Ron Luchene

Does anyone know where I can source a power seat relay? The motor turns in all switch positions but the transmission only operates on one side. If I swap the wires coming off of the relay it operates the other side of the transmission so the transmission and motor appear to be good. I checked Classic Buicks and CARS and did not see the relay on either site. I appreciate the help!

With the exception of the shift lens I believe the majority of the console components are the same so I don't see why not. I had my tach modified by H&M Instruments out of Greenville SC so that it would work with electronic ignition or points. They did a nice job cleaning up the dial as well!

Thanks for the input guys. I have to side with Patrick as I have been over the car in detail and find no evidence of a missing part or a place that this would fit. I'm not ready to throw it away but I don't think it belongs to the Riv. Thanks again for the input! Ron

Ed, The piece on the right side of my console is hard plastic and fits perfectly. I have seen photos of other 65's and this piece is correct. The guy I bought the car from had multiple vehicles and I am guessing that this is for something other than a 65' Riviera. I just can't imagine where else this would be installed if not along the console. Thanks, Ron

Patrick, The material is cardboard and the dimensions are 15" by 6.5". Something was definitely glued to one side. There were a lot of parts in the trunk when I purchased the car and so far every piece but this one is accounted for. This one stumped me so I thought I would reach out to others for help. If anything comes to mind please let me know. Thanks, Ron

This was in my trunk when I purchased the car and I assumed it went on either the left or right side of the console. None of the screw holes line up so I am a bit confused. I have the stainless piece for the left side and the hard plastic piece for the right side so I just don't see a place for this. It has glue on one side which I assumed the carpet was glued to. Does anyone recognize this piece? Where does it go? Thanks - Ron

Finally getting the interior installed in my Riviera. I have been influenced by Mr. Sweeney. I love the way this looks! Ron

Dick, I see we posted at the same time this afternoon. Thanks for your explanation of the differences between 63-64 and 65. I always wondered what the purpose was for the size of the body behind the switch in the glove box of the 63-64 models. I have the correct T-Handle switch for my car including the vacuum canister for the firewall. Hopefully someone will post with the location of the line through the firewall. Thanks again! Ron

Sorry for the confusion. There are actually two lines for the trunk release. One line is run under the carpet to the trunk and I am good as far as that goes. The second line comes from the vacuum canister on the fire wall in the engine compartment. Without vacuum, the trunk release will not work! I used the pictures in the manual to route the line for the trunk but I do not see a hole in the firewall where the manual shows the line entering the interior space. I want to confirm that the manual is accurate before I drill a hole through the firewall. It would be much easier to route the line through the existing opening for the heater and AC vacuum lines but I want to do what is "correct". Any help is appreciated! Ron

I am adding vacuum trunk release and am wondering if someone could take a look at their setup and tell me where the vacuum line was routed through the firewall. According to the manual it routes to the right of the blower motor but I see no evidence of a port for this. I can drill a hole and add a grommet or just route the vacuum line with all of the other vacuum lines for the AC/Heater control. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks, Ron

Thanks for the replies. I will go ahead and get it installed today!

I'm curious about others experience with carpet for a 65 Riviera. I ordered my carpet from Clark's and began installing it today. As you can see in the photo, there is a 2.5" gap where the carpet does not overlap under the seats. Everything I have ordered from Clark's has been top quality and this seems odd to me. I have a couple of scraps that were sent which could be used to fill the gap. The carpet I took out was not original but it did overlap completely. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks - Ron

Jim/Jason - Thanks for your responses. I had hoped to get under the car today but ran out of time. I will narrow down the leak by this weekend. My Riv has been sitting for about a year. Life got busy and the car took a back seat for awhile. I started and let it run until warm about every 8 weeks or so but just didn't have a chance to get it on the road. The engine was rebuilt about 10K miles ago and I have never noticed a leak until now. Hopefully it's a minor event!

We have had some nice days here in the Carolina's so it seemed like a good time to get the Riv back on the road. I noticed that I had some coolant underneath the car but all of the hose connections and water pump appear to be dry. I looked in the manual and noticed that there are a couple of drain plugs on the block so I guess it is possible that the leak is coming from this area. I will climb under the car tomorrow to inspect these. The one thing I found disturbing in the manual was the casual mention of seepage and the use of stop leak. I always thought Stop Leak was what you used as a last resort to buy you some time until you could make the correct repair. Am I missing something here? Are others experiencing any kind of seepage on a regular basis? Maybe I am being a little over zealous but I prefer a dry floor of all fluids! I hate to think Stop Leak is the answer.

Ed, I was reading the thread on the Color for the 1950 Buick and followed the link you posted for the Auto Color Library. The info listed for 1965 Buick does not provide for a medium or light blue option on the rear package tray, only dark blue. If this is accurate for 1965 Riviera, and I assume it is I think this would indicate that the color combination of dark and light blue for the 611 interior was the same as 1963 and 1964. Do you think this is a safe assumption? Ron

Don/Ed, When ordering a new Riviera in 1965 was it possible to dictate the color of specific trim pieces like the package tray and surrounding trim or was it already predetermined by the trim code i.e 611? It seems like there have been some inconsistencies in some of the interior pic's that I have seen but I realize that liberties may have been taken during the restoration phase of the cars in the pic's. The best advice Dick has provided so far is for me to restore the car the way I want it. My car will never be a concourse car but it will be a great looking driver. While I am leaning towards the light blue package tray and surrounding trim there is a part of me that just wants to know how it would have looked when the car was brand new. I am still hoping someone will chime in who has an unmolested 65' with the 611 trim. Thanks to both of you for responding.

Don, I found some photo's of a 65' deluxe blue interior (attached) and it definitely shows the dark blue dash and trim as described in the 63' and 64'. Unfortunately it has the optional rear center armrest and the photo's I have of the back seat area do not show any of the surrounding trim or the package tray. I traded a couple of emails with Dick Sweeney and he believes the rear trim and package tray should be light blue. I have photo's of a saddle interior that would support this theory based on the fact that it shows a darker colored dash but all of the rear trim is the lighter shade. The problem of course is that you never know what has been modified over the years or during restoration but I definitely liked what I saw in the photo's.

Don, You have described exactly what I have today with the exception of the headliner. I removed some chrome trim and sure enough, someone has painted the headliner. The original color was light blue. I guess the question now is whether or not the same light blue/dark blue coloring scheme was followed in 65 as well. Hopefully someone will chime in. Thanks, Ron

The chrome trim around the wood grain on the door panels is painted black in the center vs. no paint in 1965. The seats have been recovered and the pattern is close to the 64' custom/65' standard style. My rear package tray is long gone and was replaced with plywood and covered in dark blue vinyl. I did speak with the guy I bought the car from and he stated that he was parting out a 64' Riv at the same time he was rebuilding the drive train in mine and he swapped the interior since it was in nicer condition. The original color of the car is Astro Blue and I intend to paint it pretty close to this color. I have a complete black deluxe interior but the more I have thought about it I really like the look of the the light blue fabric. I have a seen photo's of a couple of cars with the same color combination as mine but in both cases the rear package tray had been covered in carpet. It looked like both had a light blue headliner as well but it's hard to confirm.

I purchased my 65' Riviera last year and later discovered that the interior door panels and seats had been installed from a 64'. I am working on the interior restoration now and intend to buy seat covers and carpet from Clark's. I am installing a deluxe interior using their Blue cloth/vinyl. My dash pad is a darker blue and I am curious as to whether or not anytghing else in the interior should be the darker blue as well, i.e. rear package tray. In addition, should I install Clark's light blue headliner or white?

Thanks Don and Tim! I am not seeing any air bubbles at present and the belt is new and tight. The pump is quiet as well. I will contact the pump rebuilder for additional assistance. Thanks again.

Don, Thanks for the tip. I have repeated this process several times and while I have seen slight improvment it still isn't correct. I just had the pump rebuilt and I question whether or not I am getting the output I should have. I really don't have a way to confirm it. If you have any other ideas please let me know. Thanks, Ron

I recently completed some work on my power steering including a swap to a 71' Riv steering box. My power steering comes and goes as in I have power steering as I begin to turn but I have to muscle it around a tight corner. I can tell that I still have some air in the system by the number of bubbles still appearing in the pump. I have read in the chassis manual that I may need to bleed the system but I have not found any instructions on how to do this. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms?

Thanks Ed! Personally I couldn't see it working any other way but when the documentation I had stated otherwise I was left wondering what I was doing wrong. I will hook up the hoses tomorrow night and hopefully I will have power steering again. My arms are getting sore! Ron

Ed, When you say "original" pitman arm are you referring to the 65' arm?