RIVNIK

Here's one for the books! I spend a lot of time under my Riv with it up on old school metal ramps.....in fact I've been running all manner of vehicles up on ramps for decades without incident. Then I painted my garage floor with an epoxy type floor paint. Since I sometimes like to lay right on the floor for extra clearance , I opted to leave out the grit. The first time I tried to put the Riv on the ramps, she got about 6" up and the ramps shot out like two cannonballs, flying into the far wall and missing my wife by inches. ( I let her guide me 'cause it makes her feel important, even though it's easy enough solo, and I think that's pretty big of me, don't you guys?) I really think she could have been seriously injured. Now the ramps will be relegated to driveway use only! Has this happened to anyone else? Anyway,moral to the story.....Look the_ out!!!! p.s........ being a Riviera owner & enthusiast in Fla. is a lonely hobby... probably because we're so long & skinny....any kind of club activity usually means driving my Precious Riv way too far to meet up with four or five old crates in some motel parking lot....If I go it's in my Subaru. Why don't some of you nuts should leave the snowstorms & hurricanes behind for year round sunshine & warmth, and don't forget to bring the Rivs ! Drew#4675!

hey Rob, those armrest switch plates are in rough shape indeed! Chances of finding pristine ones are slim at this point. Ive conducted several searches over the years with all the usual club members and vendors and was only able to turn up less pitted ones after returning at least one and eating one or two. However, I can highly recommend Space Coast Plating in Melbourne Fl,they have a sterling reputation in the central Fl area and are very reasonable. They make a big road trip around this area once a month to pick up and drop off at all the Harley shops they exclusively service and will rendezvous with a customer. It would not surprise me if they also headed your way even though it is a couple of hours away.Ask almost anyone at a Fl car show and they will tell you Space Coast Plating.In the mean time I will try to dig my old ones out first chance and get back to you. they are slightly pitted but a huge improvement over yours. Also, last time I looked there was a decent pair on Ebay. Good luck, Drew

Greetings, Has anyone heard news about victims or survivors and their Rivs since the hurricane? We probably lost some cars considering the widespread damage and the number of enthusiasts from the northeast....if so ,I hope the owners are safe & sound. Im sure there are folks who ,although they may be fine, still don't have internet access and haven't reported in yet.I wish them all the best. Give us some news if you have any, Drew

thanks,Ed........mine is on the car,and I just have to find the time to take it off, but I will definitely take you up on your offer. Get back to you asap!

Does anyone know if the "simulated vent" trim piece below the rear glass from a '63-'64 will bolt on to a '65? I know it is wider than the '65 piece with more ribs. The contour should be the same, but what about the bolt pattern? . Mine is pitted out, and I like the look of the earlier model, and I'm past being judged for originality anyway. so if it fits, I'll wear it!

I love my '65, but I am envious of you with that '68. It's really a classic example of design perfection. The '65's a beautiful car of course, but the 2nd generation Rivs are the cars of the future of my childhood.....and yours is one of the nicest examples I've seen. Drive on down and lets swap for awhile! Drew

Snow!!! What are you still doing there! Get on down here while there's still room! We need more Rivs to have a real local scene. You can stay in my utility shed til you find a place.

Here's some pictures of my '65 in beautiful Winter Park, FL . Drew Smith (#4675)

REAR bumper,sorry!

I have a '73 Riv bumper in very nice driver condition, no dings, good chrome, only a few small scratches, $250 +shipping(?) have pics if interested. Drew Smith #4675

Thanks,RyanC... I've gotten that far. So far, I've been popping the linkage, turning the screws a few turns, reconnecting, turning the car back on, finding I went too far on one lamp, not far enough on another,doing it over again, thinking I got it right on the garage wall, taking it out for a drive to find it's not even close, stopping, getting out, pulling out some nosehairs..... get the picture? And probably due to some creative rewiring done either by a previous owner or by the body guy when he put the front end back together,my clamshells will not open unless the engine is running, (only one of many electrical anomalies that are beyond my ability to figure out) so I'm totally fumed out in my small workspace. And, needless to say,I'm scared to death of doing anything that might fry my clamshell motor. What I need to know is, should I anticipate trouble if I activate the motor by turning the lights on with the linkage disconnected? The switches should operate properly whether the linkage is connected or not, right? Or should I disconnect the motor? And will the lights come on with the motor unplugged? I'm scared! I once lost a beautiful '71 ElCamino SS to electrical fire, so I guess I'm overly cautious. Anyway,thanks for the advice....until now I was thinking my doors weren't opening enough because they were improperly adjusted. thanks Drew Smith #4675

by the way, love the '68!

Thanks for the welcome! And thanks also for the invite,but I've been a card carrying member since '92 (#4675).... couldn't have done it without the club! Pics coming as soon as I can take some better ones.

Thanks for the welcome! I was beginning to think nobody cared. And thanks for the invite, but Iv'e been a card carrying member since '92,#4675. Pics coming as soon as I can get home early enough to take some better ones.

That settles it,Steele! Do NOT go to NAPA in Kansas!!! Just trying to help,sorry!

Greetings,Steele. I'm sure your PCV valve is identical to my '65,which is ready to out of the box & pops into a rubber grommet on one valve cover, and connects to a thick hose leading to a block fitting at the base of the carb ( or possibly into the air cleaner on your car)......however, I highly recommend NAPA Auto Parts over the others, if there's one near you....they're fewer and far between, but there's almost always an old school guy there who knows exactly what you need and can give advice. The other stores are everywhere, but most of the youngsters behind the computers have no knowledge of a 63 Riv. Good luck!

Can anybody out there give me advice on how to aim my '65 headlights without the use of one of those gizmos? I thought I could drive up to a blank wall, turn them on, and run the adjustment screws in & out till they looked right, but I find I can't access the upper or lower (vertical) screws,because the clamshells don't open far enough. Thanks for any help you can give.

After eavesdropping for so long I'm looking forward to joining in the fun! I bought my 65 in '92 . It was in fairly nice shape, or so I thought. I drove the car for maybe 6 mos.,but soon rust started popping out in several places,so I took it to a local one man body shop who had done some great collision repair for me in the past. He didn't have the time to replace all the rusty parts all at once,but said if I wanted to leave it with him for an extended time he would tackle one area at a time and charge me as he went along. He was very reasonable price-wise and I didn't have a good place to keep it at the time,so it sounded like a great deal. It ended up staying in a corner of his shop for over 10 yrs. as every misfortune known to man befell the poor guy.To his credit ,between divorces, hospitalizations,bankruptcies,etc,he did find time to do some masterful metalwork on my rust bucket. Every 6 or 8 mos. I would cut him a check for whatever he had done up to that time. Then one day I came home to find a message on my machine..." Your car is done, I had some silver paint left over from a job, hope you like the color, no charge for the paint job,your car is in Adult Toy Storage, I'm outa here". Thats the last I saw of him...his shop was empty,phone disconnected,and he was gone! The Riv was beautiful, but in the meantime I had contracted Riv fever again and bought a '73, so I had no place to park it. It sat in indoor storage for another 10 yrs. at $100/mo. as I replaced just about everything else bit by bit. Well, I recently unloaded the '73, and the '65 is finally back home for good. As a decoding revealed, the car was originally blue w/ white standard int.,when I bought it it was black w/deluxe int.,having been burgundy in between, now it is a beautiful gunmetal shade of silver. Will have some pics up soon. Looking forward to corresponding with all of you. Still a lot to do! Talk at ya later!