Johnny Buick Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 (edited) Hello EveryoneI have been making progress with doing repairs and work to my 1983 Riviera. There is still alot to do in the coming weeks and I intend driving the car to Colorado in June. Your comments and advice is greatly appreciated and I am looking forward to meeting many of you later on this year. Have a great day! Finally the sun has appeared here in Sioux Falls. What a difference a day makes.Regards John Edited March 9, 2014 by Johnny Buick (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest northmn Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 All the best to you. I have an appreciation for anyone restoring on these complex generation Riv. I'am one of the few who seems to have done a complete restoration on one of these and was for sentimental reasons only. If it's any incouragement to you I won 1st place in a Concours event last year. Remember the more options the more work. I see you have the doors off. If it where mine I would go the rest of the way if the money where their. I like the convertible and V8 part of it. If you need pictures or help with the restoration I can help you big time. I have posted some new pictures on my profile. Good luck.Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63 Rivi Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 John,A lot of work to do but I'm sure it will be spectacular when you get it finished. Makes me wish I had the time to do the body and paint on mine, it could use that kind of going over too to make it mint. Anything we can do to help you get it back together in time for Colorado, let us know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Buick Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hello Bob and Darrell Thank you for your messages and for words of encouragement. It is greatly appreciated and I will keep working away at this project and I am confident that I will be driving it this summer.Thank you Bob for the pictures and I will have a look at them and then get back to you, as there will be lots of questions which I would like to ask.Regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest merrillcrosbie Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hi John, I am glad to see another convertible is being saved. I am an original 83 convertible owner, so my car is not restored, but is maintained as new. I would be interested to hear if you have trouble getting parts. I have mostly had trouble with failed electronics, but so far I have been able to keep everything working. I would really like to see your car in June, but I suspect I won't be in Colorado this year even though I had planned to until just recently. It is kinda sad since I am in Utah, so this is the closest the ROA meet have ever been for me. So post up more of your progress pictures and let us know your triumphs and obstacles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Buick Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hello MerrillThank you for your message and comments. They are a great car for cruising and I have always wanted a convertible. I would like to know more about the electronic issues which you have had with the car, as this will give me an insight as to what I can look forward to, as I get to know and use the car. Mine is a 307 V8 and I see that yours is a V6?Parts are the biggest issue for me, as there are no parts held by the GM dealers for these years and the car is not old enough or popular enough for the reproduction companies to make parts for them. However the guys on these forums have been fantastic and the networking is working for me.PM me and I would love to chat to you. Where do you live in Utah? I spent a year in Idaho Falls and have driven through parts of the state, its a very interesting and beautiful part of the country.Take careRegardsJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Thats an agressive project timeline John but persistence and relentless effort will get you there. Looks like the car is in a well equipped shop as well which really helps! Do you have much to do mechanically or is plan to focus on body and cosmetics. Look forward to seeing you and the car in Co Springs! May the Force Be With You in the next 3 months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest merrillcrosbie Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Hi John. None of the electronic failures have been unique to a convertible. Mostly relays. I fried a relay for the load leveling shocks after the dealers were no longer carrying parts for this vintage. This $6 relay ended up costing me over $100 to find a NOS part in Michigan. I suspect if it fails again, that will be it for having auto leveling air shocks. I have also had failures in the Electronic Touch Climate Control. There is a component under the hood that failed and it made the blower fan run constantly, even when the ignition was off. I read on this forum that this failure was because this component sits where moisture can get to the connector and causes corrosion and a short. I have tried spraying mine with electronic sealer to try and prevent this moisture/corrosion. So far so good. But, my head controller is blinking for some reason. Everything works as it should. It just likes to blink. Yes, I have the V6. The engine itself is bullet proof. I have gone through a couple alternators and an electronic module in the distributor cap. I have twice replaced the cruise control transducer, and currently my cruise won't hold speed. I think the vacuum hoses might be leaking and need replacement. To be honest in the 31 years and 130K miles I have driven this thing, it has been amazingly dependable. But, I worry now because parts are impossible to find. Ya know, as I think back most of my failures have been while attending ROA meets. At Lake of the Ozarks is where my distributor died. While at Klamath Falls is where the relay for the load levels failed. Nashville was the alternator. Monterey is where my cruise control failed. I have driven this car up and down both coasts and across the country several times without a failure....unless it is for an ROA event. I guess I am glad I can't make Colorado this year. I don't need anything else to quit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63 Rivi Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 John,How hard was it to remove the dash pad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Buick Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Hello DarrellThank you for your message. I was rather stupid and went about removing it the wrong way. Once I read the manual and realised that the dash pad was attached to the inner frame, and it came out of the car as a whole unit, it wasn't too bad. It will go back in much easier once Justdashes.com have finished reconditioning it. There are only about 5 or 6 nuts holding it in. It did take some time to disconnect the wiring harness and all the components. Do you have a dash to remove Darrell?Take careJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sosuzguy Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Yeah they aren't fun to take out. I have done two. If your heater core has not been replaced and you have it off, after 3? years I would replace it. It is not fun doing the dashes. Also there is something quirky about where the dash screws into the firewall near the bottom of the windshield. Every car I have been in that has had the dash taken out will make a strange noise occasionally when you go over harsh bumps. It's like the screw clips are jarred and rubs against something. At this time I can not locate the exact cause of this but maybe taking a dash out this summer so I might find out. On the blog on my signature line I have photos of when Nathaniel and I replaced a dash in one of my daily driver cars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I have pulled a dash for a guy named Dandy Dave [who hangs out on the Buick and General Discussion part of the forum]. It was an OK job to remove it but he said not as easy to put it in. You may want to check with him. He did it about 3 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63 Rivi Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 John, were you able to pick up the parts car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Buick Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 Hello DarrellThank you for your message. I drove up to Fargo North Dakota last Sunday and trailered a 1984 Riviera Coupe back to Sioux Falls. The car had been sitting for 12 years and I was able to start it by pouring gas down the carburettor. It fired up after one turn and ran OK. It went into drive and moved forward and it also drove in reverse. I have spent the week pulling it a part, as it is complete and has the parts which I was looking for. I am also pleasantly suprised to find a dash which is not cracked. My original dash is away being reconditioned at Justdashes, therefore I now have a good used dash, which is brown. How much can you ask for a good quality dash? Tomorrow I am off to "The Cities" Minneapolis/St Paul to meet an upholstery guy who was recommended by a fellow BCA member and I will be there to talk about getting a new convertible top fitted and door panels refreshed.I will give you a call soon.Take careJohnJohn, were you able to pick up the parts car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Hi John. That is good news. That probably means you don't need me to look in my yard for parts. BTW I sold a dash panel about 3 years ago for $100.00 plus shipping. You should be able to get more then that today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sosuzguy Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 John, I'd love to see pics and hear about your parting out and what you find out about getting the door panels rebuilt. I'm going to attempt to rebuild mine this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63 Rivi Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 John,How's the progress coming along? Hope you're able to get it done in time for the meet.Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkohio Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 On my 1983 riviera I can't locate the screws to remove dash. Can anyone please help me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Which part of the dash? The facia just snaps into place as far as I can remember. Once that is removed, you can see the underpinnings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now