New Member / 65' new purchase just arrived

[V10]

car just arrived

65' RIV 425 ASTRO BLUE/ STD BLUE ORIG INT / A/C ,PWR DS /VACUUM TRUNK RLSE

35k documented orig miles original motor/drivetrain ect..New astro blue repaint

Excited but a little nervous . First time ever on unseen purchase and hope I made the right choice .Car was in deep hibernation over 30 plus years from early 70's until 05' . Original owner had car since new from 1965 until 2005 when it was sold to 2nd owner . Proper basics were done on it in 05' to get it running however sat garaged not driven much from 05 ' since it wasnt really mechanically roadworthy until new owner took over this spring and invested in tires ,engine bay detail , new exhaust /brake system/coolant flush/Tstat /rubber hoses/oil/plugs/points/fuel pump /water pump , new trunk liner ,as well as repaint orig astro blue. Doesnt appear carb has been rebuilt nor trans fluid changed and still orig radiator.

During my first (6) miles of driving noticed the following:

car stalled once at red light at mile 3 and car does pull to the left quit a bit. The dummy HOT light came on at mile 6 as I was pulling into my garage however it turned off once I restarted about 5 minutes later and stayed off after idling for a few minutes . Likely need to get this in for an inspection ASAP before anymore driving . Was hoping to have no issues on my first day but anything can happen .Any suggestions on the trouble areas mentioned and what other things I should consider at this stage .

********Update about 50 miles later ,,,,had the car partially inspected and will be going in for a further inspection and solid tune up next week . Likely need to have the radiator re cored . After that I hope to take a nice long drive and start enjoying .

Edited November 9, 2011 by V10
pic (see edit history)

[Desmc14]

Welcome!

Mine sat for several years as well. The overheat issue might be the sensor. Mine was corroded from sitting for so long... Its an easy fix which resolves that overheating issue. To be sure I had it laser tested for the temperature at various locations and it always read the temperature was within operating limits. So I knew the water pump/cooling system was working properly. Good luck! The blue has always been a favourite colour of mine.

[Guest Kingoftheroad]

Congrats on your new toy !! Sharp looking car...

[Guest BIGRIV]

She's a beauty!! Great find!

[JZRIV]

Congratulations Tom! Looks beautiful. 35k mi cars are few and far between so you did well to find this one.

Post more pics when you get time.

[Guest David_Temple]

First... BEAUTIFUL CAR!!! Regardless of what was done by the previous owner in recent times, you should go through the brakes again. I have a 1964 Galaxie 500/XL with 55K actual miles which sat for 15 years in the garage of the second registered owner. The next owner from whom I bought it replaced one wheel cylinder. When I drove the car the first time it seemed to stop fine, but I had my mechanic check the brakes. The other wheel cylinders were leaking and the rear brake shoes were very thin. I had all the wheel cylinders, brake pads, and brake hydraulic lines replaced - all relatively inexpensive fixes compared with not being able to stop. Also, I had my mechanic check the U-joints on the driveshaft; I assumed they would need fresh grease. They had been dry for a long time judging by the spline-like wear marks on the inside of the roller bearing caps. New U-joints were installed. I believe if I hadn't considered the U-joints the driveshaft would have broken lose at some point without warning. I have known this to happen. Also, change the fluid in the rear end if that hasn't been done already and replace the wheel bearings as well as the rear axle seals. Fresh transmission fluid and cleaning/replacing the trans filter would be good, too.

[MartyWorld]

Tom, beautiful car.

You write that the previous owner put new tires on the car. I noticed they are

the triple-white stripe tires. What manufacturer are they? Are they bias or radial?

I know Coker made a triple-white stripe tire in bias ply but they are too big for our

Riviera's, 9.00-15.

The tires are a great enhancement to an already beautiful Riviera.

Great car!

Marty

[V10]

Thanks everyone for the welcome. Marty , regarding the tires the invoices show they are radial 235/75/15 diamond back II riviera 3 stripe ordered from diamond back classics (Diamond Back Classic Radial Tires )

[Guest Rob J]

Wow, I missed this post. That is a beauty!!!! Really nice find!!!

Only thing, it's missing the Riviera emblems. I'd put those back on to complete it.

[mt65riv]

^^ Nice catch, Rob. I missed it too.

Tom, your car is striking. My first Riv was blue/blue. Nice combo.

Great options. Makes you wonder who would order A/C, remote trunk, power brakes and not get power windows. Makes your car unique.

I also dig the tires.

Good luck with your 'new' new car.

And thanks for posting large pics... make great wallpaper.

[bepnewt]

She is beautiful, Tom.

Welcome.

-BEPNewt

[V10]

Thanks gentlemen for the comments ,,, I just need to add the Riviera badges and will post some updated pics sometime soon . Well finally got car back from shops after almost 2 months. It needed (alot ) of attention to say the least, had some work done locally then had it fully serviced and tuned up at CENTERVILLE AUTO REPAIR NAILHEAD BUICK SPECIALIST / RUSS MARTIN who was highly recommended to service the car. The car now runs great had so much done , just to name some repairs ( new timing chain/lifters /full tune up /recurve distributor /rebuilt carb/ fuel pump /all new fluids / recore radiator/ water pump/fan clutch/tstat/hoses & gaskets /new shocks/panhard bushings/oil pan sump cleaned/ motor and trans mounts / brake adjustments and lots of other little stuff but what a difference, car runs great !! ,,,,,and another SURPRISE I had no idea after decoding engine block the car is a 425 and not a 401 like I thought it was , I guess previous owner never bothered to decode and assumed it was a 401 .The block is stamped LW 510 , which I take it is the 425 engine and not the 401 and rest of vin numbers on block match the vin . I was always curious why the air cleaner decal had wildcat 465 instead of 445 and the decal was new when engine bay was refreshed , then I looked at the original pictures of engine bay from previous owner prior to having any cleanup work done and the decal was an old faded 465 so that is what got my attention to look at the block and decode it since I just got the car back the other day after months of not having it around . Just adds a little something extra I guess for having to cough out alot of extra $$ on repairs that I didnt expect but then again car was in deep hibernation for 35 plus years so I guess its expected things will go wrong when not driven for so long . I updated my signature to 425 , here is a pic where I was able to decode , if I am wrong please inform .Now its time to drive and enjoy !

Edited November 9, 2011 by V10
PIC (see edit history)

[Ron Luchene]

LW numbers matching! Only 2311 Riviera's produced this way in '65 making your car pretty rare. Nice find!