Hazdaz

I'm surprised that I dislike it as much as I do. Love the chopped look on other cars - usually '50s era ones - but it looks like too far of an extreme in my mind for this Riv.

This might be a silly question, but would the use of LED bulbs eliminate some of the problems associated with Halogens seeing as how LEDs are soooo much more efficient and thus draw so much less juice? I have yet to find a pair of LED bulbs which would fit in the location, but I'm always looking. Most have a fan or heatsink behind the bulb which means you need more room back there. There seems to be plenty of room for the high beams, but the low beams have less room on the battery side.

That's my fault. I didn't mean to commandeer this thread but I was literally working on this same exact thing this afternoon. The OP's car is a '68.

Wow, I've never seen clutch head bolts before. The faded out image in the manual says 4 rivets so I assumed those were some funky '60s era rivets I've never seen before. I ran out of daylight, but I did get the wheel off real easy. I'll try the rest this weekend. Thank you!

It's a '64. See attached image. There are 4 slotted rivets that hold the white gasket down. I originally thought I'd have to drill those out, but someone said you don't need to. I've tried applying some pressure from behind the wheel in the hopes it would at least move, but nothing. I've already sprayed some penetrating fluid to loosen any possible rust on the spline. The manual is terrible.

I bought a universal steering wheel puller and I believe it wasn't universal enough. Am I correct in thinking I need the kind with the "claws"? When you take the horn cover off and the hex bolt, there are no screws to can thread into to push the wheel out. That tells me you can't use the typical kind you see online that are essentially 3 bolts. Am I right on that assumption?

In CT, I think I pay somewhere between $30-40/year in taxes on the Riv, and no inspections needed. Honestly not sure how they calculate the tax amount, but I realistically can't complain about that at all.

I'm curious how this topic has progressed - last post was from 6 months ago. I've been bummed lately because I can't drive around in the Riv in this great weather we have been having because my turn signals and now my brake lights are not turning on, and I suspect its the turn signal switch on the steering column and/or the stop light switch that needs replacement. My biggest issue, by far, is finding good diagrams or photos of where and how to access these components. This is by far the single most frustrating part of owning an awesome car like the Riv is that I can't turn to YouTube or Google Image Search or Bob down the street to ask for advice because Bob owns a Mustang or Camaro like every other classic car guy. The Buick Chassis CD I have is very hit-or-miss with diagrams in terms of the quality. But I digress - I think some of you guys see that summer is fading fast so not being able to put some miles on the car is frustrating. Curious what the deal is with the cable, and if I need to remove the steering wheel before I can access the switch mechanism. I had somehow twisted my body to look under the dash the other night to see if I could find the turn signal switch and I saw a cable running down the steering column that looked loose (but not totally loose) which must be the cable in question. I have already removed much of the trim around the area, but it looked like I had to drill out 4 rivets before I could take the actual steering wheel off to access the rest.

Its a '64 and I don't have defrost, cruise and I am guessing I don't have guidematic or twilight sentinel since I have no idea how those would even turn on if I did. I just did a quick search to see what twilight sentinel even does and shocked that something like that would have been available back in the 60s. OK so it sounds like it was just an extra connector then and I should just leave it be. Thanks guys.

I've looked at the wiring diagram for my '64 and I can't find it, even though I am sure its there. The wiring going to this connector are brown/white/gray (or black). This is right at the bottom of the steering column down by the gas and brake pedals. -see attached image- Disregard the 14 gauge black wire that is running across it. I should have taken a picture of the end of the connector, but I believe it looked like 2 flat receptacles (not unlike a mini US wall outlet in a house). I'm guessing its an extra accessory connector, but it would be nice to know for sure. Thanks.

Absolutely love that tan interior.

I like the look with the extra piece. I'd be down to measuring the piece up and modeling it up in CAD and making a prototype. I see OPGI has them for almost $300 each side and you guys said they weren't even that good. Biggest problem being is that mine is obviously still on my car (and covered in vinyl so it would be more difficult to measure correctly) and I have other issues (stupid electrical!) I need taking care of first on the Riv that I can't be starting up another project right now. If anyone is in the CT area and wants to lend me one, I can measure it up and go from there.

So would the stock part be more like the trim piece between the rear seats below the speaker grill? Mine is sheetmetal and painted a blue color close to the rest of the interior. I almost think if this door piece was painted the same color, it might look better - break up all the vinyl that is everywhere else.

Oh! Yeah, that pic helps a lot. So how much are they asking for that part? That's just the kind of part that could be printed. The bigger issue is the vinyl wrap on it. That part might be more complicated than 3D printing it (once its designed correctly, of course).

Do I have a standard interior? Went out there quick and still not sure which part this is. At first I thought it was the armrest with the cut out to pull the door closed, but going out to the car, the parts don't look to match anything on the door at all.

Is it entirely hidden by trim or exposed? Is it just plastic or sheet metal (not sure if that is rust or simply dirt)? I've taken my door panels off, but I can't quite visualize which part this is exactly, and the pics posted are blurry as hell. If its already plastic (and thus not high loads) and not exposed to the cabin, this is a perfect application for 3D printing. If its metal, it looks like it could be reengineered as a sheet metal part. I know of a few companies that do low-volume sheetmetal parts. Curious how much these are going for these days.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/buick/gran-sport/2029197.html $28.5k \ That's a hell of a color.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/buick/riviera/2138667.html 1972 Buick Riviera

That's pretty cool. I mean the cars are a little too crazy even for me, but I can still appreciate what they are doing and like seeing these older American cars appreciated by people outside the US. I do think the article tries to oversell it though. Make it seem as if it's more widespread than it really is.

The winning bidder was probably a former Porsche owner who is used to paying exorbitant prices for seemingly ordinary parts.

Can you slightly lift the front edge of the window? Its probably binding up by not going up perfectly straight. You can also test this by lubing up the rubber trim around the window (use water or WD-40 just for the test). This will make the window slide a little easier and if the window goes up now then its probably misaligned some.

Did they ever make (production car) a silver/grey exterior with a red interior? That color combination is flat out stunning. Looks incredibly European.

OK guys, thanks for the comments above. I got the brake and parking lights to work (rear) and I got the left turn signal going again, but I think the switch itself is messed up so the right doesn't work. Gotta look into that cable you guys are talking about. One thing that I knew was going to be an issue, and you guys mentioned as well, was the bulb sockets. Wow, are they crap. I even had purchased one which has a separate ground wire and while they feel pretty good quality, you put a bulb in them and its so loose that it constantly loses electrical contact. I tried multiple bulbs and the socket bore was just too big for all of them. I had to wrap a little tin foil around the bulb to maintain electrical contact and keep the bulb from being too loose. So that leads me to my question: Do you have a brand/model of taillight socket you recommend? Not the original ones from the car because I want a separate grounding wire. Looking at pictures online really can't tell you how well something will work which is why word-of-mouth is so important sometimes. I'm willing to solder on a separate grounding wire if need be.

RETIREDMECHANIC - I don't think it is the light switch because my front parking lights/headlights come on like they are supposed to. Totally agree on the socket. The ones they use are awful. I had already bought a newer style plastic socket which fits fine after you cut off one corner of it. It had its own separate ground wire which I will fasten to the body when I sort everything out. I might have a problem with the turn signal switch. I was messing around with the tilt steering and I actually got the turn signal indicator to start clicking (but only in the turn left position, not turn right), but then if I moved the steering wheel tilt again, it would stop. I might be having a short on there somewhere. I took the trim on the underside of the steering column off (the ribbed aluminum trim) and found a green and grey wire (which I assume can only be for either the horn or turn signals), but I need to figure out how to take the rest of the trim off so see where the turn signal mechanism is. RIVNUT - I'll take a look at that harness connector, but I think I am getting some signal back there because the light for the license plate lights up. Also as I mentioned above, I actually got the left rear turn signal to work for a bit before I fiddled with the tilt steering wheel so I might be getting a short there. I am still not getting the brake lights working through. I have to find where the brake switch is and test that out. as RETIREDMECHANIC also mentioned, those old sockets are not particularly good and I already swapped in a newer style plastic one with a ground wire of its own. KONGAMAN - Yeah, I think its a little more involved as you say. The front signals were not working yesterday, but I got the turn signal indicator to start clicking inside the car, and the turn signals in the front and rear worked, but then when I jiggled the steering wheel they stopped. That makes me think there is a short or corrosion at the turn signal switch which is what I need to try getting to tomorrow. I hope the disassembly procedure for that is in the manual. Concerning the connectors behind the dash - I really don't think I can fit underneath there, so I probably rather just take that lower plastic trim off and go from there. I've already checked the fuses as I originally mentioned and they look fine. ONERIVIERA - that don't look pretty.

Attached is a color version of the wiring diagram for the '64 that I made. I have never been a huge fan of doing electrical work so I made this to help me out because I think its much more clear than the black and white one. Hopefully it can help others as well. Along with that, I am getting close to losing my mind on my taillights. They are not lighting up the way they are supposed to and I can't quite figure out why. First off my turn signal indicator inside the car is not flashing any more. I replaced the flasher with a brand new one and still nothing. On top of that (or related to that) the taillights are not coming on when the brakes are touched. Here are some of the conditions that I am getting at various positions of the light switch: On the grey wiring going to the drivers side taillight (and touching off on the frame), I am getting 0V when the light switch is off, 12V when the parking lights are turned on, 12V when the low beams and lastly 0 when the lights are off but I hit the brakes. That seems normal. On the green/white wire on the drivers side taillight, I am getting 0V in all switch positions, as well as when I hit the brakes. This is clearly not right, but I am not sure how to proceed from here. I already checked the fuses, and the one that was blown was for the blower which should not be related to this taillight problem. I replaced it anyways and I also replaced the flasher as I mentioned before. If anyone has suggestions on what to check out next, please let me know. If not, maybe the color wiring diagram will help you out anyways. Cheers.