OldGerman

Hi I Need advice how to remove and replace the upper steering column bearing. I have removed the steering wheel and can see the upper ball bearing. The steering column shaft has a lot clearance in the bearing. My horn has intermittent contact, I think it is caused by the bearing clearance. There is a bearing available at CARS # SBK695U-4. Has anybody experience with this part? Will it fit my Application ? Thank you for your help. Regards frank

The stopping power off the 12“ front drums is great compared to my 11“ drums on my 1966 Chrysler 300. I‘m more concerned about the front to rear power balance , which is about 56/44. My Riviera has always blocking rear wheels already on light breacking maneuver at a pedastrian crossing with a squicking sound like an emergency break, making people scared. I will convert to a dual master cylinder for Safety reason and a manual adjusting valve für the rear break circuit, but I will stay with the original drums, because they seem to be adequat in Performance. Frank

Big drip pan saves your Garage Floor.

What a surprise, my Manual says 475rpm idle. I guess I have much more and will adjust and see what happens. Thanks for the hint ?

Hello 39mm, I have the Same issue with my 63. the noise is only with the car in normal operating temperature, not when cool. I've read in the manual that this is kind of normal, if not excessive. But what is excessive ? Regards Frank

Is this procedure specific for 65' or the same for 63/64 Rivieras ? John, can you please make some pictures when you remove the booster ? I'm facing the same operation. thanks, Frank

Thank you Jim. I will keep an eye and ear on it in the future. Frank

I have a question to you folks regarding the correct spark plug selection. I remember it was discussed here in an other topic, but I did not find in in my search. As the old AC telco plugs are hard to find in Europe and 2 of 8 plugs ordered in oversea were defect, I've decided to replace them by a simple to purchase EU choice. I found machting NSK spark plugs ( cross reference table) but they are without the "R" for Resistor. I'm using the same plugs in my 66 chrysler, but it has installed a blast resistor in the ignition system. Do I need to install a ballast resistor into the Rivera, when using 44S instead of R44S or any other brand spark plug without resistor ? I want to avoid damaging my engine over time by using a wrong spark plug. It rans now 200 miles with the new NSK and the color of the plug looks very good. Thanks for you help, Frank

Thank you all for your usefull tips. If I would summarize, there is no modern Carburetor in the market which will fit without modifications to intake, linkage or air cleaner. As I said, I know that there are many other factors influencing the fuel consumption. I’ve now also converted the ignition system to Petronix 1, replaced spark plugs, wires, coil, distributor cap and finger, cleaned the pre heating ( hot air tube and intake manifold passages) 2 of 8 new Delco spark plugs did not work ! Engine runs on 6,5 cylinders. Changed back to the used Bosch WR9FC and the engine runs smooth again. I will exhange to new champions later. @ Ed, I was always thinking, the terms “spread bore and square bore” defines the intake to carb bolt pattern :-) You never stop learning. The heat riser valve in the Exhaust is in wide open position. The Bi-metal spring is broken, so I fixed it in the wide open position. I do not run the car in cold climate condition. Will fix that later as well. @ Jim, You are right, I have a lot of stop and go traffic here in my region and a lot of hills. There is no wide open land with straight road here. But my 1966 Chrysler 300 is running at 25 liter/100 km = 9,4 MPG at this conditions. @ Rock, I’ve used a carburetor rebuild kit purchased from CARS Inc. It was very complete. Now I need to monitor and control fuel consumption over the next few gas tank refills. @ 60FlatTop, LOL, thank you for the video. Don’t get me wrong, I had this massive fuel consumption before carb rebuild !! I hope it is much better now, but I did not had enough miles driving to confirm that. I was asking for a general future carb swap ! But the toilette flush matches the way the fuel indicator drops during driving before rebuild J. @ James, Timing is properly set, distributer was removed, cleaned and converted to a Petronix I ignitor. Vacuum and mechanical advance works fine. @ Jon, Thank you for clarifying the different carburetor designs and terms. I was definitely confused by that. I totally agree, I will not change to a spread bore carb. I was looking for improvement in fuel consumption, maybe throttle response beyond a optimal rebuild original carb. But this is maybe an illusion. I currently have a Rochester 4GC, that’s for sure. During removal of the carburetor before rebuild, I noticed that 2 of 3 small outer crews holding the iron cast base plate (throttle valves) in place where loose. I guess there was a huge leakage / air passage. I was also wondering about this unusual bolt pattern. 1 big center screw and 3 small outer screws. Why not 4 equally distributed screws ? (see picture attached). Thank you also for your suggestions : Brakes are completely rebuild and free/released. Choke was not ok before rebuild. The linkage was bended and choke valve did not completely open ! This is fixed now ! Once I have made new measurements on fuel consumption, I will let you know the result. I will keep you posted ;-) Thank you all, Frank

Hello Riviera Guy’s, This was certainly already more often a topic here, but my search for information did not lead to the desired result. My ’63 Riviera had a small fuel consumption problem ( >40liter/100km = 5.9 Miles/Gallon). I know, there could be a lot of potential reasons which lead to poor gas mileage. Anyhow, I’m thinking about a future replacement of the original Rochester Quadrajet Carburetor with a brand new part equipped with modern technology like e-Choke and vacuum secondary’s..... It might be the better solution for improved gas mileage rather than a 50 year old rebuild carburetor. Do you know any modern spread bore carburetor, with the correct flow size, matching the Riviera intake manifold, the linkage system and the original small diameter Riviera Air Cleaner snorkel (plug and play) ? Small modification to the linkage system will be ok to me, but I want to continue to use the original air cleaner and intake manifold, instead of aftermarket parts. Is there a steel plate available to mask the pre heating air flow system on top of the intake for use of an E-choke carb. ? I recently did an overhauling of the Rochester Quadrajet with an rebuild kit, but I did not achieve the expected result. Thank you all in advance, Frank

thank you Paul, that is very helpfull. I will Watch out for the chevelle spring. Frank

By the way, this is an exsample of how worse the debris can be after years of operation. I have removed the carb, because I had excessive fuel consumption and rough cold start conditions. The base plate screws were all loose so the carb has drwan a lot of side air. Frank

Any Idea where to buy a replacement Bi-Metal Spring and retainer for the heat control valve ? I'm missing the complete stuff on my 1963 Riviera. Control valve has lost control ! Sorry to collar this thread. Frank

Today at MOPARS & COFFEE Season Closer in Stuttgart, Germany. Fine autumn weather. www.moparsandcoffee.de Frank

Before the Riviera get through technical inspection, I had to fix the break system, which had a difference in front break performance between left and right, as well as a weak park breaking. I've installed new break liner at the front and rear axle and cleaned the inside of the brake drums. A new brake cable was already installed a wihle ago, because I broke it during adjustment. When I tried to adjust the park brake cable with the new liners installed, the center cable broke again at the same spot. The wire came out off it's press fit in the threaded rod. So I ordered a new one, but it stucks in customs clearance for about 3 weeks :-( Therefore I've asked a colleague at work if he could solder both pieces together. It worked despite inital doubts. After study of the park break adjustment procedure, I tried it a third time with the soldered cable, and it worked as well. But adjusting a little bit to strong can lead to a cable break. I recommend to do this very carefully and to follow the instructions layed out in the Buick Service Manual. Did anyone made the same bad experience withe the foot operated parking brake cable adjustment ? Frank

Thursday last week, 2016 Sept. 22nd. My 1963 Riviera was back on the road first time since I bought it in Dec. 2013. It passed the technical inspection by the German TÜV without any deficiency and I got a historic vehicle license plate. I drove it over the weekend at beautiful September weather and visited the first car meeting at Old School Custom Works close to Stuttgart. It was great fun, the car rans smooth and it was a pleasure to drive it the first time since it was overhauled. The Buick is not finished. There is still a lot of things to do, but now I’m much more relaxed to work on the ToDo list step by step. I would like to thank you all for the valuable help on any question I had in the past to fix this or that problem. This forum is great ! Frank

#1 I will Need to Remove the filtere box from under the glove box with 4 screws and Need to Open the box lid. I think this Filter will last a few years, if not wet.... #2. this is a OEM Volkswagen replacement under dash pollen filter. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the evaporator box should not become wet, even in heavy Rain. There are still the drain tubes connected, required to let out the condense water. #3 the benefit is questionable. I thought it could be good to have an additional source for filtered air if required, and iwould like to keep the air vents functioning in the dash, Even without air conditioning. But you are right, this filters were invented for air conditioned cars, where Windows keept close. thanks frank.

In the last couple of weeks I had some fun with replacing the heater core. Luckily, I found the work procedure here in the forum (unfortunately I did not remember the name of the guy who donates it. Many thanks to him !!!! ). I’ve printed the procedure and took it with me into the car and had a good guidance for the heater core disassembly. A local radiator shop replaced the rotten heater core. So I had no trouble with finding a replacement in the right size. Cost of repair was about 250,- €. In the same time he checked the heater valve and found some cracks which were soldered. I decided to remove the non functional air condition from the car. I took out the evaporator and replaced it by a pollen filter. I still want to use the air condition levers to operate the blower, but now just with fresh and filtered air. While the evaporator housing was out, I had access to refurbish the air vents in the kick panel. Somebody cut the operating cables. How have they been operated in A/C cars ? There are no levers in the dash for the Vents (only on non AC cars ). I will use a choke cable each side to operate them manually and will locate them under the dash. After doing some derust and repainting of the heater core body and other pieces I could do the assembly. I needed to removed most of the firewall insulation, because it fell apart itself and is a hell of a dust trap. To have a bit of firewall insulation and sealing I used a 4mm self adhesive soft rubber and stick it from the inside to the firewall and cut out all the required openings. Next challenge will be to bring all the operating cables and vacuum controls back to life.

Hello Riviera tinkerer, has anybody of you a recommended source for the rubber seal of the High Acumulator shaft. My 1963 twin turbine Dynaflow is leaking from this shaft. I've already disassembled the part and noticed the shaft was bended. I've straigthened the shaft, but it still leaks. The rubber seal is not a O-Ring, it has a rectangle cross section. Sorry, I've missed to measure dimensions. Thank you, Frank

Some progress during the last weeks. I've cleaned the underbody, flushed the body cavities with high pressure water( there were tons of dust, dirt and debris in it) and sprayed in FERTAN rust converter. Finally I sprayed the underbody with satin black chassis paint. Next step will be to protect the underbody and all the cavities with wax fluid. Frank

Hello Andy, welcome to the Riviera Forum. Your car looks in pretty good shape and has a luxury style paint and interior Color combination. I like it !! I'm going through the same problems with authorities regarding rims on my R63 Riviera. I do not have any original rims, just aftermarket Supreme Chrome Wheels on it, which will most likely not accepted by the TÜV/MOG. Interesting to see a european export car with km/h speedo in it. There were not a lot of Rivieras here in europe that time, probably just a hand full. So this is a very rare car ! Have much fun with it, Frank (from Stuttgart)

Hello. Thank you all for the info and pictures. That is a simple plug, but it totally make sense, because it keeps the way open for water to flow out and covers against dirt to come in. I will order them with the next bulk order at CARS Inc. Thanks again !! Frank

Hello 1st. gen Riviera owners, can somebody tell me, if the inner rocker panel drain opening was plugged somehow ? (see picture) Does somebody has a picture, how this plug looks like. Was it made by rubber, by steel, or did BUICK just leave it open ? Thank you all for your help on this question. Frank

Hi Rodney, thank you, I like the wood on the center console as well. I seems to me it is factory original, but I have no history of the car. Maybe the experts in this forum know, whether you could choose the interior configuration from the option list or not. My Buick has an older restoration in the USA, maybe 10 years back. The complete interior was rebuild with new vinyl, new white paint, but no under body repairs. That was hided by tons of bitumen. The rims are True Spoke Supreme 15" x 7" -10mm Offset This are chrome plated steel wheels, made from two pieces. It requires MAG style lock nuts and fits two bolt circles ( 4 3/4" & 5") They do fit with 1/4" spacers. They look fine but I would prefer single piece alloy wheels, like American Racing Torque Thrust. Not easy to find a rim for that wheel hub style. Your car looks very fine. I like the real leather seat covers. Sorry for my late response, I'm in Austria for skiing this week. Frank

Yesterday evening it was one of those nights in the garage. I'm currently cleaning the bottom of the floor pans to prepare it for a rust protection treatment. The body floor was already cleaned by ice blasting. Now I applied a rust converter FERTAN. It needs to dry for at least 24h, to have enough time to convert the rust. After this, it needs cleaning with water and than a antirust primer. I did the same on the parcel self. After removing the cover, I was surprised by the amount of corrosion. The rear window seal was leaky over decades. A commonly known trouble I could do some rust protection on the visible surfaces, but there are so many layers of sheet metal hided behind. This is terrible for further anti rust protection. So I will spray all the cavities with FERTAN as well. It leaves a black, dry surface which can be primered or sprayed with cavity wax. The trunk is now ready, the gas tank can be assembled now. Some major progress is done now and I'm working constantly on the endless todo list. Greatings from overseas, Frank