From the beginning, Buick's Riviera was a bit of a throwback. Relying as much, if not more, on style than performance, it swam upstream as the horsepower-focused musclecar wars took off in the mid-1960s. Still, the marque's unique blend of crisp, European-influenced design, personal luxury, and muscle managed to carve out a solid consumer niche, not to mention a loyal cult following among both collectors and customizers.

Looking at Gil and Janet Losi's ultra-slick '67, it's surprising to note that second-generation Rivieras receive less attention than the '63-'65 versions. We'd regard both body styles as factory customs, but the longer, lower, more streamlined '66-'68s arguably look more radical in stock form. Few domestic cars of the era had wilder original designs.

Of course, this is old news to Gil, who has long admired the body style. "This is a model that is rarely done," Gil says. "It has beautiful lines. I thought one done well would stand out. Howard Kay at Chubby Chassis had two of them, and every time I went there I tried to talk him out of this one. Finally he agreed and sold it to me."

Before taking delivery, Gil had Howard finish the chassis and mechanical work he'd started. This included a powdercoated frame set up with air springs, which were connected to an Air Ride Technologies Ride Pro e control unit. Howard also rebuilt the 430ci engine, which got an Edelbrock intake, Pertronix ignition, and U.S. Radiator.

Having owned a couple of Boyd-built roadsters, a '50 Ford woodie, and the '60 Ford Sunliner that graced Custom Rodder's July 2001 cover, Gil is no stranger to hot rods and custom cars. He's also friends with some of the biggest names in the SoCal hot rodding scene, none of whom seemed particularly excited about finishing the Riv. Fortunately, Gil met Steve Cook--a first-rate car builder from Oklahoma City--at an indoor show a few years ago. Shortly afterward, Steve visited Gil in California, where he spied the Riv in Gil's garage. Steve was immediately drawn to the big Buick, and expressed unsolicited interest in finishing it. That was enough to convince Gil.

The Riviera was soon shipped to Steve Cook Creations, where Steve, his wife Kim, and employee Rodney Durbin stripped the body bare to repair rust and damage, a process that included making one good right fender from two damaged ones. Shaving the emblems, rocker moldings, door handles, and trunk lock were all standard procedures, but smoothing the hood proved a bit more challenging. Two peaks ran the length of the hood, with a chrome spear in the trough between. Steve had to cut several inches from the hood's midsection, fabricate a slightly peaked filler panel, and weld everything back together without warping it like a corn flake. Definitely no small task on one of the longest hoods ever made.

The final subtle modifications involved fabricating new lower sections for the fronts of the fenders, replacing the filler pieces that once butted up to the front bumper. Then came paint. "I really wanted black," Gil says, "but having other black cars, I know that cleaning them is a hassle (and I do drive my cars a lot). So I decided on silver. Steve suggested painting it black below the hip line--great idea!" The Silver Leaf and black finishes came from DuPont's Hot Hues line.

Next to the Riviera's paint and body, the one-off 18-inch wheels seem to attract the most attention. Gil modeled the wheels after factory Buick sport rims and designed them on his own CAD program before having them machined by Mike Curtis at Boyd Coddington's shop, then wrapped in Bridgestone rubber. Speaking of wrapping, Gabe Lopez used black leather with red stitching to recover the stock seats inside, while the Stereo Shoppe in Riverside, California, wired up a killer JBL sound system.

Dubbed '67 Below, Gil's Riviera caused quite a stir in its first outing, the Fresno Autorama, where it fit right in amongst more radical (and much more expensive) customs. A few weeks later, Gil and Janet drove down to Del Mar for the Goodguys show, and cruised home with a finalist spot for Goodguys Custom Rod of the Year. Surprising? Not really. You can't expect a Riv this cool to sit in the shadows for long.