Bluzharp

Just came across this thread, so please forgive the late response. First off..BEAUTIFUL '65GS!! I hope you're still enjoying it. As the owner of a very nice, unrestored non- GS, I track values regularly and yours is EXACTLY the car I'd like to own. Nothing against the frame off resto cars, and my preference would be original patina, coz they're only original once. You asked for opinions, and though it may be irrelevant at this late date, personally, in my mid America area market, I'd ballpark it @ $70k currently. By the way, I admire and respect your desire to try to get it to someone who will appreciate what it is. Art

60........'65 highly optioned, "one repaint survivor" Art

My wife does a remarkably good job at this. Although she IS "removable" at car shows, initial cost and ongoing maintenace can be prohibitive. TPFIC Art ROA#12350

GM starters are notorious for this problem, and the cold water test, as Ed suggested, should confirm it. Had the same problem with mine, and a professionally rebuilt starter solved the problem for good. Art ROA#12350

Is only one cv rebuild kit needed? I'm in the middle of rebuilding my driveshaft, though I think the carrier bearing and support are the only "broken" parts, I figure I may as well do it all, while I've got the shaft out. My local drivetrain "speciaist" is wanting to replace the entire unit by replacing the differential yoke and building a one piece replacement shaft. has anyone else gone this route? I'd prefer to stay "original" if practical, but the shop is insisting the one piece is the BETTER and CHEAPER way to go. I have my doubts. Art ROA#12350

WOW!! Very nice color! Then I noticed the building in the background. My band used to play in the rotating club on the top floor. Ive got a white '65 that I drive around town quite a bit. Drop me a line at my email below when you get a chance. Art ROA#12350 bluzharp4u@yahoo.com

WTG Ed!!! RivNut to the rescue!!! As a side note I thought others might find helpful........From my experience, I've found that The chain parts stores, NAPA, Auto Zone, O'Reillys, etc.,often show that they don't stock different parts like water pumps, starters, etc, or they give you the wrong part(usually for a later model 400) when you specify the 401 engine. I've had much better luck locating these items if I specify the 425, since all the accessory items are the same on both engines. Anyone else experience the same thing? Art Bohn ROA#12350

My '65 was ordered "tilt delete" even though it is heavily optioned, including power vent windows, so it wasn't a matter of someone being too "cheap" to order it. Being a relatively new feature, the thought of a moving steering wheel, with the possibility of it malfunctioning, was not something everyone was excited about having. I can tell you from my experience in the car business, that "new" technology isn't always warmly received. The best fairly recent example I can think of was early ABS brakes which a LOT of people HATED the feel of and didn't trust the technology. I do have a tilt column and steering box for a '65, if anyone is interested, I'd consider selling them. Art Bohn ROA#12350

Can anyone direct me to a suitable, over the counter, engine paint for a '65 401? It's kind of a light turquoise in it's present original condition. Im having the timing chain and gears, and water pump replaced and would like to match as close to original as possible. Thanks! Art ROA#12350

I know of a couple of guys who have installed the Vintage Air Gen IV units in first generation Rivieras. It really cleans up the engine compartment as well. When I get to my computer at home, I'll post a couple of pictures if you'd like to see what a Vintage Air installation looks like. Ed Yes Ed, I'd be interested in seeing the pictures. I considered going this way, but my car is original except for a 12yr old repaint, carpet, and headliner, so I thought I'd try to stay as close to original as practical. Wish I had the $$$ and time to do a custom, but only on a car that needed extensive work and I'd definately go the Vintage Air route on it, or one without factory A/C. Believe me, I'd LOVE NOTHING BETTER than to eliminate the needlessly complex vacuum controls, hoses, and reservoirs. Art

Thanks to all for responses to my A/C questions. There seems to be some conflicting opinions (What a Suprise!)) I've ordered an evaporator from Old Air Products in Ft. Worth, have a new expansion valve, dbl groove A6, drier, and have contacted Joel Haffner in St. Louis about rebuilding the hoses. Still trying to locate a condensor and muffler, and waiting on response from Classic Auto Air in Tampa, but my past experience with them has been VERY long turnaround time. Anyone else had this experience with them, or maybe I was just unlucky?? Im going to go ahead and replace the water pump and timing chain and sprockets while I've got the radiator and condensor out of the way. I understand you can eliminate the muffler, but it will be noisy without it. Also been told that there are filters that can be installed in-line to prevent contaminant damage to compressor, expansion valve, and evaporator. Anyone have any experience with these filters? I've already done the STV "update" Thanks Again!! Art

Can anyone direct me to a source for new replacement a/c condensor and evaporator? My system has been "open" for an unknown period of time and the shop I'm using says there appears to be "scaling" and contamination of the whole system. I apparently also need a "muffler" The only item I've been able to track down is the condensor, at Old Air Products, Ft Worth, and also Classic Auto Air in Tampa. $290, $250 respectively. Any opinions on cleaning/flushing the evaporator? It's in good external condition, with no leaks. Can the "muffler" be cleaned/re-conditioned? Thanks! Art

No kidding! The "30 days out of round" makes me a little nervous as well. As I said, I'm a longhaul truckdriver, usually out 12-13 days, then home 3 or 4. 30 days would be about 50-100 miles on my Riv at most. Some warranty! They looked GREAT on my white 66 Caprice though, and would look even better on the Riv. All personal taste I guess. Art Bohn

Thanks for the link Ed! Unfortunately, as you can see by their info, they aren't offering the 5x5" pattern. Too bad, because I think they'd be ideal on my white '65. Art (ROA#12350)

I had a set of 30 spoke Starwires on a 66 Caprice I owned and thought they looked GREAT! Wish I could find another set for my white '65 Riv. I like the "Beefy" look of the 30 spokes. My factory Rallys are going to need a re-chrome before long if I can find a decent chromer near me, and it would give me a good excuse to change. Chrome plating is getting to be a lost art what with all the EPA regs and such. Art

Thanks to all for all the helpful advice and comments! Turns out, everyone was at least partially right. Wound up having my starter completely torn down, cleaned, re-wound,re-bushed, etc. As Jason suggested, the coils were pretty nasty. Tapping the starter and/or dousing with cold water also helped. Cable connections to the solenoid(which was also replaced) were dirty and barely snug. All these conditions, combined with heat, both ambient and coming off the exhaust manifold just above the starter, combined to make starting a hit or miss proposition. Probably lucky it started at all, but HEAT definitely was the over the edge factor. All seems good now. And yes, NAPA part # is screwed up. They carry a rebuilt starter, but you'd have to find it by "accident" Thanks again for all the helpful responses!! Art ROA#12350

I've had a few occasions,mostly after running for an extended time, that I get absolutely NOTHING when turning the key to the "Start" position. No click out of the solenoid, no movement from the starter. Battery is fully charged, dash lights dim, jumping doesn't help. I can "jump" the solenoid and it will start right up. The shop I've taken it to says they can't find a rebuilt starter with the same bolt pattern as mine, so they're putting brushes in mine. I'm inclined to think the problem is more likely in connections or the solenoid. Anyone else experienced this? Have others been able to find re-built starters through the "chain" parts stores? NAPA lists rebuilts for the 401, but my mechanic insists they don't bolt up the same as mine. This mechanic has a good reputation working on Collector cars, so I'm a little suprised to hear about the "bolt-up" problem, and not being able to find a local replacement starter in Oklahoma City, with parts stores on every other corner. Any and all comments appreciated!! Thanks, Art

WOW!! WHAT A TRIP!!! Reminds me of a run I made years ago on a rigid frame Harley, and I mean long enough ago, that unlike today, you might see 3 or 4 Harleys on a 1000 mile trip. You've got ballso'steel, I'll say that much for you, making a 2700 mile trip in a totally unknown 45 year old car, and in a black on black car with no A/C on I-10, the beginning of August no less....WOW AGAIN!! Hats off to you and best of luck with the new "baby". Art Bohn ROA#12350

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I had a similar problem on my '65. All individual components checked out OK as yours have. I finally traced the problem to the turn signal switch which serves as the power source for the brake lights and turn signals. If you pull the steering wheel and remove the plastic camswitch assembly, on the back, you'll find two springwires that move over some contact "buttons" when the turn signal switch is moved. They operate in such a way as to allow one side to "blink" when in the left or right turn position, while sending steady,non-blinking power to the other side while the brakes are applied. I had to clean the contact "buttons" and tweak the springwires slightly to make better contact, then apply a very light coating of lithium elec.contact grease. You might have someone step on the brakes and move the turnsignal lever around while you watch and see if you get anything out of the brake lights. Hope this helps solve your problem. Art Bohn ROA#12350

Thanks All! I'll contact Gene and see what he's got. I'd prefer to go original since other than mechanical maintenance stuff, the only things non-original are carpet, sound system, and paint. Thanks Again Art ROA12350

Anyone have, or can refer me to a source for the "Riviera" script on the front fenders of a '65? The chrome is peeling off one of mine. Thanks! Bluz:D

Just finished my clamshell project. I hooked up with Randy Rymal in Michigan to re-build mine before I became a member of ROA. He turned my good core around in 5 days and did an excellent job. He can be a little surly to deal with, but was very good at helping me diagnose to be sure I needed a motor, and helpful hints like removing the hood latch assy, and putting a sheet of cardboard in front of the A/C condenser to prevent damage going in and out. It's a tight fit and requires some finesse. VERY SATISFYING when finished though. I'm sure my girlfriend and all my friends got a big kick out of my insistance they "Come see my headlights" But hey....to me....it's what a Riv is all about! Art ROA#12350

The diagram Patrick supplied is accurate on cars with factory A/C, the diagram on the right, W/O A/C, the one on the left. Art Bohn ROA#12350

Ron, It looks like we're working on the same project. I've been posting questions on the ROA forum. My '65 appears to have had the "T' switch in the glovebox replaced with a '63-'64 "plunger" type. While trying to sort out my HVAC vacuum lines, which were all disconnected when I bought the car last month (car from Atlanta area, off Ebay) I found the cannister on the lower firewall which doesn't appear in the vacuum diagrams I have. It also answers why I have an "extra" larger diameter vacuum line coming through the firewall, directly behind the glovebox. I'm a longhaul truckdriver, and on the road at the moment, but I'll be home next friday, so let me know if you haven't found the location for the hole you're looking for and I'll be glad to take a picture of mine and send it to you. Meanwhile, I guess if I'm going to make mine "correct", I'm going to need the glovebox "T" switch like you've got. Anyone else reading this have one or know a source? Good Luck! Art Bohn ROA#12350 bluzharp4u@yahoo.com