My 65, another build to follow

[RockinRiviDad]

21 minutes ago, 1965rivgs said:

Tom,

 

  If you can manage to scan and email them to me I will post them for you

 

Tom M

We’d love to see them pix. Sounds like a perfect topic for a new thread 👍🏼 😬

[arnulfo de l.a.]

Your car looks MEAN  in that picture david. I like What youve done with it.

[RockinRiviDad]

On 1/1/2020 at 4:49 AM, telriv said:

Just cut that small piece off the UCA & put a 90* grease fitting on the UCA so it can be greased.  Probably have to do the other rear one also.

Thx u. Other side is fine. It turns out headers aren’t hitting from engine torquing. My car is lowered 2 inches. If I bounce the car by hand at core support & watch the UCA I can watch it swing super close to headers. As I jack the car up with floor jack I can see the UCA swing further away from header. Normal driving will obviously move the UCA much more & if my car wasn’t lowered clearance would be fine. The price to pay to look cool 😬
 

For my fix…I used a die grinder & carbide tip to grind down the entire…but it worked

 

[RockinRiviDad]

3 hours ago, arnulfo de l.a. said:

Your car looks MEAN  in that picture david. I like What youve done with it.

Thank u sir. Let’s go cruise. I’ll text u more details 👍🏽

[RockinRiviDad]

DynoMax Ultra-Flo X has a built-in X pipe. To compliment my headers, I pulled the trigger…Stock transverse muffler was waaaay too quiet 😜

https://www.dynomax.com/mufflers/ultra-flo-welded-x-mufflers

 

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2020 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[RivNut]

Isn't  that muffler designed to have both inlets on one end and both outlets onnthe other end?  If you're using it as a transverse muffler aren't you going to have exhaust gasses bumping into each other?

[RockinRiviDad]

7 hours ago, RivNut said:

aren't you going to have exhaust gasses bumping into each other?

 

I looked inside of the stock transverse muffler & your description of “gasses bumping into each other” seems to apply better to the stock muffler. In the stock muffler it looks like gasses would be fighting to find their way out with no “real” pathway. But guess what, they do find their way out right? The “X” seems to give it a better pathway. I don’t see how it would be directional. Gasses are gasses & will find their way out. 

 

I’m no mechanic or a muffler specialist. I took my muffler guys advise that this will work. He’s been doing this for 38 years at this same location.

 

Multiple times I read things about stock mufflers creating back pressure. I’m sure there is more back pressure in the stock muffler from “gasses bumping into each other”. I don’t care about all that. Some technical info is cool but at the end of the day…I just wanna drive my car & enjoy it

 

All I know is that I’m a happy customer. New muffler sounds great. I was afraid it would be too loud. It’s not. It is deeper tho. Me likey 😬

EDIT:

I forgot to add, the stock muffler I took off was from Waldrons. They have 3 different sound levels to choose from. A quiet OEM muffler, the Mild Imposter & The Imposter which is suppose to be the loudest. I ended up with the loudest one (The Imposter) & want to tell the guys who are looking to buy a stock muffler with a little noise that The Imposter is NOT loud. It does have a little rumble. But once u mashed on the gas (for those who drive like me) it starts to sound like lowrider glass packs. Didn’t care for that. I wanted more of the muscle car sound. 

Edited January 24, 2020 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[arnulfo de l.a.]

David ,was wonderimg if you ended up having any rubbing issues with your new wheels in front especially when turning to full lock either way.they are 18x8 up fromt correct? Thanks

[RockinRiviDad]

Hello friend. Yes 18x8 & I did/do have some rubbing. I was told the offset on these wheels would work with minimal rubbing. But in the excitement of it all I didn’t take into account that I am now 2” lower & the mounting surface on the rotors of my front disc brakes is a different measurement too. Meaning: the rotors make the wheels sit closer to fenders. 

 

Our outer fenders wrap/curl over inner fender at the wheel well opening. My tires would grab the lip of the outer fender when turning at about 80%. It would sound like a fender was gonna get ripped off 😆. Embarrassing, to say the least 🤦🏻‍♂️. It pissed me off enough that I finally cut away what was rubbing 4 months ago. SOOOOO much better now…what a difference…night & day. This is the price to pay to “look cool” 🤣
 

Bottom line: U should be fine if u want aftermarket wheels on a stock height car. But if yours is lowered (can’t remember if u lowered yours) then get a tech at the wheel shop to measure for correct backspacing. I know guys here talked about a cool measuring tool for DIY. 
 

Pix show wheels at full lock & how much I trimmed/cut off of fenders. Still rubs a little cuz I didn’t wanna cut too much. I can live with the minimal rubbing compared to before. On the closeup pic u can see the rubbing now is on the smooth surface of the inner fender. It doesn’t catch an edge like before. Not sure I wanna cut anymore 
 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[arnulfo de l.a.]

Got it,thanks dave!

[RockinRiviDad]

I forgot to add this tedious work thread to my build thread. 
 

 

[RockinRiviDad]

I’m glad to see my build thread hasn’t been deleted. Thank u mods. I hope u are all healthy, staying safe & like me, making progress on your quarantine time. 
 

It’s been a year since I posted progress work I was doing to refurbish my dash. I have been a little productive during this quarantine time. I bought my PVC DashTop in 2014 & finally decided to permanently attach it. I didn’t like the fit I was getting with the old crumbly vinyl underneath. So I took it all off & glued it down.

TIP: ask for 2 tubes of glue if u buy this DashTop or buy your own bigger tube from the hardware store. The instructions on their glue tube was to go for a “pencil size” bead around the edges. There’s not enough for that in the little tube they provide. 
 

I took everything apart that needed cleaning & freshened it all up with a little satin black paint. I put it all together & boy an I pleased. I hope u guys are too. 

 

Attacking the center console mounting tab repair & center compartment door hinge repair next. I’ll probably scuff & paint the whole thing too. Stay tuned. 
 

 

 

 

[71GS]

Looks great  👍 

[RockinRiviDad]

FINALLY!!
Motivated by the recent “interior work” threads & being quarantined, I got around to repairing my center console. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Schmiddy]

Wow, looks so great!!! Better than mine! 🤩👍🏻

[RockinRiviDad]

On 4/21/2020 at 2:12 PM, Schmiddy said:

Wow, looks so great!!! Better than mine! 🤩👍🏻

😆 funny…THANK U…it came out nice enough for my standards. But it’s definitely not better than yours. I’ve drooled over your website plenty of times 🤣 

Edited April 24, 2020 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[Schmiddy]

On 4/22/2020 at 5:53 PM, RockinRiviDad said:

😆 funny…THANK U…it came out nice enough for my standards. But it’s definitely not better than yours. I’ve drooled over your website plenty of times 🤣 

Thank you so much for your kind words, David and also for visiting my website! I very appreciate 😃👍
I've to actualize my website content and put some news about my own Riv, but lately I couldn't find the time to do so... Even in this crazy Corona times I'm very busy in my IT business, hoping this will decrease a bit in the next couple of weeks! 😉 
Stay safe!

[Schmiddy]

On 4/21/2020 at 12:54 AM, RockinRiviDad said:

 

 

It's always a real pleasure to help out great people like you David! I can well imagine how it feels when good ideas are found and implemented exactly the way you wanted it - and at least watching to a well done piece! This is pure satisfaction and I must say, it turned out so damn cool and nice! Great work, mate!!!! I'm looking forward to some more pics - also from the whole car! 😉  

[RockinRiviDad]

YES!! Finally!! I have the cool wood wheel AND elusive horn bar on my car. I can hardly believe it!! The faux wood (still in need of repair) was given to me 6 years ago by @arnulfo de l.a.. Thank U kindly sir 👍🏼. I didn’t think I wanted to go thru the struggle of finding a horn bar. But this quarantine has me doing crazy things 🤦🏻‍♂️
 

In my hunt for a horn bar I found their are two types of repop horn bars. I learned that the hard way. One is narrower than the other. Guys who have them for sale didn’t even know this. Not a big deal, both are still cool horn bars. But I wanted the wider one & found one. Now, on to the faux wood repair…stay tuned 😝
 

Thank you @abandg & @kreed

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[arnulfo de l.a.]

You are welcome David. Wondering if you got the horn working also

[RockinRiviDad]

9 minutes ago, arnulfo de l.a. said:

You are welcome David. Wondering if you got the horn working also

Yes. The wider horn bar I have now works the horn as good as the stock horn bar.
 

The narrower horn bars out there need the 3 mounting screws to be loosened/backed off in order for horn to work. 

[RockinRiviDad]

Recent talk of restoring Rally wheels got me inspired. I didn’t actually “restore” mine. But I half assed it by cleaning off the rust, polishing what was left of the chrome, masked & painted webs, bought Coker 1” white wall tires, pushed rear wheels out with 1” spacer & topped wheels off with new center caps from Mitch Romanowski. 
 

Now I have the best of both traditional & hot rod worlds just by swapping wheels. 
 

 

 

 

 

[kreed]

Looking  really good David - keep us updated on the faux wood repair .
KReed
ROA 14549

 

[RockinRiviDad]

@kreed thank u sir. I’m still building up the courage to take on the steering wheel repair. That may take a while haha that’s why I’m still here…8 years later 😩😆

[71GS]

Looks great both ways. I’m planning on a couple sets too. 👍

[65VerdeGS]

On 5/16/2020 at 5:49 PM, RockinRiviDad said:

YES!! Finally!! I have the cool wood wheel AND elusive horn bar on my car. I can hardly believe it!! The faux wood (still in need of repair) was given to me 6 years ago by @arnulfo de l.a.. Thank U kindly sir 👍🏼. I didn’t think I wanted to go thru the struggle of finding a horn bar. But this quarantine has me doing crazy things 🤦🏻‍♂️
 

In my hunt for a horn bar I found their are two types of repop horn bars. I learned that the hard way. One is narrower than the other. Guys who have them for sale didn’t even know this. Not a big deal, both are still cool horn bars. But I wanted the wider one & found one. Now, on to the faux wood repair…stay tuned 😝
 

Thank you @abandg & @kreed

 

 

 

 

Hi David - I've really been enjoying reading about your build.  You've made great progress and your car looks excellent!  

 

I was intrigued to hear you say there are two repro horn bars out there - narrow and wide.  Do you know who made which?  Did you simply prefer the look of the wider one or was there a functional issue involved? 

 

Do you mind measuring the wider horn bar you now have?  I have a repro horn bar on my '65 but can't recall who I got it from.  It works great and I suspect it may be the wider one.  Just would like to make sure.

 

I'm sure your cracked wood wheel can be restored.  There are guys advertising such a service in Hemmings.  I also came across an article on doing it yourself using epoxy.   Will have to search my archives for that.

 

Cheers,

 

[RockinRiviDad]

On 6/10/2020 at 11:49 AM, 65VerdeGS said:

I've really been enjoying reading about your build.  You've made great progress and your car looks excellent!  

 

I was intrigued to hear you say there are two repro horn bars out there - narrow and wide.  Do you know who made which?  Did you simply prefer the look of the wider one or was there a functional issue involved? 

 

Do you mind measuring the wider horn bar you now have?  I have a repro horn bar on my '65 but can't recall who I got it from.  It works great and I suspect it may be the wider one.  Just would like to make sure.

 

I'm sure your cracked wood wheel can be restored.  There are guys advertising such a service in Hemmings.  I also came across an article on doing it yourself using epoxy. Will have to search my archives for that

thank U sir 

 

Sorry for replying so late, busy week, I didn’t get a chance to measure for u until now. 12-3/4” is the width of my horn bar. I didn’t think to measure the narrower one when I had it here. I’m guessing the narrower version is 1/4” less which isn’t much. But my eye caught it when I mounted it to the steering wheel. It didn’t fill the steering wheel cut-out as nice as the wider one. Plus, the ends were rounded over much more than the wider one. So yes, I preferred the “look” of the wider one. 
 

Functionality: they both do the job. But if u search on this forum u will hear many people having issues with some horn bars not activating the horn without mods. Two solutions were to leave screws loose &/or grinding the mounting plate thinner. The arms of the narrower horn bar I had also weren’t bent right. They did not sit up past the steering wheel cutout. One sat below the cutout & one sat slightly above. One suggestion I got was to bend the arms myself to fix it. That’s like getting your bumpers chromed before they get straightened. Grinding, leaving screws loose & bending chromed steel did NOT sound appealing to me. Especially, when these horn bars cost so much & many guys said their horn bars didn’t have any issues. I had to dig deeper. 
 

@buickbonehead is the main guy reproducing the near perfect wider horn bars. Unfortunately, he did not have any for sale. He did mention that there is someone out there who copied his version but he doesn’t know the guy. When I showed him pix of the narrow version he agreed it did not look like his work. 

Good idea on the steering wheel epoxy repair article. I will look for that. I’ll look in the Hemming’s too, thx. YouTube has a couple how-to vids & @kreed gave me a few pointers from when he once did it. Thx Ken. I have not built up the courage. Nor have I gotten over the excitement of actually having a faux wood wheel on my car to take it off & experiment with that repair 😆

[RockinRiviDad]

because I’m too cheap to pay to rechrome my wheels 😆😆😆
 

 

 

 

[kreed]

Looking good David . 
KReed

ROA 14549

[RockinRiviDad]

3 hours ago, kreed said:

Looking good David . 
KReed

ROA 14549

thx for the pointers 👍🏼

[65VerdeGS]

On 6/13/2020 at 2:01 PM, RockinRiviDad said:

thank U sir 

 

Sorry for replying so late, busy week, I didn’t get a chance to measure for u until now. 12-3/4” is the width of my horn bar. I didn’t think to measure the narrower one when I had it here. I’m guessing the narrower version is 1/4” less which isn’t much. But my eye caught it when I mounted it to the steering wheel. It didn’t fill the steering wheel cut-out as nice as the wider one. Plus, the ends were rounded over much more than the wider one. So yes, I preferred the “look” of the wider one. 
 

Functionality: they both do the job. But if u search on this forum u will hear many people having issues with some horn bars not activating the horn without mods. Two solutions were to leave screws loose &/or grinding the mounting plate thinner. The arms of the narrower horn bar I had also weren’t bent right. They did not sit up past the steering wheel cutout. One sat below the cutout & one sat slightly above. One suggestion I got was to bend the arms myself to fix it. That’s like getting your bumpers chromed before they get straightened. Grinding, leaving screws loose & bending chromed steel did NOT sound appealing to me. Especially, when these horn bars cost so much & many guys said their horn bars didn’t have any issues. I had to dig deeper. 
 

@buickbonehead is the main guy reproducing the near perfect wider horn bars. Unfortunately, he did not have any for sale. He did mention that there is someone out there who copied his version but he doesn’t know the guy. When I showed him pix of the narrow version he agreed it did not look like his work. 

Good idea on the steering wheel epoxy repair article. I will look for that. I’ll look in the Hemming’s too, thx. YouTube has a couple how-to vids & @kreed gave me a few pointers from when he once did it. Thx Ken. I have not built up the courage. Nor have I gotten over the excitement of actually having a faux wood wheel on my car to take it off & experiment with that repair 😆

 

Hi David,

 

Thanks for your reply.  I bought a repro horn bar for my wood wheel a few years back after my original bar cracked on the right side.  The repro horn bar I got worked perfectly from when I installed it - no need to fiddle with screws or the mounting plate.

 

I can't recall who I got if from but think it must have been from buickbonehead as it sits above the steering wheel cutout, just like the OEM horn bar did.  It's a very solid piece and looks identical to the one in the pictures you posted.  Is that who made your repro horn bar?  Dare I ask what you had to pay for it?? 🤑

 

I found that article on how to restore your faux wood wheel: http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/475.cfm

 

In the article, the author shows how he repaired a cracked 67 Corvette plastic wheel.  I happen to own a '67 Vette so am able to confirm that the wood wheel in that car is rather a darker shade of "Walnut" than was used in the Buick wood wheel.  So, you'll have to alter the paint mix to lighten the shade of brown to get a perfect match for your wheel.  With your skills and a bit of patience I think you should be able to restore that cracked wheel to its former glory!. 

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

 

[arnulfo de l.a.]

Them rings look pretty good David!

[RockinRiviDad]

 

again...sorry for the late reply...I have an AWESOME excuse this time...I am a brand new Grandpa (woo WHOO). My daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I don’t wanna be “that” guy & post baby pix haha. As Rivieras are beautiful cars they don’t stand a chance against this little baby girl haha

 

@65VerdeGS

I have heard some guys get the original cracked horn bar repaired. U gotta find a guy who can weld pot metal. Have u tried that? 

I reached out to buickbonehead (Rick Rawls) & sent him pix of the differences I found. He did not know who made the narrower one & could not confirm that the one I have was one of his. But he did say it looked like his work. I am confident it is his work just from comparing stories & fitment. I was being a cheapskate years ago when these horn bars cost (dont quote me on this) $200?? I now paid $350...ouch!!! This damn car is expensive. 

Thank U so much for that steering wheel repair link. I’m still building up the courage to do the repair myself while I sort out other projects. 

[RockinRiviDad]

On 6/18/2020 at 4:50 PM, arnulfo de l.a. said:

Them rings look pretty good David!

 

Thank U sir...& thx for all the direction u have provided 

[Schmiddy]

On 6/19/2020 at 12:42 AM, 65VerdeGS said:

 

Hi David,

 

Thanks for your reply.  I bought a repro horn bar for my wood wheel a few years back after my original bar cracked on the right side.  The repro horn bar I got worked perfectly from when I installed it - no need to fiddle with screws or the mounting plate.

 

I can't recall who I got if from but think it must have been from buickbonehead as it sits above the steering wheel cutout, just like the OEM horn bar did.  It's a very solid piece and looks identical to the one in the pictures you posted.  Is that who made your repro horn bar?  Dare I ask what you had to pay for it?? 🤑

 

I found that article on how to restore your faux wood wheel: http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/475.cfm

 

In the article, the author shows how he repaired a cracked 67 Corvette plastic wheel.  I happen to own a '67 Vette so am able to confirm that the wood wheel in that car is rather a darker shade of "Walnut" than was used in the Buick wood wheel.  So, you'll have to alter the paint mix to lighten the shade of brown to get a perfect match for your wheel.  With your skills and a bit of patience I think you should be able to restore that cracked wheel to its former glory!. 

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

 

A very interesting link, thank you Alex!
I have a second GS steering wheel cracked like the one of David, but never fixed it. The method shown on this website is very inspiring me to finally fix it correctly and sell it again. 😉 

[Schmiddy]

59 minutes ago, RockinRiviDad said:

 

again...sorry for the late reply...I have an AWESOME excuse this time...I am a brand new Grandpa (woo WHOO). My daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I don’t wanna be “that” guy & post baby pix haha. As Rivieras are beautiful cars they don’t stand a chance against this little baby girl haha

 

@65VerdeGS

I have heard some guys get the original cracked horn bar repaired. U gotta find a guy who can weld pot metal. Have u tried that? 

I reached out to buickbonehead (Rick Rawls) & sent him pix of the differences I found. He did not know who made the narrower one & could not confirm that the one I have was one of his. But he did say it looked like his work. I am confident it is his work just from comparing stories & fitment. I was being a cheapskate years ago when these horn bars cost (dont quote me on this) $200?? I now paid $350...ouch!!! This damn car is expensive. 

Thank U so much for that steering wheel repair link. I’m still building up the courage to do the repair myself while I sort out other projects. 

 

🥳👍 Congrats David - glad to hear that you become a grandpa! This is something I'm waiting for but hummm, I guess this will need few years longer with my sons 😁
Yes right, it looks like these horn bars cost more and more. Can't recall how much I paid few years ago, but I'm sure it wasn't 350 box. Got them from Rick, they look absolutely great, the wohle steering wheel is now a pure jewel! 🥰🤗
As I said to Alex, with this link I'm very motivated to repair my old steering wheel! 
Good luck with you projects! 

 

[65VerdeGS]

8 hours ago, RockinRiviDad said:

 

again...sorry for the late reply...I have an AWESOME excuse this time...I am a brand new Grandpa (woo WHOO). My daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I don’t wanna be “that” guy & post baby pix haha. As Rivieras are beautiful cars they don’t stand a chance against this little baby girl haha

 

@65VerdeGS

I have heard some guys get the original cracked horn bar repaired. U gotta find a guy who can weld pot metal. Have u tried that? 

I reached out to buickbonehead (Rick Rawls) & sent him pix of the differences I found. He did not know who made the narrower one & could not confirm that the one I have was one of his. But he did say it looked like his work. I am confident it is his work just from comparing stories & fitment. I was being a cheapskate years ago when these horn bars cost (dont quote me on this) $200?? I now paid $350...ouch!!! This damn car is expensive. 

Thank U so much for that steering wheel repair link. I’m still building up the courage to do the repair myself while I sort out other projects. 

Hi David,

 

Yes, the original pot metal horn bar can be repaired.  I know because I had it done about 30 years ago!  After my original horn bar broke I had a friend who was a welder tell me he could fix it.  And he did.  He welded the broken half back onto the hub - the weld wasn't pretty but that was luckily hidden inside the hub so not visible when installed. 

 

I ran that repaired horn bar for many years but never trusted it.  That's because I had to remember to PULL UP on the horn bar from behind the steering wheel (not an instinctive move), putting pressure towards the back side of the hub where it was strongest.  I always worried this would bite me in an emergency, so when the repro horn bars became available I bought one and put my original on the shelf.  Last year I traded it for a full set of tinted glass (except windshield) from a local guy who parted out a '65, so I'm happy.

 

I think I paid around $200 for the repro horn bar about 10 years ago.   As you know these bars are super solid so I can now bang on it all day and keep my 4-note horns blaring without worrying about one half of the horn bar falling at my feet when I do!

[arnulfo de l.a.]

Anyone have a pic of a broken horn bar? Curious as to exactly where the break occurs, to possibly provide some kind of re enforcement . Thanks

[RockinRiviDad]

3 hours ago, arnulfo de l.a. said:

Anyone have a pic of a broken horn bar? Curious as to exactly where the break occurs, to possibly provide some kind of re enforcement . Thanks

This broken horn bar hub was what was left in the wood wheel u gave me. U can see where both bars once lived. Another friend of mine had an original horn bar with the crack in the same place. I failed to snap a pic of that one

 

 

[arnulfo de l.a.]

I forgot all about that ! 😂Thanks david