Back from the dead

[jframe]

After 9 LONG months, almost to the day I got hit, my Riv is back home. Guys did a great job;painted the whole car rather than just fixing the damage. He was actually able to just skin the quarter panel, because my car actually had better sheetmetal, especially around the wheel. No bracing or fenderwell damage at all. Body actually shifted on the frame, creasing the right side as well. A minimal pull, and all was square again.Apparently, thes cars are TOUGH. Had a somewhat bad experience with the vendor regarding the rechroming of the bumper he supplied, and ended up having the rechroming rechromed locally, since he refused to address the issue. So I was out 600 smackers getting that done, but my deductible was waived, so it worked out, I just learned to never do business with that particular vendor again. Beautiful job, and worth the wait. Bodyshop was pretty shorthanded AND busy most of the time, and it sure tried my patience, but it is just fantastic to have this wonderful car back in my garage again.

[PWB]

Congratulations JFrame!

 

That experience would have put a few more grays in my hair.

 

B&W always classy

 

[Seafoam65]

Glad to see it came out OK..........You have to have eyes in the back of your head to deal with all the idiot drivers running around

on the streets today. They seem to think driving a car is just like playing a video game. I've found that I have to drive my Riviera very agressively

or people try to cut me off or run me off the road, pass me on the shoulder , etc. I've had several close calls myself due to total idiot drivers.

One thing, i see in the pic that your left clamshells are not quite closing all the way. This is easily adjusted by adjusting the end of the rod

for the left side where it attaches to the clamshell motor.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Seafoam65 (see edit history)

[dr914]

wow that was a hard hit, thank you for saving it!  Would have hated to see another first generation car scrapped

 

By the way I was watching that old movie for Pete's Sake, and when Barbra Streisand was in the auto wrecking yard, there was a scene where the complete backdrop was a red first generation, scrapped buy looking very new, showed the right side and the RIVIERA script was gleaming.  Too bad that one met its demise so early on

[RivNut]

10 minutes ago, dr914 said:

wow that was a hard hit, thank you for saving it!  Would have hated to see another first generation car scrapped

 

By the way I was watching that old movie for Pete's Sake, and when Barbra Streisand was in the auto wrecking yard, there was a scene where the complete backdrop was a red first generation, scrapped buy looking very new, showed the right side and the RIVIERA script was gleaming.  Too bad that one met its demise so early on

I saw that too.  If you weren't paying attention, you missed it.  It was in the background behind the two guys talking on the phone. 

[petelempert]

Congrats. I love a happy ending. It looks great. PRL
 

[jframe]

42 minutes ago, Seafoam65 said:

Glad to see it came out OK..........You have to have eyes in the back of your head to deal with all the idiot drivers running around

on the streets today. They seem to think driving a car is just like playing a video game. I've found that I have to drive my Riviera very agressively

or people try to cut me off or run me off the road, pass me on the shoulder , etc. I've had several close calls myself due to total idiot drivers.

One thing, i see in the pic that your left clamshells are not quite closing all the way. This is easily adjusted by adjusting the end of the rod

for the left side where it attaches to the clamshell motor.

Funny you should mention that! I was looking up on here last night for info on how to fix that, and came across an old post you made about yours. Just close the clamshell with my fingers, then take the nut loose and retighten, or something like that?

[Seafoam65]

 Yes, just follow my instructions exactly........you have to be careful not to move them too far or they will close before the limiter switch on the motor

is activated, resulting in a burned out motor. Read my instructions carefully in my previous post and follow them to the letter.

[Seafoam65]

 I just moved my two hideaway headlamp tutorials back to the top so new folks can reference them.....lot's

of good info in these posts. With this info you can solve your hideaway headlamp problems.

[Guest Mr Jones]

I am so glad you were able to save this beautiful car.

[jframe]

On ‎9‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 9:33 AM, Seafoam65 said:

Glad to see it came out OK..........You have to have eyes in the back of your head to deal with all the idiot drivers running around

on the streets today. They seem to think driving a car is just like playing a video game. I've found that I have to drive my Riviera very agressively

or people try to cut me off or run me off the road, pass me on the shoulder , etc. I've had several close calls myself due to total idiot drivers.

One thing, i see in the pic that your left clamshells are not quite closing all the way. This is easily adjusted by adjusting the end of the rod

for the left side where it attaches to the clamshell motor.

Winston, I just ran home at lunch, and got a small ratchet and 7/16 and gave your suggestion a try. Seemed to do well, I closed them and they met together, so I suppose that is fixed. The only thing it won't do is leave the visors open and the lights off.

[Seafoam65]

              You must do the test to make sure the motor is shutting off after the clams close utilizing a test light. Otherwise, you risk a burned out motor.

[jframe]

3 minutes ago, Seafoam65 said:

              You must do the test to make sure the motor is shutting off after the clams close utilizing a test light. Otherwise, you risk a burned out motor.

 

3 minutes ago, Seafoam65 said:

              You must do the test to make sure the motor is shutting off after the clams close utilizing a test light. Otherwise, you risk a burned out motor.

Think you misunderstood. The motor is shutting off when I shut the clamshells; I don't hear it running. The issue is, when I have the key OFF, and turn off the headlights, the visors close. I figured they would stay open. I had to do the adjustment with the headlights shining. No big deal, but just thought it was odd.

[Seafoam65]

You can't hear the motor run once it stops moving....... when it gets to the end of the travel it will stop running. You have to make sure there is no current draw from the motor after it

closes and stops running. If the limiter switch isn't shutting off the motor when the clams close it will burn the motor out. You have to ground a test light and probe

both of the motor wires by poking through the insulation and check to see if only the black wire lights your light. If both the black and brown wires light up your test light with the clams closed and the key on then the motor is still trying to run and it will burn out. On your other problem, it is the job of the auxiliary three prong relay to kill power

to the black wire when the key is turned off and the lights are turned off. Does your car have an auxiliary relay installed on it? The early build cars did not have one, and

they were recalled back to the dealer to install one in the middle of the model year. If you do have the three prong auxiliary relay, then there is some sort of malfunction

with the circuit that you can use my troubleshooting blurb to diagnose.If you don't have the auxiliary relay, you need to get the auxiliary relay wiring harness off a parts

car and install it along with an auxiliary relay, using my tech tip to modify the harness to accept another main relay as the auxiliary relay.

[jframe]

18 minutes ago, Seafoam65 said:

You can't hear the motor run once it stops moving....... when it gets to the end of the travel it will stop running. You have to make sure there is no current draw from the motor after it

closes and stops running. If the limiter switch isn't shutting off the motor when the clams close it will burn the motor out. You have to ground a test light and probe

both of the motor wires by poking through the insulation and check to see if only the black wire lights your light. If both the black and brown wires light up your test light with the clams closed and the key on then the motor is still trying to run and it will burn out. On your other problem, it is the job of the auxiliary three prong relay to kill power

to the black wire when the key is turned off and the lights are turned off. Does your car have an auxiliary relay installed on it? The early build cars did not have one, and

they were recalled back to the dealer to install one in the middle of the model year. If you do have the three prong auxiliary relay, then there is some sort of malfunction

with the circuit that you can use my troubleshooting blurb to diagnose.If you don't have the auxiliary relay, you need to get the auxiliary relay wiring harness off a parts

car and install it along with an auxiliary relay, using my tech tip to modify the harness to accept another main relay as the auxiliary relay.

Good info to have; I'll have to check it out when I get home. When I made the adjustment, I just barely had to move the rod, then tightened the nut. I think that it could have been jarred in the accident; it was a pretty good lick. I would venture to say I didn't move it 1/8 to a 1/4 inch. Just enough to let it close. My car has two relays in the driver's fender, so I need to reread your troubleshooting guide tonight. That part isn't a big issue, really, but I just wondered why they stayed on.

[Seafoam65]

The relevant info you need is contained in post no. 6 under my blog regarding installing a new clamshell motor.