RivNut

It's a 1963 Riviera. Would you believe my prom date in 1965?

It's in the latest copy of your Riview

ROA memeber?, all this information and a lot more about these "Formula Five Wheels" is available in the Tech Tips link on the ROA website (in my signature line.)

I think I could find many different ways to spend $2900.

That's weird. I checked it when it was posted and it worked but it doesn't work now. I went to the Advanced Search link and clicked on it. I chose the 'search single content type' search tab Typed "lower control bushings" in as the keywords Limited the search to the Riviera Owners Assn. in the options. Hit SEARCH Got a whole list of previous threads. Hopefully you can find it again. If not, let me know and I'll see if I can find a couple of the posts that are most helpful. Ed

I did a search of the ROA forum and there are a lot of different posts covering this topic. I'm betting that one of them will answer your questions. http://forums.aaca.org/search.php?searchid=140078

When I got it, my '64 has a nice stock ride height to it, but whenn I replaced the shocks, I noticed that the rear springs had the little twist in spring spacers on each side. As Bernie said, probably just collapsed from age. Ed

No swapping out of manifolds, but I have a couple of articles on TBI injection using the stock four barrel manifold. Holley Commander Fuel injection utilizes an OE four barrel manifold. FI in these cases in not anything as sophisticated as TPI but it's still probably an option if you're into that. The TBI and Holley Commander units don't require near the sophisticated computer programs to run them as do the later units. Ed

I watched the entire 25+ minute video and what I saw confirmed what I posted earlier. This was a 1970 Monte Carlo being followed through the production process. In 1970, there was no dipping for primer. The body was washed and rinsed a few times before paint but once it got to the paint line, primer was sprayed on and the paint was sprayed on by machines that kept the thickness to "one-half of one-thousandth of an inch tolerance." After the body had been painted, it was then shipped to final assembly where the fenders, hoods (all painted at a different place,) grills, bumpers, etc. were installed. In this particular build, the first thing installed was the header panel that contained the grill and headlight assemblies, then the fenders were placed between the body and the header panel. On our first generation Rivieras, there is no header panel that contains these parts; fenders go all the way to the front of the car, grills, and headlights are attached to the radiator core support. Lot's of new techniques in a period of seven years. I did find it interesting to see what GM (and the world) considered 'high tech' in 1970 compared to the technology we have today. Ed

I've got a couple of thoughts on this assembly procedure. First, in 1963, I don't think cars were being dipped as they are now. When you pull back the carpet and pad on the floor on the interior, and the floor on the trunk, I've never seen any evidence of anything that would indicate that the body had been dipped. Second, The '63 Riviera was the first car to have rimless door glass. We know from the Fisher Data plates that glass was installed at the Fisher body plant before the body was shipped to final assembly. The door skins were not part of the door at this time; they were left off so the glass could be aligned. Here's my question. Was the door skin put on after the glass was aligned at the Fisher body plant or were the door skins part of final assembly? Either way, you have to start by aligning the doors with the body, then the fenders get aligned with the doors, then the hood is installed. After that, there was probably a crew with a bunch of shims who, using the "fixtures" Tom referred to, to align the whole assembly. What I didn't mention in my earlier post about alignment that I took from the chassis manual was the intro to the section. It stated something along the lines of "because of settling and shifting during transport, body parts can become misaligned." Then it goes on to tell the sequence that is used to realign these misaligned parts. You've got to think through it logically. The body shell can't shift; it's your base from which you start. Go from there and work forward. Addendum: I just googled "front fender alignment guide" and found a ton of articles from places like Hot Rod, Rod and Custom, and other similar publications that explain the sequence, parts, and tools needed to align fenders and hoods.

Just go back and read some other threads about OPGI; that should help you some. How soon do plan on doing your door panels. I'd bet a good sum that the guys from CARS will be at the meet in Lexinton in June (they were in Monterey last year and Lexinton is only 1/3 the distance.) Come down there and look at their stuff. I'll say that if CARS is selling it, you're probably going to be sure that it's correct. I'll say the same thing about Clarks Corvair and their products. If you're a wood worker, it's easy enough to purchase some quartersawn walnut verneer and make your own. For me it's always a two out of three toss up with the BIG 3 T's. I usually have only two of the three at any one time. The three T's are time, talent, and treasure. Ed

I'd guess that 1) The vendor is uninformed, or 2) they're using the term GS in lieu of H2. But, as I said, that's only a guess. I'd call them and tell them what you know then ask them what they're advertising. It could be just a ploy to sell something at a higher price. Ask them for installed height, spring dimensions, number of coils, damper rates, or anything else you can come up with (after some research on your part as to what goes into building a spring) and see what they have to offer. They can probably build you a set of springs to your specifications if you ask them. Ed

Section 12 in both my '63 and '64 Chassis manuals covers "sheet metal" It doesn't say so is so many words but from what I can tell the section is written sequentially from where you start to where you finish. It starts out with door alignment to the body (in fractions of an inch) then proceeds to fenders, hood, and finally bumpers. If you're not sure, I'd say your best be is to find a chassis manual for your year and follow it. Ed

Our 'Social Gathering' is now on the schedule of events. http://www.rivowners.org/features/annualmeet/Lexington13/index.html

Excusez-moi; mon faux pas; How about side by side AND tandem in one car.

Pete hit the nail on the head here. Open this link and see what Barris has done to other Buicks, lots of which were supplied to him by Buick. It appears that he may have had a chat with Bill Mitchell before coming up with the Villa Riviera - hidden headlights! It took Bill two years into production to get it on the factory car. George was good at chopping tops, opening wheel wells, modifying grills and taillights, but he really didn't come up with any creative ideas for completely different cars. Palm Springs Automobilist: Villa Riviera Ed

In an earlier thread, someone was suggesting tranplanting a radial engine into a 50's Buick. That reminded me of how the U.S. Air Force used to start the engines on their SR71 Blackbirds. Two 425 cubic inch Buick Wildcat (nailheads) in tandem in a cart brought the jet's turbine up to speed before ignition. The Buicks were said to be the only engines with enough torque to hold the turbines at speed until they could be ignited. More reading on the web if you're interested. Now on permanent display at Hill AFB, Utah.

You HAVE to post a picture of this!

Buick sponsored the 1958 TV series "Wells Fargo" which starred Dale Roberston. Take a look at the '58 "Wells Fargo" Limited Convertible made for him. Can you imagine getting pulled over in this thing and the cops reaction to the 'hardware' on the door panels and the console. There's more on the web if you're interested and there's a 1:18 diecast available.

One of the biggest warnings I try to give to people looking for parts is DO NOT TRUST the guy on eBay who advertises his part to fit 63/64/65 Rivieras, thinking that everything is the same. Even the "horse shoe" scallops on the sides are dfferent from 63 and 64. A couple of years ago, I was helping the guys at Highway 61 when they were thinking about producing a '63 diecast model of the Riviera. They had done a '64 (based on Ed Pentico's car) and thought that making a '63 wouldn't be too much of a change. By the time I got through sending pictures of all the obvious differences to them, I think they gave up on the idea. The '63 diecast never went into production. Ed

O contrair. The '65 front fenders are different than the '63/64's. There is very little sheet medal below the crease on a '65 compared to what's on a '63/64. The front bumpers on the '65 are dished at the top to allow the clam shell to retract. 63 hood spears are different in that they have a rib running down the center and the hole for the emblem is different and is set at a different angle than the '64/'65's (which are the same.)

At these kinds of prices, logic should tell you it's time to reproduce them yourself and cash in. As of this post it's at $730 with two plus days to go. Wonder where it will top out? Ed

No better information needed.

Your machinist is one smart fellow.

Re-read post #6 until you become a believer. Mr. Sweeney knows of which he speaketh. Then re-read it a couple of more times. Ed