My 65, another build to follow

[RockinRiviDad]

There's been talk in a current thread about non-matching numbers cars.

 

Well it turns out, from the info posted, that I have one of those non-matching numbers cars. Bummer!!

 

The sad part is that after 22+ years of ownership I just assumed my car was unmolested.…I know…that's what I get for assuming.

 

Regardless, I don't know that I would've taken a different route if I had found this out sooner. I'm a bit too deep into my project now anyway.

 

Here are pics of the numbers stamped into the leading edge of my block. The passenger side numbers look very neat, straight & totally different than the numbers I've seen you guys post. The numbers on the driver side (which are suppose to match the vin but don't in my case) look more like what I see on this forum.

 

So can any of you tell me, by these numbers, what year car this engine came from. Or any info at all would be nice.

 

Thanks in advance

PS. Here is the link to said thread

 

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[RockinRiviDad]

David, this is what it looks like. It clips on to the lower valance sheet metal right under the grill. You may have been wondering why that valance has two holes in it.

Awesome! Thx for the pic Rob. I think I can make one similar to that. Is it a one molded piece or two held together with the clips that took that shape from sitting like that so long?

David

Edited January 6, 2014 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[Guest Rob J]

No, it is one molded piece. The clips are used to attach the piece to the front bumper filler/valance body colored steel panel.

[RockinRiviDad]

This is where the body of my car ended up. I was going for Rob J & Chris Nolan's design on my stands…I think I nailed it…lol…NOT! Pretty sketchy right? I heard about it too lol.

 

I attached the link to a separate thread of questions I had about this rotisserie I borrowed from a friend.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[Guest Rob J]

David, concrete blocks not a good idea. Even stacked the way they are. I know a guy that killed himself that way. Please DO NOT get under that car. Even off the chassis, that body still weighs well over 1,000 pounds.

[alini]

Yes I agree, I am glad you put that on the stand because that block setup is dangerous (unless you concreted them together) They will fall in a heartbeat. I followed Robs set up and I put extra cross bracing in and I still didnt like being under the car as I worked on it. I cant imagine how hard it is to flip on that stand though, I know how heavy it is, but definitely better for getting underneath.

[60FlatTop]

Take a look at the link a couple of messages up and see the body on quality jackstands.

Bernie

[Guest Dialtone]

David , Sweet build thread thanks for sharing your adventure. She's lookin good

[RockinRiviDad]

I appreciate the concern fellas. I didn't realized how dangerous the block idea was 'til Bernie yelled at me lol…I just thought "heck, if they use 'em for house foundations then it should work here too" but as Chris mentioned the strength is when they are filled with concrete. Wish I would've thought of that…

 

Rob J: sorry about your friend…thx for sharing

 

Chris: it's definitely NOT hard to turn the body while on the rack. But, again, in my inexperience I only attempted to do it once with everything still in it (all glass, seats, carpet, console, dash, column). If u missed the link, well I "think" I broke something when I tried rotating te body  still a mystery. But I heard a loud crack/pop. Maybe it was just the rotisserie?

 

Here's a pic of my dirty undercarriage after an hour of cleaning but before I got "yelled at" to NOT get under it haha.

 

I also found some hidden numbers under there.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[RockinRiviDad]

David , Sweet build thread thanks for sharing your adventure. She's lookin good

Hey thx a lot Dialtone…woo whoo another SoCal brother. If u don't mind me asking where in SoCal are u?

David

[Guest Dialtone]

Hey thx a lot Dialtone…woo whoo another SoCal brother. If u don't mind me asking where in SoCal are u?

David

OC/LBC

[60FlatTop]

Here is a good deal: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200349986_200349986

Best to stick with a brand name.

They look like the same speck as mine with a 25" extended height. I bought 2 pair in the early 1990's and I think the price was pretty close to today's.

They are great, just be such to only use one hand when you release the lock and keep the other behind you. The post drops with authority.

Two hundred bucks is about half the cost of an ambulance ride in my village........ those guys are volunteeers!

Bernie

[alini]

David, I have found a bunch of numbers stamped all over the car as I have gone. Alot of the floor panels have them, like the 49447 I found in the trunk (49000 series for the Riviera)

[RockinRiviDad]

@Dialtone, we gotta hook up. I'll try & get out to the next LB car swap meet.

 

@Bernie, thx for the link. But I think I'll be safe now that I have it hooked up to that rotisserie rack. Especially since I've been busy lightening the load lately…"more things came off that easy" lol…yea I will post pix soon (ugh, damn can of worms). $400 for a ride in the meat wagon is cheat lol I'm kind of in that field & L.A. City will rape u for over $1000 if u need a ride lol…don't get hurt while your out here visiting lol

 

@Chris, yea I've learned about the 49000 series being the Rivieras from my shop manual. But the 4747 I've only seen on the 63-64 fisher body plates…no biggy. The "H" I'm guessing represents Flint & "27" is for 2 door coupe (found this info in body manual). I haven't spent too much time working in the trunk yet.

 

Edited February 12, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[Guest Dialtone]

David, yeah, you should bring that Factory wooden Steering wheel. It will look great on my Rivi

[RockinRiviDad]

It probably "wood" look good on your Riv lol…but its gonna look better on mine lol

David

[RockinRiviDad]

Here is another undercarriage pic. I didn't get very far when cleaning before I was scared straight about my choice in body stands lol…I'll finish up after I do my welding

 

 

My plan was to not deal with the interior or body component until I married the body up to the chassis. My hope was to clean & undercoat the undercarriage prior to that. But a gut feeling got me to peel back a section of my carpet to only discover some serious surface rust under there.

 

So out came the seats, center console, carpet, fiberglass jute, tar paper sound deadener, wire looms & finally the heater box (I hope to go with an aftermarket A/C system since mine is shot).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does anyone sell this cardboard cutout that I found behind the rear seats?

 

It seems to have some kind of tar backing…maybe another sound barrier? What have some of you replaced it with or do u simply leave it out of the equation?

 

 

It was nasty under there lol it's definitely looking nicer now that I scraped & shop vac'd the heavy ends

 

 

 

I found a handful of rust pinholes that I will have to deal with on the floorboards & one trouble area on the driver side. I will have to cut out the trouble area & replace it with a patch panel I will shape to the match the contour of the floor. 

 

(IF, by chance, I sound like I know what I'm doing…rest assured…I DON'T lol this will be my first time lol wish me luck).

 

I'm glad I discovered this mess before I went thru my undercoating steps. I imagine trying to weld with all that in the way would be a real PITA. Funny thing is you couldn't see the trouble area from the underside when I was cleaning. You can see it now that I poked thru the weakened metal with a screw.

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[alini]

If thats all ya got you got lucky like me. Just enough rust to say ya fixed a rotten floorboard, but not enough to be a big headache

[60FlatTop]

Not wanting to get hung up on the safety side, I can give just one more tip. Any time I work under my cars I set it securely on jack stands and leave the jack just nudged against the frame in the area where I am working. If it is on four stands I drag the jack with me to the area I am. So I always have at least two supports, belt and suspenders.

Another trick I like is to stack immovable object like inflated tires between the car and the floor like this:

Bernie

[RockinRiviDad]

@Chris, as of right now, yes that's the only trouble rust spot I found. I'm not gonna let my guard down tho…I'm sure I'll be faced with another rust challenge somewhere else on this build (hope not, I'll try the "fingers crossed" trick again) lol.

 

@Bernie, not to get hung up on your awesome garage set-up (& cool cars to fill it), but DAMN that's a cool garage. With the body secured to the rotisserie & it being hundreds of pounds lighter now (I'll be taking the steering column & dash out soon too) I will try to rotate it again to clean & paint the undercarriage. If that works then I won't have a need to crawl under it…but thank u very much for the pointers nevertheless…trust that your direction is very much appreciated sir

 

Edited February 12, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[RockinRiviDad]

Ok fellas, here are the steps I have taken to resolve my body rot issue on the driver side floorboard. Not a big area but it looks a little bigger than Chris' patch (wish my first panel was smaller and flatter like his haha)

 

1) I marked a line right over the rust as a guide where I wanted to follow with my wire wheel. To clean the area I used my 4-1/2" angle grinder with a cup wire wheel on it (I've done a lot with these wheels).

 

2) I marked my line again on the clean area to follow with my cut off wheel attached to the same angle grinder.

 

3) I made a cardboard template of the hole to aide in making a patch panel out of scrap metal my friend gave me. 

 

4) The replacement patch panel has NOT been welded in yet, but you can see it looks like I've done this before, NOT the case at all. I spent lots of time shaping this little panel, most of you would probably whip it up in a few minutes lol. You can't really see the contour in the panel to match the floor but its there, that was tough. I borrowed two welders and have been practicing welding on scrap metal...Unfortunately, I need a lot of practice lol I am horrible...I may have figured out what I was doing wrong so I will try once again today...if I don't get better then I will probably farm this little patch panel out to a pro. Before the actual welding of it I've learned it has to be clean metal, so I will do that.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[alini]

Looks like you cut it back to some nice meat to weld to. Should turn out fine, dont forget to warm up on some scrap metal before you weld on the car

[RockinRiviDad]

Not having much luck welding on scrap… but I haven't given up yet

David

[RockinRiviDad]

 

My Fisher Body tag… Thx to a Senior Member who didn't want me to show my appreciation by calling him "my hero" for helping decode my tag…haha…

 

I think Mr T. Nugent hit the nail on the head with all my options…

 

07D - July, 4th week

ST - 65-49447 (year, model series & style)

FB - Flint, 278666 (production #)

TR628 - trim black vinyl, optional custom interior trim

TT - champagne mist

2KR - A/C & rear speaker

3T - rear seat center armrest

5W - seat belt with retractors

 

My car also has the finned rocker panels. But since its not on the tag does that mean it was added on at a later date?

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[JRRivi64]

Hey AACA,

New guy here. Finally picked up a 64 Riviera last month after searching/waiting/searching for couple years. Following the various restoration threads is definitely inspiring/motivating. I plan to post up some pics of my Riviera which I purchased as an abandoned restoration project. It runs, numbers on cowl matches engine, interior is beat up, will need engine/tranny rebuild. I seem to have all trim/chrome pieces. I recently removed all interior-seats, console and instrument cluster etc. Keep up the progress on your restorations guys!

Jeff

ROA#14384

[steelman]

My car also has the finned rocker panels. But since its not on the tag does that mean it was added on at a later date?

Nope, not added. Came as a part of the custom interior package.

[JRRivi64]

David

Have not seen rear seat divider (fiberboard) specifically available for Rivieras as I am in need of one as well but oldbuickparts (see Group 15 section) sells some for Skylarks. I believe cost 20-25$ and will have to probably customize to fit. Engine is looking sweet!!!

Jeff

[RockinRiviDad]

@Jeff, welcome to the forum & congrats on your Riviera purchase. You will love this site great place great people. Thx for the fiberboard direction but before I buy I may start a separate thread on that subject for more options from others. Thx for the engine compliment…glad u like it…I sent u a PM. Can't wait to see your Riv pix

 

@Steve, thx for the reply on my rocker panels

 

Edited February 12, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[RockinRiviDad]

My very own headlight motor protective rubber cover 

 

Thank you Rob J & Arnulfo for the photos & direction

 

Thx to Arnulfo for the parts connection which made it possible to get one of my very own

 

Its gonna be a while before I get to mount this. But it seems like this is more for protection of the switches against falling debris & not so much for water. I would think water will find its way onto the switches with ease. With that said, I'm guessing water will not harm the headlight motor…

 

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[RockinRiviDad]

Finally, one step closer. I wire wheeled all the crud off of the entire undercarriage in prep to spray Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator, which will then be followed up with a DIY undercoating kit. I only chipped away the loose wheel well & trans tunnel coating then scrubbed it as good as I could. I will be giving the wheel wells a fresh coat with the same undercoating stuff. I ran my wire wheel across the wheel wells but that 50 year old stuff is on there for good. So I figured its not gonna let loose anytime soon.

 

Before wire wheel

 

 

 

After wire wheel

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[RockinRiviDad]

Here it is with two cans of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator. Looks pretty good. First time using this product, I like it, goes on super easy. Top coating directions state to wait 6-8 hours for it to dry & top coat prior to 36 hours without having to scuff the surface. So I hope to spray the undercoating tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[Guest rsmalling]

Looking good David!

[RockinRiviDad]

Looking good David!

Hey thanks Rob, I'm just trying to keep up with your "high quality" work lol. But I'm glad u like…long time no speak…glad to see your still checking in…I took a little hiatus

Hope u still have your Rivi

David

[RockinRiviDad]

Woo whoo! Another huge DIY step out of the way. Now I will move on to making a block out plate for my firewall.

 

Official DIY Spray-in Bedliner Review 

Today I used a bed liner kit called U-Pol Raptor Urethane Bedliner Kit as an undercoating. It come with 4 one quart bottles of product & 1 quart of hardener. U mix the hardener straight in the product bottle, shake, attach spray gun & shot. 

 

This was my first time using this product & it is, as most reviews state, very user friendly.

 

The kit I bought came with a Schutz Spray Gun ($120 but can be ordered without the gun for less) which is a low pressure gun. But my 20 gallon 1.5hp compressor had a tough time keeping up. One good thing about this gun is that there is very little overspray. Despite the ugly paint on my car, I wrapped the car in plastic anyway (overkill…I know) & laid plastic on the floor (a true "must have").

I powered thru the process & will have to live with the results. I probably shoulda ordered a 4 more bottles to spray on it. But I figured it's never gonna be seen by anyone but me when I change the oil. Some areas look like black speckle paint (not the products fault) rather than the uniform "orange peel" look I was going after. I got good coverage where it counts, on the lower part of the firewall, trans tunnel & floor boards (good thing I started on the trunk end of the car).

 

In my learning curve, I didn't know how far this product would go so I sped thru the spraying & held the gun a little too far from the surface. Overall, I like the product, I like the results & I would recommend it to those who want another undercoating option.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[RockinRiviDad]

As you guys know, I am not a very good welder. But I really enjoy how some of you have cleaned up the engine compartment by eliminating the factory A/C & fabricating a block out plate to place over all the factory holes in the firewall.

 

My factory A/C had been removed & stored in the "open" position causing the need to have the entire system restored which costs a bunch of money. So I will be going with an more cost effective aftermarket A/C & get the clean engine compartment results I admire on your cars too.

 

My local metal supply store has a remnant shelf (as most stores prob do) were I found 16 gage sheet metal. Turns out that thickness would not be the experienced guys first choice. On the flip side to that, being a rookie welder, thicker is better for welding for me.

 

I made a paper template & used my buddys HF metal shears to cut it out. 

 

 

I won't post a close-up pic otherwise you guys would probably laugh me off of the forum due to the ugly weld job I ended up with (although I'm sure you guys know how to zoom in).

 

 

I used an 80 grit flap wheel on my angle grinder to knock down my welds and used U-Pol Glaze Putty (recommended by my local paint supply store for a beginner like me). The Glaze Putty is a two part filler exactly like Bondo only a bit easier to work with.....not bad for my first time. I also bought Epoxy Primer and Filler Primer which I hope to lay within the next week...

 

 

Edited February 9, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[Snake]

Very nice work David, you are very talented.

[JRRivi64]

Daaaaang David,

Making up for that hiatus huh? Keep up the progress. Gotta say, these pics/post don't do you justice. You CLAIM you don't have skills but seeing your work in person…. brutha you've got skills. Good on you for posting your resto process here for us.

Thanks

[RockinRiviDad]

Wow! Thank u very much Snake…no ones ever accused me of that lol…I call it beginners luck lol

 

@ JRRivi64, learning a lot, don't hesitate to call when u need something. Like most first timers, I think we over think the process & spend a lot more time on a project than needed. But because of that fact we end up with decent results…thx again gentlemen

 

I spent a lot of time gawking at everyone else's pix & asking questions…I learned we all love pix…so this is my way of giving back…glad u like

 

Edited February 9, 2018 by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)

[WillyKJr]

Great thread David. Keep it going man. Good stuff.

[RockinRiviDad]

Willy, Thank you…more to come for sure…I'm on a roll right now lol

David