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18' Riviera

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 7:39 am
by SpeedDemon651
I recently purchased a 18' Riviera and wanted to get opinions of what my future plans should be for the boat.

It's current condition is as follows:
- Old gas that needs to be drained
- Complete boat, interior and exterior
- Its been glassed up to the water line
- "F" engine mount & Paragon transmission
- 76-79 Chevy 305 engine block w/ 60's Corvette intake manifold & Qradrajet carb with adapter plate.
- Aftermarket exhaust manifolds

I was wondering since the original engine is long gone and most of it's intrinsic value is gone from not being 100% original, whats the best direction to go with the boat ?

Is there more value in putting in the stock configuration 6 cylinder or rebuilding the current 305 ?

v/r
JWH

Re: 18' Riviera

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 8:46 am
by drrot
Post photos!! We like photos. I'd start with having the fuel tank and the rest of the fuel system cleaned.

Re: 18' Riviera

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:38 am
by maritimeclassics
If the engine has not been run in a while it would be a good idea to put a new impeller in the water pump. Then you know its good. Like Jim said go through the fuel system and start it. If she fires up I would then do a full tune up then if she runs but not so good you may have to re-build the carburetor due to the old gas left in it. Good luck and keep us posted.

Re: 18' Riviera

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:31 am
by SpeedDemon651
I was wondering if anyone know how many Riviera's were produced the first year in 1950 ?

Re: 18' Riviera

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 1:04 pm
by allanguhl
I am restoring a 1950 18' Riviera and my Hall number is R-18-368 and from the research I have done from 1950-1954 they built 1210 of the 18' Riviera's, I am looking for a KBL motor that's what came with the boat,trying to keep it as original as possible.

Re: 18' Riviera

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 5:02 pm
by SpeedDemon651
My hull is #199, I was just curious if I was close to the 1950 cut off, its hard to believe they were building over 300 Riviera's a year.

I'm still waiting for the Mariners Museum to get the hull card.

Re: 18' Riviera

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:20 pm
by allanguhl
That was my hall number and my Hall card was Dated 6-28-50,not sure how many they made in 1950.If you get a line on a KBL motor let me know I don't care what shape it's in just not cracked block

Re: 18' Riviera

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 7:07 am
by Don Vogt
Good question, speed demon. a lot of people struggle with this. First off, there are a lot of factors to consider in deciding what you might want to do to the boat, but creating a lot of value is problematic. Most important is what you want to accomplish with the boat, and what resources you are prepared to put into it. How often do you see ads that say something like "have $50,000 invested, will sell for $25,000."

If you want to restore the boat to originality, it will require a lot of $ or labor, as you have at least the motor and bottom issues to deal with. Perhaps it was also converted to 12v from 6? Are you prepared to do that? On the other hand, if you just want a good user boat, and not chasing awards, it may be cheaper to leave as is and fix up the engine. I personally like originality and love to see examples of a carefully restored boat, but one needs to go into that with eyes wide open. I would say that if the costs of fixing the engine or replacing it with an original type engine are similar, probably originality will enhance the value to some extent. On the other hand, a lot of people these days like a more modern engine that may be less problematic to deal with and of course has more power. So the answer isn't clear cut.


CC made lots of rivieras. I suspect hull 199 was not near the end of the run for '50. your hull card date should give you some indication of this.

Yes, please post some pictures.

Re: 18' Riviera

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:51 pm
by Riviera Wish
FYI The hull card on my 1952 18' Riviera is dated 1/31/52; hull number is 749. So it appears Chris Craft was building in excess of 300 Rivieras per year in the early 1950's.