Hazdaz

If you are going to replace the sealed-beam headlights for a housing that holds H4 or H7 or 9006 (or other) bulbs, then why not get LED bulbs instead? They'll use about 1/3 of the power of a standard 55w halogen. If you go this route, there are things to consider in terms of aiming the headlights so as not to blind oncoming traffic, and making sure you get good LED bulbs, but it seems like the best way to go with minimal costs. Looks like it would be an extra $50 to 100 to go LED versus good quality halogens.

Replace everything with LEDs. I've recently forgotten my side market lights on overnight. I was sure that the battery would be dead when I found them the next morning. Car started right up, no problems. If they were the old-style incandescent bulbs, there is little chance the car would have started up without charging the battery first.

Figured some of you guys would get a kick out of this car. Heck, I wonder if the owner is on here.

I love the design of the rims on the maroon car. I like larger rims, but even I think they are a little too big. I wonder if anyone knows the name of those rims. Look like a modern take on the old school rally design.

That seems awesome AND wrong all at the same time! 🤣 I think ultimately one of the many reasons that the first Riv is so iconic is that GM didn't build a 1/2 dozen copycat models like they did with most of their other cars. That would have diluted the beautiful design if every division had a slightly modified version of that styling. But this Pontiac is still super cool.

I still want to drive it around some more to see if I can pinpoint it better. I've put in less than a dozen miles since it put it back together. I also want to maybe record a video but the sound is so faint I'm not entirely sure if it will get picked up my the mic. I'll try the 40 MPH test this week and see what I hear. If it does end up being the axle bearing, how much of a pain is it to do on these cars?? I'm wondering if it is the U joint on the rear prop shaft. One thing I noticed is that the yoke wasn't particularly easily to straighten out when I installed it onto the differential. I didn't think much of it at the time because I was trying to just align it on the diff, but when I tried putting it straight, it would snap to an angle. Thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure that isn't normal behavior for a U joint. It should freely move in any direction.

So got everything put back together again. Apparently I was right last night when it came to installing the center bearing- it was bottomed out, it just didn't look like it was. I ended up taking it apart and mic'ing the length of the step and threads (1.062"). The sheet metal cover is .062" thick. The bearing itself is approximately .600" wide. That means when installed there would be about .400" thread exposed. When I reassembled everything again, I was just over .400" of thread length so I knew I was good. That would have saved me a good hour messing around either that if I just had mic'ed the end of the shaft before I reassembled it. Since I had everything out, I figured I might as well grease all the fittings. Then I put everything back together. The two parts of the prop shaft are definitely keyed properly (theres a double spline that only lets it go in one way, plus i marked them). If someone is doing this job, chances are good that you'll have to pop the car in neutral to get everything aligned properly between installing the prop shaft into the transmission and the differential. Just keep that in mind. Screwed in the center support bearing with the included new screws. I did not shim them as mentioned by BulldogDriver. Went back together again reasonably quickly. Took her out for a short test time... and I don't think I hear any difference! 😬 I gotta take the girlfriend out to see if she notices any difference because my hearing isn't particularly great. It doesn't shake and power comes on smooth, but I still hear a faint clanking sound. This time I think I hear it when I'm coming to a stop but still moving. It's not loud and there are random other 60 year old rattles and creaking and stuff that I hear that are making this tough to troubleshoot. The positive is that I know the center bearing housing I removed was definitely ripped up, so even if it didn't need replacing immediately, it was on it's way out. 60FlatTop, that looks like my uncle Cleatus and his friend Dale. 🤪

I actually got the lock nut off with a pair of channel lock-style plyers! I didn't want to smack it with a hammer or chisel since, because as you saw, someone already had in the past. Got the new bearing and housing mostly on, but not positive it is seated all the way in. There is about a 1/8" gap between the shield and the bearing housing. I am pretty sure the gap with the old housing was more like 1/16" or less. I took photos so I'll have to check. Ran out of daylight so done for the day.

Rivnut, Yeah I got you on the sliding part, I just wasn't positive that the timing (rotation) of where the drive shaft would be important. Sounds like it's not which makes it easier. I'm kind of stuck on getting that locknut off at this point. I ordered a large adjustable wrench (looks like the nut is 1-7/8") to see if I can get that off. Kind of a silly design where the locknut is fairly inaccessible as it is recessed in the housing. Hopefully the adjustable wrench will fit. to be continues...

UPDATE: So driveshaft is out! The rubber housing looks pretty messed up on this bearing. The bearing itself spins quite smoothly. I hope that means this was the issue all along. One question I have for you guys is the driveshaft keyed to the transmission? I know many (all?) newer vehicles there is like a double spline that acts like a key to index the spline so it can go in only one way. I took a quick look at the driveshaft on the Riv and I didn't notice any such keying. I don't think I saw anything about the spline being keyed in the Buick repair manual either. I am going to guess that it isn't keyed unless you guys say otherwise. I painted a mark so the two pieces of the driveshaft will go back together the same way since I know those are supposedly balanced together. Anyways, thanks for the help so far guys.

That would have been an awesome option on the Riv! I mean it wouldn't exactly fit the "personal luxury" image of the Riv when it first came out, but it still would have been awesome.

Both my mechanic and myself are pretty sure it won't be the grease fitting, but it is a "free" thing to try out first, you know, before we start spending money on parts and disassembling the driveshaft. It isn't fixed yet, but it sounds like a bunch of you guys were right in your diagnosis! Thanks guys. I'll keep the thread updated when this is finally fixed for anyone else who has similar sounds.

My local mechanic had time to put the the Riv up on his lift finally. OK, first off, it doesn't have a posi rear end. The brake lines running down the passenger side seem very well secured and I can't imagine they were clanking. The 2nd part of the driveshaft has play going into the rear end, but according to my mechanic, it is actually pretty small amount of play. The diff was full and all but one of the grease joints were greased up already. This is where he is thinking the issue might be coming from... He is thinking that it might be the center driveshaft bearing, but before that gets changed out, he will get the center grease fitting behind the X frame and see if the noise goes away before any parts are replaced. If it is indeed the center driveshaft bearing, then is about $125 a decent price on the part?: https://bestoffercounts.com/product/buick-riviera-drive-shaft-support-bearing-1964-1965-1966-1967-1968-1969-1970/

... and a smoking dog! You forgot the most important addition!

Hit up a couple of car shows this weekend.

IF this ends up being my issue, how extensive was the work to fix it and how much of a cost was it? Bring it to the mechanic time, or can it be done at home?

Lots of great info. This sounds like a weekend project. Wish me luck!

Pardon my ignorance, but how can I check? Jack up the rear and see if the rears spin together?

Had her on the road for the first time in months this past weekend, and a problem that I was having late last fall didn't magically fix itself (unfortunately) over the winter. I am getting some clanking/clicking noises coming from, what I believe, is the rear end of the car. In the fall I had my local mechanic throw it up onto his lift and he even test drove it a little and he couldn't figure it out. It sounds like a loose exhaust with the muffler clanking, but when he had it up on the lift last year nothing looked loose. The sound is a cross between 3 things: a loose exhaust clanking sound, the clicking one would hear from a failing CV joint, or a suspension spring binding up. It don't think it is actually any of those things, but that's just what it sounds like. I'm trying to narrow down what this could be before I get it to a mechanic (unless I can fix it myself). I emptied the trunk with some stuff I had, so I know its not coming from inside the trunk. I also don't think it is engine or tranny related - the car actually drives fine. Originally I was thinking it might the rear end diff, but my mechanic didn't think it was that when he checked it. I know you guys have been around these cars for a long time, so wondering what you'd recommend I look at first. It is hard diagnosing this because when it is stopped you don't hear anything.

As psychostang said, that is almost 10 years old. GM and Buick have moved on from that concept. Its not gonna happen. At least not looking like that. The last big Buick concept was the very production-ready looking Avista concept which came out like 5 or 6 years ago. That one actually looked like it might have had a chance (again, probably only in China) but even that one never got made. The latest Buick concept car that I recall was this Electra concept from like 1 or 2 years ago. I honestly don't think it looks nearly as good as the Avista and definitely less production-ready.

The rumors I've heard is that Buick would be releasing a new "Electra" car or crossover. That would fit in with the move to electrification. I'd LOVE to see a next-gen Riv coupe, but I doubt that would happen. Or if it did happen, it would be sold only in China since Americans don't buy cars anymore, while the Chinese do. I am a big fan of the styling of the upcoming Cadillac Lyric which will be out by the end of the year in the US. I think it would be one of the best looking new EVs. All future EVs from GM will be based on their new Ultium platform, so I can only imagine a Buick Electra might be a slightly smaller crossover in the $50k range. The Cadillac Lyric starts at $60k so being around $10k less seems reasonable.

This is the one I've had for a few years: Covercraft Custom Fit Vehicle Cover for Buick Riviera - Technalon Block-It Evolution Series Fabric, Gray I did a bunch of research on this before I bought it because it wasn't particularly cheap. Some people use a tarp, but that is a terrible choice because a cover needs to breathe. You'll never keep all the moisture off your car, so the last thing you want to do is trap it underneath the cover. If the cover breathes, then whatever moisture does get underneath eventually dries out naturally. If the car is going to sit for a while, also go through winterizing it. Lots of videos on YouTube for that. Most say to use mothballs to keep vermin from getting into the car, and shoving dryer sheets up the tailpipe to keep them from crawling up the exhaust.

Old cars are so much less safe in an accident than newer cars. Not trying to be a kill-joy, but far too many people have this illusion that cars from this era were safe because they have steel bumpers or that the doors close with a solid thunk and the hood is a workout to lift, but in an accident that's not going to keep you alive. I absolutely love my '64 but if I knew I was going to be in an accident, I'd take any modern car over it no matter how small and cheap-looking it might be. Stay safe, guys.

Figured some of you guys would get a kick out of this custom sweater the girlfriend got for me as a gift. (should have smoothed out some of the wrinkles before I took the pic)

What is that round thing between the lights?