Don McClair

Congratulations on your first Riviera! Thanks to another member on this forum I checked into Hankook Optima tires P225-75R15 and found the best price at Discount Tires and for the white sidewall at $74.00 each. This should be the correct width of the whitewall. Check out their website: Search: Tires Size 225 / 75 / 15 Also, if you print off the webpage and take it to their stores, they will honor the web price which is cheaper. Good luck with your Riviera!

I had trouble getting my grill out but luckily I was taking the front fenders off too so I found that by leaving the top bolts in place, holding the grill up, and after removing the front bumper I was able to remove the bottom panel and then the grill came right out. Not sure where you are, but if your only goal is to repaint your grill, this would be a lot of work.

Three weeks ago Silverarrow posted some pictures of his unmolested original 21K mile 1963 Riviera. He said he would would be glad to provide reference pictures. Two of the pictures he posted are of the rear edge of the drivers door and show that the top nut is the cap nut and the second one down is the open nut with washer. The one on the back side of the body side molding is the open nut and from what I can remember of my disassembled 65 Riv all of the nuts along the bottom side of the doors are the open version. I was surprised to see the open nut as the second one down because, again what I remember of my car all of the nuts on the front and rear edge of the doors down to the body side molding are the capped version. Hope this helps.

I have used Tri City Plating in Elizabethton Tenn. for several cars Tricityplating.com - Show quality triple chrome plating with a Lifetime Warranty on all bumpers. and I have also used Keystone and been very pleased with both of them. The one advantage of Tri City is if you are going to one of the major swap meets (Carlisle/ Hershey)you can drop your bumpers off and then pick them up at the next swap meet which saves you shipping in both directions. And, with Tri City you get your bumper back. They list the car shows that they are attending and the dates on their website. I have read a lot of really bad reviews about Bumper Boyz.

Have you unplugged the compressor while the engine is running to see if the clutch disengaged? Years ago I had to have the clutch replaced on a 73 Centurion and the tolerance was a little too tight and it would not stop. The shop pulled the clutch a little more forward and that solved the problem.

Thanks to all who have responded. I have done business with Clark's Corvair in the past and have been very pleased with their people on the phone and also their products. I ordered a seat cover back for my Riviera in dark green and was very pleased with the quality and that it matched the rest of the upholstery. Another member send me a PM that he might have a spare set and is checking. If he doesn't I will contact Clark's.

Austin, it is good to have you join this group. The 1977 and 1978 was a unique Riviera and I agree with Jason's comments that we need more of these cars and their owners taking an interest in the ROA. Some friends of mine in the local chapter of the Buick Club located a 1978 Riv that needs paint, a little body work and a new interior for WAY under $1,000 but it was a running, driving car with cold A/C. In surfing the internet I found a company that manufacturers the four bumper fillers for the 1977 and 1978 Riviera's. They are Replica Plastics located in Dothan Alabama. Their website is Replica Plastics and they say they keep everything in stock. The bumper fillers for the four corners of their Riviera cost $216 plus $15 for UPS shipping. As far as parts, look around in your area for a salvage yard where you can pull the parts yourself. In the southeast, Pull-a-Part has locations in Memphis Tn and Jackson Ms which may or may not be convenient to you but you can go on their website and choose a location, (city) make of car and then model and it will bring up a listing of their cars. It does not tell you the condition of these cars but does list the date as to when they were brought in to their yard. Their website is Used Auto Parts For Less - Pull-A-Part You can also look up prices for individual parts there. They are very reasonable. Good luck with your Riviera's

Has anyone purchased the reproduction finned aluminum valve covers from Clark's Corvair Parts for the 401/425 Nail Head engines? If you have, how is their quality? I ordered a set from Original Parts Group and theirs was so bad that I returned them. :mad: OPG's description is that they have a textured finish and painted for uniform appearance. That finish appeared to be hiding a lot of flaws. Thanks guys

Rob, which interior does your Riviera have? I had a 65 Riv parts car with the standard interior and power vent windows which is why I wanted to have that option the 65 Riv I am restoring. I discovered that the custom interior is has different connectors and switches on the drivers door. The standard interior has the switches mounted on the door panels like the Canadian Wildcats would have. From what I can see in John's pictures this wiring harness appears to be from a custom interior.

When I bought my 65 Riv almost three years ago it had been sitting in a basement garage for 23 years and with 120,000 miles on it, I felt that the drive shaft should be rebuilt. I took the drive shaft to Driveline of Atlanta in Norcross Georgia and they replaced the CV joint and all of the U-joints and balanced it. It was a bit expensive at a little over $400 but after installation it has been smooth as silk for over 2,000 miles. I have had them do other work for me and have been very pleased every time. They do a lot of international work as well. The Riv is now having the body and paint work performed so it will be a while before it is back on the road. If anyone is interested, here is a link to their website. Drive Line Service Of Atlanta

Rob, good luck on your quest to add power vent windows. I added them to my 65 and it took a while to get all of the together. I already had the vent window motors. Larry Daisey of Rancho Riviera was a lot of help. The hardest part was locating the wiring harness and with the help of Dick Sweeney I found that the window wiring harness for the Riviera is the identical harness to one that was in a 1965 Electra right down to the wire length wire colors etc. Your Riv looks like a pretty solid project.

That 1970 Electra convertible mentioned in the above post is owned by John Williams from Illinois and John set up the car to tow. John installed gauges in the car including a transmission temperature gauge, a transmission oil cooler, and air shocks on the rear. He rebuilt the engine and I believe it was bored 30 over and the transmission was also gone through. John's wife actually wrote that article and said the car has non stock mufflers and it really sings going through the mountains. The Centurion will definitely tow and tow well. I used to own basically the same car and used it regularly to tow my boat. The boat was not that big but once I had to use the Centurion to return a Bob Cat to a rental place. It was not that far but it towed a lot better than my truck did. Another point to think about is the short wheel base trucks are not as stable as the long wheel base trucks when towing. The long wheel base trucks weigh more and being longer they can hold the tail in place better.

I saw a 1963 or 1964 Riviera with a manual transmission in the modified class and I believe it was at the 2000 National in Richmond Va. It was red and I believe that is went up for sale shortly after that. Funny part is that I believe it was from Florida.

Thanks Jason. I wanted to put it in that show but my time was limited. Also, I did not explain above but the main reason for the color change is the 66 Skylark is Sea Foam green and I didn't want a pair of twins. I had another 65 Riviera that was badly rusted out but it had most of the options that I have added to this car which made the additions really inexpensive.

My dream car has always been the 1965 Riviera and November of 2009 I found one that had been sitting in a basement garage for 23 years here in Georgia. The owner became the second owner in June of 1966 and in the fall of 1986 his wife had a fender bender involving the left front fender. The Riv was placed in that garage and taken apart and somewhere along the line interest was lost and it remained there out of the elements. He had purchased another front fender and a lot of other parts but sadly he passed away in 2009. His wife was selling off his car collection and I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I got the car for a song and I can't sing, but after a little time spent working with it I was able to get it started and after a couple of quarts of transmission fluid, I was able to drive it on the trailer for the ride home. One of the things he had done to the car was to drain all of the gas. After replacing the wheel cylinders and master cylinder, boost unit, and all of the brake lines I took it out on the road. I was very pleased with the first drive. Being a Georgia car the only rust was in the bottom of the front fenders. I have since added the rear window defroster, rear center arm rest, AM/FM radio, power antenna, and power vent windows. Replacing the window wiring harness was a lot of work but worth it. One of the biggest challenges was trying to get a shine on the old paint. It had been repainted in 1980 and was very dull. Since rubbing compound would not phase the dullness, I used #000 steel wool, then #0000 and then rubbing compound, cleaner and finally wax and it really had a respectable shine. After a couple of trips including one to Pennsylvania during the ROA meet in Hershey, (it was in the parking lot at the hotel but was not entered in the show) I decided the time was right for a remake. I dismantled the car completely and stripped off all the paint down to bare metal. This past Thursday it was trailered to Woodstock Georgia to the shop of "Then and Now Auto Restorations" for the body and paint work. With the green interior color, color choices are sort of limited but when complete it will be Verde Green with a black vinyl top. I am also cloning the car into a Gran Sport with all of the correct badges twin fours etc. The one thing that helped me in many ways was this forum. The members comments and also with the help of Tom Mooney and Dick Sweeney have been invaluable. I have added some pictures with the first picture of how it looked in their basement and the last picture of it at "Then and Now" last Thursday. Thanks guys!

Thanks for the advice! Once I have the new panels made I am going to try the heat gun.

I am about to replace the wood grain on the door panels of my 65 Riv and am looking for idea's on how to remove the old wood grain from the metal backing. Any idea's would be greatly appreciated.

Something that you can do while your seat belt retractor's are disassembled is, if needed, clean up those dirty belts. If you mix up a medium to strong solution of Simple Green and water and let the belts soak for a couple of days. If needed, scrub with a soft brush and then rinse with plain water. Hang your belts up to dry and they come out clean and soft. If you don't want to get the buckle wet, slide it to one end and soak about half of your belt and when clean and dry slide the buckle to the other end and repeat the cleaning. I have not found where this process has caused any damage to the belts but they come out looking really good.

Thanks Tom! I have a couple of spare mounting brackets and will look for a locking clip.

The retractor's are not hard to take apart. Once you have removed the broken cover or stretched the belt out carefully pry the spring cover and spring off of the end of the rectractor. Also when you remove this, count how many times the cover goes around so you know how tight to wind the spring up when you put it back together. With the belt unrolled, you will find a clamp that secures the belt to a roller. Then using a screwdriver or a punch, knock out the pin and pay attention to the end of the pin with the slot in it for the spring. The seat belt roller will come out of the bracket and then slide the belt off the roller and that end will slide through the seat belt cover. Just reverse the process and you have it back together. It is not all that complicated but make sure you have the slot for the belt on the proper side before you bolt your retractor back in place.

I have a question regarding the placement of the valve. Everyone that I have seen thus far has had the valve turned up right with the vacuum line connection on the top rather than on the side. If those are wrong, please let me know.

I am guessing that the crank arm is generic over a wide range of years and models of GM cars and trucks. Her in Georgia there are three Pull-a-Part yards and two of them have old car specific areas with 1970 and older cars. These cars stay longer than the normal life span of a car there because someone is always wanting a piece of sheet metal so they can make a bit more money. I needed a patch panel for the bottom of the front fenders for my 65 Riviera so with cordless recip saw I got both sides of the rear quarters in front of the rear wheels. Out of curiosity I went on Pull-a-Part's website for Nashville and they have a 1959 Buick Electra listed there and they also have a 1974 Monte Carlo. I have found on occasion that they have a cars listed as the wrong year. They said they had a 1962 Buick Le Sabre when it really was a 1968. The whole yard is gravel and they weld a wheel vertical to a wheel laying horizontal and place four of those under a car so it is safe to get under the car. A couple of us go there on occasion just to see what treasures we can find.

Welcome and good luck with your Riv. If you go to Used Auto Parts For Less - Pull-A-Part and select locations you will find they have one in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville. You can do a search by location, manufacturer and model. Once you have done that can then select multiple locations and models LeSabre, Centurion, Electra etc. They charge $2 to get in and you pull your own parts. Good prices too.

Covercraft makes high quality custom fit car covers and their website is Covercraft Custom Fit Car Covers They have a variety of different materials depending on your needs. The ad under Miscellaneous in The Review says to mention the ROA for low factory prices. It also says you can also contact Barney Eaton, a BCA member barney@texas.net Their covers are made to order and I believe they usually take about two weeks.

For the rivets, check out Restoration Specialties & Supply, Inc. | Windber, PA 15963 They have a number of rivets on page 205 of their on-line catalog. Sorry that I did not have time to measure mine but these people carry a lot of nuts, bolts and fasteners and you have to measure what you have. They are good people to deal with. If you find something that works please post back on here how the whole process went. Good luck!