1963 Riv - Bought today. Lots of questions. Rookie car guy.

[ShekysRiv]

Hi everyone. I have just purchased a 63 Riviera. I have only owned a couple old vehicles before and am pretty new to it all. I love the lines and styling of this car and fell in love with it at first sight.

So, it has a few issues and I am looking for some direction. I see there are a lots of folks with a ton of expertise here and I am hoping to tap into this wealth.

1. Tires. Needs new. Had 8.55-15 on it. Those are not standard right? I like the look of a bit bigger and am thinking about a 225/70 or so. Any thoughts on this? Stay true to original, or go a bit bigger for looks? (The rest of the car is original).

2. Exhaust. It is Shot. Should I Try to keep the crazy resonators etc with a bolt on kit from Waldron etc or just go with a simplified straight pipe style exhaust?

3. I will hold off on the more finicky issues until I get these two out of the way.

I am shooting off a couple pics so you can check it out. It has 30K miles. Paint has been sadly redone and some places show substandard paint craftsmanship. No rust though...

Interior is just about perfect.

[ShekysRiv]

Just reread my post. Interior is not perfect at all, but is good enough for me for now. Dash is cracked and all needs a good clean. I will be looking to get the dash done at some point, but need brakes and tires first

Sheldon

[Chasander]

I to just purchased a 63 Riv(Nov) 1st thing I did was get rid of the 53 year old brake lines. Then I fixed exhaust.. Just had to replace

resonators, muffler and tail pipe about $380.00. head pipes and over the axle pipes were still goods.

[RivNut]

I've thrown in a couple of comments following your questions. 

Hi everyone. I have just purchased a 63 Riviera. I have only owned a couple old vehicles before and am pretty new to it all. I love the lines and styling of this car and fell in love with it at first sight.
So, it has a few issues and I am looking for some direction. I see there are a lots of folks with a ton of expertise here and I am hoping to tap into this wealth.
1. Tires. Needs new. Had 8.55-15 on it. Those are not standard right? I like the look of a bit bigger and am thinking about a 225/70 or so. Any thoughts on this? Stay true to original, or go a bit bigger for looks? (The rest of the car is original) Original sized tires were either 7.10 x 15 or 7.60 x 15 bias ply tires.  Acceptable replacement sizes for a stock look are either 215/75R15 or 225/75R15.  I had a set of 225/70R15's on my '63 and got some rub at full steering wheel lock.  You can tell which came originally on your car by measuring the wheels.  5.5" wide wheels ​came with the 7.10 tires; 6" wheels came with the 7.60 tires. Rim width is measured inside the mounting flange, not across the full width of the rim.  It should also be stamped inside the wheel - inside meaning dismount the tire and look for stampings.
2. Exhaust. It is Shot. Should I Try to keep the crazy resonators etc with a bolt on kit from Waldron etc or just go with a simplified straight pipe style exhaust? Your choice.  Most shops can bend a section of pipe to replace the resonators then use the existing cross flow muffler.  Lots of choices here.  It will be easier and less expensive to have some pipes cut and bent to replace the resonators and use the existing cross flow muffler and tail pipes - assuming that all of that is still good.  Most problems with exhaust pipes occur in the long exhaust pipe before the resonator. Check to see if those pipes haven't already been replaced..  Lots of other choices here.  Do a search of this forum and see what others have done. ​
3. I will hold off on the more finicky issues until I get these two out of the way. As mentioned above, check the brake lines.  Your car is equipped with a single reservoir master cylinder.  Lots of owners change over to a dual reservoir system for safety.  You might also want to inspect the fuel lines.  You'd hate to ignite some leaking fuel from 50+ year old fuel lines. Replace both the steel and the rubber lines.  Get rubber lines that are compatible with ethanol based fuels.
I am shooting off a couple pics so you can check it out. It has 30K miles. Paint has been sadly redone and some places show substandard paint craftsmanship. No rust though...
Interior is just about perfect. Check the pictures of Kaber's car to see how he fixed his dash.  He put an ABS molded cover on it and dyed it to the correct color.  The red leather has a nice patina to it.

 

​Check the link in my signature block for the link to the Riviera Owners Assoc.  Lots of good info on that website.  Some of it is reserved for member's only though so spend $30 for a great restoration source.

PS  -Caution; ​if you're not familiar with those cast aluminum wheels covers you need to know that they bolt onto the wheel.  Take the spinner off, then use your lug wrench through the center of the aluminum to remove the lug nuts.  Take the wheel off and turn if over.  The nuts for removing the cast aluminum cover are on the back.  Also, be advised that the lug nuts on the driver's side of the car are left hand threads - righty loosey, lefty tighty.​

Edited August 9, 2015 by RivNut (see edit history)

[68RIVGS]

I see Alberta plates on the car - are you located in wild rose country ?

You picked a good source for info on your '63 - lots of experienced help and good advice available here !!

. . . good luck, and enjoy your classic Riviera.

[Jim Cannon]

Welcome!

 

For anyone with a '63 Riv that is new to them, I will gladly decode the data plate found on the firewall above the power brake booster if you email me a good, clear, close up picture of it.  You can learn a lot about how the car was originally equipped leaving the Fisher Body plant.  Email is 63Riv at comcast dot net.

 

There is also a 2-letter and 3-number code on the block that identifies the 401 engine or the 425.  I can help you with that.

 

Chasander, my '63 was also built in Nov.

[ShekysRiv]

I have done a bunch of work today looking for tires. I am located in wild Rose country! Alberta is home.

I am having a tougher time finding some white walls out of Canada. The exchange rate is a killer right now. I would like a 1" band or so. I know that's not exact factory specs, but I like a bit of white. I have found a Vancouver site "diamond back" that looks like they have what I want.

Thanks for all the advise on the brake lines. We are going to look at those in the next few days.

The advise on the hubcap is especially appreciated rivnut! I see there are two caps that already have been damaged and wonder if the previous owners didnt realize the proper way to remove them. I will need to find a source for two replacement hubcaps. Folks, let me know if you know of someone who has two - or one

Keep you all posted.

[RivNut]

The search for those is never ending.  One thing you need to look at is the stud that's in the back of the aluminum cover.  There are two different lengths of studs.  The shorter of the two has a spacer in the middle that's about 1/16 of an inch thick (don't ask me to convert this to metrics )​ This stud is used on the 5-1/2 inch wheels and the spacer is pretty much the color of raw metal.  The stud that is used on the 6 inch wheels has a spacer that is about 3/8 of an inch thick and, if the color isn't worn off the spacer, it is red in color.  You may find covers that have broken studs in them.  They can be drilled out and re-tapped.  The studs are really hard to find but a length of 'all-thread' can be used to replace it and you'll need to improvise a spacer for it.  The covers themselves are exactly the same, it's only the studs that are different.

 

I have a set of five for my '64 and a set of five for my '63.  I've had to accumulate 19 covers in order to find 10 good ones.  Good luck finding them.  They're out there but are few and far between and fetch a pretty good price when you do find one.  Cosmetically they're different;  the '63's are all natural aluminum but the '64's are painted black between the turbine fins. You can paint or strip paint to make them the same depending on which year you're trying to emulate.  Should you find that you have cracked plastic centers in the spinners (most tire jockeys will just hit the spinner right in the center to get it back on and they crack it) you can take the centers from a base '63 wheel cover and do a little R&R and come up with a good one. Same goes with the '64 spinner and a '64 base cover.

Edited August 10, 2015 by RivNut (see edit history)

[Pat Curran]

Good luck with your Riv! I noticed that your glove box door sits straight and most of them don't. You are off to a good start. The hinge in the upper right corner usually breaks pre-maturely. Yours looks like it might still be intact which is a rarity. If so, open and close it with care.

Regarding the exhaust, the stock transverse muffler is prone to collecting moisture and will rust out every 2 to 3 years unless the car is used as a daily driver. The resonators hold up much longer. As stated by others, you have options if you want to deviate from stock.

[Guest Kaber]

I to just purchased a 63 Riv(Nov) 1st thing I did was get rid of the 53 year old brake lines.

 

+ A DUAL MASTER CYLINDER!!!!!!! It is a fairly straight forward job and is a massive improvement in safety

 

Other than that have fun and welcome!.

[RivNut]

There are step by step instructions for adding a dual reservoir master cylinder to your existing booster on the Riviera Owners Assn. website.  BUT, you need to be a member to access them; they're in the members only section under tech tips.  You'll want to purchase a drum/drum master cylinder for a '67 Riviera.  You'll then need to figure out how to connect the hydraulically actuated brake light switch.  There's no port for it on the new master cylinder.

 

Ed

[ShekysRiv]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and suggestions so far!  Much appreciated.  

I have sent of a pic of the firewall data plate to Jim and am looking forward to his info.  

We decided to pull off the fuel tank and drain/rinse what was in there.  It was pretty old fuel 

and thought it would be best to start fresh.  

I do have an intact glove box door.  I am looking into ways that I can ensure that it doesn't 

end up getting broken.  I had no idea that they were an issue - I would love to keep this 

one in tact if possible.  Any suggestions here?

Still working on tires.  Need them bad in order to get this baby rolling....

[RivNut]

The hinge is screwed to the plastic dash.  Just make sure when it closes there's no binding.  Make sure it pops open far enough to get a finger behind the entire door before trying to open it.  If your car was built in November, it probably doesn't have the ribbed aluminum veneer that covers the dash.  Lots of cars with this veneer have the veneer pulled away from the door when folks use it to try to open the door.  The best thing to do is don't use the glove box once it's closed and the gaps are correct. 

[ShekysRiv]

Thanks to Jim I can tell you that it was built in the 1st week of December, 11255/40000.

Thanks again Jim!!

[Pat Curran]

Be content by using the console compartment only. The dash glove box hinge was poorly made when new and have only become more brittle with age. These were spring loaded so when you hit the button the door would pop up. Keep your hand on the door when you hit the button so it goes up slowly. I would lock it to prevent others from using it as well. Of course if you have a power trunk opener that would be located in the glove box. Many Riv's have this option which only adds to the usage of the glove box door and ultimately more failures of the hinge.

[JanZverina]

Mine has the usual factory-installed misalignment but a good press on the key lock springs it up enough to open it slowly. I have the vacuum trunk release, so I use it on a regular basis. 52 years old and it's still working fine.

[Cornpanzers Riv]

That interior is spectacular!  Keep us updated!

[Riviera63]

There are step by step instructions for adding a dual reservoir master cylinder to your existing booster on the Riviera Owners Assn. website.  BUT, you need to be a member to access them; they're in the members only section under tech tips.  You'll want to purchase a drum/drum master cylinder for a '67 Riviera.  You'll then need to figure out how to connect the hydraulically actuated brake light switch.  There's no port for it on the new master cylinder.

 

Ed

I did the dual master cylinder conversion this summer. I followed Jim Cannon's instructions which are on this forum. Do a search for: Dual Master Cylinder. Find the topic: 63 Riviera Dual master conversion help posted by Kaber on August 9, 2013. Jim's instructions are in there. Jim even gives you a list of parts and their numbers to get from Inline Tube. The part BS-01 takes care of the brake light switch issue. This part is a tee with a new hydraulic brake light switch already attached. I liked this conversion. It was cheap, clean and simple.