Yellowriv

Hi everyone, I have a 53 Buick which was built in California and lived there for the first part of its life. Among the documents I received with the car are Registration cards from 1961 on. The earliest shows TRV 603. I understand this is not the original plate, my guess is its a yellow plate from 1956? Did Californians have to hand in their old plates when the yellow plates came in? In 1963 the plate changes again to LQK 105 which the car retained until it went to Seattle in 1982. My guess is that these were black plates? Again did Californians have to hand in their yellow plates in 63? Thanks for you help. John

Bill, My understanding of these VINs is that the first number is the Plant no, my 56R is 2/6927670, which means it was built at Southgate. Mark's car would indicate a build at Linden and yours with a 5 prefix indicates Wilmington. The next number is the plant sequence, so for my car it is the 162,669th car to be assembled at Southgate. The Linden numbers start at 6774001, so Mark's would be the 7,563rd assembled there. Have I got this right? Regards John

I bought this one nearly five years ago. Verde Green over Osage Cream, roof and some of the lower paint is original. Car was born and lived in California most of its ife before moving to Seattle. One of my favourites..

Agree. Like putting a moustache on the Mona Lisa.......

Brian, Each pot in these engines at over 820 CCs is larger than a mid size motor cycle engine. This and the rapid evaporation of modern fuels and lack of regular use ensures that even when your accelerator pump is working properly getting enough fuel into the carb/s and then to the cylinders means a lot of cranking before you have enough to light the fire. There really is no way to avoid this issue if your car sits for long periods, as mine does. You just have to keep pumping until you get enough fuel up. I give my starter motor a break so I dont overheat it and you do need a strong battery. Unfortunately, the only bulletproof solution is an inline push pump. I intend to add one to my car, but manually operated so that I just use it for priming, a second benefit is that if it suffers from vapour lock as they sometimes do after stopping on a very hot day, the electric pump will deal with this as well. My 48 Caddy, which is 6 volt, has an electric pump and an optima battery and that big old side valve is easy to start anytime. I just turn it on and let it run until its primed then crank it with a couple of pumps and it starts easily. Good luck.

Randy, My 65 has its original white interior and it is a very bright white! Here is a photo. I can supply more if you need them. Its a pain to keep clean but looks great! Hope this helps.

I've read all of these posts and I agree with Tom and Pete's particularly. I have a 65 Riv thats about as basic as can be, the only option it has is a/c. The only "rare" thing about is that its Midnight Aqua, the least popular colour for 65, 900 or so produced. I bought it because its beautiful, rust free, completely original including paint and has all books and receipts including the original california paper number plate. The car goes well, uses vast quantities of fuel and I always look back at it after I park it. I dont know what its worth and, at present, dont care. All this numbers matching/GS non GS stuff is great fun but none at all if the car is a dog. I think the usual rule applies here, just buy the best car you can afford. Go and get one Gary, you wont regret it, they really are special.

If this is an improvement I shudder to think what the original Dynaflow was like. I just bought a 1948 Cadillac 60S with the Hydramatic. Despite being about 500 lbs heavier than my 53 Super 56R the Caddy feels like a sports car in comparison. A complete waste of a modern efficient V8 engine in my view. It's ok, I've already ducked.....

The original engine in my 1953 Super Riviera 56R. 2bbl carb. Hope this helps

Thanks Carl, they have a great website.

I know this has been discussed before, so please bear with me I have a stock 53 Super and I need to buy an oil filter cartridge equivalent to an AC PF 122. I dont want to adapt to a spin on filter. Problem is, I am in Australia and will need to ship here and most firms dont. I understand the Fram equivalent is a CH 106PL. Is this correct? Can someone confirm good quality equivalents? CARS Inc have one in their catalogue but its not branded. Should this be a concern? Sorry for all the questions!

Bob, Down here in Australia, members of and visitors to the FE/FC Holden Forum have been able to do this for at least six years at no cost. Fyi, here is a link. FE-FC Holden Car Clubs of Australia Go to Technical Information, then, No 10 FE & FC Paint Tools. click on a model then play. You might note there are also paint and trim codes, a full data plate decoder, engine manufacture dates and lots more! Its a fantastic resource for those interested in these cars.

I've also done this before.One thing no one's mentioned is cleaning the sludge out of the sump, which its likely to be full of. Also gives you a chance to check the oil pump.

Isn't 225x75x15 the correct size? My 65 came with 215s and the speedo was over reading and the engine was working hard. I put 235x75x15s on finally, these most closely replicate the original cross ply diameter but the fronts do foul the inners slightly on full lock. On balance for a stock car 225s seem the best compromise. ,

Hi everyone. I have a 65 Riv which was purchased new from Speight Buick, 6909 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood Calif., on 7.2.66. Whilst what looks like the original building is still there, its now a truck rental place and looks pretty forlorn. So I can complete my cars timeline, does anyone happen to have a period shot of this dealership? Weird request, I know but..... Thanks for your help.

Congratulations! another good looking 65 bound for Oz.

The FE was the first 12 volt model. You are quite right about the fluid reservoirs Ivan, they were metal and I have a set. I decided to leave these on for safety reasons. The wheel cylinders have no proper external covers and seize readily. As this car is not used much I find it easier to do a quick visual fluid check rather than trying to remove seized lids. The first Holden with "Radial Tuned Suspension" was the HZ of 1977, the WB was introduced in 1980.

Thanks for the suggestions for my 48 Fleetwood Sixty. This thread has been really helpful. I'm going to go to blackwalls. Not only that, I have removed the sidemounts, pilot ray and Trippe lights. I didn't know which was which but I figured the square ones were the Trippe lights seeing as they were just above the bumper and would light up the ground so people wouldn't trippe over. This was all a bit tricky but it worked out well because when I took off those sidemount thingies the lights came off with them. I had a funny lookin pair of lights in the shed called Woodlites or something. They look pretty airydynamic so I welded them to the bumper. I noted Matt's comment about trunks so I have removed that as well. This worked a treat because I can now get a fridge in there standing up. I must say she's starting to look good.......

That is sensational!

Come on guys this cab has parallel swage lines that narrow towards the front and clearly run through to the hood. Based on the photos supplied it cant be any of those shown. Surely the big air vents on the cowl are a hint?

I've enjoyed this thread a lot and learned a bit too, particularly about doubled sided w/ws. As a kid growing up in 60s Australia, proper w/ws were rare and unbelievably glamorous. My 53 Riv has them and looks lovely. When I restored my 1957 Holden, I put them on and I have to confess I think I might have over cooked it. I don't ever remember seeing them when I was a kid and I now think its too much bling, but they were sooo expensive to buy. Here it is; Ive just bought a 48 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty which has w/w radials and I don't think it looks right either. I'm thinking of going to blackwalls on this one, after I paint the wheels correctly - either light grey/green or red, I'm going for the former - what do you think?

Hi Mike, As long as a car is 30 yrs old they can be registered in Australia, this was not the case until around 15 yrs ago. There are some wrinkles now, cars must be "stock". Both cars are unrestored and the 65 is very original even to 95% of the paint. I have all the books for it, I even have the original paper California licence plate that was issued before the black ones arrived. Cheers John

In 1949 GM started production of a small - in US terms - range of six cylinder cars called Holdens. In 1956 a new body shell called the FE series was introduced. Wheelbase is 105 inches, engine is an OHV 132 ci six, which looks like a shrunken stovebolt. Here is a photo of my 1957 FE. The stripe is not factory it was a dealer installed accessory called a Detroit (!) Stripe. The colour is Shoreline Beige, a 1954 Chev colour and the stripe is Corsair Tan, also a US colour. Here is the engine before it was finished

JZRIV and Rob J, great stories. Unclebuck, I love the colour of your 64 what is it? Here are my two, 62,000 mile 53 in Verde Green (Green Green?) over Osage Cream and 40,000 mile 65 in Midnight Aqua. I've since put correct size tyres on the 65.

Doug, The trouble with suspension in my experience is that whatever you do to one end of the car impacts the other. I havent tried this on my 65 but I have fooled around with rear bars on Alfas. What I found is that a rear bar tightens up the rear but tends to increase understeer or push. Om my car, which has standard ride height and radial tyres I went to custom valved Bilstein shocks and 84% stiffer springs all round. I also replaced the panhard rod bushes which take a pounding in these cars. The result is that the float and wallow is gone and the car is very neutral. This of course highlights the woefully light power steering.......