65VerdeGS

I was tidying around the engine compartment of my 65 Gran Sport yesterday and noticed that the VIN stamping looked a bit odd: Was it common for the VIN# to be stamped on the block like this? Compared to VIN stampings on Chevy small blocks, the lettering and its positioning seem rather crude. The "9" in particular looks odd for a numeral. The VIN # stamping matches the VIN on the car, and I've owned the car for 35 years. When i bought it in 1983 it was original paint and driveline never rebuilt, at least I didn't think it had. Back then I don't think folks were re-stamping Riviera engine blocks to create fakes, as decent cars weren't expensive at all. But the odd stamping got me to wonder if other LX blocks are stamped this way. The "LX' stamping is on the passenger side, in rather small font (not seen in this photo), with the "L" and the "X" separated by about an inch. Is that normal?

The grinder marks are visible when looking at the back window from the outside. There's a 4" section of grinder marks near top center of the glass, and more rash visible on one side. Luckily I don't notice the marks when looking out through the rear-view mirror. What I really want to do is switch out all the plain glass in my car for Soft-Ray glass. I now have all 7 pieces (my windshield is already tinted). I hear scare stories about swapping out the glass, especially the rear quarters. Still mulling the merits of doing this swap...

Hi Ed, Here's that photo I was talking about showing the thin alternator bracket on a non A/C '65 Gran Sport:

Thanks Jason and Winston for sharing your knowledge and experience! This sounds like a job that could be done by a patient do-it-yourself-er. However, it isn't exactly a simple process, and one that might go wrong, especially in less-experienced hands. I think I'll scout around to see if I can find an installer that is experienced in working on old cars. I'd want someone that would take the time to do it right. It would probably be money well spent vs. possibly screwing it up myself. I'll keep you posted.

Hi Ed, I'm curious about your statement "..the normal alternator bracket we (was?) not used." Do you mean my car has the wrong bracket? I think you're referring to the big stamped bracket seen on A/C cars that semi-encloses the alternator. The non A/C car's I've seen have the same thin curved slotted bracket that mine does. I'm looking at the Brookland's Books road test reprint series "Buick Riviera Performance Portfolio" which on page 54 shows an engine photo of a '65 Riviera with the Super Wildcat engine without air conditioning. This car (exported to the UK) has the same thin alternator bracket that my car has. Might you referring to the alternator bracket used in '63-'64 cars instead? Was a different bracket used in the '65 non-A/C cars?

Thanks Kevin! Make sense - BJ's got you coming and going! It's a business, after all.

While looking up something using "dual quad" as a search term using the website Search function, I came across a recent post from a member who said he had two rechromed steering column trims for sale. Trouble is, I now can't find the post. I tried searching for "dual quad" again, but this returns a lot of posts which would be really tedious to go through again. Below is a photo of the piece I'm talking about - clipped from another member's post. Anyone recall who may be selling this item in re-chromed condition? The post in which the item was offered was photographed against a dark red background, making the chromed piece look really good. I can't recall the date of the post, but it was fairly recent, as best I can remember. Any ideas on this one?

Would I be able to replace the rear window in my '65 on my own? The rear window in my car is original. But it has several noticeable grinder marks near the edges caused by careless body men during earlier paint jobs the car had. I've found a good scratch-free OEM back glass and wonder if replacing my old back glass is something a patient hobbyist could tackle. I'm pretty sure my rear glass channel is rust free, as I had it restored and the car never sees rain (other than occasional washing). I do my best to blow out the water after each wash from under the stainless molding. As best I can see there are no visible signs of rust anywhere around the back glass. Is this a job best left to a professional? Has anyone done this job themselves? Any tips/or traps I should be aware of? Thanks for any info you can share.

I've never seen the ARDEX product in my area. Next time I'm down in the USA I'll try to find it at the auto stores.

Thanks Dave for the warning about ScotchBrite pads of any type. I'm going to go with soap/water/vinegar, etc. to be safe!

I guess my '65 Gran Sport is somewhat unusual in that it does not have A/C. It was sold new in Seattle, so I guess the original owner didn't feel it was needed in the cooler summer climate of the Pacific Northwest. I read somewhere that about 70% of '65 Rivieras were ordered with factory A/C. Dick Sweeney, ROA Technical Advisor, visited Vancouver this summer. I recall him commenting something along the lines of "Geeez, that Super Wildcat sure looks good without all that A/C stuff hanging off it.". I guess I should take that for a compliment!

Thanks RivMan! Accessing the site via the dot.org address worked for me! The links to various subpages within the main site still use https. To access them (after getting the annoying error message), I have to remove the "s". Is this a permanent thing? Or will the site be fixed so all pages within can be accessed without having to manually edit the address of the page?

Seems like these Gran Sports are bringing decent money lately... Out of curiosity, if this car hammered at $70k, and BJ added a 10% commission to bring the purchase price to $77k,, how much did the seller actually get? What fees and commissions does the seller have to pay? In this case, how much actually gets into the seller's jeans?

Perhaps JB WELD would do the trick?

I can't seem to access the ROA website lately. Does anyone know what's going on? I tried logging on from home and from work, at different times of day. Each time I try, this is the warning message I get: Any ideas on what is going on, or what I can do? Thanks,

Looks like a clone of my Gran Sport! I'd better go see if someone stole it, put redline tires on it and shipped it to Las Vegas! (Gone to garage....) Whew! All good, mine is still there. All kidding aside, I too will be interested to see what this brings at auction. Actually, I'm not so keen to see redlines on this car. Redline tires aren't correct on a '65. I believe '66 or '67 was the first year they were available. Were they an option on Rivieras of the day?

My factory Gran Sport does not ping at all under any driving conditions if I use 94 octane unleaded fuel. In my area this octane is only sold at Chevron stations. All others brands max out at 91 or 92 octane. The car pings lightly with 92 octane. It's noticeable if you lay into it in high gear - detonation is light but noticeable and goes away once the load on the engine is lighter. I use the factory initial timing setting, with everything else to factory spec. Arnulfo - I would check your distributor spark advance. Maybe your vacuum advance can is malfunctioning. You can test a lot of this yourself using a Mightyvac test kit (about $60 in most auto parts stores). Go to mightyvac.com for more info:

How much did factory installed A/C add to the weight of a '63-65? Related to this question - what did the base car weigh, without options? I see several weights quoted in contemporary road tests for '63-'65 Rivieras, all ranging around 4,100 lbs. There's gross and curb weight, etc, Back in the day, manufacturers were, and maybe still are, required to publish specifications, including weights for all vehicles produced. These were called "AMA Specifications". So, does anyone have the AMA Specification figures for the 1963-65 Riviera, and later years? I have these for the C2 Corvettes, and the weight of various options is broken out, for example, here are the figures for options on a 1965 Corvette: The curious thing is that the quoted weight for options varied from year to year. For example, the weight for factory A/C in Corvettes varied between 79 and 93 pounds, depending on the year. The weight of other options, such as power steering, remained fairly constant, about 21 lbs. Anyone have similar figures for the weight of accessories and optional equipment for First Gen Rivieras?

Try the good glass cleaner with newspaper. If that doesn't bring them up the quarter windows from a Riviera make a really nice fiberglass mixing pallet. Bernie Bernie - you sure have a way with words.... Gotta give newspaper a try. Sometimes the old fashioned ways are best.

Hi Dave, Thanks for jumping in on this thread. I tend to agree that using a razor blade or steel wool could result in fine scratches, especially if one isn't super careful. I haven't seen blue ScotchBrite pads. I'll look for them at Home Depot. As an alternative, do you think the commonly found green Scothbrite pads would be too abrasive? Cheers,

What's the recommended way to refurbish the BUICK aluminium valve covers? Mine were redone by the guy who rebuilt my engine about 12 years ago. It looks like he painted them with some kind of dull aluminum paint, and then used something to rub the paint off the top of the fins, and the BUICK letters. They looked pretty good for many years. But now the paint is coming off in places (esp. wherever I rub them when working on the car). So, I'm thinking of removing the covers and taking a go at refinishing them. My question is: Should I repaint them, and if so, what sort of paint should I use? I could 'strip' them and try to have them glass -beaded. Is that the way to go? Anyone have before or after pictures of their unrestored/restored valve covers to share and show how their method turned out? Any hints/tips on how to freshen up these covers, hopefully simulating as best as possible their as-born condition, would be appreciated! Thanks,

Thanks guys! I'll try the 0000 steel wool, razor blade, and clay bar. All good and proven methods to clean auto glass. Cheers,

Anyone have direct experience with using fine steel wool ('0000') to clean automotive glass? I recently acquired a set of Soft-Ray tinted window glass (rear, sides and vent, total 7 pieces) that came out of a '65 Riv. The glass had been sitting in a shed for a long time and is quite dirty. I got the set for a good price so I jumped at it, hoping to swap out the standard glass for tinted stuff. Best I could tell the glass is in pretty good shape as I could not see any big scratches or other defects to deter me from buying the set. So I made the guy an offer and he took it. Now I've got 7 pieces of tinted glass in my trunk, waiting to be cleaned. So, what's the best way to clean the old glass? I'm wary of using something too abrasive, of course. The easy stuff to clean is dirt. But the glass also has old glue around the edges, assorted crud, and a filmy sheen on it as well. I cleaned one of the vent window pieces and it came up almost perfect. But this piece wasn't so dirty, and was easy to clean in my kitchen sink. I hear some recommending the use of super fine steel wool to get glass really clean. Is that correct? Are "ScotchBrite" pads too abrasive? Your tips on how to get old glass as clean as possible are much appreciated.

Boy, am I out of date on today's cost of bumper chroming!!! Thanks everyone for relaying your experience, and for being honest enough to actually quote what it cost you for bumper plating. My rear bumper is quite presentable but has a couple of annoying flaws from when I had it done last time about a dozen years ago. I probably should have returned it to be re-done but was anxious to get the car back together because the body man who restored it had already had it for over 18 months. Considering how bloody expensive it will likely be ($1,000+ here in Canada) to have my rear bumper re-plated today, I might just have to get used to it as it is.

Anyone have recent experience having their '65 rear bumper straightened and re-chromed? What would it cost, more or less, to remove a minor dent, and re-chrome the bumper? These aren't light pieces, so shipping would be expensive. I haven't located a local source for the work, but am open to using a bumper plater in BC Canada, or Washington State. Thanks.