riviadrian

I recently acquired a rear seat armrest from a 65 that I'd like to install in my 63 Riviera. Will this attach easily, or will there be some fab work involved? Thanks, Adrian

Thank you all for your advice! Waiting on a quote now for a rebuild. -Adrian-

I have a '63 Riviera with a 401 Nailhead. My mechanic is pulling the motor to replace gaskets, seals, timing chain, water pump etc. The motor runs and sounds great. He did a compression test today before removing it. I am not planning on rebuilding the motor unless it is necessary. I'm wondering what the expected or acceptable numbers are for compression. The engine has 111k on it, and I'm not sure what has been done to it in the past as I am the third owner. 6 of the cylinders are at 125 psi, while #6 is at 135, and #8 is at 140. Please forgive my ignorance as I am not a mechanic Thanks, Adrian

I will do that. Thanks Scott!

Thanks Winston, Carb cleaner worked great. Not sure why it didn't work yesterday when I tried the same thing. Oh well, she's running now after a little sweet talk and carb cleaner. She's not the prettiest and she can be a bit temperamental at times, but damn I love that car. I will bring her to you in a bit for that alignment. Thanks again! Adrian

My 63 has been sitting on jack stands for the last 3 months as I have replaced the entire front suspension. I installed a brand new battery and checked that all wires are connected. Has petronix ignition. It will turn over but won't fire. The car started and ran fine when I started this suspension project. Am I missing something? I was supposed to take it in for alignment today. Ugh. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Adrian

A little experience from a first time classic (63 riv) owner. I bought my 63 4 years ago and I have a love/hate relationship with it. I too always wanted a classic but had no automotive experience and I didn't want the usual mustang or camaro. I wanted a 63 partially mostly because I love the sliders under the dash and the look of the interior better than the 64 and 65. I really love the 65's but am disappointed with the black dash every time I see them. Just my opinion. I wanted to have the experience of restoring the car so I bought one with original paint, good motor and trans, and started recruiting friends with experience to help. I have learned that if you are not a mechanic, there may be a lot of times where your car is sitting, partially disassembled, while waiting for parts and or help to get back together. The other option being to pay a shop to do it for you. That is the "hate" part of my classic car experience. Driving my tundra on a beautiful day is annoying now when the riv is down. I have factory a/c in mine but it doesn't function yet. This is a really complicated system (to me anyway) with old, expensive, and difficult to find parts. I live in Dallas, so I don't want to drive a car with black leather and no a/c when it's 105 degrees outside. Pretty much everything on my car needed restoration, so I still have a long road ahead. I am super proud of myself for the progress I have made, but also very overwhelmed sometimes when I get into a project and realize I don't have proper tools or ability to finish it. That's when it sits for weeks while I peck away at it a little at a time while waiting on the next part I ordered to come in, or a friend with experience to help out. That being said, I absolutely love driving my riv and learning (the hard way) about it. Such a fantastic car. BUT, if I had to do it all over again, I would have waited and spent a little more for one that needed less work.. I have way more time than money, so I can't just take it to a shop and throw cash at it to restore it. Just my experience. Hope it helps. -Adrian-

I am rebuilding the front suspension on my '63 and was wondering how to tell if I need to have my center link rebuilt. There is no play in the swivel points, so I'm not sure if it is necessary to spend the money and time to send it off for rebuild. Pretty much everything under the car was shot and needed to be replaced, so I expected the center link would be shot as well. It is easy enough to take back off if needed, just not sure what condition it needs to be in before rebuild is necessary. Thanks! -Adrian-

Thanks Jim, JB Weld done, and works great. I've had to re-do several things on this car since it is my first restoration project and I am learning everything for the first time. I appreciate the input on my seemingly obvious questions. Sometimes the fear of doing something wrong slows the process, but I love the car and the challenges it seems to alway present. -Adrian-

My headlight knob keeps coming off in my hand when I pull it. The shaft it attaches to has notches on the end to hold it on. Apparently the inside of the knob had something that grabbed the notches that is now worn away. Is there any reason I can't just glue or jb weld it back on? Seems like an easy enough fix, but I thought I would run it by you all before I did it. Thanks! -Adrian-

I replaced the battery and starter solenoid this week and that did the trick. The first time I crank it, it works great. It seems to crank slower like it's struggling a bit the next few times. I will put it back on the ramps and check that the electrical connections are all still tight. I didn't take the starter to a shop while I had it out so I am hoping it is still ok... Thanks for all the advice, -Adrian-

Thank you guys for the education! Ed, I'm not sure if the heat shield is there, but I will check it out. I will see what I come up with and report back when I get this issue solved- Thanks again! -Adrian-

I am having an issue with the starter on my '63. It is not unusual to turn the key and get nothing, turn off and back on and it fires. Yesterday I drove the car about 20 miles, got to my destination, turned it off and it would not restart. I let it sit for awhile to cool off and it started right up. The same thing happened when I got home and didn't pull into the garage far enough. Tried to restart to pull in farther, and again it wouldn't start. I let it sit for 30 minutes or so, fired right up again. The battery is about 3 years old and had to be put on the charger last week. The car sat for several months while I had the interior out. Could a week battery cause this problem, or do I need to pull the starter and have it rebuilt? Thank you, -Adrian-

I did see your veneer while I was doing mine. Fantastic work! Unfortunately I had already stained mine when I saw your post. If I remember correctly, you used oil to get the color you wanted. Seems easier to hide scratches or reapply as apposed to stain and top coat. Yours looks much better than the one I bought, but I will see when I get it. The attraction to this one is that I should be able to stain it to match everything else. Maybe your friend could match the color if I sent a sample. I will definitely let you know if this doesn't work out. Thanks! -Adrian-

Thanks Pat and Schmiddy, This picture is what made me want to change mine. That is beautifully done. I actually just found a used all wood one on eBay that needs to be re-finished for $25. The seller says it fits the base nicely, so I will give it a shot. If it works out I will consider that a good score. I just replaced my veneer on the doors, and replaced the leatherette on the console with veneer, so matching the shifter knob will be a nice finishing touch. Worse case scenario, I'm out $25. -Adrian-