RivNut

Here is a photo of a 1965 Buick Riviera order for. Option V2 is for the “chrome plated wheel.” No other name or optional wheel choice, just the spoked wheel cover.

As Tom pointed out, “chrome wheels” is how they were described on the 1965 Buick Riviera order sheet. In 1964, if you ordered them for your new Wildcat, they were referred to as “Formula Five” wheels. Anything else is just a moniker that someone has hung on them.

When you had your driveshafts rebuilt did you look in your service manual for the proper phasing. If I remember correctly, it’s something like 105 degrees.

Tire width is the first three digits in the size. 225 mm is 225 mm whether it is 75 or 35. The two digit number following the / in the tire size is the height expressed as a % of the width. A 225/75 tire means that the height is 75% of 225mm. A 225/60 tire means the height is 60% of 225mm. Both are the same width. One thing that could dictate whether a tire rubs or doesn’t rub might be the rim width or back spacing. What we tend to forget is that in 63, 64, and 65, bias ply tires were closer to 83% height to width ratios. Modern tires the same height as the originals will be wider than the originals so unless run a much smaller tire, you’re liable to experience some tire rub. To get away from any rubbing possibilities, you’d probably have to drop down to a 205 width on a 5.5” rim. That would create an unusual appearance and the rolling diameter of the tire would cause you to run the engine at higher than normal RPMs which will have a negative affect your gas mileage. If you’re thinking that you want to run that small of a tire, be sure to check the load range of the tire which determines how much weight the tires will carry safely. My 1990 Riviera uses 205/70R15 tires but it weights 600 lbs less than the 63 or 64.

The first part of Tom’s post is a fact. In fact it may save someone’s life. The second part is an opinion. Everyone should be entitled to express his/hers without any repercussions. Like my opinion “If wire wheels were meant to be on a Riviera, the designers would have built it that way. That’s what they did with the 53 and 54 Skylarks. Best looking wheel treatment for the 63/64 is the cast aluminum cover.” Thanks for letting me express my opinion. Ed 😎

The true 53/54 Skylark wheels have exposed lug nuts. 😎

No reason you cannot run both gauges AND idiot lights.

Your best bet is probably finding some 15x6 aftermarket wire wheels. Wheel vintiques has a 15 x 6 Slylark replica for ~ $775 each. Probably less expensive than finding and renewing any originals that you may find.

The very BEST kit that you can get is THE one designed specifically for your engine. Our buddy @carbking is in the business of making unique kits for a particular engine. My 1964 with the 425 and automatic transmission takes a different kit than a 425 Super Wildcat. www.thecarburetorshop.com I’ve been fortunate enough to have John give me a tour of his shop. Just the kits take up more storage space than most NAPA or other jobbers have for their entire store. That doesn’t count the space for the carburetors he keeps on hand.

You only need to tap the accelerator far enough and long enough for the choke to reset. It’s still in the same place it was the last time the car shut off. The choke spring has cooled and will close the choke as soon as the throttle linkage releases its hold on the choke. Pumping the accelerator for your particular engine is probably unique to your engine and how long it’s been since the carb was rebuilt.

Here’s a list from the ROA’s website that shows equivalent tire sizes. The chart is incomplete because it only shows one tire size for 1963. Refer to the 1964 line for the same info for 1963. It also show an 8.85 tire for 1965 which is incorrect. The larger tires in 63, 64, and 65 were for the heavier Electras. https://rivowners.org/features/Ev_Stats/dimensions.html

Buick also took rim width into consideration with tire size. In 63 and 64, the standard size tire for the Riviera was the 7.10 x 15. It came from the factory mounted on 5.5” wide rims. If you ordered the optional “Oversized” 7.60 x 15 tire, it came from the factory on a 6” wide rim. There’s a 1/4” difference in offset on each side for the 6” rim. This doesn’t come into play much except if you’re running the 63/64 cast aluminum wheel covers. The wheel covers are fastened to the wheel from the rear with a two ended shoulder bolt. The wider rim takes a bolt with a 1/4” wider shoulder. The cover itself is drawn tight against the shoulder, not the rim of the wheel. The “For Service Only” chart below tells you which shoulder bolt to use based on the original tire size. The part numbers in the upper right Corner are for complete assemblies, different assemblies based on wheel width. When measuring a rim, be sure to measure inside the bead, not across the outside lip to lip. I know a lot of this is rehash, but there are newbies coming our way often who have probably not run across this. As long as we’re discussing cast aluminum covers, be advised that when the car was delivered new, there were five cast covers but only four spinners. Your spare should have a cast cover bolted to it. When rotating tires, you did not R & R the cast cover.

Did you plug the crossover passage at the point where the intake manifold on the bottom and meets the head or at the top where the carburetor gaskets are?

There are lots of 15” tires out there, maybe not all season radials by the old standards Firestone, Goodyear, or BF Goodrich, buts lots of good tires. Why did you put the 895 series wheels on the car knowing that they wouldn’t fit without some problems,

Stock suspension and wheels. Everything measured to specs. As I said it only occurred during full lock to the left. There were no issues during normal driving. The only evidence was a shiny rivet head on the frame, the tire would keep paint and dirt off the rivet head.