Turbinator

Pat, I saw those 64 Turbines. I thought they were in very fine condition. At $999.00 he is right on the $. I did not see where the center cap, two bar spinner, and emblem were listed? Turbinator

Rivnik, thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to tell me what is obvious to most people. Many things mechanical mystify me. Mechanical work is a challenge I enjoy see coming to a successful conclusion. I’ll post a before and after pic of the project. Thanks again Turbinator

Jim, thank you. The trim is the interior. I ve taken the screws loose of all the trim in the roof interior. I took out the trim piece at the junction of the A Pillar trim and the front and drivers side meeting place. I loosened the screws holding the plastic trim piece that snugs against the trim piece on the dash. The interior A pillar trim seems to wrap around material on both sides of the trim. I'm tight vertically and horizontally for trim piece movement. I do not want to damage the chrome trim piece trying to remove the piece. ( I have a compass with a light that mounts with the rear view mirror and I need to run the power wire down to the dash lights is why I want to remover the A pillar trim piece. Additionally, with A Pillar trim piece removed it makes it easier for me to get the dash pad in and out. Oh, I've removed the Dash pad. Thank you Turbinator

Gents, I'm trying to remove drivers side A pillar trim. Without taking a lot of the car apart I have stumbled trying to take the trim off and still be able to use the trim again. If anyone knows of literature that shows how to remove the trim on the A pillar I would be grateful. Turbinator

Jason, sound advice. I could not have said it any better. I stayed with the drum brakes did exactly as you suggested. my car stops real good. Turbinator

Many worthwhile lessons working on my 63 Riviera. Stuff like basic electric circuit testing, making good electrical connections, understanding the value of a good ground. Learning to adjust the turn signal switch on the steering column was a lot of fun. Putting on new rubber bushings for the steering front and back, new shocks, newly rebuilt steering box, getting the speedo to work AND provide the correct speed on the speedometer. Right now I'm reinstalling my complete AC system with new components. If you have a whole pile of money you could pay someone to restore the car but it wouldn't be fun. Turbinator,

TexRiv_63, this is my 3rd season trying to get the air straight in my 63. Ive had plenty of lessons on restoring the AC system. I finally just bought all the components new and gave up on the STV and will install the STV eliminator kit. The reason I bought all new was I could not find anyone in my area that would work on vintage AC. My system was contaminated over and over and the STV's were failing so I said for a few more dollars I'll get everything new and hopefully the AC will work. Over the past two years I've read manuals, talked to people on the forum off the forum and got a lot of experience trying to fix it myself. So, I bought gauges, vacuum testers, vacuum pump, dry nitrogen & gauges, vacuum switches, new vacuum hoses, new vacuum actuators. Yeah, if I didn't get measurable satisfaction from the learning process I would have given up a long time ago. The number of dollars spent trying to get the AC to work? I don't want to look up the receipts. Oh, I got the hoses rebuilt with triple wall specifications. Were I the person wanting to fix up GrandDads car I would welcome sage advice. If my pockets were deep and my arms were long I"d find a mobile Specialty shop in Florida, Texas where people have shops with experience doing complete aftermarket retrofits. Turbinator

Mr Konga Man, you have a good solution. I"d like to get all the buttons on at one time, once and for all. Then I'll put in seat cushions. Attachment of the buttons in upholstery jargon is called "tufting". You have to take the seat out and sit the seat on a table. To Tuft the seat back you have to open the seat cover on the side and do your tufting through that "window" in the seat cover. The tufting does not appear to be hard. I have made my own buttons for replacement and that takes patience and a person with time on their hands.

Gents, would anyone know the type of metal treatment the webs on the 63 Turbines have on them? I heard the the webs between the vanes were anodized. I get the covers in all conditions ( mostly rough) and the metal in the webs behave differently compared to the tops of the vanes, center cap crown, and 3 tier circumference. I'm thinking the cast aluminum in the webs of the vanes were metal finished differently than the rest. Turbinator

Good idea and thank you for the tip. A good tip. Turbinator

Old tires can be ground up and recycled for many useful items. The picture shows a lot of tires. Having an extra set of tires for your car is like having an extra pair of shoes. Sometimes you want to change up for another appearance. Turbinator

Frenchy, I tried chrome powder coating on a two bar spinner that was in rough shape. Not bad for an item I was going to throw away. Here is how powder chrome looks... the picture with with a pile of stuff on a chair show two bar spinners AND the chrome powder treated two bar. The chrome powder is not a panacea, but not bad for some items. Turbinator

Metal it is! turbinator

Sir, your stock radio can be reconditioned to have better treble and bass response and ability to play mp3 through the radio. Additionally, you can upgrade your existing 6x9 speaker with 3” magnet and the correct number of Ohms for your car. I have elected not to punch holes in my 63 for a modern audio system. The upgrade of my existing radio and speaker is just fine for my taste. You have a very neat automobile. Turbinator

Zimm, I'm chrome finishing plastic. Works good. Maybe your bezels are metal. I don't know. turbinator

Bob, I got mine back and the first attempt the clock failed. I sent it back and they sent me another one right away. The second one works fine. It can be frustrating, but I'm sure if you called them again and said, " It still is not working" they would make good. Turbinator

I am a big fan of JB Weld. Metal to metal it holds real good. Turbinator

Ed, I really don’t think I’m in that 400 point league. I have attention to detail, but I have my limits. I bet it would be fun had I started out that way. Oh, by the way I have seen the Dinsmore compass chrome finish compass for sale, but not installed. Since the Buick sales brochure says the chrome finish was an option that is close enough for me. The brochure I have is no problem to prove the info is legitimate. Turbinator

Ed, as close to 100 out of my 100 point criteria. I’m not up to date on Buick 400 point awards. I suppose I could look up the criteria for 400 points BCA award. Thank you for the idea. Turbinator

I thought Keflavik would be on the list. Reykjavik I suppose covers Iceland. Gets pretty cold up that way.

Bernie, Some sailors and Marines I once knew would tell me stories of shore leave in the Far East. One of the standard comments was, “ How much that haircut cost you?” Services provided other than tonsorial items were talked about quite a bit with my former military service friends. Turbinator

Zimm, I’ve got many lessons like take your time and more light is better by a measurable number. my best lesson is everything has a place and in it’s place. This lesson about organization and storage never stops. Bob

Ed, my boyhood pals would say, " Use a micro-fying glass and see if you can see it!" I have three or so of those micro-fying glasses in my shop. One of the few good things about aging is somethings that get by you learn not to care so much. Now, matching colors when repainting air cleaners on the 63 Rivieras is no margin for error. Yep, like nailing jello on the wall. Turbinator ( 3F in my neighborhood... close to a Maryland record )

Tom, thanks for your assistance in helping me understand. The subject is tedious and those experienced in auto mechanics may view my concern as not an important item and known as a given in accepted wheel balancing. On the other hand I was in mailing/small parcel shipping and mailing industry for 31 years and folks would complain about poor delivery or no delivery. I would ask, "did you use address hygiene?" I was trying to say to the mailer did you use correct addressing methods ? The cliche "no brainer" applies to balancing wheels and mailing a letter. Mailing a letter and balancing wheels have standard accepted practice. I appreciate your patience and help. To mix a metaphor and stab at humor, " I'm going to stop banging my head up against a dead horse." Turbinator...... on balance this AM. 3F in Lutherville Md

Ed, would not the loss of the weight from the hole being punched out not be an issue in balancing the hubcap or the wheel? The balancer just balances what he has to work on. Some have done high speed balancing of the tire and wheel ,but hubcaps were not on the car. I remember guys that were insistent all four of the valve caps had to be plastic or metal. You couldn’t mix plastic and metal valve caps? Give me a break!