63 heater core

[Guest buickriv63]

Is there two different types of cores for '63? Mine is a nonAC car. Can I replace the old core with a AC -type core?

Thanks.

[Jim Cannon]

The 1963 Buick Master Chassis and Body Parts book has only one part number for the Riviera heater core, with or without A/C.

The best solution is to have a good radiator shop put a new core in your old heater core tank ends. Then you know it will fit properly.

There have been reports of aftermarket heater cores not having long enough metal pipes coming off of them to get out through the firewall far enough to connect the heater hoses.

[steelman]

I can speak from experience to what Jim said. I bought reproductions from two different sources, both had pipes too short. May have been made by the same company, but I went to two different sellers. I ended up extending the tubes on the second one and reinstalling it.

[Jim Cannon]

I think that the new heater cores that are being sold are for other full-size Buick models. The parts guys assume that they are the same as on the Riviera, which they are not. So the heater hose connector tubes are too short.

Get your original one recored.

[Guest buickriv63]

Thank you guys for your information.

I had my original core repaired. The water valve was also freezed, but I managed to get it moving. Of course the heat lever is broken, but I'm planning to add a new lever somewhere under the dash.

Hope I'll get it all back together without breaking anything.

[RivNut]

FYI for all of the ROA members out there who have either 1) a broken temperature control arm or 2) a frozen heater control valve, Jim Cannon, '63 Tech advisor extraordinaire for the ROA, has written a tech article on replacement of the heater control valve with a more modern unit that is vacuum operated. It's in the Tech Tips of the Member's only section on the ROA's website.

Ed

[Jim Cannon]

Thanks for the shout out, Ed.

I replaced my manual hot water valve with the vacuum operated valve because my valve was leaking around the stem where the lever turns the inside part of the valve. I did not want to lose coolant through a leaky valve.

On all '63 Rivieras, if you choose to convert to a vacuum operated hot water valve or not, you REALLY need to disconnect that little wire that goes from the temperature control cable over to the manual hot water valve. Remove it at the valve end and leave it hang loose.

If you don't, it is just a matter of time until the hot water valve freezes up inside (not from cold temperature, from corrosion and rust) and you will break your temperature control lever inside your dash control before you know what happened. (Been there, done that!) The levers are made out of pot metal, which is not strong enough to unstick a manual valve that has frozen from many months of not moving.

This manual valve, that lets variable amounts of hot water flow into your heater core with different temperature settings at the knob, is another case of Buick engineers over-designing the system. You really just need an ON/OFF valve there. The blend door inside the heater box will control the temperature just fine.

With the hot water valve disconnected from the temperature control cable, here's what you need to do: in the fall, when you start needing heat, open the hood and move the hot water valve to OPEN. In the spring, when the weather is getting warmer and you don't need heat in the car, manually move the lever on the valve to CLOSED. It's that simple. The blend door will control the temperature. (This assumes you have not converted to a vacuum operated valve. No need to manually operate a vacuum operated valve, it is all automatic.)

If you have a broken heater temperature control lever, it can be replaced with another lever from a donor car (a parts car) control unit. The donor car only needs to have heat, even if your car has A/C. You will find a stack of levers held in with a big pin. Tap the pin out, slip the broken lever out of the stack, slip the new one in, and tap the pin back in. You also have to disconnect and reconnect the little slider knob from the lever. That's the easy part. The hard part is getting the entire control assembly out of the dash to do the easy part!

It's not that hard, though. Follow shop manual directions for adjusting the cable lengths with the large white nylon adjuster nuts on the cables.

[Guest buickriv63]

As always, I can count on you guys for having the knowledge over Rivieras.

Thanks.

I decided to put a new lever under the dash for controlling the heat. It was the simplest and fastest way. I also managed to get the manual water valve moving again. I'm using a cheap wire and a knob -type lever, so when the valve stucks again, it won't cause expensive troubles.

Nice to have a warm car and clear windows!

[tim63riv]

Jim,

I think for us "northern" members, the vacuum controlled water valve or similar set up would be the way to go. We can have 40 degree temp swings up here, so popping the hood and moving the valve manually is not the best answer for the problem.

There was a GM water control valve used in the 1980's that had a vacuum diaphram that used an exposed metal link over to the water valve lever. Adapting that system to the original cable might be a good compromise to keeping temperature contol on the original control. Next time I'm out boneyarding, I'll pick up a valve or two and see if they can be made to work.

Tim

[Jim Cannon]

I hear you, Tim. Try just leaving the hot water valve on all year round. Then you control heat with the blend door. I only switch it off here in the summer because it is so hot in Texas. You don't need to turn the valve off in order to not get heat in the car. The blend door does not let much hot air come through.

[CTX-SLPR]

If you want to stick with a cable, Ford trucks used cable valves through the 80's. I bought on but then switched to vacuum so I never tried to install it.

Anyone have a '64 vacuum routing diagram? I have a scanned copy of the '65 and I'm having a really tough time getting it to work without leaking somewhere. I'm about ready to replace all the vacuum hoses, anyone have a source for colour striped stuff?

Thanks,

[Jim Cannon]

I add a stripe to my vacuum hose with paint pens I picked up at a hobby store. I forget how many colors are called for in '64, but they have all basic colors (red, white, blue, green, yellow). Easy to add a stripe to the hose before you cut it and put it on the car. Stripe up only roughly what you need, instead of buying feet of it. Really helps tracing out the vacuum hoses.