Turbinator

Mr, Konga Man, your automobile looks sharp. I like wire and chrome a lot placed on a proper Buick. Thank you for posting. Turbinator

Double T, what the world is unsprung weight? Turbinator

Chicken wire if you are playing R&B in a Country Western place. A gent once asked, “ I can see you weren’t raised in “ the church” and by your physical appearance you probably were not in the Pentecostal faith.” I went on to say, this true, “ How come you sing all these Blues with so much conviction.? I said, “ I been married four times. The gent smiled and said, “ You qualify.”

Superbrights because they have s good website, price point options, and good delivery. They have a warm white lighting choice which I believe creates and softer welcoming touch. I chose bright white LED’s for the interior. The instrument panel lights up to my satisfaction. Courtesy lights, sail lights are very good. the HVAC panel lights are better with the LED’s but not great. My radio light is out, but my clock works and so does the light in the clocK! Also, I have a 1963 Buick accessory book that tells my 1963 Dinsmore Compass is Buick Engineer approved. The tiny incandescent light shines in the compass at night. On color choice of the LED’s you can mix and match or just keep what you have. When it comes to car bulb color choice you can pick what you want,we live a free country.

Superbrights are smart enough to do the conversion from incandescent to LED. The Service manual has a list of all the bulbs, there ID number/letters and where they are located. Turbinator

Sharp observations and investigative purchasing goes a long with good sense. Sometimes you get what you want because that is the way it is. One time I bought all new guitars. I finally woke up and bought good used instruments show their flaws fast and most of the time can be adjusted. Save about 50%. Over new. Initially, I wanted. 61-64 Chevy Impala decked out just so. Well, around here they were running at $30k. I did not want to spend that on a vintage car. One of my buddies said, “‘Bob you want a first generation Riviera.” My Buddy was tight.

Gary, that is one heck of a-bargain at $320.! Yes indeed. There is no prestige in paying more than is necessary. turbinator

Rich, I changed all my interior lights out to LED. There is a LED that is Amber color that mimics the original soft lighting, but brighter. I left the glove box light incandescent. Jim Cannon mentioned he increased his incandescent lighting by one candle power. The best of my knowledge there is no LED bulb kit for the 63 Riviera. I’m happy to be wrong. Those little devils can get pricey. In the case of LED. Lighting I would stick with one company that supplies your whole set. If something doesn’t fit and it happens you want to be able to return the wrong LED. I had the idea of putting LED in my tail lights. My tail lights shorted themselves out. I put back the incandescent 1157 in metal bulb sockets I grounded to the body. Lights work fine. I tried LED in the cornering lights. I could not get the LEDs to fit. Now all my problems could very well be my lack of experience in auto mechanic efforts. Its probably easier to take the dash off to get to the lights for the HVAC panel lights. If you remove the A PILLAR skins the dash won’t have the edges scraped. It was a hassle for me, but Zi like to be able to see at night. turbinator

Art, a man/woman’s automobile is their chariot. Outfitting the car like you like is one of life’s pleasure. I try to practice good manners and never be negative to a car owner about his vehicle. If I see something that could cause injury to the driver and others I’ll gently ask permission to tell the owner what I see. It’s not what you say, it is how you say it. Life is too short to find faults in others cars unless they ask for assistance. put on your red stripes and let the good times roll! Turbinator

Winston, unless the 7.10 R 15 American Classic radial Bias look with 1” white walls just came out In the past week or two I’m all ears. I have not been able to find the 7.10 R 15 with the 1” ww in the Radial Bias look Tire. I’m really happy to be wrong Thanks again Turbinator

J3, many thanks for you acknowledging my work. The work is not fine art, but the work is industrial art for sure. Some of wheel covers I bring back to life have come to me in 2 pieces. The pieces come back together viaTIG WELDING. TIG is hard to do then add in the alloy factor in the cast aluminum and welding that stuff is a down right PIA. I’m After new and better ways to finish these wheelcovers. Yard by yard it is hard, inch by inch it is a cinch. Turbinator

Eric, thank you for positive comments regarding time invested in cleaning those rascals. I’m almost finished the remaining three wheelcovers. Turbinator

George, I’ll be certain to take pics and show work in progress. The POR 15 for me is about preservation and not decoration. Although, the underside looks consistent with the black Top Coat. Turbinator

Don, how did you do with the station wagon AC? Thank you for the positive comparison of my web and vanes to New. Up close the webs look a tad bit uneven with finish. Three feet away I’ll agree “ Not bad!” I appreciate your support. Turbinator

John, Great note full on substance and interest. Is your Dyna Flow not working right? I like my DynaFlow quite a bit. I’m not a speedster, but I like to push the accelerator to the floor now and again. The acceleration is a tad bit sluggish, but I like the reverb and crackle in my exhaust. Get the car going first and catch the AC when you can. Pulling a vacuum I’m sure you know is different from a flush. My opinion is not test for leaks with compressed air b/c of moisture in the system. I use dry nitrogen to test for leaks and soapy water. You can flush lines, condenser, evaporator, TXV and get a good clean system . Rinse the compressor with the same oil as the system specifies. John, if I’m repeating myself or write like I’m telling you what to do I mean no harm. Having jacked around with SOB AC I would not wish failure on my worst enemy. So, my comments are meant to be helpful and not sound like an expert. if you have an A6 compressor and it is somewhat new don’t worry about the clutch and the STV update working together. Yeah, it would be great if the STV (3 rebuilds) in my experience worked out. Two tip offs early in the game got my attention: no one sells new or rebuilt STV per se. Second, a pro parts rebuilder in Florida said once the STV sticks you can never get them right. The rebuilder went on to offer a right up with pics why the STV would be difficult to keep clean and working. I was sold on the STV eliminator kit. You are smart to rebuild the AC system yourself. Where ever you are finding a competent and conscientious vintage car AC mechanic may not be possible. Oh, if you charge your system with 134a consider having the hoses rebuilt. The old R12 hoses I’ve been told by many in the know will leak the 134a. John, the R12 will be charged in the AC within the remaining days of May. I’m having a real AC pro and friend charge the system with R12. ( reason my friend did not rebuild my AC is he partially disabled and has limited energy ) Turbinator

Thank you for your input. Your experience will help me finish up the places I missed on my under carriage. So far the POR 15 is holding very well. I m under the car more times than I want to tell, so I see the POR 15. Using smaller amounts on the brush, huh, you cannot use too little. I’ll give it a try 😊

Ed, I will check out the “side” ( slang for the “side” of a 45 RPM record) when my hearing gets close to normal. Bronchitis and sinusitis has my hearing blocked. Thank you for your consideration and the “ clip”. Turbinator

Pat, and don’t you think I forgot! Your story about riding through town and seeing the reflection of the turbines in the shop windows stuck with me. For me, the turbines look really good on the Riviera. I really can’t think of a worthy wheel cover or wheel substitute. Just my opinion. Thanks again Turbinator

Ed, thank you. Getting finish even on the webs and sides of the vanes is very difficult for me. I’ve investigated another type of abrasive gunsmiths use. I might try an additional approach to smooth them out. The smut build up causes work stoppage and more cleaning. I have some newly chromed spinners and truly blemish free emblems I’ll probably put up and look at them in a box. I have some respectable spinners and emblems that look just fine for a proper Riviera.

Gents, some have asked what does a bare metal satin finish look like on the webs. here it is. Turbinator

Sir, had the ride been in the late sixties it could have been a “ Magic Carpet Ride”. Like flying an airplane with Steppenwolf at the helm. ive got a 63 and LOVE the boulevard ride.

Tom Telesco has a starter for your car. Tom is a long time member of ROA. Mr. Telesco knows Rivieras inside and out and around again. Turbinator

Mr. Konga Man, there is no arguing over personal taste. I submit why would anyone buy a Gibson guitar when there are so many others better and less expensive? The answer is, a Gibson guitar is what they wanted.

You are right. Period. i used a magnifier with headlamp and came up with the same observation. So, we could be both right or both wrong, but we agree. thank you for taking the time to look. I suppose both were made by injection molding. Turbinator

Ed, so the 6.70 R 15 radial tire with bias look is equal in tire dimensions as the 710 15 bias tire? I can do my due diligence and research comparison sizes of the tires, but if know off hand..... Turbinator