Jim Cannon

@Bloo Thank you so much for that detailed explanation! I will have to read it a few times to digest it all. I switched to a fully electronic, solid state VR unit and it seems to work well. But it is sure nice to understand what all these wires and relays are doing.

That Amazon link takes you to Amazon Canada (which is great for our Canadian members). The equivalent item on Amazon in USA is: https://a.co/d/heRulE4 If you can get the colored stripe painted in one pass, that's when it looks the best.

This is also what I did. I made a tubing holder with a 3 foot long piece of thin aluminum L-bracket, 1/2"x1/2", to lay the tubing down in and hold it with some spring binder clips, then ran the paint pen down along the tubing in a straight line using the edge of the bracket as a finger guide.

I have a grease injector needle. It looks like something a doctor would use, but it has a grease fitting type ball on the end that snaps into the grease gun. I pierced the bearing seal with the needle and gently injected fresh grease into the bearing in a few places. https://www.amazon.com/LockNLube-Grease-Injector-Needle/dp/B0779J6HTX You have to take the drive shaft out of the car to do this, it is not something you do when you routinely grease the chassis.

No. The diameter of the vacuum actuator is too large. That's why Buick made the other set. Sorry.

This is click bait misinformation designed to get classic cars owners angry. Best to ignore it, or better yet, delete it.

They only play for about 3 seconds and then they stop, so you cannot see what you are trying to demonstrate with them.

It is quite unusual to have the engine overheat so badly just idling and sitting in the driveway, not out on the road driving. I suspect something (an animal nest?) has plugged up the engine cooling passages or the radiator or both. Try flushing the engine with a hose by pushing water in the upper engine hose (no thermostat) and let it run out the bottom hose (disconnected from radiator). Flush radiator from bottom inlet to upper end (opposite of normal engine running coolant flow direction).

Yes this is correct. it is good that you tested the thermostat in water in a sauce pan. Did you replace that o-ring at the place where you first saw the leak? is the engine getting so hot just sitting there in your driveway, not out driving on the road? in the work you did, did you put on new head gaskets?

First, with a new thermostat, you must confirm that it is installed in the correct position. The small brass cylinder must face "down" toward the hot water coming out of the engine. In the drawing below, the brass cylinder looks like it has a coiled spring around it. Your thermostat may not. The brass cylinder must feel the hot water to open the thermostat. Leaking at the hose coming out of the filler cap is just because the engine is overheating. Once you fix that, the water from the cap will also be fixed. The water level in the radiator sould be 3 cm below the filler opening. Coolant above this level will get pushed out of the cap and out through the small hose.

Ray- Do you have a copy of the full 150 MB file? There are ways to send large files around that are pretty easy. I'd like a copy.

I inflate mine to 2.2 bar.

Very nice, George. Take a tip from the people who photograph new cars for ads and literature... turn the parking lights on. Even during the day, they add a slight touch. Try it, you'll see what I mean.

Here is a photo of that sticker on an original unmolested '63 owned by Mark Uhlig, and also the battery polarity sticker, for reference. Sorry the radiator sticker is so hard to read.

Of all the early Rivieras, the seal was only used on the '63 Buicks. But it was used on all the full-size models. Take the dimensions and see if you can find a big o-ring that will seal it off. If it's not sealed, you will lose your power boost. See if the ring in this repair kit is for the master cylinder. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=964522&cc=1319598&pt=1840&jsn=432

All '63 Rivieras were built in Flint, MI, even those sold in Canada. Other body styles were built in various plants, but not the Riviera.

John, have you sent me a picture of the data plate for this car? This hose going from valve cover to air cleaner housing provides fresh air into the engine, while the PCV system is constantly pulling air, fumes, and blowby out of the engine. Prior to this hose (in '63) the oil filler cap was vented and this is where the fresh air came in. You will note that the oil filler cap here is sealed, forming a closed system. When the PCV system is working correctly, this closed system setup is as clean as the '63 "open" system. But if the PCV valve cannot keep up with the blowby at some point, the extra fumes that would have come out through the '63 oil filler cap (and into the air, polluting it) now go through this added hose to the air filter housing, where they are sucked into the carburetor and burned in the engine. It's a very simple, cost effective way to reduce pollution when the PCV is overloaded. The sticker on the radiator fan guard provides a simple procedure to get the carbon monoxide (CO) emissions at idle down a bit, even if you did not have access to a tailpipe emissions sniffer. Prior to this, mechanics set the idle mixture mostly by ear, and it was often too rich. This stuff was probably added to the '63 model year car to meet new car sales laws in California that were intended for the '64 model year, but if this car sold "new" at the time California required it, they retrofitted it to meet the law (and then sold it through a Canadian dealer?).

These pictures of the core and the retaining screws on the wire bales may help you visualize what you are dealing with.

Yes.

Wix 51049

John, that Fenco clutch is a standard duty thermal clutch and is perfect for Canada. It will start out spinning the fan on start up, but as the silicon oil inside the clutch spins out to the sides of the clutch, the fan speed will greatly reduce. Only when the face of the clutch gets to about 170*F will the clutch start to engage again. So for most of your driving, the clutch is only spinning the fan at about 20-30% of water pump shaft RPM. If it gets hot, the fan will speed up to about 60-70% of water pump shaft RPM.

What was the part number for the new fan clutch that you first got that did not fit? I know I have suggested Imperial 215049 in the past, but after a bit more research it appears that Imperial 215046 is the better clutch to use on our cars, if you have room for it. It is about 1/2" taller (sits closer to the radiator core) than the 215049. You can also use a Hayden 2947. It is a lower profile heavy duty clutch. Same company that makes Imperial. The Duralast 22045 looks like it is made by US Motor Works, their part number 22045. RockAuto.com has many of these.

Limited Lifetime Warrantee. That's nice.

To get good, reliable gas gauge readings, I recommend you add a little extra ground wire from the tank to the body or frame. One of the gas gauge mounting screws is a good place to connect to the tank. Then find a place on the body or frame to connect the other end of the wire to. I really don't know where Buick intended the tank to get a ground connection. The more paint you have on everything, the poorer the ground will be without having a wire added.

My '63 is undercoated. IDK if that was all Rivieras or a dealer thing. Car was sold new in San Diego. So there is undercoating on the tank and on the straps. In a few places where the undercoating has peeled, I have gone back and sprayed a little touch-up undercoating in those areas. So maybe the black you are seeing is remnants of undercoating? Hope that helps.