MikeJS

Sorry if this is slightly off topic, but I thought it fit the "And now for something completely different" tagline. We're all kids at heart and what kid doesn't love Lego. And of course, all good hitmen obviously drive a Riviera... https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-33329/RollingBricks/gun-cabinet-and-hitman-minifig-for-buick-riviera/#details

Good day. i actually got a replacement for that ^ wheel, and I use that one on my spare. I did pick up a couple more to refinish to replace to eventually the one with just a chunk missing. Later,

There is, just gotta know the secret handshake on the keyboard. (Un)fortunately, I use a Mac, so to type the degree symbol in 43° I simply use Shift-Option-8. Quick google search for the PC users, - On your keyboard, press Alt + 0176. Note: This method works only for keyboards that include a 10-key numeric pad. Not sure if that works, certainly does on the Mac... And although we are currently basking in 15°F (-10°C) 43°F would be a veritable heat wave... Later,

FWIW…

Ed, good day. I have both (power windows and vents) on my '64 but there is no U8 shown on the data plate. Mine indicates in Group 1 - WXNTS-2R-4F-5ZK whereby I was under the impression that they decoded as follows: X Power Window (Except Vents) N Power Window (Vents Only)

John, good day. With the amount of forum members south of our border that use Fahrenheit to measure temperature and not Celsius sometimes it's good to show the conversion and both temperatures so they can get a better 'feel' for it. As noted, our -40C this morning equates to a balmy -40F... Best Wishes to all for a safe and happy Holiday Season... And for what it's worth... Beyond Top Secret: The Tech Behind Santa’s Sleigh Santa Claus has got to be one of the most tech-savvy people in the world. Think about it: Circumnavigating the globe in a single night to deliver gifts to hundreds of millions of children is only possible by integrating some serious technology into his gift-giving empire. Surely his sleigh—the epicenter of this logistical feat—must be packed with cutting-edge electronics to ensure his success year after year. While the exact plans and specifications of his mobile command center are safely locked away at the North Pole, we can make some safe assumptions about the tech onboard. Imaging Sensors Seeing where you are going is likely a major concern for the jolly old elf. His sleigh is likely to be equipped with a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensor that can visually cut through the wintry mix he encounters in the northern portions of the globe. Santa likely finds it very important to be able to see where he's going, and Rudolph's red nose can only provide so much illumination. Additionally, the sleigh probably has a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor to generate 3-D images so he can accurately and safely land. Sense and Avoid Technology One of the folktales surrounding Santa is that he makes a list (and checks it twice). But how does he know what the list should include? He’s likely using some technologies that are found in unmanned systems, better known as drones. Assuming Santa ascribes to the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules, his sleigh can detect intruding aircraft within a three-mile radius with a field of view of 270° × 30°. To assist in meeting these requirements, the sleigh employs a computer vision (CV) “sense and avoid” system that lets Santa manage his list while jet-setting (or is that sleigh-setting?) around the planet. Modern CV systems, such as the Intel® Neural Compute Stick 2, are built on technologies that can effectively use machine learning algorithms. In other words, these systems teach a machine image recognition by exposing it to enough similar images that it can reasonably guess what it sees. This is useful for Santa to discern between a rooftop and a mountaintop, for example. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Santa’s insistence on hand delivering gifts to every boy and girl requires precise knowledge of where he is at every second. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is an umbrella term for a variety of satellite-based navigation (satnav) technologies that enable the ability to locate anything or anyone on the planet. Specific implementations include GPS (which is perhaps the most widely known satnav system), GLONASS, QZSS, Beidou, and Galileo. Santa likely has multiple redundant systems onboard his sleigh to ensure accurate positioning no matter where he is at on the Earth. Integrating different satnav systems is not as complicated as one would suspect. 5G Communications Santa is often given credit for single-handedly delivering Christmas joy year after year. The truth is: Without the continuous communications with the North Pole command center and a secret global network of holiday do-gooders, Santa would never be able to accomplish his impeccable record of success. Constant tweaks to the aforementioned list, getting weather updates, updating gift delivery changes, and checking in with Mrs. Claus requires pushing a lot of bits every second. That means Santa is likely running a prototype fifth generation (5G) wireless network. 5G offers “a 100-fold increase in data rates (great for gaming, ultra-high definition video, and virtual reality), a low-power way to facilitate human-machine communications with an eye toward the infrastructure required for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications required for autonomous vehicles, and even possibly a competitor for cable and fiber-delivered broadband and entertainment.” Rumor is that Santa is working closely with Google’s Project SkyBender to test the feasibility of leveraging drones and aircraft to deliver Internet to the planet at speeds in excess of 40 times that of today’s 4G cellular networks. Fast, but still not as fast as Santa’s sleigh! Conclusion Regardless of whether you call him Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, or Old Saint Nick, the man is a true technophile. By investing in the latest technologies, Santa ensures that he can continue to provide smiles to millions of children around the world. So, what’s next? Rumors are that he has tasked his engineering elves to begin drawing up plans for what some consider to be the most radical sleigh design ever! Some say the new sleigh incorporate cutting-edge technology found in next-generation spacecraft—this way Santa can prepare for a future where humankind has colonized the Moon and Mars. Poor guy! There truly is no rest for the weary! Source. https://www.mouser.ca/blog/beyond-top-secret-the-tech-behind-santas-sleigh

Good day. For what it's worth, and I suspect may have already been there, but you may want to contact the GM Heritage Archives directly and see what you can find there. No idea if they can provide any info/photos you don't already have and/or information that you are looking for, but like my mom used to say, "you don't ask, you don't get"... you never know. Source: https://www.gm.com/heritage/archive ---- Today, the collections hold more than 8 million photographic images, 220,000 video masters, 25,000 motion picture films and 1.5 million digital media files. A significant portion of these collections are accessible through the GMHA digital asset management system. The GM Heritage Archive has trained researchers available to assist with your research, whether the endeavor is of an enthusiast, academic or commercial nature. Requests should be sent via email to gmhc@gm.com. The email should outline your information or visual media need and the intended use. For commercial endeavors, fees may apply. ---- Good luck, keep us posted... Later,

That looks pretty cool, nice idea. Although I had all my original cardboard, I used them as templates for new cardboard and covered with an upholstery fabric. I always felt the finishing of the trunk in these cars was a little cheesy for a ‘luxury car’, so I went with a “what I think they should’ve done look”. I haven’t found a hold down bolt for the spare yet, but I always carried an emergency box that I used to support it. When I re-did the trunk a few years ago, I thought the picnic basket was a nice touch. Likely not winning any judging events, but something a little different without going too custom…

Personally I have no idea, but I would likely doubt it. One would need to analyze the letterform used in the various auto scripts and compare to known fonts to see if there is a close match to pull "off the font shelve". My gut reaction were that these scripts evolved as part of the 'art' applied to a vehicle, and were custom made to suit the fancy of the design team, execs, etc. Some manufacturers used the same 'font' for different years and models, but in terms of the Riviera badging, there are numerous discussions on this forum that talk to the various nuances in the letters, some R's are closed, others are open, etc... Here's one previous discussion that you may find useful... Hope this helps...

EmTee, good day. Thanks. Kinda good news, bad news… The bad news…. I posted in that forum and this is the response I received… ---- “Ironically what you liked was a bug that has been fixed.” ---- My subsequent response… ---- “Not sure why that was considered a bug, I felt it was a great feature for newcomers to the forums to potentially peruse archived information… Nonetheless, it’s too bad this bug was squashed. Thanks for confirming what I was seeing…” ---- The good news out of all of this, I now know more about the Rusty Jones Company and rust protection in general than before I posted this thread… Thanks again. Later,

Peter, good day Not sure why that was considered a bug, I felt it was a great feature for newcomers to the forums to potentially peruse archived information… Nonetheless, it’s too bad this bug was squashed. Thanks again for confirming what I was seeing… Later,

Although I do have a couple of the slot cars in my "toy Riv' collection, having the complete set is (would be) pretty cool. Would love to the the Riv take on the dump truck in a race... The price of these cars on eBay appear to be all over the map. I don't recall what I paid for these a number years ago, but it was no where near what some of the current prices are asking...

Good day. For kicks and giggles, I googled "Buick Riviera in the movies". This IMCDB page came up... https://www.imcdb.org/vehicles_make-Buick_model-Riviera.html

Good day. This is related to the Buick Riviera forum in which I participate… Quite often as I peruse the latest postings to this forum, I simply click on the Next Unread Topic at the bottom right of the thread. In the past when I finished reading the most recent daily postings, clicking on that would take me on a time travel back to the last unread topic I’ve read, roughly March 2016. I have come across some very interesting discussions, some repeats but some new nuggets of info. Some days I wouldn’t read too many past the current topics, but on other boredom days, I would read lots of old threads. Recently that trip down “memory lane” has stopped and I now simply see the page indicating “There are no unread content items.” (Screenshot below) This happens on both my laptop and my I-shoe phone. On my browser I see 305 pages of discussions, with the first posting going back to almost pre-historic times ( December 2006). When I scroll through I eventually see the little blue ball beside the topic indicating I haven’t read that topic. That starts mid way down page 127. Again, March 2016. I would like to be able to just keep reading old topics as I did up until recent as I’m sure there’s more to be found in the remaining 10 years I’ve not read. I tried contacting the Administrator?? by clicking the Contact Us and provided this same story but I’ve heard nothing in weeks. If any of the above makes sense, am I the only one experiencing this or do others share my frustration… Later, Mike Swick Edmonton, AB

Good day. Hopefully not off topic since it’s not Riv related, but related to this forum experience… damn the torpedoes… Quite often as I peruse the latest postings to this forum, I simply click on the Next Unread Topic at the bottom right of the thread. In the past when I finished reading the most recent daily postings, clicking on that would take me on a time travel back to the last unread topic I’ve read, roughly March 2016. I have come across some very interesting discussions, some repeats but some new nuggets of info. Some days I wouldn’t read too many past the current topics, but on other boredom days, I would read lots of old threads. Recently that trip down “memory lane” has stopped and I now simply see the page indicating “There are no unread content items.” (Screenshot below) This happens on both my laptop and my I-shoe phone. On my browser I see 305 pages of discussions, with the first posting going back to almost pre-historic times ( December 2006). When I scroll through I eventually see the little blue ball beside the topic indicating I haven’t read that topic. That starts mid way down page 127. Again, March 2016. I would like to be able to just keep reading old topics as I did up until recent as I’m sure there’s more to be found in the remaining 10 years I’ve not read. I tried contacting the Administrator?? by clicking the Contact Us and provided this same story but I’ve heard nothing in weeks. If any of the above makes sense, am I the only one experiencing this or do others share my frustration…

Ed, good day, I could be mistaken but I read Ron's post as a request for any photos or plans/dimensions for the frame itself. From what I gather although Clarks' provides the vinyl, I've thought about trying to make a "box/frame" to act as a 'replica' of the unobtainium armrest itself for my '64, then get the Clark's stuff to cover it to match the rest of the interior. Not sure if I'd try to make a metal frame of some type of wood frame, but something that represents the armrest as close as possible. Again, not sure if that was Ron's intent, but if anyone does have some decent photos, sketches, dimensions, whatever, that would be great. I've tried to search the forum, but it can be hit and miss... Later,

It would be cool, but to keep it 'period correct', you'd probably need to mount something like this...

I'd never seen this ad before so I wasn't really sure if it was indeed genuine or not. The information superhighway has a lot of potholes these days.... Nonetheless, real or fake, with minimal imagination, I'll play off the same one...

Found on-line...

Mike good day. I tried countless options that were rejected for one reason or another (too similar to other registered plates was the common response) but I didn't try your suggestions. (??) Before this current plate was accepted I tried; MCMLXIV but that too was rejected so I went with the "abbreviated" year... Later, Mike

Ditto, albeit not a ‘63 so hopefully not too far off topic, and unfortunate that our province no longer uses the letter I but must be the number 1… still close enough…😎

Just type it in Google. Better yet, get this app… https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/unit-converter-best-unit-app/id623691968 I use it a lot for various conversions, it does a lot. A couple screenshots…

Good day. When I was a teenager, I once had a fan blade break off on an in-line six in a Pontiac Laurentian. Just as I accelerated after sitting at a set of lights, I heard a very loud bang that scared the chit outta me, When I pulled over the engine was running but at extremely rough idle. Shut it down and opened the hood, couldn't see anything at first, no fluids on the ground, nothing. So scratching my head I figured I would see if I could nurse it home. Once I got the revs up driving it was fine but idle was like a bucking bronc. When I got home, I eventually noticed the blade that broke off actually embedded into the frame rail. Replaced the fan and a motor mount and all was fine. The blade would've certainly came through the hood if it had released at that point. Wild stuff. So yes, metal fatigue is real. Later,