Aaron65

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.

Thanks Tom, just one more thing on the list as I resurrect this old thing.

I've noticed on my '63 that when the lights are on, the fuel gauge drops to zero, and when the blinker is on, it drops to zero in time with the blinker. My first thought is that it's a ground issue - is there a dedicated ground wire for the cluster or is it simply grounded through the attaching screws/bolts? Any other ideas? This is a North Carolina car and I'm going to say it sat in a damp climate a lot of its life, so I think I'm going to be dealing with a lot of small electrical issues. Part of the job...

Does anyone have the part number for the square-cut o-ring (or a place I could buy something similar locally) for the master cylinder on a '63? Until I get the correct booster, I want to see if I can get my current booster boosting. Thanks!

That sounds good, Tom...thank you for your help.

Hi Tom, I'd still like the booster if you're still willing to part with it. My plan is to send it out for a rebuild because the one I have obviously isn't going to work. If I don't buy it from you, I still plan to find a '63 booster somewhere else. I've found that I have the best luck when I try to keep things more or less as the factory designed them...that's my preference anyway. The '64 brake pedal should still work with a '63 booster if I'm reading into all this correctly. Aaron

PM sent, Tom.

Yes, I do.

OK, Tom has offered to sell me a booster, but I'm worried that my brake pedal is missing the original pin to hold the pushrod. Any recommendations of what I should do to repair that?

I'll take that Tom...I'll PM you later in the day...thanks!

Yes, I'm hoping that a correct booster will clear up these problems. 😊

Thanks for the information, Jim. Please do send me a picture of the original style booster. Thanks! Oh, I did check the hoses today, and they have definitely been replaced.

Hi everyone, Sorry to front load you all with questions two days after my car gets off the trailer, but I've been doing a ton of work on it over the weekend and now I have to deal with the brakes. The previous owner at some point not too long ago replaced most of the brake system, including the booster. Well, he said it's never worked right. I've checked the vacuum and the booster's check valve, and everything checks (ha ha) out. I've attached a couple pictures: First, is this the right booster? Harmon's Classic Brakes' website shows a different style for the '63, and the hodge podge of vacuum lines to the booster seem to point in that direction. Second, the brake pedal seems a lot higher than the gas pedal. Is that normal in these cars? Finally, is my pedal to booster linkage correct, or at least is it usable (I'm not a stickler for exact originality)? Thanks again for all your timely help!

By the way, I found a set of letters on the ROA Facebook page, so they should be here later in the week.

Hi Bob, I probably won't do that job until next spring. I have four cars at home and four in storage at all times, because I'm crazy. The Riviera badly needs new tires, but I'll wait until spring for that. No point in putting on new tires just to store the car for the winter. 😊

Sounds good, Jim. BTW, the engine stamp is JT428. Emtee, I still have to check, but the PO said he replaced all the brake hoses.

Jim, The VIN stamp on the engine matches the car's VIN. The engine compartment is a mess and will probably stay that way (I'm not big on detailing...I just drive them as much as I can), but there are remnants of the original silver paint on the valve covers. This car remained in the (distant) family of the original owner until I bought it, so I have paperwork going back to when it was new, even the "Glove Box Copy" of the car's build, including the date of production, which was 12/26/62. Pretty cool stuff; it's very much the perfect car for me. Unfortunately, the PO did all the brakes and it seems that he got a bad booster out of the box (I've checked for vacuum, etc.; there is no "boosting" taking place). Also, this is my first car with a Nailhead. Is there a plug on the bottom of the intake manifold? There are some exhaust leaks everywhere, but it seems that I hear one coming from that area. Easily fixed, I'm sure...the manifold looks easy to remove compared to most other engines. I'll check the other engine stamp when I go out and rebuild the driver's side parking light sockets today.

I'm an idiot, man. I wasn't even thinking about the trunk lid letters; I thought you were making some smart comment about my new car. My fault, carry on.

This is from the ad for the car; it doesn't have too many options (which is good, in my opinion). I'd even prefer crank windows.

Uh, why is that?

Hello, I'm not new to the AACA forums (I've been here 17 years), but I just got a '63 Riviera, which is one of my favorite cars. It's a nice not-too-messed-with driver, which is the kind of car I like best (old paint, some signs that it's seen some stuff). Anyway, it's been off the road the majority of the last 40 years, so I'll be doing a lot of work on it over the next rest of my life. But for now, I'll be looking for a couple Riviera specifics. I already have a post out for a spare wheel that I haven't had a chance to sort through much yet (out making a car list today). But I need an "I" for the trunk, and most likely the tang to hold it into the trunk. If anyone has any leads on one of those, I'd appreciate that, too. Thanks! Aaron

I'm in Bay City, up near Saginaw Bay (the crook of the thumb).

Thanks Ed, do you have anything more specific on this David Jackson guy? I'm having a hard time finding him.

Hi everyone, I just bought a '63 Riviera on BaT, and it doesn't have a spare tire or rim. Is there a more modern wheel option with similar offset I could pick up in a salvage yard? Thanks!

Not strange at all! I will sometimes listen to '60s Brazilian Bossa Nova or French pop in the garage, in addition to a billion other genres.