BuickBoss

Welp, I thought (arrogantly) that I had the nicest 77 Riviera on the planet. However this one in western New York has me beat... I know this year isnt as collectible as the earlier generations but I still love mine. (pictured below). https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/40742925

Nevermind I bought a heater control unit off ebay that has the correct knobs. I have extra one too if someone wants to buy it. Thanks.

Hi everyone, I'm looking for the heater control knob for my 1977 Riviera. It's just like the one in the photos I've attached. Does anyone have one kicking around? Thanks in advance! Andrew

I'm definitely more of a stock guy and this is a little wild for me but I do think this car is tasteful done. I mean you kinda have to accept that some things are going to be "gaudy" when you're dabbling in the chopped, low-rider category. In fact, if you pick up "Lowrider" magazine and take a peek at that world, I'll think you'll find that this car is actually very subtle (!) and well balanced. And having Rivs represented in every category is great for the brand! Ps. Everyone seems to hate the wheels... I think they are actually kinda mean! And I love the thick white wall.

Haha, nice! I have a factory 8-track player but it buzzes a lot...

There is something to be said for just driving the car as it was intended out of the factory. I'm always mulling over putting in a big stereo because I love cruising and listening to tunes. But just listening to the radio and having a mint condition 70s car is often enough! Congrats!

They never feature '77-'78s (gen 5)...

My short answer to your question is that it does bother me not to get to drive my car often. I can't drive mine for reasons that are different than most here i'd wager. I live in NYC and its just kind of impractical to take it out for a spin once a week because its a bit of a walk to the garage i park it at. What's worse is that I'm constantly having to deal with small issues do to the lack of driving it and not having a place to work on it. So this occasionally means repairs and towing which again in NYC is expensive and a pain in the ass. To make matters worse its very expensive to park as you might imagine. A lot of the time i feel like giving up and letting it go... BUT, i do have this to say. I've owned classics before like a 79 plymouth and 67 firebird, and after i sold them I felt little remorse. With my 77 Riviera its totally different. It's classic in a different way. I feel "complete" driving it and I never want whatever road I'm on to end. This feeling is so strong that I feel like I need to move to a more reasonable part of the country where I can drive my Buick daily and keep it running perfect. I guess the only thing preventing me from doing so is that I haven't found a woman to settle down with but that's another story all together haha.

1968 in Long Island http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/5787201704.html

1978 in Queens http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/cto/5810273093.html

1983 in Brooklyn http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cto/5787632043.html

THAT'S AWESOME!! So cool. I love the photo and the diorama is cool too!

Welp I fixed the cigarette lighter. It turns out that the wiring clip slipped off the prong on the back of the lighter cylinder. I'm just going to buy a device similar to the one RodneyBeauchamp shows in his first post (on the left) and call it a day. I didn't know they have ones that are so neat and tidy now!

When you "redo the lighters" are you just rewiring or are you replacing the whole assembly?

Hmm, interesting. Didn't know such a product existed. Thanks. But out of curiosity, why don't you recommend not using the existing socket (provided that I repair the wiring)?

Has anyone tried installing USB charging ports in their Riv? I know we're all about classic and original here but having your phone as navigation and other devices charging is super valuable when you're on a long road trip or in an unfamiliar area. My cigarette lighter under the dash doesn't work but I guess I could repair that. But I was hoping to have a dedicated, hardwired outlet or outlets installed somewhere discreet. Is this pretty straight forward to set up?

Oh interesting. Right now when my low beams are on, high beams are off (which is correct). But when I turn on my high beam, both high beams AND low beams are off... Just as a dummy check, the high beam switch is on the turn signal level right? I pulled it all the way in until it clicks. Could be the switch is broken.

Welp, I installed the correct high beam lamps and bulbs and they have the same two-prong connection as the harness. All is well except that the high beams aren't working... sigh. Gotta check the fuse tomorrow and if that's okay I guess it must be the switch on the turn signal lever?

Ah man I tried so many different things yesterday with no success. Maybe I'll give it another shot next week... For those who haven't gotten in there and looked at their pump and wiper motor, this guy does a great break down on youtube. I can't get the arm on my pump to travel the way his does though...

Yeah actually the ones i removed are in fact halogen! So the improvement is not as dramatic as I was hoping. Two things are definitely advantages though: 1. Being able to change bulbs allows you to choose whatever brightness level and color (temperature) you are after. 2. Changing bulbs when they burn out is much cheaper than replacing sealed beam units. HOWEVER, regarding my '77 Riv, to change out the bulb actually requires removing the headlight "cage" that the sealed beam unit sits in. The new conversion unit still has to sit in this cage to be mounted. No big deal but it's just not as easy to twist and remove a bulb from the rear as you would in a late model car that's designed this way from the beginning.

Congrats! That looks sweet. Makes me feel sheepish in my 1977... Oh well, I still get plenty of looks here in Manhattan, hehe. Good luck! Hope to have one of those one day!

So I have an update on this issue. I took off the washer pump to have a look at it myself. The washer pump itself is broken where the cam meets the star-shaped mechanism that is a part of the washer pump. One of the arms or points of that four-star piece is broken off. So I went ahead and installed my new replacement pump. It is also mechanical and cam driven actually, unlike what I was thinking in my previous post. It sort of works but is really weak and makes a little bit of a clunking sound. This sound is mentioned in the installation instructions, with directions on how to eliminate it but for the life of me I can't get it to stop! Also, when I operate the wipers without pushing the washer button it still attempts to pump the fluid which is an obviously an issue. My next course of action is to install the new wiper motor that has a new washer pump attached to it (as my mechanic wanted me to do in the first place). Hopefully this will put this issue to bed.

PWB, you're exactly right. I just bought the high beam pair to rectify the situation. They are H1 bulbs where as the low beams are H4. Not a big deal. Jegs will take back the extra pair of low beams. Regarding brightness, the Hella bulbs are not ultra bright but the good thing is that I can always swap out the bulbs to ones like your silver stars. We'll see when I get every thing together!

Actually this thread answers my question: http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/vintage-mustang-forum/698721-3-prong-headlight-2-prong-connector.html

Okay so I put these puppies in and they look super stock! Very pleased. The first picture is before and the second on is after (sorry they are different sides. Was too lazy to do a before and after of all four). One issue is that l can't get the high beams to work. Mind you they didn't work before. I noticed that the plugs for the high beams only have 2 prongs where as the low beams have 3 prongs. Does anyone know whats going on here?