Raggedy Ann Riviera

Emtee, Hit the quote button, no need, oops. 😛 For sure I’ll ask my friends, especially since it’s been a couple years since I had it checked/was considering it. They may have found a new go to rear end place. Unfortunately there where not many to begin with. The one that no longer services Classic cars was relatively centrally located .. the others I know of are going to be an hour drive away 😬 I’ll get under the car and take a look at that seal too. When I had it checked they said the oil level was was fine, but that was a couple years ago. I’m temporarily storing it in my mom’s garage, if it was leaking a lot I certainly would have heard about it, lol! It was a barn find so leaky seals have been a thing. Had the transmission rebuilt because of that too. I’m sure I’ll find a reputable person, if I don’t find a reputable shop. Of course the reference will have to be really good. I had some shade tree people in my hometown and yikes! 😵 Thank you for the advice, totally appreciate it! 😊

NTX5467 (sounds like an aircraft tail number ) Thank you so much for such a helpful detailed response! It certainly does not have max trac! Although my husband and I like to wrench on our own cars we just don’t have the best space, or know how to do a rear end job. I did grow up around car mechanics (unfortunately, lol, Ford guys) and do get a gist of what you’re talking about. I did have the same concern about doing a straight up swap, as the car is much older and less plentiful than the one my husband did (‘86 Olds Cutlass) new parts would be much better. I still gotta make sure that 455 stays healthy so I’ll at least drive it around the neighborhood once in awhile despite the noise. I do have a factory buick service manual! , didn’t think of looking there, lol! Knowing what I have will be a big key to the puzzle to see if a shop will be willing to/ can work on it or not.. instead of being like “It’s an old Buick, I don’t know, derp.” I have a network of “classic car buddies” to consult but we pretty much knew of this one shop as a go to, which obviously no longer takes such work. Myself being a business owner totally understands your explanation of why. Although rough this car is my baby so will be pretty thorough in finding a shop. Again thank you so much! 😁

To answer a question with a question how would I be able to tell my car has max trac? Was there a switch or button for that on the dash? If so my car does not have it. You are correct, the shop that initially looked at it did not want to rip me off, but they don’t rebuild rear ends. To clarify they’re just a general service mom n pop, just wanted them to look at it to see how soon I do need to take it to a rebuild shop. The one that was trustworthy in town no longer works on Classic cars. One of the employees did want to take it on irregardless (how I got a price) but seemed a bit too overconfident.. and ended up doing a less than competent job on my husband’s late model GMC. But still, what rear end (s) do they put in a ‘71 Riviera other than the max trac?

Hello! My 1971 Riviera has been making rear end noise since purchased in 2020. Had it checked out and the shop said the pinion bearing was worn and making the noise but nothing so bad that it needed to be fixed immediately. Recently the noise has gotten louder so think it’s time to do something about it. FYI I only drive the car a few miles from where it’s stored about once a month so it’s not getting flogged in any way. Also no obvious gear oil puddle or drip under it either. Anyhow I know nothing about the rear ends these cars are equipped with and knowledge is power when dealing with a greedy shop. (especially if one is female) I was initially going to have it rebuilt somewhere ($1,500 expense) but my husband thinks it might be more cost effective to just buy another rear end and have it installed. Again I don’t know if the rear ends in these cars are oddballs or relatively plentiful. I do know my current setup DOES NOT have posi as I accidentally executed a one wheel squeal merging onto a busy highway, lol! My riviera is relatively low optioned, mostly cosmetic stuff such as the vinyl top and bucket console interior.. deluxe style at that.. if that’s of any help? ALSO of note I’m going to have the wheel bearings checked to rule that out as well.. Thank you in advance!

UPDATE She runs! Adjusted the points with a feeler gauge initially and then fine tuned when the car started. On a side note I had an appointment with a well known customer first thing this morning (I do custom pinstriping, graphics, etc as a side gig.) Talked to him about my issue and he let me borrow some tools and gave me some parts. Unfortunately the timing light in his "kit" did not seem to work. I'm getting ready to go out of town for a couple weeks so I'll just have to chase that when I get back. At least the hesitation issue is gone and I can get it back an forth from my house to storage without issues. Thank you all (even seafoam 65) for all your imput and help! Your wealth of knowledge is amazing! I'm not entirely a spring chicken but still part of the next generation of riviera owners to keep these great cars on the road!

@Seafoam65 And may I mention again.. I have no experience with points.. (I'm likely young enough to be your kid or grandkid!!) So I tried to fix what I knew. I come on here for help from people who have been working on these things well before my time.. likely since they where new.. You have my highest respect for that but putting me down for being a novice, not so much.. I have a '79 El Camino with a SBC I've owned for 17 years.. given it plenty of tune ups with no problem..then again it has HEI so I haven't been confronted with this issue. I will double check everything since I am an idiot though...

@NTX5467 I did a tune up per the hesitation issue and after the tune up I got a no start... which had me chasing the other potential issues.. The points/condenser have been replaced as well as the vacuum advance. It did try to start but not enough for it to run and set the points with the dwell.. or furthermore check the timing.. husband thinks I flooded it 😕 Going to try again in a little bit.. and check the placement of that nub/ hole as that was done before I checked on these posts

I've been asking around and that's been the most consistent response. I had no idea about replacing those parts as this is the very first car i've had that has had such a failure... and only the second one to run "old fashioned" points.. so no electronic ignition. looking it up in the shop manual it seems to indicate the whole distributor needs to be removed? Other sources mentioned it can be done in the car. anywhere I can read or watch a video on that?

My 1971 Riviera was hesitating at cruising speed.. suddenly frequent too. Took it out on new years day with no problems.. Drove it again a couple weeks later and would get a momentary lug with no rhyme or reason (happened at different speeds) Quickly took it back to the storage locker. Read up on what it could be and of course started with the easiest fix.. the possibility of bad gas. Put heet in it and got it fresh gas but it was hesitating way more frequently now... the next time it was going home for a tune up.. which was a white knuckle ride as of course it got way worse. BTW the car idled fine and smoothly.. just sucks to drive as it feels as if it's going to die at any moment it hesitates. Soo I ordered the following from Rock Auto: ALL AC DELCO Distributor cap D308R Rotor D4264 Spark Plugs "Rapidfire" 19307138 (spec'd as "gold" on RA) Spark Plug Wires 9188X Coil U505 I carefully replaced everything, removing one spark plug wire at a time to make sure everything was placed as it was. The distributor cap and rotor only went on one way so that seemed like a no brainer.. and like the spark plug wires connected the new coil as the old was. took pictures of everything too beforehand for reference (yay cellphones) Went to start it and all crank no start.. Long story short systematically combed through everything to make sure the right wires where in the right place.. still no start. Spark plug gap? went through those and the supposedly pre set gap wasn't.. fixed those and.. still no start. At this point husband jumps in and we start running a bunch of spark tests.. The coil is fine but it does not seem to be connecting to the distributor, obviously no spark from the wires.. Tried changing the new cap and rotor to the old one as a possibility the new parts are not right in some way and you guessed it.. No start. Fuel is fine as there is the odor of it every time it gets cranked, and I replaced the fuel filter to rule that out for the hesitation issue before driving it home from storage. I didn't tighten one of the clamps enough and it let me know the pump is working just fine! One possibility read about for the hesitation was the vacuum advance going out. Got a new one (not AC delco unfortunately) but once removing the cap and rotor looked like a job beyond my capability so I didn't.. although hubs is all in to replace the distributor. I'm concerned the Plugs and to some extent wires I got where not correct but if there's no spark going to them in theory who knows? The old wires where some cheap whatever from the auto parts store and the old plugs where AC Delco R44TS (? Just have the plugs, that's what's on them) The distributor cap and rotor looked ancient but not horrible shape. Old coil was replaced at some point before I had it. Sorry about writing a book, wanted to cover everything that was done to help narrow down other possibilites. Thank you in advance

Awesome! Thanks Guys!

HI! The driver door is sagging on my '71 Riviera. I struck up a trade with one of the bodywork guys at my job to fix it. He says it needs new hinge pins and bushings. I scanned the internet and found many places that offer said parts but they're vague on what cars of the era their parts fit on. What company do you recommend to make sure I'm getting the right items? Thanks you in advance!

It’s a long story.. when I was a kid the route we’d take to the grandparents house had one of those repair/gas stations on the way. There was usually a red boattail parked there.. I would always look for it. When I became a teenager my interest fixated more on muscle cars.. specifically firebirds. Mom and dad didn’t think having something that fast was a good idea so I ended up with a ‘72 duster.. which ended up being fast anyways. Post college was rough getting on my feet, the duster had to be sold. once I got the hang of adulting I ended up with an El Camino mostly because I’m short and needed a truck. That ended up being fast too. My grandma passed away and guess what, she had a ‘95 Riviera. I ended up with it and although it wasn’t reliable wow what an amazing car! It had a presence, was amazing to drive, and invincible in the weather! Unfortunately the engine blew up and I had to sell it because my demanding day job wouldn’t allow me the time to get it fixed. I finally ended up established enough to actually get a car I wanted. I had several “dream” cars but could only pick one. Coming home from a vacation my husband and I ended up behind a triple black boattail riviera.. “What kind of car is that? wow!” My husband exclaimed.. I smiled and thought to myself “that’s my next car” I didn’t end up with a black one but red.. like the first one I ever saw!

@RivNut actually that just might add up to what I was going to offer. I had a junk company haul away a washer a couple years ago for $120 and my El Camino is going to cost $40 to fill.. was thinking $150-$200. This car is only 30mins away. @60FlatTop yes, the interior on my car is in decent shape. However I would like to make some custom seats for it without butchering the originals. I work at a custom car shop and have access to a sandblaster and other goodies

Hi! There is a totaled 71 riv locally that’s being parted out. It has the standard interior and I would like the back seat and possibly upper door and interior quarters. Everything is moldy but I plan on redoing it “from the frame up”anyways (have 15 years experience in upholstery) how much would those items be worth so I can offer a fair price?

Awesome, thanks guys! The boss says they're mine!