65VerdeGS

I need to correct my earlier statement about tire size because I verified the tire size on my Riv tonight. I'm actually running 215/75R15's, not 225's! As mentioned, these tires do rub on the frame at full lock but this is so slight that I never noticed it until I took the tires off to work on the undercarriage.

Ever since I've had my '65 Gran Sport (41 years now) it has been a bit 'balky' to start after having been left sitting for anything over two weeks. This behavior remained after I had the engine and both Carter carbs rebuilt in 2005. The car is 100% stock. I have to pump the gas several times to get enough fuel up into the carb(s) to start the car. Is this something to do with the fuel evaporating from the float bowl? Or to do with today's ethanol blended gas? Would the car have had this problem when new?

I'm running 225/75R15 sized tires on my '65 GS. As RivNut reported, they do rub ever so slightly under certain circumstances (e.g. full lock to the left, on a sloping driveway). This rubbing is so slight that I only noticed it when I removed the front tires to restore the undercarriage and saw the faint rub marks on the frame. The rubbing does no damage to the tire or the frame, so I would suggest this size of tire as it fills the wheel wells very nicely!

In the USA you can get a set of 4 Vercelli "Classic 787" tires from your local WAL-MART store! Screen grab from Walmart.com below. I read that these tires are made in Thailand. I wonder if they'll suffer from the "brownwall" tire blooming problem that affects other makes of whitewall tires.

Which year Riviera are you working on?

My issue was waiting for me when I returned from Mexico yesterday. John, did you get yours?

Wow - Winston, you sure have a way with words! Very amusing read! If that ‘95 Riv was mine I’d be putting a “For Sale” sign on it after reading about the intake manifold bomb! All great advice, and thanks to folks like you that this forum is such a valuable resource for Riviera owners!

I think you guys scared the original poster away...

That Lonestar '65 is pretty. A bit anomalous is the standard interior with deluxe interior bits including door panels (with the long strips of wood), and chromed window reveal moldings. The steering wheel is aftermarket. The "Riviera" script is missing from the trunk lid. The car has red-line tires which aren't correct on a '65 Riv (these were first made available in '66), and the chromed wheel centers are from a '66 or later. The passenger side mirror has been added. No detailed engine pics, but from what I can see in the photo with the hood open, this Riv has an open element air cleaner which isn't stock, and the listing says it has an Edelbrock carb. The 401 engine came from the factory with a snorkel (closed) air cleaner and an Carter 4-barrel carburetor. Quibbling details on what otherwise looks to be a very nice car.

Out of curiosity - when was the "Buick KLEER-VIEW" label replaced by the color GM Optikleen label?

Why how generous of them... Free Shipping!!!!

I want one! PM sent.

You can remove surface rust using a 'Brillo' or 'SOS' steel wool pad. I've used this trick for years to remove rust that exists in the creases of my chrome wheels. Just scrub, rinse off and voila! The rust will be gone. Depending on how bad the rusting is, some of the scrubbed areas will reveal the bare metal beneath. The soap in the SOS pads cause these areas to go dark grey or black, which is less visible than brown rust, improving the appearance of the wheel. My wheels are original, and in pretty good shape considering they're 59 years old. The chroming done on the factory wheels was very good quality, which is why so many of the early wheels look good today. The centers can be repainted. It's a fiddly job to mask the chrome portions of the webs. I heard you can buy masking templates for this, but don't know where. The wheel centers on my '65 didn't need to be completely repainted. Used POR-15 in a grey color which was a very close match to the original charcoal tone used on these wheels. I used a foam brush and carefully applied the paint inside the wheel webs, keeping a rag handy to quickly wipe off any stray paint that got onto the chromed portions of the wheel. Worked very well, and saved me from masking the wheels first.

Hi Frank, Good catch on the windshield code. Here's the Summit order for the Riviera windshield DW00629 I bought from them: Too bad Summit no longer sells windshields for our Rivieras.

I got one from Summit Racing in 2019. They shipped it to me here in Canada for a ridiculously low price. Give them a call, they might still stock them. Check them out. Don't know why the description says "Chevrolet, Two Door, Coupe" as my understanding is the 1st Gen Riviera windshield was not shared with any other GM car. Please correct me if I am wrong. Auto City Classic Glass also sells them: Hope this helps.