the only vehicle I purchased new off the lot. A 400 CID, it wasn’t great on gas, but incredibly dependable. Go for it! The old V8’s needed regular maintenance–more often than today’s cars, but if you follow scheduled maintenance, you’ll have a great car.
The 64 Imperial had a 413 cid engine. The only 460 I know of was Lincoln’s.
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That Chrysler 413 Wedge was no slouch either…
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The 440 that replaced the 413 in 1966 never seemed to have as much “grunt” as the earlier engine. On paper, the 440 was stronger, but it didn’t feel that way in the driver’s seat.
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I’ve never been a Mopar fan, I’ve only had a couple of them over the years. But in the early 90’s I had a 65 New Yorker with the 413 and that thing would flat out burn rubber. Had no trouble hitting 100mph on the open road and would have run faster if I thought the 14 inch bias plies would have let me.
I once had a neighbor with a 70 Three Hundred and by that time the Chryslers had gotten so big and heavy that the 440 seemed underpowered.
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Definitely possible to use as a daily driver as long as you can bare the expenses / upkeek. I have a 68 cutlass that is getting the trans refreshed and then going to be my daily driver until winter. It has also been sitting in my garage getting some time and effort put in to it - New interior, gauges (in addition to the existing idiot lights) new front and rear suspension including ball joints, stabilizer bar connectors etc…etc. I love the older cars - because you can actually work on them! Your Riv can be a sweet daily driver…just dont expect it to be cheap