MikeJS

Fun thread... apparently our toys come in ALL sizes...) This 1:25 scale '65 Riv was built and hand painted back in the early 1980's shortly after I purchased my 1:1 1964 Riv in Wedgewood blue (that I still own). Colour came close, but a tad too dark. At the time, model manufacturers were only producing the '65 Riv' scale models and they are still readily available. For the 1963, and 64 years, these models were only available in '63/64. They can be still be found on eBay, some built, some in original boxes, some $$$, and although I've since acquired a handful of the original '64 scale models, I've not got around to re-creating the 1:1 aside from this one... Although I built models as a kid, that fad faded long ago until about 10-12 years ago when my son got to be the age that he was interested in building them, so of course, I got involved. A couple of our Riv projects... Another '65... '66... (the red thing on the steering wheel is a homemade anti-theft club...) I've also collected a number of first gen Riv's in various scales, some plastic, metal, a couple small slot car racers... When I find the time, I'll take a few photos of some of those...

Thanks, Ed... PM sent... Later, Mike

Tom, good day. Thanks. The portion of the vanes I was wondering about is what is shown in the photo in green tape. It appears that based on the photo above and Pat's subsequent comment that the entire area is indeed painted black leaving only the outer portion of the vanes unpainted. This would make sense as I can't imagine the challenge of polishing and subsequently masking to keep those "vertical" portions unpainted. Keeping just the thin portion of each vane (exposed to outward view) unpainted should be relatively easy to mask off. For a similar application of masking , I've coated the portion to remain unpainted with vasoline then after the paint is cured, I've carefully wiped the vasoline off . No paint seepage below tape, worked like a charm... For what it's worth, and obviously I'm a little biased, but as objectively as possible, I do think these are one of the classiest looking factory wheel covers to come out of Detroit... Thanks again for the input, guys, much appreciated. Later, Mike

Thanks, Ed, much appreciated. Later, Mike

Ed, good day, hope all is well… Since I last posted back in mid March, I was able to locate one of these wheel covers off of a ’63 (unpainted) from a Canadian seller in reasonable shape, (at a VERY good price, don't ask...:) ) and just showed up today. It's in need of a couple minor repairs, a bit of polishing and then paint for the ’64. (Also came with a bonus spinner, albeit cracked tri-shield centre, overall in pretty good shape, photo attached…) In searching for information related to these turbine wheel covers, a handful of links refer back to this forum in various topics, and you seem to be very knowledgeable. If you don't mind, I just want to confirm that the area between the vanes is indeed painted black for the ‘64. The reason I ask, is that in this discussion from the aaca way-back machine of 2007, http://forums.aaca.org/topic/103896-correct-wheel-coverhubcaps-for-1964/ you wrote;’ “The center of the knock off has a large black plastic piece in it with the silver Riviera R. .. (clipped for brevity... my bold->) The centers of the turbines are painted a dark charcoal grey, not black.” In various other posts, and most pictures that I can see, these certainly do look like they are painted black between the vanes. Maybe I’m misinterpreting the 2007 post, but are these indeed painted black or charcoal grey? Also, just for clarity, in a lot of photos it's tough to tell, but are the vertical portions of the vanes supposed to be painted or unpainted? I suspect the latter, but I'm not 100% As mentioned, Ed, I was hoping to find two of these, but now I only need one. I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to organize your collection for the ROA meet, but I’m still interested in acquiring one more of these in reasonable shape. Also, if you have or know where to find the correct centre R plastic thingies, I could use a couple of those. I’d prefer to buy them from someone that knows that they are indeed the correct ones to fit these particular spinners as opposed to me trying to buy them by guess by golly… Thanks. Later, Mike

Ed, thanks for the prompt response, AND more importantly, hope...) Ya, the broken ring is a drag, but on an ol' 20-footer, (for all intent and purpose still original), it could look worse... Thanks again, keep me posted... Later, Mike swickmj at telus dot net (replace the at and dot for email...)

Good day. New to the forum, from Edmonton, Alberta Canada. I've owned a 1964 Riv' since 1980 and I am looking for a couple of the aluminium bolt on wheel covers. Two of my four originals are still in reasonable shape, (in need of a good pro polish....) but one has a 4-in piece broken off, and another has the complete outer ring broken off. Based on what I've read here, one of these is possibly a candidate for repair, (if I can find someone local that could do it...) but the one missing the outer ring I can't imagine being fixed. I'm hoping to find a couple still in reasonable shape, but in need of a good polish and new paint, and of course, someone willing to ship these to Canada. We have terrible exchange rate against the US dollar, but I'm more than willing to pay fair market US$ plus reasonable shipping. Thanks, Hopefully the pictures show up... Later, Mike