65VerdeGS

LOL!!!! Thanks for the laugh Tom!

That's pretty cool seeing a '65 Riviera rolling around London, UK! In my few visits there I never ever saw one. This one has Gran Sport badging, so if original making it even more rare. Driving a 60's American car in the UK is a challenge as most streets and country lanes are VERY narrow. I'm curious if the exhaust in this car is routed out the hole in front of the rear tire? Never seen that done before, it kind of gives a semi-sidepipe look... The tangerine color is not original, but looks good! These cars were imported into Britain when new. The RH drive conversion was mandatory, and was done by several companies back in the day. I think the cost of conversion added about 50% to the car's list price, so this was by no means cheap! So, owning a '65 Riviera in the UK meant you had some serious cash at your disposal. I wonder what the history is behind this Riv? I could well have been imported/owned by a celebrity, or wealthy person of some sort.

Hi Steve, Thanks for your offer of a template for the seat base - good idea! Until I find all the right brackets and pieces to get it as per factory, I'm using two plastic seat base moldings that approximate the look of the original bases. I got one for the drivers and one for the passenger side from a friend who restores Buicks. I'm not sure which car they came from, but suspect they came from another '60's Buick as they fit under the seats reasonably well. I painted them my dark green to match my interior and nobody would know they aren't correct unless they knew what to look for. Here's the driver's side, held in place with one screw. As I leave the power seat in the same position most the time, the base molding just rides there, held by the single screw. If I move the seat the molding pops off the screw hole so it won't slide with the seat as the original would. No big deal. Thanks again for your offer.

Hi Brian, Thank you for the info on how you tacked this problem! Good idea to check my passenger seat track to see if something might have fallen into the track to stop the seat from going back as far as it can. Cheers,

Hi KongaMan, My ability to detect colors isn't so great and the wiring is old and somewhat faded... Here are two pics of the wires I tested. This one is from the left (driver) side: Here I'm testing the wire that feeds the parking light filament - tester glows steady, as does the bulb. When I turned the signal on to this side and put the tester probe to the other wire NOTHING happens. So, I then tested the Right (passenger) side. Here you can't see which wire I've inserted the probe into because the connector wired to the turn signal housing isn't long enough to pull it out beyond the top edge of the fender. On this side when I tested the wire feeding the parking lamp the tester lights up solid. When I tested the dark blue (?) wire which feeds the turn signal filament, the test light glows in unison with the signal bulb flashing. This was my way to find out if the problem is 'upstream' from the lamp socket and associated wiring. From this I take it the problem is with the wiring to the signal switch, or inside the signal switch itself. Your thoughts?

Hi Bill, Are you selling just the metal bracket? Is the black plastic trim piece included, or for sale separately? Thanks,

Last night I did some more troubleshooting of the left front turn signal that fails to flash. I traced the wires that come from the turn signal housing up the fender to a junction where they're plugged in via a connector to the engine compartment harness on each side (Left and Right). Using my handy test probe I checked the connector from the turn signal housing where it's plugged into the wiring harness in the engine compartment. I first checked the working Right (passenger) side to determine which wire feeds which filament in the bulb. Here's what each wire feeds: PURPLE - parking lamp BLUE - turn signal Then I turned on the parking lamps and engaged the Right hand turn signal. When I probed with my tester to the Purple wire, the tester lamp glowed solid. When put to the Blue wire, the tester lamp flashed in unison with the turn signal flasher. All good. Next, I did the same for the Left side. All good with the Purple wire (parking light), but NOTHING coming from the Blue (turn signal) wire. I tried this same test various times, and the results were always the same. This tells me the problem is between the connector at the fender and the turn signal switch, not the bulb socket or wiring behind it. So, before I condemn the turn signal switch, anywhere else I can test to isolate the problem? How would I test the turn signal switch itself? I don't think there is enough room to get the ice pick probe in to the back of the switch to test it this way. I do have a small Voltmeter - how would I use this to test the operation of the signal switch? Sigh... 😑

In a recent post about carpet replacement, Brian (71GS) said: The carpet I removed was cut exactly like yours so I assume that’s correct. I requested Clark’s not to cut mine as I relocated the front seats back 3”. I'm 6’4” and needed the extra room. Big improvement for me. Brian - if you see this post, how did you relocate your seats to gain more legroom? My Riv is a '65, with 4-way power driver's seat and manually adjustable passenger seat. If it matters, mine has the deluxe interior. I'm only 6 foot tall, so the driver's seat can stay as-is for me. However, it sure would be nice to afford the passenger a bit more legroom. The passenger seat won't go back quite as far as the driver's seat will. Not sure if that's the way they were made. So, what did you to to obtain more travel for the passenger seat to go back further? Thanks,

How do I remove the front turn signal housing to replace, repair the bulb socket? I can't see an obvious way to get to the rear of the housing to remove it. Does part of the wheel well liner have to come out first? In pawing through some old boxes of parts I found an entire front turn signal housing with cover, grille, etc. The contacts in this housing do move back & forth on their little springs. So, if I can't get what's on the car now to work because the contacts are seized, my backup plan is now to replace the entire housing for the spare which has a good socket. Thanks for all your advice and tips.

Thanks Ed for posting the video, very helpful! How coincidental the guy used a '65 Riv front turn signal hosing to demonstrate the fix! But fIrst I'll try KongaMan's tip to see if I can free up the original wires with some lube. Maybe WD40 would help? If that doesn't do it then I'll do the repair as shown in the video. But to back up just a bit - if the problem is the frozen contacts in the socket, shouldn't I confirm that current is actually getting to the socket contacts first by using my circuit tester before tearing into the socket repair? Here's the procedure I'm thinking to follow: Remove bulb Turn on parking lights Tun on left front signal Place tester probe at each contact in the socket, with the tester grounded to the car's bumper (or battery?). The tester should light at each contact to indicate current is getting to the socket terminals (steady for the parking light, flashing at the signal contact.) I'm hoping this procedure will exclude the turn signal switch as the source of the problem. Do you agree with the above suggested testing procedure? Thanks, and have a good weekend, everyone!

Hi Ed, Thanks for your input. I'm the OP. I did check the offending socket last year. I can't recall if the contacts were springy, or not. My circuit tester confirmed there was no power to the contact that ignites the bright filament. That socket is the original 55 year old unit and it was somewhat corroded. So, I took some steel wool and removed whatever corrosion I could get to. Another hassle is the bulb is very difficult to replace. I usually wind up breaking the bulb when trying to remove it. Is there any sort of 'lube' that can be used to make bulb Re & Re easier? Also, the bulb doesn't sit well in the socket and I've had to cram a piece of crud around the base of the bulb to get it to make proper contact. I've read here that these sockets can be a source of trouble, so replacing mine will be a next step. I don't have a spare bulb socket on hand, so that's another thing to get if tonight's "wiggling of wires" doesn't solve my no front left signal problem. Cheers,

Thanks guys - you may be on to something! I'll wriggle under the dash (again - I've done it enough times to be quite adept at it by now) and fuss with the signal switch connector to see if wriggling it will bring the circuit back to life. Also, will check the bulkhead connector under the hood. I hope the wiring from the switch to the bulkhead is identified in the Shop Manual or I won't know which of the 6 wires sends power to the front left signal.. Oh, could do this by elimination, but I don't think the wife has the patience to be my eyes on the outside while I fiddle under the dash to find the offending wire. Update to follow...👀

I'm reaching out for ideas to solve my inoperative front driver's side turn signal problem. After reading just about every post on this Forum on the subject of turn signals, I dove in to try to find out why mine aren't working right. All signals, tail, and brake lights work properly, EXCEPT, the front left signal will not 'blink'. This problem arose last year and I posted about it then. I got good suggestions about ensuring good grounding on the bulb socket. I wasn't able to determine what the problem was, and a few months later was pleasantly surprised when the left front signal suddenly started working again! My joy was short lived, however, as it has now stopped working once more. So, with social isolation in full force, I set about tackling this little problem again.. Armed with my research from this Forum, here's what I did last night: Checked turn signal cable - mine is fine, the sheath does not appear broken. and the wire doesn't move when the wheel is tilted through its positions. Removed signal switch, took it apart it and cleaned all contacts using electrical contact cleaner. It didn't look too bad inside... Getting the 3 triangular things back onto their springs and putting the thing back together was a bit tricky, but I managed it. Someone mentioned there also being 4 very small ball bearings inside this switch. I never saw any ball bearings, nor did these fall out upon disassembly. Maybe these are inside a portion of the switch I didn't take apart? Reattached turn signal to steering column and adjusted it per Tom Mooney's good instructions. Tested signals - all good EXCEPT the front LH (drat!) - nothing changed! Placed temporary wire from LF bulb to bumper - I removed front LH parking light metal grille and lamp housing and placed a temporary wire from the base of the bulb to the bumper in hopes of ensuring a better ground. This made no difference. Used an electrical probe tester to see if power was getting to the bright filament of the bulb socket. I couldn't get behind the pot metal bulb assembly itself (more disassembly would be needed) so I followed the wires up to the engine compartment near the battery where they're clipped to the fender near at a plastic connector. From here the wires get fed to other wires going to the engine compartment harness. I could not get the icepick probe to pierce the insulation, being old and rather 'stiff'. Instead, I managed to stab myself my finger with the probe (OUCH!). In the alternate, I stuck the probe into the connection socket (see photo) Result: Power is fed to the wire feeding the low intensity side of the bulb (brown wire), when the parking lights are engaged. Engaging the turn signal did NOT feed power to the blue wire which feeds the bright filament. Does this mean the problem is 'upstream' of the bulb socket, e.g. wiring towards the fuse block and on to the turn signal switch? The Shop Manual says "If signal works properly on one side, but there is no signal at front, rear, or indicator light on other side, trouble is in signal switch." So, is the defect in my turn signal switch? Is there anything else I should check to exclude other causes? If I need a new turn signal switch - where can I get one? Looks like this is a hard to find part. None of the usual Buick parts places seem to carry it. Summit Racing lists the following as fitting a '65 Riviera with tilt steering: Except that a posted review said the following: Has anyone used this switch and can verify it works? For the light duty it's likely to receive from me, perhaps I could find a way to attach it securely enough to the steering mast. Any and all advice gratefully accepted!

Bernie - do tell what is the second picture? Nice pumps BTW

Yes, the carpet job on your GS looks awesome!

My guess is that the factory made the dual quad linkage progressive to prevent a huge 'bog' when the driver floored the gas pedal. I'm no carburetor expert, but there's only so much fuel an engine can use depending at a given RPM. The idea behind the progressive linkage is to bring on the amount of fuel the engine needs as the throttle is opened. Even the fabled tri-power 427 Corvettes of '67-'69 used a progressive linkage, not solid. Others, including CarbKing. are invited to jump into this debate..😎

They wouldn't have put the foil on the veneer for no reason... And I think I may know why. I owned a '68 Eldorado for many years. This car also had genuine wood veneer on the instrument cluster and the door panels. The cluster veneer was only used in 1968 - a one-year only thing. Replacing it with rigid Formica laminate was out of the question, because the OEM veneer fits into a curved recess along the bottom of the instrument cluster. Luckily, this "Dash Board Woodgrain Applique" was and and is still sold ($60) by USA Parts Supply. I was happy to buy it because it would have been beyond my ability to cut all the circles and rectangles and size it correctly out of a piece of veneer. Yes, the OEM veneer was foil-backed, and the reproduction applique was not. The reproduction applique was sold as a 'bare', die-cut unvarnished piece of veneer, with no foil backing. I had to varnish it before gluing it to the pot metal dash with contact cement, which I did after patiently scraping the old foil-backed veneer off and removing all traces of old glue. I used a Varathane epoxy-based varnish anticipating the veneer applique would be subject to varying levels of humidity. All looked great for a while, but after a couple of years the veneer began to crack and peel back from the cluster. It was very difficult to re-glue it back on. I toyed with using a syringe with glue, etc. but nothing would work for long and soon enough the veneer would be peeling back again, in more areas. I suspect the foil backing is meant to compensate for the varying degrees of expansion between dissimilar materials. The chromed pot metal underneath would expand and contract at a different rate than the wood veneer. I'm guessing the foil somehow buffered the rate of expansion so that the veneer wouldn't crack in the process. I haven't examined the Riviera veneer kits being sold. Do any of them come foil-backed? If not, then why would the factory do this? Veneer applied to a flat surface would probably not have the same issue I had with the curved dash/cluster applique. So, maybe this isn't an issue with the kits sold today? I'd be curious to find out how well the wood veneer kits have been holding up many years after installation? As our cars aren't likely to see much exposure to wild swings in temperature, and are kept in garages, perhaps the veneer kits will (hopefully) last a very long time.

Here's what I did to my car in 1984 (was it that long ago???) Back then there were no precut wood veneer panels available for our 1st Gen Rivieras. or that's what I would have bought. I thought that making my own veneer panels wouldn't be too hard... So, I went out and sourced some walnut veneer and went about trying to craft my own replacement panels. That turned out to be much harder than expected.. First of all, the factory veneer was backed with a very thin film of metal foil. Nowhere could I find foil-backed veneer. Second problem was cutting the shapes accurately. I wrecked a fair bit of veneer trying to get it right. Finally gave up. And then it occurred to me: what about using Formica, like is used for countertops? So I went to a lumber yard and pawed thru the Formica catalog to find the closest match to the stock veneer in my car. I used the rear seat panel for comparison as this would have been exposed to the least amount of fading sun. Then I went a tad darker, in hopes of matching the original as close as reasonably possible. The best match was named "Medium Teak". I wouldn't know if that's available now, but I'm sure of the 100's of patterns of Formica and similar plastic laminate one should easily be able to find a good match. I had to by a 4 x 8' sheet of the stuff as it was a custom order, but the good news is I had a lot of spare material in case it was needed (it was not). Cost? Can't recall, but it was peanuts, relatively. Certainly much less than you'd pay for repro wood panels from a vendor today. The only tough part of the job was getting the old veneer off without damaging/scratching the chromed pot metal on the console. Patience and toluene/acetone to remove the old glue did the job. The beauty of Formica is that its rigid, strong, and impervious to stains, and moisture. Its also the right thickness to replace the original wood veneer. Working with it was much easier than with real wood veneer. I was able to get the console and door panels to match so that the grain ran through them. For the door panels i went to a hobby shop and got pinstripe tape of the right width. I used 'Crazy Glue" to adhere the "--R--" emblems to the center of the door veneer. Here's what my interior looks like today. Note this was my daily driver for 10 years after I installed the Formica veneer, so it may have faded just a bit: The paneling I made from Formica has held up extremely well. Still looks as good as the day I installed it. Most folks think it's real wood veneer. So, I would suggest this is a great option for the do-it-yourself-er with a modicum of skill.

Hi bc65Riv, Another way you can get your clamshells working is to bypass the relay and micro switches by wiring your clamshell motor directly to a switch so they can be operated independently of the headlights. That's what I did a long time ago after having had similar problems to yours. The headlight motor can get fried unless the micro switches are adjusted properly. The factory issued over 20 service bulletins on the '65 headlamp visor system and several revisions were issued to retrofit the cars when still under warranty. That tells us the system was buggy, and it would be no surprise that you're having issues 55 years later. Some have had good luck getting the stock setup to work, but I got tired of trying to find used working headlight motors and fiddling with the relays, etc. A long time ROA member advised me to get a stock ANTENNA switch and mount it on my accessory switch panel above the console, wiring the headlight motor to this switch. Run some good heavy gauge wire (16?) from the switch to both sides of the motor, bypassing the micro switches. It works like a charm. Push the Antenna switch to CLOSE the visors, and PULL to open. Simple as that. I've been running this setup for over 20 years on the same headlight motor with no problems. I can take a closer look at my setup if you want more specific instructions on how to wire this up. The "ANTENNA" switch shouldn't be too hard to find from one of the vendors that advertise in the ROA "Riview". Or, ask here and someone on this forum might have one to sell.

Thanks Jon, Sounds like i should leave my stock 2x4 setup alone. It runs pretty darn good as it is. Might scare the missus if I made the car any faster!

Hi CarbKing: You posted the following: "I have a similar setup to the OP in my shop truck (dual Carter AFB's) except my linkage is set up solid instead of sequential for much improved performance, both in driveability and fuel economy." Can you describe why a solid vs. sequential dual quad carb linkage is superior? Would this be something easily done to a stock Super Wildcat ('64-'66) car? What is the downside to the stock setup? Thanks for sharing your knowledge with the group,

Hi Art, Your post has spawned some interesting replies and suggested solutions. Be comforted that your dual quad starting behavior is quite 'normal'. Now maybe this isn't what it was like when brand new, but I've had my '65 GS for 37 years and it behaves exactly like yours after a long 'sleep'. I just pump the gas while cranking and it never fails to (eventually) start. I will try CARBKING's recommended 10 second crank (no pumping the gas) followed by 3 foot feeds, then crank again to start method. So that should help wake up or dual quad engines without undue fuss.

Hi John, Your post sure resonates with me and the plight of us Canadian owners who must navigate the border to get anything for our cars! Even Canada Post is rapacious in tacking on extra fees and handling charges for packages brought up from the States. This on top of the awful exchange rate on our measly Petro dollar... Years ago I got tired of the hassle of importing parts into Canada and now get my stuff sent to a PO Box in Washington State. Luckily for me it's only an hour's drive from Vancouver. I pay the mail drop $5 US per package and I clear the goods thru the border myself. Most of the time I get waived thru Customs so don't pay any duties or taxes. This isn't an easy option for you living in Edmonton... It would be a 13 hour return drive to Sweet Grass, Montana! Oh well...

Looks great! Hey, what's the gauge hanging under the dash to the right of the steering column? Oil pressure?

Hi Winston, I replaced the windshield on my '65 last year. The installer did it without removing any interior trim. The dash pad was also left in place. He did get some black urethane on the inside A frame moldings. This cleaned up quickly with some solvent, so no problems there. My car has the deluxe interior so the moldings are chromed. It might be a bit harder to get the urethane off if the moldings are painted without damaging the paint. I bought my replacement windshield from Summit Racing. It was a screaming deal at $133, including shipped to my installers door here in Canada! The windshield has the LOF logo as original, tinted and shaded. Of course, a purist would be able to tell it is not the original, but it looks plenty good to me - no more windshield wiper scrapes and fine pitting.