joelj
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Posts posted by joelj
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2 hours ago, jrbartlett said:
1966, as per thread title. Thanks.
Are you thinking of the universal joints for the drive shaft or maybe working on a Tornado?
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You might try a Dorman 85860 socket with a ground wire from the spade terminal on the socket to one of the brackets that hold the taillamp to the body. This is kind of universal but it doesn't rely on the housing for ground. If you are already getting 12v at the socket I agree that the problem must be the socket or the ground.
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On 7/24/2023 at 10:43 AM, TAKerry said:
I was at a show yesterday and there was what looked like a late 40's Buick 2 door sedan. The hood opened on the driverside. It looked pretty neat that way but working on the passenger side looked impossible. I assume that it could be opened from either side? Does not look very convenient for overall working in the engine bay.
It's really not too bad once you get familiar with the layout of the engine compartment. Most of the time, the hood needs to be opened from the passenger side. Oil level indicator, battery, oil filter, distributor, plugs and wires are all on the passenger side. Since they open from both sides, access is just a matter of closing and opening from the opposite side. Complete removal and reinstllation is surprisingly easy, you just need two people.
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Collector cars: 72 LeSabre convertible, first old car project. 93 Allante baught as a rebuildable collision car project sold because I thaught the electrical systems would be expensive to maintain. 90 Reatta, baught to replace the Allante, sold because I thaught the interior was too tight and the the color combination wasn't my taste. 64 Impala baught as a rolling chassis and put together, sold because I was buying a house. 61 Impala was about the same as the 64 but I had a little more experience so it came out a little better sold because the opportunity came along and I was still working on the house. 64 Riviera #1, baught to just fix the cosmetics and drive (still have). 64 Riviera #2 baught as a parts car for #1 but it was too nice to part (still have). 64 Riviera #3 was a parts car, rusted beyond repair, the engine, transmission, posi diff, and tilt steering column are now part of Riviera #1. 39 Pontiac was purchased between Rivieras 1 and 2. It was a true basket case in pieces, I was happy to sell it at a loss. 49 Buick Super (still have) fun project. 65 Grand Prix (still have), this is my dad's project, I've been working on it for the past couple of years when I have a chance.
Daily drivers: 77 Chevrolet Cheyenne, 91 Silverado, 96 S10, 00 Blazer, 02 Trailblazer, 06 Buick LaCrosse (lease), 08 Silverado (lease), 10 Silverado, 12 Silverado, 14 Silverado (still have).
Tweeners: 81 Cutlass, 96 Silverado
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7 hours ago, Y-JobFan said:
With Wildcat centers since there were no Riviera wheel caps?
I suppose so given they were the only ones available in 64. During the time I worked for a GM dealer I remember doing a lot of wheel swaps among other things that customers wanted pre delivery. I wouldn't say that it would be correct, just that it's likely to have happened.
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13 hours ago, atencioee said:
I have a question for those who know, and btw this thread has some very interesting information. My standard 64 Riviera is a January car, so a very early 64, and it has rally wheels, which I always thought came with the car when it was purchased in 64. But based on the information in the initial post, would you suggest the rallys had to have been substituted later? Did 64 Rivieras not come with rally wheels, but rather with hubcaps?
You are correct, there was no option for rally wheels on the Riviera until 65. However, if you like the way they look, there is no problem with the fitment and your not having it judged they're a great looking wheel. If you're concerned with correctness the options for 64 Riviera would have been turbines, wire wheel covers, or the standard full wheel covers. Since the rally wheels were an available option on 64 Wildcats, I sometimes wonder if a few Rivieras were fitted with them pre delivery at the dealer level. It would be hard to prove that without any kind of documentation such as an origanal invoice or repair order stating what was done.
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11 hours ago, Bloo said:
That's backwards, so something is really wrong. Shorting the wire to ground should have made the gauge go empty.
Around 1965, GM sending units and their gauges changed from 0-30 Ohms to 0-90 Ohms. The year of changeover probably varied a little by make/model (I think) so I am not sure which standard your 1965 GP gauge should be on. Both standards have 0 ohms (wire shorted to ground) as "E", so either way something is screwed up if grounding the wire makes the gauge go full. Disconnecting the wire should make the gauge go full, and most likely peg. Shorting the wire to ground should make the gauge go empty. There's probably something wrong with the gauge. Is there any chance it could be hooked up backwards? I don't know what the effect of that would be. I doubt it explains backwards but maybe.
To check the sender, use a multimeter set on Ohms. Basically any will do, even the 6 dollar Harbor Freight ones that they used to give away free will work fine for this. With the sending unit out, Zero the ohmmeter buy shorting the leads and pushing the "delta" button. Then hook one wire to the sender terminal and one wire to the sender frame. With the float hanging all the way down, the resistance should be extremely low, like preferably less than an Ohm. True zero is physically impossible, but it should get real close. With the float all the way up it needs to measure at least 30 ohms more (or maybe 90 ohms more) depending on which standard the 65 GP used.
If your meter doesn't have a delta button, short the leads and write down the number you get. This is the resistance of the test leads. Subtract it from the readings you get from the sender. For instance, if you get 2.1 Ohms with the meter leads shorted, and 2.8 ohms when measuring the sender with the float hanging down, then 2.8 - 2.1 = 0.7 real Ohms at the sender.
I guess I should point out that if they sent you the wrong year sender, you would have the wrong amount of sweep, for instance a 0-30 Ohm sender connected to a 0-90 Ohm gauge would only be able to go about 1/3 of the way up. That doesn't explain backwards though.
Sorry, the backwards issue was my mistake. I missed a step when I was trying to describe the problem. When I disconnected the feed wire the gage went to full. Grounded, it goes to empty. Re-connected it reads empty. Thanks for your help.
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Let me know if I am on the right track. I installed a new sending unit on my 65 Grand Prix (the old one would not read above 1/4 tank). The new unit read about 3/8 tank then fell to empty with about 5 gallons of gas on a completely empty tank to start with. I then put another 5 gallons or so in the tank thinking that the reserve capacity of the tank may be affecting the gage. Still the needle is on E. I then grounded the feed wire to the sender and the gage went to full. Re-connect and it goes to E. With about 10 gallons of fuel my gage should be reading at just under ¹/2 tank right? Before I call and try to get a replacement sending unit I would appreciate your input. Am I missing something? Thanks.
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Probably not a lug nut problem. More likely a later version of the wheel. Outwardly, it looks the same but the center hub diameter is smaller therefore the wheel is not seating properly against the axle flange. Full size Buick rally wheels looked basically the same from 1963 until 1984 but there were variations on the center hub diameter from year to year. Also, some versions of the wheel had a ring that centered the wheel on the hub and some did not.
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1 hour ago, The 55er said:
Yes, 1965-1966 Grand Prix models had fender skirts as standard equipment, the car would look incomplete without them. Those Chevelle hubcaps however would have to be removed immediately! My preference would be the correct 1965 PMD 3-bar deluxe spinner wheelcovers for both cost & maintenance reasons.
It is not technically correct for the car, but I like the skirtless look with the eight lug wheels. (Not the subject car)
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On the wiper motor mounted to the firewall. Kind of hard to access because it's in the space behind the left front hood hinge, fender, and inner fender. There is a thread on the Riviera forum about accessing the wiper motor and washer pump you may find helpful. The topic just came up in the last couple weeks. I think 63-65s are the same setup.
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Typically big/small block is a Chevrolet nomenclature used to distinguish the mark IV family of engines from the original small block V8 and its successors. Buick Olds and Pontiac engines are each of a different design and different from Chevrolet regardless of displacement. I am not sure if the big/small block nomenclature applies to BOP engines as well as it does to Chevrolet. I think I would refer to your engine as a Buick 425 or 425 Nailhead to avoid confusion.
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Age 44, Riviera is a 64.
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A while back I had a 64 Impala SS with about a mile of anodized aluminum trim. I ended up stripping the anodized plating off of some of the trim with oven cleaner and S.O.S. pads then polished it with a black compound on a rag buffing wheel. Once it was installed on the car I would have to go over it about twice a year with a metal polish ( I used metal armor) to keep it looking good.
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I think it was one person's opinion of what year was more attractive. Not much deeper than a preference between color choices. It's not like you have infinite opportunities to purchase 70 year old cars exactly the way you want so I guess the question is that if you want a 54, but this 53 came up for sale, could you learn to like it? I like both years, but would prefer a 56 over either if given the choice.
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13 hours ago, RivNut said:
From the description on the back, this looks good. If I may ask, how many miles on your engine and do you know what kind of pressure your engine is producing using the 10W-30?
Addendum: I just looked at the specs on the VR1 oils. Both the 10W-30 and the 20W-50 viscosities have 1400 ppm of zinc and 1300 ppm of phosphate. More than adequate for the nailhead without the use of an additive.
Thanks for bringing up the oil pressure check. This is something I am adding to my to do list for the spring. One of my cars is a 64 Riviera with 85k miles. I have owned it since 2014. It runs fine but it still can't hurt to know more about it.
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I started using Valvoline VR1 in the last few years. It looks like a pretty good option.
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A 401 was the standard engine for a 65. If you are looking at a certain car there is a stamping code on the passenger side of the block in the front where pushrod cover seals to the block. The standard 401 would be stamped LT. Optional engines would be stamped LW for four barrel 425 and LX for dual four barrel 425. These two letter codes are the easiest way to identify 63-66 nailheads. The first letter IDs the year 63=J, 64=K, 65=L, 66=M. The second letter identified the displacement and carburattion, T= 401 single four barrel, W=425 single four barrel, X or Z for dual four barrel 425 (Z was used in 66 only).
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As far as I can tell, the Buick on the far right is a 51 Special.
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Random noise at idle, kind of like loose change in a clothes dryer? Not at all rhythmic and goes away with higher rpm kind of reminds me of a problem I was having with a 65 401. I ended up finding part of a piston skirt in the oil pan. That engine always ran well, it never seemed to burn oil excessively or lack power. It just had the random noise at idle even with the broken piston pieces removed. I think that the noise was caused by the piston itself not being guided by the skirt and hitting the cylinder wall (theory). After ruling out any external causes, I think your next step should be to run your own compression test, just to know for sure. Then remove the oil pan and inspect as thoroughly as you can from the bottom up.
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If your goal is to ultimately put the 430 back into the 67, I don't think the temporary swap would be worthwhile. If the 66 is truly a rusty basket case it sounds like you have a complete parts car. The rebuilt 425 should be an easy sell to someone who needs it especially if you have receipts for the work that was done to it.
I am curious about the 430. What specifically is it doing. Does it smoke, bearing noise, low compression?
The last time I checked with my local engine shop they were about 6 months out on a complete rebuild. The heads I had redone took about 4 months...A long time, but not all that long in the big picture.
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Thaught I would mention the corporate headquarters for Firestone and Goodyear were both in Akron. I think Goodyear is still there while Firestone moved to Tennessee. Also the Lordstown GM assembly plant that produced I think about 16 million GM vehicles between about 1964 and 2017.
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In that era I'm not sure GM was using the body code designation as much as they were from the seventies onward. But here goes, I will try to apply that logic to 49 and 50. 1949: Cadillac all series except commercial were C bodies. Buick Roadmaster and Super were C bodies, Roadmaster was lengthened from the firewall forward. Special was a carryover from 1946. Olds 98 was a C body while the 88 was an A body. Pontiac and Chevrolet were both A bodies across all series. 1950: Cadillac series 62 would be a C body, series 61 would be a B body. Buick Super and Roadmaster were C bodies while Special would be a B body. Olds 98 would be a B body and 88 would be an A body. Pontiac and Chevrolet were still all A body. I am hoping that someone can pick it up from here on the 51 to 53s. I would caution against using this for any parts interchangabitty because there were so many different variations between models and body styles etc. Just an interesting topic.
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Collector cars: 72 LeSabre convertible, first old car project. 93 Allante baught as a rebuildable collision car project sold because I thaught the electrical systems would be expensive to maintain. 90 Reatta, baught to replace the Allante, sold because I thaught the interior was too tight and the the color combination wasn't my taste. 64 Impala baught as a rolling chassis and put together, sold because I was buying a house. 61 Impala was about the same as the 64 but I had a little more experience so it came out a little better sold because the opportunity came along and I was still working on the house. 64 Riviera #1, baught to just fix the cosmetics and drive (still have). 64 Riviera #2 baught as a parts car for #1 but it was too nice to part (still have). 64 Riviera #3 was a parts car, rusted beyond repair, the engine, transmission, posi diff, and tilt steering column are now part of Riviera #1. 39 Pontiac was purchased between Rivieras 1 and 2. It was a true basket case in pieces, I was happy to sell it at a loss. 49 Buick Super (still have) fun project. 65 Grand Prix (still have), this is my dad's project, I've been working on it for the past couple of years when I have a chance.
Rare and desirable carburetors discussion
in General Discussion
Posted