RoadShark

The steering on this car is "vague" to say the least. Might as well do the box and pump now. I got new Lares stock replacements. In retrospect, I might have gone for a quicker ratio, but didn't know they were available.

Can't miss the opportunity to replace the front seal on the transmission while the engine is out. Beware - a lot of places list the wrong part number. Rock Auto actually lists a wrong one and a right one. The wrong one is under "converter seal" and the correct one under "fluid coupling seal". Also - what in the wide, wide, world of sports is this in the back of the crank? That does not look factory and I wonder what they were trying to do with it. Any ideas? I took that the heck out.

So the starter is three-post not four since it's not designed for points ignition. Might as well get the HEI now - I can always continue to use it when the engine gets rebuilt later. Headers are on and I've tidied-up the wires since this pic. Might as well get new motor mounts. Oops, that's not as easy as it sounds. No one I could find makes Riv mounts. Re-vulcanizing or NOS is $$$. I got these from NAPA (602-1149) for $10.99 each plus shipping. I think they're A-body. I had to have my brother weld some nuts on. They aren't optimal but they worked.

As usual, one thing leads to another... The flywheel is bent. Trust me - it was more obvious than the picture shows. Oh well, a new one doesn't cost that much. The starter was packed with mouse house. I'm not sure what caused the bent flywheel, but I thought I'd replace it anyway. The v8buick guys suggested a later model LT1 unit.

Time to take care of the cracked manifolds. This has to be done. They keep getting worse with every thermal cycle. Out comes the engine. It's difficult to resist the temptation to rebuild the engine and go wild in the engine bay, but I have two other projects going now, and I just want this one on the road so I can cruise around. Incremental restoration/upgrade is the goal.

The interior smells like mouse pretty bad. Make that really bad. No amount of airing has made a dent. I think the guy who bought and sold this thing put some sort of spray in there that made it even worse. The carpet, and seat covers are going to have to go anyway, so this may help. I pulled the back seat. Got rid of a couple mouse nests. I was hoping to drop it at an upholstery shop with the new cover, but I haven't tracked down a shop yet. Got new seat belts too. Of course, with the seat out, it's an opportunity to lube the window tracks and clean in there. Also, the floor is intact but rusty so that will need to be treated.

Thread resurrection. I made some progress on the car and I'm trying to stay motivated so I can have it road-worthy enough to drive to the Hemmings event in NY in September. I got the six rear body mounts out. Didn't break any bolts which is the best Christmas present ever. The replacement set was close to being correct, but a couple were too tall and had to be cut. Feels good having new rubber back there.

Read this book and you'll wonder how anything came out right:

Actually, it's the driver's side for me. I believe the passengers front fender got replaced on my car at one time in the past. The driver's side, however, looks to be all original.

That car is really spectacular. Do you know anything about those exhaust hangers they used? Are those custom or something that can be bought?

I'm looking forward to attending, but I think my car will be parked outside. LOL It's a good motivator for me to have my car roadworthy by then.

Hello Marc - I go to Paris for work every September. Let me know if you need me to put any parts in my checked baggage!

Rock Auto is usually, but not always, a good reference: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/buick,1968,riviera,7.0l+430cid+v8,1021420,belt+drive,belt,8900

Wait….you told her?!?!?

500 hp - stock appearing: http://www.trishieldperformance.com/previous-builds-and-videos.html

Well, as long as Santa is supplying it, might as well go big:

I'm surprised that it doesn't have a "Corvette motor".

Sorry - I was on vacation for a while. No - the rear seal only leaks a little. Time is the issue. I have two other projects I'm working on. I just wanted to get the Riv to driving status, finish the other two, and then give the Riv some real attention. If I take the oil pan off, I'll just start in on a full rebuild. Not having an old car or truck to drive around is bumming me out. First time since I was 16. Both sides cracked. Both sides had gaskets. Some people here said that Buick did not use gaskets from the factory. If true, then someone before me added them and this may be the cause of the cracks.. The bolts didn't look like they had been disturbed so I don't know what to think. Here's the driver's:

One side is '67 only. I'm not spending time to find and pay for a used set that will then need to go to the machine shop to be surfaced. In reality the heads should be surfaced at that time too. Then, if the real root cause is a residual stress problem, it's going to happen anyway. So - the TA headers are expensive, but they are well made and the used manifold route gets expensive too.

430. I think they are notorious for cracking. 114k.

I've just about got it back together and was going to update my original progress thread with some pics. I popped the engine to remove the cracked manifolds and put the headers on. The heater box was rusty so this was the perfect opportunity to clean and paint that. Heck, the engine is out so might as well put the new steering box/pump in. Oh and the flex plate was bent and the starter was suspect. On goes the new flex plate and LT1 starter. Well, the starter only has three poles on the solenoid so might as well put in the HEI. New front seal on xmsn too. I had to stop there or it was going to become a full-blown resto...

Yep. Thread in progress: http://forums.aaca.org/topic/284479-collection-of-buicks-buick-parts-cars-to-be-auctioned/

Yes - I bought it as a driver while I worked on other projects. This does not help the situation:

'70 with short skirts: https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/5858164885.html '71 with a…um…questionable paint scheme: https://nh.craigslist.org/ctd/5855284909.html '71 with claims that it's not a parts car but…: https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/5782630834.html The northeast is a tough place to find good cars...

Indeed, but spring rate can be calculated as k=d^4G/8D^3N where: d = wire diameter G = modulus of rigidity D = mean spring diameter N = number of active coils. Assuming similar material properties, mean diameter, and G, the old wire diameter is .594" and the new is .610". Wire diameter has a 4th power influence. The old has 5 coils and the new 4. It looks like the spring rate will be noticeably different even in the installed condition.