Last week we looked at a very ambitious Oct, 15, 1962 memo outlining phases II, III and IV for Bill Mitchell's Silver Arrow Riviera (XP-810 and SO #40210.) The memo called for replacing the engine and transmission (Phase II), significant exterior detail changes and a fully retrimmed interior (Phase III) and even more changes down the road with the addition of high mounted stop lamps, a redesigned cowl vent, wooden steering wheel, and the addition of a tachometer into the instrument panel (Phase IV.)
This weeks memo is dated Oct. 31, 1962, and basically restates the contents of the Oct. 15 memo with a few changes. This time, Buick Chief designer Dave Holls is being asked to coordinate the replacement of the engine and transmission (Phase II), a full size drawing of the new interior has been released from the Buick Interior Studio for the new interior, the Mouton has arrived for the carpeting, and the design for the seats has been revised (Phase III.)
Instead of reusing seats from a Skylark prototype car, they now plan to install cast aluminum prototype seats that are being considered for the 1964 Riviera. They are no doubt included in the styling drawing being released. The desire is that Phases II and II are to be completed by November 15, 1962, and Phase IV by early December, so there's a lot of work to do in the Styling garage before Santa comes. The document is signed once more by Bud Schenk of Program Planning.
So this document seem to be one of clarification. It is reported that Mr. Mitchell liked being in the know. As we have said before, it is good to be King.
In the second part of our Silver Arrow Memos, we have a very inclusive document that was written to Mr. W. L. Mitchell on October 15, 1962. By now we have gotten through Phase I and the 1963 Buick new car announcement, and it is presumed that all went well but it is worth noting that we have a new author for this document, Mr. E. C. Campbell.
This memo outlines the steps for phases II through IV of the continuing development of XP-810, and is written to the fine standard and dignified tone of the last one. Honestly, I can imagine Audrey Hepburn reading them in her "Sabrina" voice.
Phase II-Completion Desired as soon as possible: "The car is to be picked up on or about Monday, Oct. 22 for return to the Division. The engine is to be replaced and the car returned to Styling."
Phase III- Completion Desired in Early November
"The following is being worked on now in the design, engineering, and fabrication departments and is to be completed as soon as possible in early November for evaluation before the car is returned to the shops for fabrication of the longer term items found in Phase IV. "
I'm going to paraphrase here for the sake of brevity, but the memo describes the following changes in exquisite detail for Phase III- removal of the shields behind the headlamp covers, removal of sail panel chrome molding, refined trim for the quarter panel scoops, new rocker panel and lower rear fender moldings as per Riviera S. O. 40193 (Board of Directors Presentation Car), removal of the B U I C K lettering from the rear deck lid and creation of a Riviera script badge to replace them, and the design, engineering and installation of special low profile exterior remote controlled mirrors that will involve the coordination of Buick Exterior, Buick Interior, and Engineering.
There's plenty in store for the interior as well, starting with removing the Astra Buick Seats from a Skylark show car, S. O. 40224, retrimming them, and fitting them to this car. Along the way, there are plans to chrome plate the windshield pillars and window garnish moldings, repaint the dash and console, fit new metal trim to the dash, create a new Riviera nameplate for the glove box door and create a wooden shift knob.
Oh, and retrim the entire interior. Seats of silver leather, new door panels, kick panels, carpeting, headliner, package shelf, and trunk. On a three month old car. And this is still Phase III- all this is being done while Phase IV is being developed. Have you gotten the impression yet that all of GM Styling existed to please Mr. Mitchell? Of course, XP-810 was a rolling laboratory and the innovation could benefit future GM cars, but people certainly tried very hard to please Mr. Mitchell.
Phase IV- Desired by Early December.
Exterior
Panic stop lights are to be built into the tulip panel. This will require reworking of the backlight lower reveal molding.
A new cowl vent grille, with air scoops, is to be installed.
Interior
A new wooden steering wheel and a new adjustable steering column are required. The wheel will be made new. The steering column is to be reworked from a 1963 production tilting column. A telescopic feature is to be added for fore and aft adjustment.
The instrument panel cluster is to be revised to permit the addition of a tachometer. The requirements for the mechanical tachometer drive system are to be coordinated by the Interior Engineering and Mechanical Assembly Departments.
An AM/FM radio is to be installed. A speaker is to be installed on the instrument panel.
All design work will be done by the Buick Interior and Exterior Studios, and all development and engineering will be done by the Interior and Exterior Engineering Departments. E. C Campbell Program Planning
Below you will see the original memo along with period photography of the XP-810 Silver Arrow. And yes, there's much more to come
By Jeff Stork
No Rivieras are more famous than Bill Mitchell's Silver Arrows. Created ostensibly as show cars but in reality intended for his personal use, the Arrows are a mixture of dream car, rolling laboratory, and ultimate corporate perk. We've spoken before of Mitchell and how it is "Good to be King."
Now in a series of original GM documents, we can watch the evolution of the original Silver Arrow as it evolves into its current form via a series of Styling Staff memoranda that track the progress of each phase of the car's modifications until they arrived at the car which resides today at the Buick Gallery in Flint. They span a period of time from Summer 1962 until almost 1965.
The memos are really more letters of understanding, on impressively logoed GM Styling Staff letterhead (how cool is that) are written to Mr. W. L. Mitchell and concern the design and construction of one 1963 Buick "E" Riviera Production Car, Special Order # 40210. The early ones are written by E.G. "Bud" Schenk, head of Program Planning. and carbon copied to everyone involved, even if only tangentially.
Schenk was the one responsible for supervising the construction of the car, coordinating all of the activities between the various styling studios and all of the tradesmen, the division staff and above all keeping Bill Mitchell in the loop. The Special Order Number (#40210) was used to keep track of all the expenses incurred on the car for the accounting department. The prototype number was XP-810 and would be how design staff would refer to it. The world would know it as Silver Arrow I.
Silver Arrow I outside the GM Styling Building
This earliest memo is dated July 11, 1962, and outlines the first round of changes to be made to the car. It's obvious that Schenk chose the language very carefully and the memo is worth reading.
"Mr. Mitchell has requested the Buick Exterior to undertake the design and study involved in making new concealed headlamps, radiator grille, and extending of front end sheet metal as an experimental proposal on a 1963 Buick 'E" Riviera Coupe production car. Present plans call for the completion of these changes on the subject car so that it may be available to be driven on Buick's 1963 Car Announcement Date Thursday, October 4. In general, the required changes are as follows as of this date-
New Concealed rotating headlamp grilles on the front fenders. Plans are to study the using of 7" diameter seal beam lamps. These units must be operable and applicable to a road car.
Radiator grille to be installed per design as proposed and released by the Buick Exterior Studio.
Revisions to front end sheet metal consisting of extending the hood surface and of possible fromt fender changes.
Modeling of surface changes will be some in the Exterior Studio and information expedited so that engineering drawings can be released to permit the pre-fabrication of parts and components prior to the arrival of the car. It is anticipated that the car will be delivered to Styling in the early part of September." E. G. Schenk Program Planning
In a word, wow. Buick Styling studio modeling, engineering drawings being completed, parts to be pre-fabricated prior to the first week of September so that someone very important can drive this special car on Buick's New Car Announcement Day. And as far as who the special someone was, one need look only to whom the memo was addressed - Mr. W. L. Mitchell.
I've written before about GM's Bill Mitchell and how his job was even better than being King, because he got GM to build him special cars whenever the mood struck. Lots of cars surface with claims of Mitchell in their provenance, but this one screams authentic. The car in these photos is a 1956 Buick Century convertible known as the "1956X" with a host of modifications- the owner says it was a car for Mitchell. The first clue that supports his claim is that the building in the background is the General Motors Styling Center- brand new at the time!
Lots of special details are visible in this shot. Start with the special color- Eldorados had metallic aqua in 1956 but Buicks did not. Moldings are Roadmaster in style and the hood and trunk color break is custom. Wire wheels and side exhaust are special touches. Rear CENTURY lettering is unique and name badges on the sides are relocated. Bumpers have color inset and a ribbed and bright applique. Tail lamps are custom.
See the note that says Madler? Neil Madler was a GM Photographer and he took this picture on August 20, 1956. The paint on the other side of this wall was scarcely dry then. This profile shows off the lowered suspension and the custom rocker molding with exhaust outlet. Note hard boot, a'la Eldorado. Wire wheels are wearing narrow whitewall tires, which GM is showing on Motorama cars this season.
Special paint break moldings on the hood as well. Note the 1955 style hood ornaments now on the fender tops and the standard 1956 bombsight is removed. Undercarriage and wheel wells are Dante Red. The highlight of the interior are those special bucket seats with power headrests. The driver's seat swiveled 90 degrees, the passenger seat rotated a full 180. The seats are very similar in style to those in the 1956 Buick Centurion dream car.
The car exists today in an unrestored state. The seats were no longer with the car when it was discovered but otherwise it is described as being largely intact. We have requested photos of the car as discovered and will share them when we receive them.
Do any of our readers recognize the car? If so, please leave a comment or drop us a line.
Many early Riviera enthusiasts have long wondered why no convertible version was ever offered to supplant the coupe. The prime competitor, Thunderbird, was offered as a convertible and so it would seem to make sense that Riviera be offered in one as well.
Now comes a series of photos that suggest that, not only was Buick thinking about such an idea, they were taking the idea very seriously. These photos were taken on the GM Styling patio in the summer of 1962 and show a Riviera convertible prototype that had been the subject of considerable planning.
Retired GM stylists recall the car clearly and note that it was not a fiberglass mock-up, but rather a body in white that arrived from Fisher to be converted by the craftsmen at the Styling buiding. In other words, this was a high level exercise.
The convertible top has been carefully styled to mimic the crisp look of the hardtop as closely as possible. Note the sharp upper rear corner- no descending bow as was so often the case on GM convertible tops- and note the sharp corners of the rear quarter windows. They look like they were taken directly from a coupe.
Look carefully at the top- it's the parallel arm top that was first created for the 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood four door convertible prototype. This will allow for a full width rear seat and side panels similar to the coupe. The top will be utilized on the 1971 full-size GM convertibles. Also notice the top deck (a'la Corvette) which mates brilliantly with the rear seat back and provides a beautifully finished look with no separate top boot. Clearly they had paid attention to the T-Bird.
This rear 3/4 view shows how carefully the top had been styled to mimic the coupe version. It lacks the slight curve of the roof where it meets the rear deck, but otherwise mirrors the coupe lines beautifully.
Here is the convertible in profile with the top lowered. Those who saw the car say that without the crisp, formal roofline, it simply lacked the dramatic presence of the coupe and in all likelihood explains why it was not approved for production- a convertible should never be less exciting visually than the coupe from which it is derived.
So the convertible was not produced. An interesting footnote above however shows a Hatch roof as photographed on a 1963 Coupe, also on the styling patio. This photo suggests that even after the convertible was killed off, stylists were continuing to explore open air themes for the Riviera luxury coupe.
There's an old line that "It's Good to be King," and while that may be true, it might have been even better to have been GM's Bill Mitchell. Because Bill not only avoided all those dreary court functions, he also got GM to build him special cars whenever the mood struck.
Take for example the fall of 1963, and the gorgeous new 1963 Buick Riviera had just begun rolling off Buick's assembly lines. Riviera was a personal favorite of Mitchell's, but as is often the case, he didn't get absolutely everything he wanted on the production car.
Wasn't it nice that he had the talented craftsmen of the GM Design Center at his disposal? He had a silver production 1963 Riviera sent over for some touches. First, the top was shopped two inches and the front fenders and hood lengthened about four. The vent windows were eliminated. Cibie headlamps were mounted behind the vertical fender grilles. The side scoops were enlarged. Genuine wire wheels were fitted, although the actual tire choice varied between whitewalls and black- both were seen.
Inside the car had special silver leather bucket seats, revised instrumentation including a tachometer and a clock mounted in the wood trimmed console. Mitchell's signature chrome strips over leather floor covering was utilized, and even the black gauge faces were unique to Silver Arrow. It was also the first car to display the R logo stand up hood ornament.
The car was named Silver Arrow and when not being displayed at Auto Shows, it was Mitchell's personal transportation. Perhaps the only car that could top a 1963 Riviera was this magnificent Silver Arrow.
After about a year the car was revised. The egg crate grille was replaced with four thermostatically controlled cooling slots. The wire wheels were replaced with art deco inspired color matched wheel discs and the car was fitted with wide whitewall tires. This is the look the Silver Arrow wears to this day, and became a Mitchell signature that would be seen again and again.
Silver Arrow was so popular that it became an icon for the Buick Riviera, and the exercise was to be repeated on subsquent generations of Riv. It resides today in the Buick Heritage Gallery of the Sloan Museum in Buick's hometown of Flint.
Silver Arrow upon completion at the GM Tech Center
Winter Shot alongside the GM Styling Center
After Revision, on display at the Pebble Beach Concours
After
Silver Arrow on display at the Buick Gallery in Flint
Mitchell's signature color matched wheel cover and wide whitewalls
Special silver leather buckets and unique instrumentation
Special rear side scoop
Revised tail lamps and special Silver Arrow badging
Being a devoted gearhead and rather known for it, I do get some delicious emails. Like the above teaser shot from a friend asking if it could be possible that this highly unusual barn find '61 Eldorado Biarritz could be a factory job instead of a backyard custom. Looking at the details, I said most assuredly and asked for some additional photos. When they arrived, I grabbed the laptop and stopped in to see my neighbor, retired GM Stylist Blaine Jenkins. We went over them together and came to the same conclusion- yes, it was.
Blaine said he recalled the car as being done for Bill Mitchell to test some styling ideas, most pointedly the radiused wheel arches that appeared for 1964. Notations of special features below. Please let me know if I missed anything.
First off are the wheel arches, beautifully crafted. The upper side trim predicts the 1962 Biarritz. Also notice that the entire lower body is trimmed in extruded aluminum. Blaine says the car stood on genuine wire wheels originally.
From the rear. ELDORADO nameplate is offset to the right side and flanked by yet-to-debut wreath and crest. Back up lamps replaced by a second red lens. Color inset molding seems wider than stock, and did you notice that the fins are bereft of their repeater lamps? Possibly a nod to the dwindling popularity of the tailfin.
Prototype steering wheel or retrofit? Veneer trim on dash is attractive. Look down at the extruded aluminum and leather floor covering- a VERY typical Design Center touch. And what do I see to the far right? Could it be the shifter peeking up out of the console? Yes, this is a FLOOR SHIFT Eldorado.
Totally custom door panel- unique door handle attached to special rolled cove. Beautiful custom wood inlays front and rear that match the dash and look at those thick leather hides. Totally custom armrest with that sexy reflector. Delicious.
Totally unique bucket seats with a biscuit and bolster pattern reminiscent of a Continetal Mark II. Console looks like it came from a Starfire- looks great with the wood trim. best of all is the patina of the leather. To quote lady Gaga, it was born this way.
Dramatic as hell. Does anyone remember this car? If you do I'd love to hear from you!
Starting with the revolutionary BuickY-Job of 1938, General Motors virtually created the concept car. A vehicle designed not for sale, but for trying revolutionary ideas and testing the public's reaction to them. These vehicles were fully operational, and GM Styling Chief Harley Earl actually tended to drive them as his personal transportation.
But one of the most ambitious programs involved GMC Truck and Coach- the legendary Futurliner. The Futurliner is special because it was created not just to dazzle the public, but to literally carry the superiority of General Motors from town to town.
Charles Kettering came up with an idea he called "Parade of Progress", which involved taking the impressive science and technology exhibits GM created for World's Fair displays and caravaning them through smaller towns across America. The transport vehicles themselves would be rolling advertisements for GM.
The Parade of Progress began in 1936 with a fleet of nine specially bodied trucks known as Streamliners. Their concept was to use specially designed trucks that would not only carry the display, bit could also house them. The success of the program convinced GM to reach for something grander and in 1940, the twelve Futurliners made their debut.
The Futurliners were made by the GMC Truck and Coach Division to a space age design by styling wunderkind Bill Mitchell. They were huge bright red coaches- thirty three feet long and almost twelve feet high- and featured a plastic domed driver's canopy, dual front and rear wheels with enormous whitewall tires, an entire lower body covered in ribbed aluminum and enormous gold GM letters on the front. They proudly carried the General Motors Parade of Progress lettering in cast aluminum on their flanks, and in addition to hauling the display, their sides opened up to house displays inside the vehicles. Mechanically they featured enormous four cylinder diesel engines and four speed transmissions. Quite a sight to see these twelve bright red spaceships coming down the highway- they very clearly carried the message that General Motors was carrying the future.
The Futurliners were utilized in the Parade of Progress until the war placed the effort on hiatus. They were stored until GM decided to resume the program in 1953. Several modifications were made to the behemoths- the plastic domes (which were very hot) were replaced with a more permanent roof and wraparound windshield, they were repainted in a two tone red and white combination, the powertrains were updated to six cylinder gas engines with Hydra-Matic transmissions, the net result of which made them much more pleasurable to drive. They carried the Parade of Progress to some thirteen million spectators before the program ended after the 1956 season. That newfangled television, which many people saw for the first time at the Parade of Progress, was seen as a better way to spread the word of General Motors.
The twelve coaches were sold or donated, and many had long second careers- Goebel Beer, The Michigan State Police, Peter Pan Coach Company, and even Oral Roberts made use of former Futurliners as promotional vehicles. Amazingly, nine of the twelve have survived in varying condition. One in Van Nuys has been converted into a Motor Home, a couple have undergone meticulous restorations - one sold for over $4 Million dollars at a Scottsdale Auction- and one is even being painstakingly restored in Sweden. GM's largest concept vehicles continue to fascinate and delight to this day.
Here's a GM Film from the 1940 launching the Parade of Progress (in three parts)
Part One:
Part Two:
And Part Three:
And watch the re-launch of the Parade of Progress in the spring of 1953:
