Aaron65

Hello everyone,I'm continuing work on my '63 Riviera, and I pulled a valve cover today (after pulling the intake manifold to replace the rusted core plug), and I have a broken rocker arm (just a little at the valve end). Given that I'll be pulling the oil pan when I do the timing set given the moderate sludge in the cylinder head, I might as well disassemble the shafts to clean them. So, if anyone has a rocker arm, I'd appreciate it! Thanks for looking...

Hello everyone, I'm continuing work on my '63 Riviera, and I pulled a valve cover today (after pulling the intake manifold to replace the rusted core plug), and I have a broken rocker arm (just a little at the valve end). Given that I'll be pulling the oil pan when I do the timing set given the moderate sludge in the cylinder head, I might as well disassemble the shafts to clean them. So, if anyone has a rocker arm, I'd appreciate it! Thanks for looking...

I've been early Riv shopping on and off for 20 years, and finally decided to look in earnest about two years ago. I too was surprised by how much they've gone up, but I got one on BaT back in October for $12,750 (+5% for BaT's fee), knowing it was going to need a ton of work (it does). But it's mostly solid, looks decent, and will be a great driver when I'm done. With that being said, I will most likely have 20 grand into it by the time it's reliable, but that's the price you pay these days, and I enjoy doing the work, and I'm lucky I can do most stuff by myself. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made and I'm sad I waited this long to do it. As was mentioned above, parts availability is worse than I expected for what seems like a desirable vehicle. Even my '63 T-Bird has more parts available. The ROA has been a big help so far, however, and I really appreciate it.

Their Facebook page says they're still open; I think they just moved or were bought out. With that being said, I use Harmon's; they have good communication and they seem to do a good job.

Compared the the box on my '63 T-Bird, this will be a breeze. It's actually visible in the engine compartment.

I've been out in the garage repairing a thousand electrical problems in my '63, and it decided to leave most of its power steering fluid on the garage floor where it's been parked for a month or so. It seems to be leaking from the "input shaft" seal, although I didn't jack it up to crawl underneath. The box has clearly never been touched, but the steering works fine, and I don't like fixing what isn't broken. Has anybody gone through one of these boxes and just replaced the seals? Is it worth the effort? I've read (on this forum) that a newer replacement box is a direct swap, but I don't necessarily need a faster ratio (I'm used to the old car experience - my Dart is something like six turns lock to lock). Thanks for any advice you can offer! Aaron

Thanks a bunch!

Hi Jim, I already got a pedal for the car to replace the old one (from Tom Mooney - thanks Tom!), but it has a flat washer and a spring washer where the pushrod slips over the pin. I just wanted to make sure I was orienting them correctly; I already have the old pedal out of the car. Of course, I have to tear out the cluster because none of the bulbs work on the left side and it's not the bulbs. Ugh. Looks like I'm going to be troubleshooting a printed circuit. Aaron

Hello everyone, Does anyone have a picture of where the brake pedal attaches to the booster pushrod? I'm doing some underdash work, and my car had some incorrect mounting hardware. I just want to make sure I get the washers, etc. in the correct position. Thanks! Aaron

Unfortunately, they are not. The 340 had a taller deck height and therefore a wider intake manifold. The only iron 300 4-barrel manifold is from the '65 300, and they're a bit expensive when you find one.

That's good news: My '63 booster is out at Harmon's as we speak. I went with them because they rebuilt my T-Bird's booster last winter and did a good job, and their communication is good.

A couple of weekends ago, I was able to take the new Riviera around town for a bit before parking it in the garage to repair a whole bunch of stuff.

A place you might considering drawing your power brake booster vacuum from is the fitting that feeds the transmission vacuum modulator (located on the back of the manifold plenum behind the carburetor . You'd probably have to patch together some fittings there as well, however, and that probably wouldn't look any better than teeing from the PCV port. It would most likely be a better way to go.

The PCV valve needs to see engine vacuum, so the port at the base of the carb is really your only option. The fittings on air cleaners are for "closed" PCV systems; in other words, they're connected to the breather so there is no escape path for the crankcase vapors to reach the environment. There's nothing wrong with your going to a closed system, but the PCV valve will still need to see full manifold vacuum somehow or it won't work. I just looked at a diagram of a Holley 2-barrel, and you're right in saying that "splitting" vacuum is the only way to go. Have you considered finding another 2GV and going through it?

Holy cow, that's cool. I just bought old car number eight and I have a four car garage, so buying this would be stupid...wouldn't it? 😊

No, they're just numbered on the back of each letter (50-54).

I honestly think they're hood letters for a '65 Skylark, which is something I own. I guess I scored some parts after all, just not for the Riviera.

In looking for an "I" for the trunk of my '63 Riviera, a nice guy on the ROA Facebook page sent me "Buick" letters that look like Riviera letters from the front but don't seem to be the right ones (he had them stored somewhere for 20 years - honest mistake for sure). Anyone know what they're originally from so I can find someone who could use them?

One of my planned winter jobs is to check out the lower control arm shafts/bushings on my '53 Special. I don't feel any play rocking the tire, but the force of the spring on the control arm would probably render that test inaccurate. My thought is to put the frame on stands and support the lower control arm with my 3 ton floor jack, unbolt the lower arm from the frame and drop the arm just enough to test for play in the shaft. I'm open to any better ideas though, so any input is appreciated. Thanks! Aaron

I just joined the ROA as a thanks for all the help those Riviera people have been giving me over the last few weeks with my new-to-me '63. I don't generally join clubs, but they've definitely earned my support.

There's an old time junkyard about 20 minutes away that I was going to visit before I had such good luck with Riviera people! There were a few Rivieras in fairly bad shape (they've been there for about 40 years and have mostly been wrecked). I might be able to salvage a few things here and there though, but they're not going anywhere for now. The Quick Jack is not bad. My dad got it for me for Christmas about five years ago, and it lifts the car a couple feet in the air, which is handy for all kinds of things, especially since I'm accustomed to being on my back under a car. I haven't tried it on the Riviera yet, and I'll have to see where on the frame I can pick it up. I know that I have to turn them sideways to pick up my Thunderbird, because the jacks aren't long enough to reach the subframe pickup points.

I was able to get an "I" and a spare wheel locally. I forgot to nab the clip for the trunk letter (not that I would have been able to remove it in one piece anyway), so I used some marine electrical heat shrink on the letter's tab to hold it into the trunk (after I heated it with a heat gun, of course). It should stay in there for good (I hope!).

I know my late-December-built '63 has the hook for the spare on the trunk floor, if that helps.

Yeah, I don't think so either. I'm going to collect some dash bulbs before I remove the dash pad to get at the plug/ground.

The fuse clips are rusty; my current plan is to hit them with a small Dremel wire wheel to clean them up (if I can). The car has both engine to firewall grounds.