Jim Cannon

I know of a very low mileage original '63 Riviera that still has the factory hoses on it. I can see what they look like, if you want, but I can not say if they still looked like that in '65. Let me know if you are interested.

Pete, the '63 Riv with the 401 should have a carb code 3503S. That does not mean this carb won't work on this engine, it just means that the linkage that you are trying to connect the transmission switch pitch linkage to will not hook up right. The carb is probably off of another year nailhead. If I dug around in my reference material I could probably figure out which year.

I sent you a PM. I need your e-mail address to send scan.

would dimensions for a '63 chassis be OK? should be the same.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bhigdog</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Hi Dyna. Not trying to step on your advice but spraying starting fluid around would be EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Starting fluid is ether and is flammable to the point of being explosive. Spraying it on or around a running engine is really begging for a disaster........Bob </div></div> I watched a guy literally blow his distributor cap to pieces one day when he was doing this very thing (trying to find a vacuum leak at the intake manifold and base of carb) by gently blowing propane gas out of an unlit berz-o-matic torch toward the engine, to see if he would notice the change in RPM when the engine sucked in the propane. The propane went up into the distributor cap, where the sparks jumping inside from rotor to cap ignited the explosive mixture. KA-BOOM!!! Scared us both out of our skin!

Oh, yes, I recognized your name, Bernie. Beautiful cars! Interesting to see the radical change in body styling in just a few years. I don't think the pictures of my car include the rebuilt booster yet. I can send them to you if you want to see them. I put in a dual master cylinder at the same time. I wanted the added security.

sounds exactly like my car several years ago. check to make sure you have the stainless steel plate between your carb and the intake manifold (plus 1 conventional composite gasket between plate and manifold). If people have been messing around with the carb and they are not 1st generation Riviera nailhead people, they probably left the stainless steel plate out. when my car acted like this, I thought it was fuel filter, fuel pump, I forget what else... drove me crazy. Gas caps on this car have rubber gasket seal to prevent fuel from pouring out on the street when you accelerate hard. The seal gets hard with age and leaks your money all over the asphalt. that is the best reason to replace an old gas cap. The gas tank on this car is vented so the gas cap does not need to be. You should check the rubber vent hose to make sure an insect has not gone up in there and made a mud nest which blocks the air from going into the tank.

Pete- The linkage attaches to the transmission under the car. Easy spring clip to remove and disconnect it. The linkage attaches to the back of the engine with one bolt. Also easy to remove. Then the unused linkage is not sitting there, looking out of place. You can put it in a box in your garage or in the trunk. The lone bolt you see in the manifold, forward of the linkage, is for the dashpot bracket and dashpot. The dashpot prevents the engine from stalling when you take your foot off of the gas very rapidly. It is not required most of the time. New dashpots come up on eBay now and then. The brackets are readily available from anyone with a parts car. I would not make it a high priority item.

Pete- My advice it to leave this linkage disconnected on your '63. You will not miss it. It activates the "switch pitch" feature on the torque converter. It only does it when you open the throttle to about 95% (basically wide open throttle). I did this a couple of times on my '63 to see what it felt like. Not really all that different. Not like the passing gear kick down that you get on a 3-speed transmission. There was a barely noticeable change in acceleration. I then disconnected the linkage. Why? Because I thought that it was a really dumb idea to be switching the pitch of the vanes inside the torque converter at a time when you have full engine power and torque passing through it! I think you are just asking for trouble, on a 45 year old transmission, to be having these vanes switching around under such extreme stress. I know, this is how Buick designed this all to work, but that will be little consolation to you when your torque converter self destructs at WOT. I really prefer the way they implemented the switch pitch on the '65-66 Riv better. They don't wait until you are at WOT to switch the torque converter. Since I don't own one of these cars, I'm not exactly sure when it switches, but I get the impression it is at about half throttle. A lot less power going through the TC at that point. I am working on designing an electric solenoid actuator for the '63 switch pitch, to replace the mechanical link. Initially I plan to put a simple push button switch in the car that the drive can use to switch the TC any time they want. (Some '65-66 owners have done this on their cars, instead of the factory switch on the throttle.) Then I can switch it when I want it, before I get on the gas really hard. The obvious place to put the solenoid is up on the intake manifold, and pull the link that bolts on the back of the engine. But I am trying to design a bracket that mounts on the transmission itself, because it is so hot on top of the engine. I'm thinking the solenoid will not last long up there.

Bernie- Booster rebuild service by Booster Dewey: http://boosterdeweyexchange.com/ He rebuilt mine on my '63 Riviera. It is beautiful. re-cad and everything. He is out in Portland, OR.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JETCOBOB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Jim- If you want,I can send these photos to you via e-mail.I have pics of the dash, speedo, engine#,VIN plate,trimplate, and a pic of the engine itself(re:color).I'm new at this computer thing. Not sure how to link to my pics from here. I know how from e-mail! The thing that stumps me is, the engine #. </div></div> Sure, check you personal messages... I'd love to see them.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: johnrex</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Jim, remember at the ROA gathering in Flagstaff that there was a '63 that had a "green" engine. The owner told both of us that it was an original car and a very late build. I still have a couple photos of it. John Hellmuth </div></div> Yes, John, I do. Kind of proves the old "there's an exception to every rule". I now wish we had asked him to pull the air filter housing off and look at the VIN and engine codes on it. I remember him saying the numbers matched. I'm not an expert on the '63 non-Riviera. I think I heard that other full size '63s had the green engine. I think we decided that his engine was still a '63 but wrong color...

Bob- Sounds like someone put a '62 nailhead engine in your '63. The '63 Riv had a silver engine and a J code when it left the factory. Don't sweat it. Just paint it silver and no one will be the wiser. Other than the engine, everything else on your car sounds about right for a car built at that time. The 120 MPH speedo is interesting. My car was built a week later and has the 140 MPH. So that kind of narrows it down to the end of October as the switch date from 120 to 140.

Wow... I really don't think it is your choke, but that is worth checking. Sounds like a major vacuum leak. That makes the mixture so lean that the cold engine won't run. Idle mixture is adjustable with the screw, so you can compensate for the vacuum leak with it. But running mixture is set by the jets, pretty much fixed with a given set of jets installed. Listen with a garden hose all around the intake manifold and the carb base for the whooshing sound of a vacuum leak while the engine idles. Snug up carb mounting bolts and check intake manifold nuts/bolts.

Bob- Are you sure you have an "I" code engine? Because the '63 model year engines all have engine codes beginning with J (like JT and 3 numbers) even if they were built in '62. Do you have the 120 MPH or the 140 MPH speedometer? My car was built the week after yours and it has the 140.

Thanks! I will tell you, southern California is a great place to look for Riviera parts! Larry Daisey at Rancho Riviera is a good place to start. http://www.ranchoriviera.8m.com/ Others can jump in with their ideas.

I did a quick look in the online catalog at http://www.rockauto.com They show a few choices, if you do not have cornering lights. Based on that, I'd say it will be available to you locally. [soapbox] You would be surprised what can be obtained for your old car through your local auto parts store. It might be special order (takes a few days to get in) but a lot of things are available and not too expensive. You should get to know your local parts guys. Try different stores until you find a good one. Deal with the same ones over and over. When you do, they will take the time to dig into the books to look for parts for you, or call their main office. It helps to go in with part numbers. Do some research online before you go. I get a lot of stuff this way. [end soapbox]

H- What a beautiful car! Is it silver? Can I get your data plate information information from your car? (above the brake booster) A clear close-up photo is the easiest way. I see your drivers door side mirror is mounted forward on the door. That probably makes it a later model. I mention it because many other '63 Riv owners do not like how their mirror is further back on the door because it is hard to see through. Where is your spare tire mounted in the trunk? on the floor or up on the shelf? You know it is a 425 by the engine code on the block? That's cool...

There is a guy here in Houston, Ron Oeschler, that has a perfect NOS piece. Never been on a car. He is in the ROA.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RivNut</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Attn: Jim Cannon, did you get his info for your files? </div></div> Yes, Ed, I did. Thanks! And thanks, Don, for supplying it.

what is the date code numbers/letter in the upper left corner of the data plate? 11A? My car is FB 6473 and built in first week of Nov (11A).

Please put link to photos. I do not know what photo gallery you refer to. Thx.

I found the following discussion and table from Mobil 1 helpful: http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Car_Care/AskMobil/Zinc_Motor_Oils.aspx They have the synthetic Mobil 1 15W50 oil with the higher (1200 ppm) ZDDP. My main complaint is that I don't put synthetic in my '63 Riv. For the short distance I drive in 6 months, it's not worth the added cost. I contacted them about this. Their conventional Mobil Clean High Mileage 10W40 has 1000 ppm of ZDDP, which is not too bad. http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_Clean_High_Mileage.aspx This spec is not on their web pages; I had to call them to get it. (800-662-4525) They told me I would have to use their Delvac 1300 motor oil 15W40 to get 1200 ppm in a conventional oil. I am going to look around for it (they say it is at truck stops) and might use it for the next oil change. I did not tell the guy on the phone that I worked for ExxonMobil when I quizzed him about this oil, and I quizzed him pretty hard.

Thanks, John! What is the FB number on the data plate above the brake booster? It should be somewhere between 18,000 and 19,500. The numbers/letter in the upper left might look like the letter "I" to you, but it has to be the number one. You have 01D, which is 4th week in January 1963. You are now OFFICIALLY the earliest documented '63 Riviera with a 425 CI engine. You are also the FIRST and ONLY '63 Riviera documented with a 425 CI engine! Until the next person comes along with an earlier date on their data plate. Just to make sure that this engine is the one that the car left the factory with in 1963, can you also confirm that the VIN stamped on the engine block deck (driver's side of block, across from where you found the engine production code) exactly matches the VIN on the little stainless steel plate attached to the body? Thanks!

Wow! Persistence does pay off. At least it was saved from being cut up into a hot rod!