Riviera63
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Posts posted by Riviera63
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Engine tentatively sold. Dynaflows are still available. Thanks.
Bill
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I met Larry at the 1st ROA Meet I ever attended in 2014 in Colorado Springs. The first thing I remember seeing when we got there was Larry's Riviera and his Riviera trailer. Through the years he was one of the guys I went to for parts for my 1963. A very nice man.
Bill
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10 hours ago, XframeFX said:
Bill, both JTs?
Hi John
Yes, they are. Here are pics of the engine id on the other one.
Bill
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Just throwing this out there as well. I also have another 401 and Dynaflow in one of the cars. I know that motor runs for sure. Also is/will be for sale.
Bill
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2 hours ago, RivNut said:
Great offer. A friend here in the KC metro has a 1960 Electra 225 that needs a transmission but in 1960 the cars were built with the torque tube rear driveline. My (our) question are the tail shafts on the 1960 and 1963 Dynaflows interchangeable? If so, there’s a good chance he might one it.
I have no clue about that. Hopefully, one of the gurus can chime in.
Bill
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I have someone interested in these transmissions. He has a 63 Electra. Did the other Buick models use the same transmission as the Riviera?
For sale I have 2 Dynaflow transmissions in various stages of disassembly. These were included with 2-1963 Riviera's and parts I had purchased. Make an offer for any or all of these items. I just want them to go to someone that can use them. PM me if interested. Thanks.
Bill
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5 minutes ago, gungeey said:
If its lower than the axle tube It can get wacked. Of course its possible.
Don't want to get into a back and forth but, bottomed out and getting whacked are 2 different things. I agree that anything underneath the car could get whacked by something on or in the road. I feel confident that I won't have any worries about my sway bar scraping the road. I am out.
Bill
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On 12/24/2022 at 10:55 AM, telriv said:
You must take into consideration the rear bar installed on Turb's Riv. was NOT correct to begin with (#938) & I had to make considerable modifications to make it fit to install.
IF I remember correctly the rear raise was more like 1/2"-3/4".
Tom T.
I do remember that. Bob kept me in the loop in the process.
Bill
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2 minutes ago, gungeey said:
Judging from Bill's rear antisway bar picture it looks like one more item to get bottomed out on lousy roads.
Sits above the bottom of the rear end. No way this will bottom out.
Bill
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10 hours ago, Turbinator said:
Arnulfo, actually I was aiming for a little lower but not much. The rear sway bar raised the car body about 1 1/2” in the back. I said to myself this is not going to work. The 1 1/2” raised in the back did not look right. I figured I’ll lower the car 1 1/2” all the way around with the back to stock height and the front 1 1/2” lower. As you can see the height looks stock. I can go with stock height, but no higher.
The steering and handling is by no means taught or anything like rack and pinion steering. The current steering set up is ieasy to keep in the lane AND not like a Magic carpet ride.
Stay well
Turbinator
I also installed a Tom Telesco designed rear sway bar. I collaborated closely with Tom as it was being installed on my car. It does does raise the height of the rear end because of how the sway bar is installed. There is a metal plate which needs to be inserted under the rear leaf springs. I did not get the increase in height as dramatic as Bob but, did notice a slight rise. This is OK with me as I prefer my sitting a little higher than what might be normal. I have attached 5 pictures. The first 2 are shots of Bob's rear sway bar showing where/how it is attached and an in place shot. Bob kept me in the loop as he and Tom installed his sway bar. The next 2 are of my car showing the same shots and the final shot showing my car as it sits now.
Bill
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7 hours ago, Riv Eng said:
Excellent information, thank you!
One thing I forgot to add. When you are drilling through the beltline trim molding, put something underneath where you are drilling to protect the molding. The drill bit can pop through and damage the molding.
Bill
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20 minutes ago, Riv Eng said:
Hi all,
In my continuing restoration process of my 64, I'm turning to re-upholstering the doors and quarter panels so I can be indoors for the winter.
For the felt window channel, I see Repop parts and CARS sells them. My question is: Do they come with the stainless trim as well? Or are they just the felt? and do they come with the sheet metal channel as well?
See attached - my stainless is in good shape, but my actual channel itself has rusted away.
If they don't come with the stainless trim, does anyone have advice on how to remove it without damage?
Final question: the felt channels appear to have been stapled in place through the steel support. I cut the staples to remove the channel. Any idea on how to fasten the felts back in place once they have been replaced?
Thanks!
On the rear quarter you have 2 felt strips. One which is attached to the inner rear quarter panel that you show in your pictures and on the other side which is attached to the rear quarter window beltline stainless trim molding. The inner felt strip should come with the stainless trim attached and the felt is attached to a metal backing. The strip is reattached with staples which will be supplied with the kit. The strip will have holes predrilled but, they probably won't line up with the old holes, so you will have to drill new holes on the inner rear quarter panel to put the staples through.
To replace the outer strip you have to remove the stainless beltline trim molding first. It is held in place by 2 phillips head screws that go through the felt strip and one on the end by the lock pillar. Once you have the molding removed you can then remove the old felt strip which is held on by staples also. You will do the same as you did with the inner strip. Drill holes and put in fresh staples. Just a word of warning. If you replace the 2 phillips head screw try not to go any larger and make sure you get them screwed in as far as you can. If not, they could scratch your window glass and/or the stainless trim molding that holds the quarter window weatherstrip in place.
Bill
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With my purchase of some Buick Riviera parts were a pair of seat belts that are in pretty good shape. I know they are not for the 1963 Riviera. The 1963 Riviera belts had the same buckle style but, the chrome on some of it was pebbled. (See pics) Not smooth like these. The style of buckle for both sets is the same as is pictured in the Buick Engineer Approved Accessories pamphlet for 1963. The arrangement for attaching the belts to the floor is the same as the 1963 Pontiacs I have owned. Though, Pontiac used a different buckle. This would lend me to believe they were used in 1963 at least. Is it possible they were available in other years as well? If someone can help me out with identifying the possible years(s) and/or model(s) that these seat belts were used it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Bill
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I have attached pictures of seat belts that I know for a fact are 1963 Buick Riviera seat belts. Same buckle style but, with the pebbled portion on the buckle as I mentioned up above. I have also attached a copy of the 1963 Buick Engineer Approved Accessories pamphlet. If you look at the picture of the belts in the pamphlet they have the same buckle as the sets I have pictured. This would leave me to believe that they were at least available for the 1963 model year for the other Buick models. The arrangement to attach them to the floor is similar or the same as the 1963 Pontiacs I have owned. Pontiac used a different buckle than the Buicks though. Were seat belts available as an option for any model years before 1963? Thanks.
Bill
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Hi,
I had purchased some Buick Riviera parts and with those parts were a pair of seat belts that are in pretty good shape. I know they are not for the 1963 Riviera. The 1963 Riviera belts had the same buckle style but, the chrome on some of it was pebbled. Not smooth like these. I am wondering if someone can help me out with identifying the possible years(s) and/or model(s) that these seat belts were used. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Bill
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1 hour ago, RivNut said:
Any first generation parts guy have a rebuildable center link for sale cheap?
PM sent.
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1 hour ago, RivNut said:
If he's not an ROA member, he might have to pay a small fee for the ad. That's up to Ray Knott.
If recommended by an ROA member they may advertise for free. Bob has gotten back to me and has declined the offer. He said he has more than enough business to keep him busy. He mentioned that he is now 84, that his wife is in ill health and he needs to spend more time with her. He did go on to say that people like me/us give him a reason to wake up every day. I think if someone would reach out to him he would do a wheel for you, The worst thing that could happen is he would say no.
Bill
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1 hour ago, RivNut said:
Someone should tell Steering Wheel Bob to put an ad in the Riview.
I have reached out to Bob to see if this is something he would like to do.
Bill
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1 hour ago, Turbinator said:
Bill, I’m delighted you posted your restored steering wheel. You are right handy with small parts repair. I can understand a person wondering do I have the right tools? More important, do I have enough knowledge of abrasives?
im not sure I have either the correct tools or the correct abrasives. I do have some hours at the bench sanding metal.
I just so happen to have a 63 black steering wheel I am repairing/refinishing/fixing. Im some distance from completing the repair. I have just enough confidence I can make an acceptable repair someone would be willing to pay to have. We shall see.
I will say your steering wheel is an outstanding example to emulate.
Turbinator
Thanks Bob. I do consider myself fairly handy but, this is just one of those things I felt best left to the experts. All things considered, this is one of the items on my car that I did not want to take the chance of screwing it up.
Bill
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1 hour ago, Byondxtrme said:
Looks great! How long did it take him? And if you don’t mind me asking, how bad did it hurt?
I sent it to him on November 7. I mailed a check to him last week and it arrived today. 1 month door to door. It was expensive. More than $500 and less than $1000. Everyone's wheel will be different. I sent him pictures and he gave me the estimate. He stayed with the estimate. He said that these Riviera wheels are a little more time consuming because of the chrome rings and the space that develops on each side of them due to shrinkage. Filling those gaps on each side is not easy. He does other things besides just fill the gaps. If the cracks/gaps are severe enough, as they were in my case, he will will bridge those gaps with small "rebar" (for lack of a better term) to keep the repair stronger and less likely to separate again. Good guy, easy to work with.
Bill
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This summer I made the decision that that my steering wheel needed restoration. Before I go any further:
Yes, I know that this is something I could attempt to do myself.
Yes, I know there are various vendors that sell steering wheel restoration kits.
Yes, I know there are videos on YouTube showing how to do this.
I applaud those of you that have undertaken wheel restoration on your own. I felt in my situation that the damage was severe enough on my wheel to warrant having a professional do it and truthfully, it is not something that I would want to attempt.
I found out that there are not many people out there that do this. The first place I contacted was a company that advertises in the Riview, Quality Restorations. If you have a 63-65 Riviera, do not contact them as they do remolds and they do not have the mold for our wheels. Even though, on his website it says, "If I don't have the mold he will create one". I know he has turned down others besides myself.
There were 2 other outfits that I found that did wheel restoration. I am sure with more digging I may have been able to find more. I decided to go with "Steering Wheel Bob". I cannot be more happy with his service and his results. It was not cheap but, I do not mind spending the money to get things done correctly. I have attached before and after pictures. The after pictures I do not do it justice.
Bill
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5 hours ago, Jim Cannon said:
For future reference, for people who search threads looking for answers, the solid state voltage regulator that works in the 1st gen. Riviera is a Wells VR715.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=942025&jsn=271
Out of stock right now. Cover is riveted on, no screws. If someone substitutes one with screws, it is mechanical, not solid state. You can drill out the rivets and screw an original cover on to make it look like an original Delco Remy VR.
I did this after reading Jim's talking about this in the past. I found mine on e-bay. My original cover is on the VR715. An easy swap.
Bill
63-65 Custom Armrest Reproduction
in Buick Riviera
Posted · Edited by Riviera63 (see edit history)
That vendor "fostermom1962" is Steve Lorenzen. Great guy and you know you will get a quality part from him. When you see something of his on e-bay, contact him directly. You may be able to save some money.
Bill