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Six years ago JF Launier built a 1956 Chrysler sta on wagon which earned him his first Great 8 Award at
Detroit's Autorama and a chance to win the world's top custom award, the Don Ridler Memorial Award. At the
me, JF thought he had the car. "I thought we had the right car to win. A lot of people thought we had it."
JF decided to go in a different direc on for this entry. He knew he wanted to get away from '30s and '50s
cars and he did not want to do another '69 Camaro for the compe on. What did he find? A $300 1964
Buick Riviera. There was a li le family history with Rivieras as he had a '63 when he was younger. His newly
acquired '64 would become something a world apart from that original '63.
JF's process of building a car of this magnitude is a li le different than a lot of builders, "I just move things
around un l my eyeball says the propor ons are right and then I weld it up." When asked if it is different
than he first imagined, he responds, "I don't envision them un l I am done the mock ups in metal. At first the
car was to have a '67 Chevelle roof and remain a four door, so it has changed a lot." The twin turbos in the
back took a lot of engineering and was the biggest mechanical customiza on. But that was not the only
RIDLE SOLVED
1964 BUICK RIVIERA
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