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Don McClair

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Everything posted by Don McClair

  1. I am trying to remember if the first gen Riv's have the same front bumper? I am thinking the 65 might have a little more cut out in front of the headlights for the clam shells to work. The reason for this is a good friend is thinking of having the 65 Bumpers (Front and Rear) reproduced and if they would fit the 63 and 64 would be a plus. These would be a high quality reproduction and cost about the same as having originals straightened and chrome plated. Since it is still in the planning stages it might take a while to get them but all feedback would be appreciated. Merry Christmas to everyone! Don
  2. I am thinking about installing a Vintage Air A/C system in my 65 Riviera. I know a number of people have installed this system in their Rivieras and neither Vintage Air or Classic Auto Air offer a specific kit to complete this task. If someone could list the specific parts that they purchased from Vintage Air and any pitfalls to be aware of I would greatly appreciate it. I am wanting to keep the car as stock looking as possible and use the original style compressor. I know that Vintage air used to sell their kits without a compressor. Thanks in advance, Don
  3. Thanks to everyone who responded. It has been a while since I have been on here but the information that is available from everyone is really great! To all, Merry Christmas!!!!!!! Don McClair
  4. The posi rear of my 65 Rivi is leaking pretty bad from the pinion seal and I am at a loss as to where to buy the crush sleeve and pinion nut. Any help with where to obtain the parts would be greatly appreciated. I have already checked with Randy's Ring and Pinion in Washington and they could not provide any assistance with the crush sleeve. Don McClair
  5. Is the Renaissance hotel is going to be the show venue/host hotel?
  6. Just what I was looking for. Thanks!
  7. I am trying to figure out which A/C drier is correct for the 65 Riv. One has a short neck between the cylinder and the in/out ports and window and one does not have the neck. The one that I have does not have the neck but I don't know if it is original to the car. If it is correct I can chase down one of those or have mine rebuilt. A picture would be great! Thanks guys,
  8. Jason, I will be checking on this again on Monday. The car is at a professional restoration shop and I am just trying to help out in anyway that I can. I will check with the owner of that shop and post any information that I can.
  9. Thanks for all the input. The car will receive the repro harness' as soon as available as this car has won numerous awards. I was thinking that if the Skylark GS engine harness is the same it might be more readily available. But typically folks like M&H make the harness after one is ordered and that carries a six to eight week lead time plus shipping. The forward light harness did not appear to be damaged but that still remains to be seen plus the engine harness was toasted all the way to the fuse block. I sure would like to know what started this. Thanks again,
  10. Ed, thanks for the thoughts but the headlight wiring is a separate harness from the engine harness and I am just trying to come up with what would be different on the engine harness. The engine harness connects to the distributor, blower motor, alternator, temperature and oil pressure sending units and the A/C compressor. That is why I am thinking that part just might be the same as on the Skylark GS. Any and all thoughts are appreciated.
  11. A friend of mine had an electrical fire in his 1966 Riv GS. The engine harness under the hood burned but he was able to get the fire out before any damage was to the paint or body. My question is, would the engine harness in the Riviera be the same as a 1966 Skylark Gran Sport? There is no visible damage to the dash but since the engine harness plugs onto the back side of the fuse panel all of the interior wiring needs to be checked out. He was pulling into his driveway when the car quit and then he saw the smoke coming from under the hood. If he had a battery cutoff there might have been a little less damage but he was even more lucky that the car was not in the garage when the fire started. I would suggest to everyone that you install a simple battery cutoff and use it. He was very lucky and any help/idea's here is greatly appreciated.
  12. I used Cast Blast on my rockers, clam shells and wheels to have them uniform. The Cast Blast is metallic, covers nicely and is available at your local auto parts store. After cleaning and then wiping them down with Prep Sol, I used 1/8 inch pin striping tape on the ribs. That takes a while to tape everything and I removed the tape while the paint was still tacky to make sure the paint would not lift with tape. I also used the pin striping tape to get a clean edge on the chrome when painting the wheels. I put masking tape over the pin striping tape and then covered the wheels with paper. Good luck on which ever route you choose.
  13. Ed in answer to your question regarding the Dynacorn 1970 Chevelle body, it is a brand new body shell licensed by GM. In a prior life where I worked, Dynacorn was one of my vendors and I have seen their reproduction bodies close up. For those who are not familiar with them they make tons of reproduction parts for Mustangs, Camaro's and others including body shells for Mustangs, Camaro's and 49 thru 1984 Chevy truck cabs and other parts. These bodies are pricey but good quality. Regarding Waldron's mufflers I would be interested in others opinions on the "mild imposter" sound versus the original style muffler sound for the first generation Rivi.
  14. Tony, thanks for posting the links. I have a question about the 1979 Riviera in picture number 7 of the newspaper article. Do you know the owner and I would like to know what U.S. state it was sold from? I may have owned that car. Thanks,
  15. The power window and seat switches are different on the custom interior panels than what was used on the standard interior panels. Standard interior's had the window switches mounted on the door panels and as you have seen the custom has them on the arm rest. This goes for the rear as well. This also requires a different harness and the power seat switch is changed from the side of the seat to the arm rest also and again this is a different switch and connector. Changing out the harness is quite easy if you have the dash and everything else removed from the firewall. I discovered this when I wanted to add the power vent windows to my 65 with the custom interior. I also found the power window harness from a 1965 Electra is the same length and configuration as the Riviera thanks to Dick Sweeney.
  16. Year One and others sell an alternator conversion harness that works very well and just a couple of minutes to install. https://www.yearone.com/Product/1964-72-skylark-gs/hu30 All you do is unplug the connector on the alternator and insert the short harness. Then unplug the voltage regulator and plug that harness onto the rubber plug that is part of this conversion. If you want your car to look stock, gut the existing voltage regulator and put the rectangular rubber plug and harness under the cover. I have done several of these with great success.
  17. I purchased one from Larry Daisey (Rancho Riviera). It was already re-plated and looked great. Good price too.
  18. I bought new tires for both my Wildcat and my Riv. Both cars have road wheels and the tire store balanced all of them by putting the weights on the inside. Both cars are extremely smooth at any speed.
  19. I have used both Tri-City plating in Tennessee and North Star Plating in Brainerd Minnesota and have been very pleased with both of them. I have seen the work that was done by Paul's Chrome. It looked really good and they have an excellent reputation plus they plate plastic pieces. I would not use Bumper Boyz because of all of the negative reports on the internet. They have a lot of complaints of the chrome clouding or peeling and not getting back the pieces that the customer sent. This is the beginning of "Show Season" and turn around times are longer.
  20. Is the silver dealer car a true frame off? The different color on the bottom of the engine versus the top is why I bring this up. But, the way the dealer picked the car up with the two post lift is very scary. The entire chassis, rear end, frame, engine and transmission, front suspension, wheels and tires, and bumpers is a lot of weight hanging by the body mount bolts.
  21. Bill, thanks for the reply and the link to some really great information. I don't plan on doing anything until the fall and this helped me a lot. If I remember correctly the Gen IV systems have all electric controls making the mounting of the controls virtually anywhere you like. Thanks again!
  22. I am weighing the pros and cons (spelled $$) of having someone like Classic Auto Air in Tampa Florida restore all of the components of my factory A/C in my 65 Riv or installing a Vintage Air system. I am trying to keep the car as stock looking as possible including the A6 compressor. I figured if I went with the Vintage Air System I could locate the controls in the console storage box since all of the controls for the newer V/A systems are electric and keep the original controls mounted in the upper part of the console. My questions are, does anyone have pictures of of this swap and have done this type of swap. Any thoughts and idea's are greatly appreciated.
  23. Gerard, sorry it took a while to get back on this forum. The cover that I ordered from Clarks was a perfect in both fit and color match and grain.
  24. I got my rear arm rest out of a parts car and initially it would not raise up. I spent time working with it and a little PB Blaster and now it works just fine.
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