SwedeDownUnderR63

Hi Steve, I bought my speaker in Australia but this should be the same one in the USA: http://www.retrosoundusa.com.au/index.php?l=product_detail&p=179 Sorry, the first one was the Australian site. Here is the US version: https://www.retromanufacturing.com/products/6x9-inch-ultra-thin-dash-speaker?variant=31329865422

I have the 6x9 200W dual retrosound in my 1963 with a modern stereo. It is great.

Hi Manny, I have installed Tony's kit on my '63 Riviera (the second in the following): http://www.mako.com.au/?content_destination=/ibm_bin/common/product_list_display.cfm&productID_list=187 Note that his kit is some parts from him and some parts that are easy to source by yourself locally in the USA as it is too expensive to ship the heavy parts from Australia. I am happy with the kit and one of the reason for installing it was for the issue I had with fading going down hill with the drums. The stock drum brakes are, as some already have mentioned, really very good so you need to decide if it is worth the effort to move to disc. Good luck and do change to dual MC if you go ahead with the conversion.

My suggestion would be to replace the shocks with Bilsteins shocks so that you know that you ride safe and nice. You can always keep the old shocks for any future owner if they like to go back in time. The Bilsteins shocks are not cheap but I love and trust them. Just a thought..

I will never let her go... She is testing the rear seat belt that she helped me installed in our -63 Riviera + the box she made for it. She is a litle bit exhausted after all the work...

Hi Rodney, You can try them out if you come to Canberra:

You probably would benefit from joining before you buy your car as there are a lot of valuable information in ROA that you can get access to for a small fee. just my humble opinion...

I am extremely happy with the Bilsteins that I installed on my 63. I use the same brand on my old Volvo 940's which is why I got them for my Buick. Pricey? Yes but not only do they give me a great ride, the shocks do also give me better control and, hopefully, will assist me in an emergency to save my car and my life. I have my Riviera because I love to drive it and the Bilstens shocks together with the "GS" springs that I also bought transformed it to a more modern car whilst still being the milestone car that it is.

This might be the gasket that you are looking for: http://www.oldbuickparts.com/cart/tail-lamp-gaskets-1963-64-buick-riviera-p-1110.html There is another set for 1965.

The following pictures are from when I had to replace a smashed door skin on the passenger side. You can probably figure out the location of the mirror from this and the mirror on the driver side is in the same location. I don't know when the passenger side mirror was mounted, it isn't a factory option. To my understanding the mirrors have been mounted in different locations.

Search for mirror and you will find a number of posts such as the following: There are no info in the manuals regarding the position for the mirror.

I can relate to the limping home part. It happened to me in 76. The L worked fine but the fuel economy and the top speed was strangely enough a lot worse than before... Me and my brother in law got a kit and tried to fix the transmission. It wasn't fun to have it put together with a screw left on the table... It is so easy today to take lots of photos when one disassembles something, not everything was better before... I finally engaged an automatic transmission expert in Sweden ("Nicko Lamell" if any Swede is listening) and got it working nicely again. It is a great transmission as long as it works although not really made for racing.

I disagree with Ed regarding the Low, It works fine to shift between D and L. The following is from the 1963 owners guide and my chassis manual have the same information in 5-4.e: "Low is to be used when going is particularly tough such as deep snow or sand, or on long steep grades. This range may also be used for braking the car speed on long or steep down grades. The shift from L to D or vice versa may be made while the car is n motion by merely flipping the lever. These shifts should not be made at speeds over 40 mph." I have used it going down hill.

Any suggestions on what type of glue to use for the Leatherette set?

Hi Rodney, I do have one sitting on the remote vacuum trunc that I bought and I could measure it up for you in case you can't get one. Sorry but it isn't for sale as it is to be installed .. It even looks a little bit different from the manual so I hope that I got the correct one...

Just a quick update on what has been going on since my last update. Some nice enjoyable driving, including to the 2016 Australian Buick meeting, has put a smile on my face. I have put in water temp and oil pressure meters instead of the ashtray although it needs a little better finish at a later stage. Nice to see that oil pressure and temperature is good. The problems that I had with the front bearings and the spindle knuckle combined with what my former mechanic did made me reconsider my initial thought about keeping the front drums. I bought a disk brake kit from Tony Gentilcore and it is all in place now after a few issues. Nice to have much better brakes when going to the beach (~800m or ~1500 feet height difference with some rather steep descents). A new stereo is in place replacing the original but still looking classic. I had the replacement skin for the passenger door repainted again as there where issues with the work. There are other things that also should be done but it is summer here and it is fire season so I prefer to have the car drivable until it cool down a little.

Clark's Corvairs website: http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/pages.cgi?category=buick&dbkey=24&level=1 I don't think they have anything for a -67 but I might be wrong.

A short story on what you might find when you start with a seat: http://forums.aaca.org/topic/267922-1963-riviera-front-driver-seat-fixup/#comment-1443226

You could also go with a 3 point seat belt solution but you would then move away from the original solution. See the following for an example: http://forums.aaca.org/topic/267813-1963-buick-riviera-3-point-seat-belts-installed-in-the-front/#comment-1442388

Check Sweden in 1967. Moved from left side to right side over one night... probably easier as all cars already had the steering wheel on the left side.

Note that in the picture above it has been cleaned as he tried to cut into the fused bearing to remove it so I don't think one can draw that conclusion just from the picture. I doubt that the bearings could have lasted ~600 miles without grease. it could possible be too little grease or one of the other alternatives that Rodney mentioned. I don't think that there is a brass static collector on this car btw.

Hi Rodney, yes, I have asked similar questions to my mechanic who claims he did everything correct. He do have a 1960 Impala that he have changed wheel bearings on himself.. I bought the bearings from oldbuick parts (Cars LLC) which always have delivered good parts earlier. I have sourced new wheel bearings and steering knuckle spindle (used) that should be here tomorrow. It seems that it is better if I (or my lovely female mechanic) do the work in the future although it probably take 3 times longer. I have attached a picture of how it looks in its fused state.

Hi All, Earlier this year my mechanic changed the wheel bearings in the front on my -63 Riviera. Both of the new ones has failed within a few months of each other and he now claims that the Steering Knuckle Spindle need to be changed and then best to do it on both sides. One of the bearings disintegrated and the other failed today with it being fused to the steering spindle knuckle according to my mechanic. Firstly, as I am out of my comfort zone here, does this make sense or could he have been doing something wrong when installing the wheel bearings? Secondly, I have been locking at oldbuick and classicbuick website without any luck. Am I missing something or is this something that I need to source from a wreck? Looking forward to your suggestions.

One place to look at including PDFs copies is: http://www.oldbuickparts.com/cart/literature-c-19_28_683.html note that there are several pages to look at.

Hi Rodney, the one between the seats will follow the seats out as the seats are attached with it (it isn't 2 seats but more of a one seat with a divider in between).