68RIVGS
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Posts posted by 68RIVGS
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Try a search on "GOOGLE" Justin - they have 'How To's' on just about anything you want to know !
It may not be Riviera specific, but it will give you a much better pictorial idea if what is involved in replacing worn ball joints.
It is not a simple job, and the front coil springs must be removed, to access the ball joints, which can be dangerous !
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. . . it can be hard to track down a source for 303 products, but it's well worth the hunt - their products are great !
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. . . getting really bad when a $7 "evilBay'" part costs $14 for shipping ! LOL
Happy you got a replacement Jim - it will work fine on your friend's '68.
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HOTWHEEL Batmobile !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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That original vacuum manifold for a '68 Riviera was made from a poor quality, cellulose acetate type of plastic that did not age well, and cracked very easily, causing leaks in the vacuum system. You can spot the cracks in your photos of your friend's original vacuum manifold !
I have only seen one NOS manifold available on 'evilBay' many, many years ago, and it was priced way too high to justify buying it !
I replaced my original 10 port version with a much sturdier, black abs plastic, 4 port version - the GM part no. was #1239606, and it has two mounting lugs.
You only need three vacuum ports for most cars.
I used one of the original mounting holes in the firewall, and drilled a new hole to suit the smaller vacuum manifold.
It has worked flawlessly for 40+ years now.
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. . . me agree - stock much better, but hey - it's your car !
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x3!!
The only detrimental thing I noticed was the rusty rear side of the spare tire - glaring and staring at you in the middle of the impeccable trunk !
Almost all of the optional chrome road wheels end up looking like this, as the manufacturer was only concerned with the outside face of the wheel.
A light media blast, backside only, and a coating of some protective paint (...silver/grey?) would certainly reduce the rust problem, and enhance the appearance of the reverse side of all the chrome wheels!
Granted, this is not factory, probably due to the additional manufacturing process and expense involved, but it sure would improve the appearance, and pristine look of the reverse side of these optional chrome road wheels !
. . . thanks for posting Winston!
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. . . going strictly on memory Paul, but if your window mechanism is the same as '68s there is an arm that has a large pivot point (...near the front of the glass), that can rust and seize, or does not allow the mechanism to pivot freely. That may be the source of your problem, and the motor cannot overcome the resistance necessary to get that large heavy, front window glass moving.
During my resto I changed out all the non-tinted glass, for date correct, tinted versions from an AC parts car. On both front window glass mechanisms this pivot point was rusted and required freeing up before installation. A little lubrication of light grade oil on all rollers and pivot points may help?
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. . . welcome to the wonderful world of RIVIERA, and the ROA forum !
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1 hour ago, steelman said:
Looks like it is ready to be pushed off at Bonneville.
. . . sure l@@k like push bars to me !! LOL
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I was fortunate enough to score two NOS AC cannisters off 'evilBay' years ago - they were advertised as Cadillac parts!
Once installed, my headlight problems went away, but prior to that I replaced the vacuum manifold on the lower portion of the firewall.
The original Riviera plastic manifolds did not age well, and were prone to stress cracks in the plastic housing which rendered the vacuum system "useless".
I also replaced most of the vacuum lines in the system with new rubber lines, as rubber deteriorates with age, and engine heat.
. . . keep us posted on your progress jonahboo - it may just help others with vacuum headlight problems !
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Nothing like resurrecting a thread from the dead !!
Those Summit vacuum canisters look very similar to the Riviera units, but the application states Chevrolet Camero?
The price seems very reasonable for those new Summit cannisters, especially if they will fit a Riviera !
Corvette autos with hidden lamps and headlight doors also used similar vacuum components that will fit Riviera - headlight switch, and vacuum relay.
Sounds like there is definitely a leak somewhere in your vacuum system as Pat stated.
Could be as simple as a split hose, or very complicated to try to isolate a specific faulty component.
The '68, or '69 shop manuals have a lot of information on the vacuum headlight system.
Ever wonder why most of the manufacturers stopped using them ?
As I stated way back in 2007, a real P.I.T.A. !
. . . good luck, and keep us posted johnaboo.
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. . . good posting Paul and Jason !
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57 minutes ago, PWB said:
More shiny jewelry for the lady of the house (I mean...garage!
)
- its a sickness
. . . admitting it is just the first step to recovery Paul !! LOL
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No - but the bumper has to come off to access 4 speed nuts that secure the bezel to the bumper along the top edge of the bezel.
There are 4 pins that align the top of each tail light bezel to the bumper opening.
Then when you have the bumper off you can remove the taillight housings quite easily, if need be.
Left and right side housings are interchangeable side to side, but the bezels are left and right only.
On reassembly leave the retaining speed nuts off the locating pins on the top of bezel, so you won't have to pull the bumper next time round !
Simply secure the bezels with the self tapping screws to the cage nuts at either end of the bezels.
The top speed nuts are almost inaccessible with the bumper mounted on the car !
The cast pins in the bezel can be brittle and corroded with age, and may easily break off the bezel !
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The '69 bezels had two vertical bars cast into them - they were introduced late in the '68 model year.
It is not uncommon to see both types on later '68 Riviera, but '69 Riviera should only have the vertical bar bezels.
Both types are interchangeable, and mount with screws at iether end of the bezels.
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Your welcome Mike, that's what ROA is all about !!
When you say bubbled - do you mean pitted?
You can see some of the pitting in the right bezel. The bezels were cast in pot metal, and very prone to pitting with age and exposure to road salt in winter driving !
The NOS bezel was purchased from the Buick Farm, (...their last one), and I managed to trade a decent right side '69 picked up in my travels,
for a decent '68 from fellow ROA member "Briz" in sunny Florida. His '68 had one of each type and he wanted a 'matching' pair !
Decent non-pitted '68 or '69 original bezels are becoming quite scarce to find.
It took roughly 2 hours to mask the bezels, and approx. 2 minutes to 'rattle can' them !
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On 7/27/2017 at 5:58 PM, NCRiviera said:
Do you have a picture of the painted tail light bezels? I was looking at mine and I was wondering if they were originally painted or just suffering from chrome loss.
I do Mike, but I'll need some time to smell them, oops - I mean find them! LOL
Sorry Ed - just couldn't resist - I thought to myself: Has that Ed guy been sniffing high octane AV GAS again ?
(. . . My Riviera photos are scattered over 3 computer hard drives).
The left hand bezel is an NOS one, and you can see it almost closely matches the grill surround color, and does provide a nice contrast.
The right hand side is Ed's argent silver as most original bezels had faded, or lost the painted inserts completely.
I ended up repainting both the bezels with the same color paint I used on the grill surround, which is a close match to the '86 GM Medium Grey Metallic on the car.
(. . . colors will vary depending on your browser color adjustments)
Not exactly factory, but a mild custom look - I call them Randyisms, and " i " likes it, so there !!
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4 hours ago, Scott Mckenzie said:
The center caps look like `66s (my computer screen is small) Did he strip the black paint off? Anyway, I think it`s an innovative way to dress up ratty road wheels.
They are '66 -'70 centre caps and those wheels look good with the trim rings !!
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2010 Hershey ROA Meet
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I'm sure it's specified somewhere Mike, but I could never find the specific formula.
As my car is an '86 GM Medium Grey Metallic (...non-original), I color matched the grill surround for a subtle mild custom look.
The same grey was also used for the painted areas in the pot metal tail light bezels if that helps Mike.
A picture from the 2010 Hershey meet (...next post) - that really doesn't show the correct color, but you can see the results.
Click on smaller pictures to enlarge for viewing.
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5 hours ago, Seafoam65 said:
How do you get in and out of it?
. . . very carefully, and bring your own step ladder ?
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Like it, . . . nothing quite like owning, or driving a "Big Bubba Riviera" !!
Reminds me of that Patrick Swayze movie - "'Roadhouse". LOL
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Although your original post is almost 6 years old JP, it's still a very sad, but great story !
Deepest sympathy for your loss, which is likewise a very touching story with many shared, fond memories.
Trust your grandfather's car will keep all your memories alive for many years to come !
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66-70 Carpet Source
in Buick Riviera
Posted
I replaced my worn, salt stained, faded, original black 80/20 loop style carpet with ACC, that I got from a vendor at Carlisle, PA many. many moons ago.
It came with a new rubber grommet for the dimmer switch, but you had to locate and cut the hole, and install the new grommet in the new carpet.
The 80/20 replacement was a universal fit for GM full size cars. It was not expensive , easy to install, fit with very little trimming, and best of all it looked NEW!
It has weathered well, and still looks much better than the original carpet it replaced.
It also matched the original black, faded 80/20 loop on the lower door panel inserts perfectly, which I re-dyed.
A good investment made, way back in the late 80's !