RIVNIK

Hey,Desertdog! My 65 has a black int. so it was a little easier to get good results on the cheap,but....I took my seats out and had a local shop install covers from Clarks($350 ea.to install,but perfect) A good molded carpet was easy to do with the seats out. My door panels were badly warped & faded...I removed the armrests,lightly dampened the cardboard, pressed them with lots of weight for couple of days & they came out surprisingly flat & stayed that way. Then I treated them with SEM vinyl prep & paint, & used spray carpet dye on the lowers. sounds sketchy but turned out surprisingly nice. There is a good pair of armrest pads on ebay if you need them.Like I say ,everything is black so color match could be a problem for you. As for your package tray,a club member has advertised repros in clear fiberglass for painting in the Riview for decades. I've always wondered what the quality was like. Why don't you order one and let us know! ( For God sakes, don't buy one from OPGI!) The headliner is where you might want a professional.From what I've been told it is a PITA but doable. I got mine from Clarks & aforementioned auto upholsterer put it in for $165. (If your dash is f'ed up, good luck is all I can say.)A show car deserves a quality interior,but dont spend show car bucks on your Sonic driver if you can help it! Good luck & let us know how things turn out! Drew

Thanks for all the help,friends. I'm waiting for a reply from Dave's. looks interesting. Drew

Another question. If one determines a distributor is in need of a rebuild but is unwilling to attempt it due to lack of experience and a proper shop, what is the best way to proceed? Should I buy a rebuilt from a parts store or would I expect to find a local garage or rebuilder to do the work, or does anyone recommend a place to send it off to? Thanks, Drew

Thanks for the quick responses, guys.You've really got me thinking now. I'm not sure how to diagnose a worn distributor that's still in the car....I can't detect much play or sloppiness in the shaft, but the points plate is a bit wobbly . I know it has rotational play to it due to the vacuum advance function, but it also has some vertical play . If this is abnormal it could be the cause of my problems, and I can see how electronics would not be the cure, as the main component mounts to said plate. I often hear about worn distributor bushings and gears' but haven't heard anything about the points plate wearing out. is this addressed in a distributor rebuild and how? Could it be worn or defective while the rest of the distributor is ok? Drew Rivnik

greetings Riv owners, I think I've decided to make the change to a Pertronics electronic ignition. I've heard nothing but good about this switch, but what is the downside? I would love to hear testimonials from anyone who has done this, as well as descriptions of the procedure. The youtube Pertronics video shows it to be a simple operation with the distributor removed, but I was hoping to avoid that if possible.Granted, it's a tight squeeze back in there, but the thought of removing the distributor and successfully reinstalling it with my rudimentary mechanical experience gives me the willies. Maybe someone can allay my fears. Or has anyone installed this system with the distributor in the car? As always, thanks for any help you can give. Drew

greetings, Hillstreet! I'm not sure how ebay works overseas, but there is a nice looking wonder bar radio in working condition for auction by dealer mopar 48-63-68. The bidding is at $20 and continues for 5 more days. check it out if you can. Good luck, Drew

I'm 59 and have owned my '65 since '92. Also owned a beautiful '73 which I miss every day. Drew 'Rivnik' Smith ROA # 4675

hey WMN.....I don't know what that thing is called, probably air dam/shield or something like that, I just hate to see you hanging out there with so many views and no reply. If it's not that visible, you should be able to remove it and repair it with small metal plates and screws from your local hardware....or a call to the closest salvage yard and you might get lucky. good luck, Drew

Hey Brian! Did you have to replace your distributor with the faulty points plate or just install the electronic components inside.( Pertronics ads appear to show the components mounted to said plate) Where did you acquire them? How much did it the switchover end up costing? Anyone else have experience with this? Any downside to switching to electronic? THanks, Drew

Thanks, Brian & Gerry.......I am going to double-check those wires asap, I will be thrilled if that is the problem........and I was hoping someone would suggest switching to electronic, Ive been leaning in that direction. Any more advice or experience switching over will be greatly appreciated. thanks, Drew

GREETINGS! Im trying to tune up my 401 which has been missing on moderate to hard acceleration. It feels like an ignition problem, so I replaced plugs & points/condenser/rotor. Cap & wires seem ok. Noticed that plate that holds points seemed a bit more floppy than I think it should be.......when setting dwell,I see dwell meter hovers around 30 but fluctuates several degrees in both directions. When checking timing I see that shop manual shows correct timing mark to be between 0 & 5, but engine rebuilder (aprox. 500 mi. ago) has painted arrow at around 7 . Timing light also fluctuates like crazy, but centers somewhat around 5. No change in performance. I reset timing to make light hover around the 7 area (as marked by rebuilder). A little improvement, but still missing. Is the performance problem & fluctuating timing light due to the aforementioned floppy points plate ? SOMEBODY HELP!!!

Thanks Brian! I think I will see if my local mechanic can slip a new insulator or spacer in on the low side. good luck on your rebuild! Drew

ouch

Hope you guys don't get tired of my stupid questions. I've had my '65 for over twenty years, but it spent most of its life in storage, so I've really been seriously involved with it for only a couple of years. I'm learning new stuff all the time thanks to you guys. Todays problem is ride height, brought to mind by recent discussions of coil spring replacement on the forum. When I bought the car I had the shocks and bushings replaced and was told a rear coil was cracked, so I replaced the rear springs. The car ended up in storage soon after that and I don't remember having any ride height issues at the time. Fast forward 20 yrs. and the car is back on the road, but the right side is 1 1/8" higher in front and 5/8" higher in the rear. Does this possibly indicate a problem with the front left coil? It doesn't appear or sound to be abnormal. Does a coil spring collapse somewhat after time? I can't bear the cost of spring replacement at this time.( If I could, I would want to lower my car like you other guys, but my oversize 225/75R tires would probably have clearance problems.) Can anyone suggest a quick fix, possibly spacers or spreaders of some kind on the low side? THanks again for all the advice, Drew Rivnik

thanks for the info...

Thanks,RivNut!! Why didn't I know that? My previous system appeared to be stock but must have been modified at some time, because as far as I know the tailpipes were of the same dia. as the rest.( I had some chrome tips that are too big for the new pipes ) Previous owner must have thought smaller tailpipes created too much restriction. Is there a reason for smaller dia. tailpipes from a performance or engineering viewpoint? Thanks!!Drew

Greetings! Some time ago I bought an aluminized exhaust system for my '65 on Ebay from a long time Ebay dealer with 99% pos. feedback. It sat in the box for a long time before I finally got around to having it installed. It was not a perfect fit but my local shop was able to make it work. The odd thing was that the pipes were the same diameter as stock till you get to the rearmost pipes which were of a smaller diameter. Unfortunately, they were already installed when I found out, so I can't really box them up and pay $60 to send them back. Does anyone think this will affect performance noticeably ? Has anyone had a similar experience? Thanks for any advice, Drew

Greetings! Can anyone give me a brief tutorial on how to replace my '65 headlight switch? I know I have to depress the button to release the shaft in order to free the switch from the dash, but what do I have to remove to access the switch? Thanks, Drew

Thanks for the quick reply.....it appears that Borg/Warner is still Borg/Warner, & BWD is a manufacturer of ignition parts, on-board computers, wires, cables, etc. for NASCAR & for aftermarket. After looking at myriad points sets on ebay, all recommended for the '65 Riv, you can definitely see differences in quality and sophistication or complexity, and these BWDs look pretty cheap compared to some of the expensive ones. I realize that ebay is not the place to seek information, but you can at least compare many different products visually. whether or not you can determine which one is the best or most correct by sight & price is beyond me! What I would like to find is as close to original as possible. I would think that would be A/C Delco, wouldn't it? Are they still available? I know they no longer produce the exact spark plugs for my Riv. Thanks for shedding some light on this mystery for me Drew Rivnik p.s. I should post this on the recent interior lighting problem thread,but while I have you here......I have the usual dim dash lights problem....someone recommended changing to brighter bulbs......I somehow inherited a bag of Riv instrument panel bulbs....some are grey and some black....is one type brighter?

wow! now that I've looked at points on ebay I see that there is a wide variety available at a wide price range. Now I'm really confused! Help!!

Hey Bernie! I cant tell from the pics which are the good points or the bad ones. I did'nt realize there was a big difference in the quality and price of points. I just purchased a set from Advance Auto made by BWD for $6.50.(about what I've paid for several sets over the decades) They appear almost identical to the pictured set with the copper colored and plastic arm. The adjusting nut doesn't appear to be cheap or "stamped", and the post is attached to the frame by a brass colored hex key nut on the back side.One difference I think I see is that the contact attached to the arm is slightly smaller in diameter than the one attached to the frame. Is this set inferior? Should I ditch them in favor of the $28. set? Not sure how to proceed. Anyone else have anything on the subject? Seems like for every experienced guy who espouses the expensive fix, there's another one says the over-the-counter job is fine. What to do thanks, Drew

Tom,Jim, can I presume this info applies to the '65 also? My console and map light used to come on with the drivers door open, but do not function at all now,nor do they respond to the under dash switch.....my sail panel courtesy lights come on with the drivers door open but do not respond to the headlight switch being rotated....my dash lights are so dim they are barely visible,as is my shifter lighting, but my high beam indicator is ridiculously bright.Does this last problem point to a bad headlight switch? Does the switch have a rheostat controlling the dash brightness, or does rotation simply activate the courtesy lamps? Thanks for your advice, Drew Rivnik Smith #4675

Greetings BRF, You might try what I did for my '65 rear console light lens before I realized repros were available....... a good hobby or craft store will have white translucent plastic or lexan in various thicknesses. it is easy to cut, shave or file to fit, that is if it is a simple flat rectangle as on the '65.....good luck, Drew

congrats, hidn36! looks from the pics like a good base for a complete restoration. You've already come to the right place, so some of this may go without saying...... I recommend you join the ROA if you haven't yet, acquire as many back issues of the Riview as you can, including an index, so you can access articles pertaining to all the challenges you will be facing. You can find a lot of this info on the club website, and I believe a disc compilation is in the works also. Next, hunt down a shop manual and a body service manual, they can sometimes be found on ebay or in the ad section of the Review. Then you should order Riv catalogs from the major suppliers, like Clarks Corvair, Cars Inc., Classic Buicks Inc., and OPGI. As with the club mag, everything is available on line, but I like to have the material in hand. Also, keep your eye on ebay......I have bought lots of good stuff on ebay for my '65 over the years with no problems, but as always its buyer beware, so take a good look at and inquire about what you're about to buy. I would imagine one of the old-timers on this forum probably knows what you need to know or has what you want out in their shed, so ask here first. Anyway, I hope you have fun and be sure to document your progress so we can follow along. Drew Smith #4675 Rivnik Hey, has anyone installed rear seat seat belts on a 65? Got any tips? I could take my wife and two of her cute girlfriends all for a ride if I only had those rear belts.

Thanks for the tips! I've tried drilling into this 70 yr. old concrete before and that is out. But the rubber mats sound like the way to go. 4675 out