TexRiv_63

Send them my way! I may eventually try Ebay but I would prefer to sell to someone who will actually come out, examine it, and drive it.

BTT again - I must admit I'm surprised at the lack of sales interest in this car. I'm not talking about here on the forum, I've gotten some nice comments which I appreciate and a few e-mail inquiries though no one serious about buying. The surprising part is that I get major reaction when I drive the car and when I show it, there is always a crowd looking at it and when I stop for gas it always turns into a lengthy discussion with someone who sees it. Unfortunately, even though I have For Sale signs in the windows I haven't had any local interest in buying. I think my price is reasonable so I'm at a loss. I'm going to try Craigslist and possibly Auto Trader Classic although I don't like paying their prices for an ad.

It was a beautiful day here, low 70s and sunny. I took the 57 Lincoln out for a long local cruise, it never fails to get some waves and I had two people ask me about it at stoplights. Since it is for sale I sure wish I could find a buyer before the cold weather gets here although it rarely gets bad enough here to keep from driving.

Ditto on Then and Now, they did a 32 Cadillac AC pump for me, nice work at a reasonable price. Here is the site: Fuel Pump Rebuilding Kits - Then And Now Automotive

Erik, that is not only a fresh but a rare find, what a nice original car! The best part is the joy you will have cleaning, buffing, and polishing it back to gorgeous. Well worth what you paid in my opinion.

I just got a PM from Steeleco saying he saw my old 63 Riv on Ebay last week. I went and looked and it is definitely my car. I sold to a guy in California and it is now apparently in Georgia. The ebay seller appears to be flipping it as he says it still has a California title. The auction was closed and the bidding had gone to $8600, not sure if the auction ended normally or he pulled it. Here is the link if anyone is interested: Buick : Riviera deluxe in Buick | eBay Motors I'd be interested to know if anyone on here winds up buying the car, if so I can tell you all the details about the car.

Some Cadillacs mounted the coil in the top tank, it would be a V8 model with a single coil.

Pat, I've done quite a few over the years and have had my share of screwups. In my opinion the worst to work on are later GM Quadrajets, they all leak internally even when you seal up the well plugs and they almost never work 100% unless they are new. The 4GC is a pretty good carb because of the cast iron base plate and its construction is fairly simple. One trick I learned, always take the carb apart and put it back together the same day if possible so you remember where everything goes. I also always try to have a shop manual to refer to in addition to that little hard to read instruction sheet that comes with the rebuild kit!

I checked around regarding having my carburetor rebuilt but found the cost ranged from $275 to $450, which included "cosmetic" restoration. That was way more than I wanted to spend and did not need the cosmetic part so I decided I would at least try doing it myself first. Like everything else I do it took longer than I expected. Since the carb was coming off I originally planned to combine that with replacing my heater control valve and also clean and repaint the top of the engine. I put plastic down over the garage floor and totally covered the car. I pulled off the carb, it appeared to be leaking from the front where the air horn met the carb body. I had also started to notice a worsening bog when I hit the gas, especially when cold. I took it apart and cleaned everything with carb cleaner and air pressure but it was actually quite clean inside. I reassembled everything with new gaskets and checked all the adjustments, the float levels were a bit off, especially on the secondary side. I changed out the heater valve and was lucky that nothing was rusted too bad, the bolts came out clean. Right then life got in the way and I had to cancel the repainting and wrap things up, put the carb on and started it up AND IT STILL LEAKED! I was pissed and had to park it until this week. When I got back to it I noticed that it was leaking from the fuel inlet fitting, the one thing I HAD NOT removed from the carb. I pulled it off, replaced the gasket and put it back but it still leaked. I pulled it again, applied Permatex High-Tack to all the threads, and that finally did it, leak free. Wrapped it up today and readjusted the idle then took it for a ride, what a difference! It now idles smoother and slower and it positively JUMPS when you hit the pedal, I think I must have had an accelerator pump issue since I got it. This was also the first time driving it with the the new steering rag joint, it handles much better with no wander or play in the wheel. This car is now a real pleasure to drive and I will be using it much more than I have in the past. Both of these repairs cost me a total of less than $50.00 out of pocket and I must say they are very high on the bang-for-the-buck scale, wish I would have done them sooner.

I just added a little more value to this car today, it had a patched up muffler on the passenger side which gave up the ghost so I had the whole passenger side exhaust system replaced. As a bonus, when the muffler shop pulled the old exhaust pipe they found the heat riser valve was rusted shut, my efforts to free it up before did not work. They eliminated the valve and now the car runs great, quiet, smooth, and the idle is better. I took it for a long ride back from the shop and that was money well spent. My price is still $12,900.

I just added a little more value to this car today, it had a patched up muffler on the passenger side which gave up the ghost so I had the whole passenger side exhaust system replaced. As a bonus, when the muffler shop pulled the old exhaust pipe they found the heat riser valve was rusted shut, my efforts to free it up before did not work. They eliminated the valve and now the car runs great, quiet, smooth, and the idle is better. I took it for a long ride back from the shop and that was money well spent. My price is still $12,900.

Magnificent!

You are correct, Buick did not offer a power passenger seat in 1963 Riv. The drivers seat controls were in the door armrest if the car had the deluxe interior option but I think they were mounted on the seat if the car had the base interior.

Thanks to all that responded. Bill, it is interesting you have the same problem, I have never seen this with any other tire. I'll try contacting Discount Tire where I bought them and see if they know anything about it. Till then I'll keep cleaning!

I've got something weird going on with the front tires on my 63 Olds. They are developing some kind of chalky white coating, these are two new BFG radial T/A's that I bought to match two older T/A's I already had. When I put the tires on the car I cleaned them all up and put some armor-all on them, since then only the two newer tires developed the coating, the older ones look fine. I wiped this coating off with rag once already about a month ago and it has come back as you see in the pictures. Has anyone else had this problem and does anyone know what causes it / how to stop it?

Not sure if I understand your question but looking at your first pic you appear to be missing the drive cable that goes between the motor and the drive nut. If you look at your last pic from the web that is the piece that looks like a speedometer cable, nothing will work without it. You need a 62 shop manual which will have pictures that shouls answer any other questions. I just cleaned up my 63 seat mechanism but it is a 4-way tilt, here are some pics, I assume the back and forth mechanism would be similar to yours. Good luck.

BTT - the price has been reduced to $12,900.

I have reduced my asking price on this car to $12,900, see my posts in Buy / Sell forum.

BTT - I am motivated to sell and have reduced my asking price to $12,900.

Update - watched the second episode this week. Still labeled as 1960, it begins with the same incorrect Lincoln, Thunderbird, and Ford cop car, but then like magic almost every other car shown was correct vintage! And they showed quite a few cars, including a painful crash with, I think, a 1960 Pontiac. Almost like someone was told to get their act together...

Not sure of your situation but it sounds like this car or the brake situation is new to you. In my experience the brake system is the most neglected part of any old car. You can buy a car that looks great and runs great where it is obvious that the car was maintained well but the first thing that goes wrong has to do with the brakes. For something so directly connected to saving your life when you drive it amazes me that so many cars have brake systems that are one step from total failure! OK, rant over - I agree with the previous posters that the power drum system on your Cadillac will do just fine if it is good condition and properly adjusted. The first thing you need to do is a total inspection, all wheels off the ground, drums off, check linings, make sure there are no broken springs or missing hold-downs, check master and wheel cylinders for leaks, check for grease leaks from wheel bearings, inspect all hard lines and rubber hoses for leaks, cracks, or rust. If everything look great, replace the drums and adjust as mentioned above. If they are still mushy flush out all the old fluid, replace with new and bleed. Even if the adjustment fixes the problem you should still flush and bleed as cheap insurance. Unfortunately almost every old car I have ever owned has needed major brake work. Don't skimp - better safe than sorry. Good luck!

That dark color is usually a tipoff the gas is bad. If its ethanol mix gas and older than 6 months it is bad. Better safe than sorry, drain and replace before running the car.

You need to search the forum, I know there have been previous posts about this engine.

The Ebay listing was taken down so this car has apparently sold - I hope it went to a BCA member and not a hot rodder...