TexRiv_63

Lets try that again with the photos attached...

Another nice weather weekend in the DFW metroplex and I used it to replace my front brake linings. As mentioned before I had a hard time finding rebuilt shoes for this car but I wound up getting them from the Lincoln Mercury Old Parts Store which had been recommended by others on this forum and on Lincoln Forum.net. I replaced the shoes, cleaned and repacked the wheel bearings and added new seals, then took it for a fairly long drive. No more pulling, the brakes work great! With this done plus the front shocks I feel much safer driving it around. Now I have to pack up the old shoes and send them back, there is a $65.00 core charge on those puppies! I also finally had the opportunity to take some photos of both my cars together, I'll share a few here and more on my Starfire thread.

No hub puller needed, hopefully the drum is not rusted to the axle hub.

Now that's a looker!

That 59 Chevy / New Malibu test has been here before and every time it comes up a lot of people say it was rigged, the 59 was rusted out, etc. Afraid not folks! There was no crash test engineering in the old days like there is today and the reality was that cars were deathtraps in an accident. I love both of my old cars but I know the steering column is a solid spear aimed at my chest, all that chrome trim inside is waiting to chop me up, the seats will fold up and crush me, and all that heavy sheet metal on outside would fold up like an accordian with me inside if I get hit. So drive safely and watch out for the other guy!

Mikesan and Steelman, thanks for the wheel info.

It was sunny and in the 60s in the DFW area, so rather than work on my income tax I took both the Starfire and the Lincoln out for a drive. It was a very nice afternoon and a very good decision.

Wow! That is nice.

Very nice. What kind of wheels are those? I'd like to know the size and who sells them, possibly to use on another car.

#5 is definitely 55 Ford, may have also been used on 54

Very nice shop, almost too clean to use!

Is the star-like design on the hub a clue to anyone? Also, if they are building a hotrod speedster and not dismantling it, maybe it's an engine swap!

Matt, you do come up with some pretty cars. Sure is a good thing you are far away from Texas...

John, If you have not already done so you need to post this in the Riviera Owners Association subforum down in the Buick section, plus I would suggest a search there, many experts there and this has come up many times before.

Matt, nice pics and very true sentiment. Where would we all be if no one before us cared about these cars? The least we can do is not break the chain.

I can't help with real knowledge of the Enger, but I do have an original serial plate for an Enger 40 Model G. The logo appears to match the radiator script on the previous photo.

The chrome seat trim changed on the 63 Olds Starfire, see pic. The 63-65 Buick Riviera had chrome only on the side, all upholstery on top. Early to mid 60s Chevys would be the easiest to find, I think they had the trim like your photo.

Welcome aboard, we always need more Starfires! If you are not already on, join the Classic Oldsmobile forum also. Love to see some pictures, good luck.

Seeing your pics reminded me of a Cadillac I had, took out the block drain plug but nothing came out. Shoved a screwdriver in, felt like solid iron. Had to get a hammer and punch and really hit hard, then the rust finally broke and antifreeze everywhere. It took a lot of work to get that water jacket clean, good luck.

Great post and great pictures by all, thanks.

Tim, that looks like a great car! The interior looks challenging but it looks like you could get it running, clean up the exterior and use it as is. Grab it!

I just wanted to follow up with the final decision on this. I decided I did not want to replace all the wheel lugs so I did not use the big alloy wheels. I wound up with a set of 15" cop wheels from a 95 Caprice with 235-70-15 BFG Radial T/A's and a set of 1960 Buick wheel covers. I like the look, it reminds me of the 70s. Check out my post in Our Cars and Restoration Projects for more pics.

Time for another update. When I got this car it came with the original 14" wheels and wheel covers but a lousy set of 215-75-14 Kumho narrow-whitewall radials. I felt they were too small for the car plus one of them was damaged from rubbing against a mis-installed tailpipe when the seller drove the car to my house. My original plan was to mount a set of 17" Impala SS alloys with wide tires which I had stored but the original wheel lugs were not long enough. For awhile I thought about replacing all the lugs but in the end I decided I wanted to leave them. I also had a set of 15" cop wheels from a 95 Caprice with 2 good 235-70-15 BFG T/A white letter radials so I decided I would go for the look I had on a few cars back in the 70s. I bought 2 more matching tires and mounted them up. I thought I would just buy a set of period Olds wheel covers but quickly found that they used all 14" in those days. I wound up using 1960 Buick covers, one of my favorite designs and no Buick emblems to worry about. Yeah, I know, its not original, but I like it.

I spent some time last weekend working on the heat riser, which was stuck in the closed position and, I think, causing some hot weather driveability problems. I had soaked the riser with penetrating oil over the last few weekends but needed to remove the heater blower and plenum assembly in order to get at it. The previous owner had brush painted those items in place with heavy gloss black paint so it took awhile to loosen everything up. You have to rotate the blower motor unit to unlatch three round holding tabs, it took awhile but it finally came off. The heat riser was not exactly loose but I kept tapping and spraying more penetrant and it slowly opened up. While I was working on the riser I noticed that the front exhaust manifold bolt was missing, this bolt also holds the back of the A/C compressor support bracket. I found what looked like the right size bolt from one of my "spare bolt buckets" and tried it, perfect fit and it tightened down well! I started it up and I can now feel the exhaust coming out of the passenger side tailpipe though not as strong as the other side. An unexpected bonus, a loud clicking noise I thought was from loose valve adjustment is now gone, must have been an exhaust leak from that missing manifold bolt! The engine now sounds very nice. I need to get the front brake shoes next as the car still pulls to the right, I want to get this thing out on the road...

I just read the Tom Mix Cord article and loved it but had a question - in the double page side view photo plus the 3/4 front view shown there is something which appears to be hanging very low under the car plus what looks like low hanging exhaust pipes, what is that and is that normal?