BulldogDriver

Yes that is true from my experience. The only thing I did was experiment with the height of the rear transmission mount and the center bearing. Ended up using the same height at the center bearing and made the front shaft 1.5*. Ray

Ed I believe it would differ between transmissions and the rear mounts. I modified my original rear mount and had to move it back 3” which in itself was not a hard thing to do. The holes for mounting were 3” on center and tack welding a bar to 2 3/8” nuts at 3” on center you can fit it up into the frame without any modifications. I made a template to drill the hole to move the mount back by using the original 2 holes to keep the mount on the same plane as it was originally. The mount had to be heavy modified to clear the transmission pan and relocate the transmission mount. Also strengthen the the mount with c-channel. Probably overkill but I won’t need to worry about it. This is not the finale product but it gives you an idea as to what had to be done to make it work. Ray

Phasing on the 63 driveshaft is 101* not 105*. I have swapped a 4L60E transmission into my 63 Riviera using the original drive shaft. All u-joints were replaced with Spicer brand. I had problems with poor materials and tolerances used in the Moog brand. The front stub shaft had to be shortened so I took it to a local commercial truck service center and made sure they knew of the 101* phasing. These businesses work on driveshafts regularly and understand why things are done a certain way. The driveshaft was shortened and balanced with no problems. As Buick in the day used a specific tool for alignment of the driveshaft and only a few lucky souls have access to that tool, I did some research on driveshaft alignment and by using this publication that explains why the alignment angles are used, was able to get mine done without vibration. The only extra tool needed to do this is a digital angle gauge. Wixey Digital Angle Gauge Type 2 with Magnetic Base and Backlight Spicer drivetrain publication: https://www.waterousco.com/media/wysiwyg/pdfs/content/J3311-1-DSSP.pdf The illustration that I used for alignment is attached. Before you remove the driveshaft I would suggest taking measurements of the angles as originally installed. You would need to know the angle for the engine, front shaft, rear shaft and pinion flange. I did this with the car sitting level on 4 tire ramps. I zeroed the gauge off of the frame were the center bearing is mounted. The engine angle was taken on the flat area by the starter, the angle of the shafts directly on the tubes. Make sure you have the gauge perpendicular to the floor, if not it will read a different angle. You will need to release the driveshaft from the pinion flange and the flanges u-joint mount point also needs to be perpendicular to the floor so you will have to jack the differential up to do that. I used a deep socket that fit the diameter of the u-joint mount point to give me a flat and accurate mount spot for the gauge. Also perpendicular for the gauge there. The front shaft angle is to make sure you have some angle greater than zero and less than 3*. Mine was 1.5* and is probably not what you will have as I have a different transmission with different mounting height for the rear transmission mount. The shims at the center bearing will let you change that angle. The rear shaft angle and the pinion flange angle are what need to be the same. The gauge will give you a reading that is 90* different that the shafts, you will have to add or subtract making sure you know whether the gauge is reading up or down. The gauge will show an arrow. Mine matched was without adjustment to the top mount arm. This took some time to do but can be done without a helper. The math of driveshaft alignment hasn’t changed so what the guys didn’t have back in the day was the digital gauge and that is what makes doing this today without the “tool” viable. If you do use this please post your original angle readings as I didn’t have that when I did this. I had the engine out before I decided to do this. I also have a spare 64/65 driveshaft with pinion flange in case I need it but with rebuild parts for the cv joint impossible to source, I think the original driveshaft should be looked at as a viable solution first. Ray

That’s one of the best sources for reproduction parts for our cars. James is easy to deal with, he verifies everything he sells is the correct part. Go to BestOfferCounts on eBay for all that he has to offer. Ray

Google their address than look at the street view. Probably not a manufacturer. Ray

Heater vent. Was controlled up on the console in 63. Don't know if it was on 64/65. Ray

https://www.jamcosuspension.com/product/1963-69-buick-riviera-power-brake-conversion-pbb6369 or something like that. Will need to rework the brake lines going to the proportion valve. Ray

New carrier bearing assemblies are available without having to rebuild yours. BestOfferCounts usually has them or look on eBay. I’d check the drive shaft throughly while its out and also look at the trans shaft seal. Hopefully the CV joints on your driveshaft are in good shape. Rebuild parts for them are scarce. Ray

Should be able to reach the back of the radio with the ashtray assembly removed. You’ll need to pull the vent hoses off the vents to get to the backend. Ray

Better make sure it’s not a posi rear before you go playing with it with the motor doing the turning. Just saying. Ray

Air filter is Wix 42092. Do a search for ‘springs’ on the forum and see what everyone has to say about the different vendors. A couple of them will build to your requirements. Shocks are a bit of a challenge. Monroe were an option but may not be now. Top of the line option are Bilsteins and are still available. They are not cheap. Search for ‘front end rebuild’ on the forum. Some parts are better then others and most kits are not the best for all parts. Good luck, Ray

1 set of shields and 2 sets of clips.

All, I had posted in one of the other topics that when replacing your AC unit with a Vintage Air Gen4 evaporator in a 63 Riviera it created an issue of not enough depth for the original radio. It relates to the defroster vents being in the center of the dash rather then on the sides as with 64/65 cars. The only solution I have been about to find that allows a radio to fit and still look somewhat ‘period’ was from Restsound. Their units are 4.3” deep and that will clear the evaporator. There is an issue with their units that I feel everyone who is considering using the radio should know. The display is not very bright when exposed to normal sunlight as in “you can’t see the display”! The radio is in its installed place. Attached are 2 photos. One shows the display inside my garage with the garage door open and the next is the car pulled outside. The multi function gauge is from Dakota Digital and can be seen very clearly in all brightness’s. I have discussed this with Restsound and even sent the unit back to them. They informed me they are unable to test it out in the daylight and set it back as it was sent to them. After finding this issue I did a more in depth search on the web and found several references to this problem from other enthusiasts, didn’t come up when I researched the radio before buying it. This has been brought to their attention before and it looks like they are ok with this. The unit functions as stated and other than this issue I think it is a solution if you go with Vintage Air AC. Ray

Zimm, want to do a solid for the forum? Most if not all of the forum don’t have access to the original Buick special tools used to verify the drivetrain is aligned properly. To verify my drivetrain alignment I had to use a modern approach. What I did was use one of these : WR300 Wixey Digital Angle Gauge Type 2 with Magnetic Base and Backlight along with a lot of reading of this publication from Spicer. Illustration #9 is what I believe the Buick tools verify are within specs without the use of ‘degree’ tools that would have been expensive, bulky, and hard to read under a car back in the day. I believe that the angle gauge of today will give a more accurate alignment. https://www.waterousco.com/media/wysiwyg/pdfs/content/J3311-1-DSSP.pdf This is how I did the procedure. After putting my ‘63 up on car tire stands I set my weight to a average amount that I would drive around with, I took measurements at the starter pad for the engine’s angle, front shaft angle, and pinion yoke. For differential i used the pinion yoke. For that reading I had to pull the driveshaft loose and aligned the yoke vertically and stuck a deep socket with the same diameter as the ujoint in it’s place to get an accurate reading. To zero the digital gauge for initial angle, I used the ‘X’ of the frame where the center carrier bearing is mounted. I’d post my findings but unless someone is installing a 4L60E transmission, the numbers won’t be much help. Ray

I know these aren’t cheap but I used them on mine and was a perfect fit as everything I’ve used fron Steele. The clips came from Cars. If I remember correctly had to get two sets. https://www.steelerubber.com/dust-shield-filler-kit-70-2796-45 Just saying, Ray

I’ve looked but couldn’t find a topic on replacing the wheel/bearing that is on the throttle arm and makes contact with the back of the throttle pedal. Suggestions? Ray

Yes they are original to the car and are Brown Line. Doing a full interior replacement. Waiting on parts from Just Dashes. Ray

Factory would have installed the seat as a unit with trim installed. I just finished installing my driver’s seat with the frame separated from the power track assembly. I had already installed the track. Not easy to get to the 4 bolts that hold both units together. I also had to remove the top trim piece closest to the driver’s door to get to those bolts. Move the seat all the way ‘forward’ and if a power seat, raised all the way ‘up’. 3 bolts in the rear and should slide rearward. If not loosen the 4 bolts at the front. If power make sure you disconnect the power plug to the motor. Ray

Tom Thanks for the detailed explanation. All of the reading I’ve do on the forum has related to the optimistic numbers for compression on a nailhead. I had a chance to think about the low compression numbers and realized that I hadn’t set the throttle wide open. A senior moment, the numbers are now in the 170# range. I feel a lot better about that. Was able to start the engine up for the first time in almost 2 years. Did a bunch of stuff over that time; SS exhaust, posi rear, fix stupid leaks, finish AC replacement, rebuild console, replace interior. Might even get a chance to drive it by summer! Ray

Tom it was a stock rebuild. Cast pistons and not sure about the cam. Engine had been rebuilt about 20 years before but it sat on a dealership’s showroom all that time. I suspect they started the engine to move it around and nothing else. Cylinder walls were glazed so had them deglazed and new moly rings. I thought stock engine was 165-175 psi. Did the rebuild with Best gaskets. I guess the extra thickness of the head gaskets have that great of a decrease in pressure. Engine ran good before deglazing, drove it cross country 3 years ago, and only noticed a problem when I pulled the intake to do the dual plane mod and block the heat ports to the carb. So tearing the front end off the engine isn’t going to be of much benefit on this build. I would rather not do something that doesn’t have much benefit. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Ray

Thanks to all for the advise. I was able to get the few pieces of brass back out with compressed air and adapted a 3/8” copper tube to a vacuum. Did a compression check in all of the cylinders and they were all around 120-125#. Need to research this, I suspect the cam is not dialed in. Always something. Ray

Well I thought I was going to fire my Nailhead back up after more then a year of working on the car. Pulled the spark plugs out to prime the motor with oil and noticed that #2 cylinder was wet and black. All the others were fine. This motor had been rebuilt and has less then 500 miles on it. So the first thing was to see if it had compression using my thumb and it did. Then did a leakdown test and with a 90# reference showed 72#. So next did a compression test on it to verify the tester wasn’t the problem and got 125#. Next went to check #4 cylinder and when I removed the compression tester adapter this is what it looked like. I had checked with a plastic straw to make sure there was enough depth for the adapter and it appeared to be, but wasn’t that lucky. Stuck a camera down in the cylinder and yes I can see some of the brass. So I’m going to try sucking the brass out of the cylinder. My question is if I can’t get all of the brass out am I going to have to put the cylinder head off? Ray

These guys should have them; https://www.mrgusa.com/fasteners/ Ray

I thought the very early 63’s had a smooth rather than a ribbed dash. This one looks smooth to me. Ray

Don’t know if you thought about looking at using a shock from one of the other type ‘E’ cars. Riviera/Eldorado/Toronado used Monroe #71801 and even though it’s an air shock could get you back on the road. Ray