VickyBlue Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 (edited) Since this thread already exists, I will post the update here, instead of starting a new one. The car is in Boise, safe, but let me tell you how it all happened... I took a later flight on Tuesday the 23rd from Boise to SFO and then to Fresno. I showed up at Paul's home by 9 PM. He gave me the tour and by 1030 PM I was on my way to say Hi to my old next door neighbor, I hadn't seen in 6 years. He let me have his sub-zero sleeping bag and by 12 am I was on my way. 65 miles N of Fresno, just outside of Atwater, as I was listening to the AM radio, lost engine power. I pulled to the side, in 1/8 mi visibility and turns out the battery was dead... Dead dead. Clicked the starter and nada, just the awful sound of ticking, but no turning... I was as sitting duck, a foot off the freeway, in heavy fog. I called AAA, apparently my membership had expired and they would renew it, but had to wait 48 hrs before I could use my long haul tows... A flat bead truck was dispatched from Merced and after $535 I was back at Paul's driveway, at 6 am. I pulled the alternator, put the battery back on the charger at Paul's garage and the AutoZone guy confirmed the alternator was toasted. I got a new one with a new belt and Paul drove me back to his place. I put the alternator back on and she started right up. I gave him a hug, thanked him and off I went. It was 1030 AM. 25 miles N of Fresno again, as I was approaching the freeway, I see white smoke coming out of the vents, I smell the smell of antifreeze, and I pull quick to the side. Heater core was busted. I lift the hood, a car guy feels sorry for me, he pulls to the side and with his blade, cut the heater hose and routed it back into the T-stat. Compressor was making funny noises, the bearing is probably bad, so I cut the AC belt as a precaution. I filled up the radiator, shook this guy's hand, tried to pay him, but he would not accept money... It was noon by now. I forgot to mention, the fuel gauge was stuck just south of half. Right after I left Paul's house the first time, I stopped for some gas and she took 15 gallons. When the gauge didn't move, I knew this was going be a pen and paper gas log trip. I also didn't have any idiot lights, GEN or OIL. I made it all the way to 45 miles N of Auburn, CA by 2 PM. Even though it had only been 89 miles since my last fuel stop, I pulled to the side to use the restroom and gas up again. I filled up again, tried to start, nothing... dead battery. Again. I used some cables, jump started it, run for 5 minutes then died again. I was at 4,000ft, dead battery, fast approaching snow storm, with no heat... There were a couple of auto stores but they were in Auburn and I had no way of getting there. And then God sends Avery... PG&E guy, just finished work and saw the car with the hood up, asked me what was going on, I told him and he said, "jump in, I will take you to Auburn, get a new alternator, battery and voltage regulator. It took us an hour and a half to get to Auburn in heavy rain, which means it was probably snowing where the car was...Got the parts and headed back North. I put in the alternator, then pulled out the voltage regulator. Turns out, someone had "spruced-up" the engine bay and had spray painted black lots of stuff, one of them was the voltage regulator. They removed the plug, painted it and then the plug was not put back in all the way. It appeared it was plugged in, but is was not. The black spray paint on the spades, with just 1/8" silver, gave it away. Checked voltage and with part throttle it jumped to 13.6V at all three places, battery, alternator and regulator. By that time it was 530 PM. There was so much snow coming down, the road to Truckee was chains only. Avery told me to head south, back down to Auburn and try to find a place to spend the night, until the storm was over. I looked him in the eyes and in tears I gave him a hug, I offered him money, he wouldn't accept it, he just told me "a few years back, someone helped me with my car when I needed help out in the desert, now I am paying it back. Just pay it forward" There was a good foot of snow all the way down to Auburn, but she made it... it was 7PM. Checked a couple of places to stay, but no vacancies. I pulled into a parking lot and got into the sleeping bag. I had ben up since Tuesday the 23rd at 6 AM. This was Wednesday the 24th at 7 PM. I closed my eyes and next thing it is 12 AM. I used the restroom and after looking at the weather and with all the road closures and chain requirements towards Truckee, I decided to got to Placerville, then to South Lake Tahoe, then to Reno and I80 East. It was rain all the way to Placerville and then light snow till Pollock Pines. Cal Trans pulled me at one of their chain inspection stops and told me I had to get them, or go back. I pulled at the gas station, they had a set and had a guy install them for $30. I left Pollock Pines at 2 AM and made it to South Late Tahoe by 4 Am. In L1 gear, 20 mph. one hand steering, the other hand scraping ice from the inside of the windshield. I was warm, I had wool pants, 3 thermal shirts, two jackets, gloves and a beanie, but my feet were frozen. South Lake Tahoe, it was were the freeway ended. Nothing had been plowed, the city was just buried in snow. I found a hotel paring lot, and parked. Changed socks and went back to sleep. Got up at 730 AM in sunshine. Left South Lake Tahoe at 8 Am with my chains still on and made it to Reno at 11 AM. Stopped at a gas station, took the chains off and got some hot coffee and some food and water... I was in Boise at 4 PM... I called Paul, let him know I made it, I called my buddy in Fresno and thanked him for the sleeping bag. I hugged and kissed my girls and my wife and took them to dinner. I kept looking at them in the eyes and thinking, I am a stupid lucky SoB... I was able to return the new battery and alternator I got from O'Reilly. The alternator I got in Fresno tested OK and the battery Paul had put on was new, in December. The old voltage regulator is probably OK too, but will check on that. Now the water pump leaks... Once the charging problem was fixed, and once I got out of the heavy snow, other than a slight miss at idle, it didn't burn a single drop of oil, or transmission fluid. Radiator held up, all hoses appear to be original to the car and other than that, the car was exactly as advertised. I learned a lot, about different things, about myself, about people, about life and fears. Did I want to get caught in a snow storm at 7500ft with no heat? No. But this trip made me realize that when I couldn't escape my fears, I had to learn how to face them and walk with them... I knew it was going to be temporary. Yes, shipping it would have been the best option, especially with a car that sat for 34 years. But who am I to take the easy way out...? Edited January 27, 2018 by VickyBlue (see edit history) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVET Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 My Dad worked his way up from apprentice tool and die maker to department supervisor at a GM Fisher Body plant in Grand Rapids, MI. He told us that the bodies with roof blemishes or those that would have normally been scrapped would be marked for vinyl roof cars. This saved GM some money during the vinyl roof years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 5 minutes ago, AZVET said: My Dad worked his way up from apprentice tool and die maker to department supervisor at a GM Fisher Body plant in Grand Rapids, MI. He told us that the bodies with roof blemishes or those that would have normally been scrapped would be marked for vinyl roof cars. This saved GM some money during the vinyl roof years. Does that mean that we'd find cars out there with vinyl tops where the Fisher Data plate does not agree with the actual car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 Vicky, Really enjoyed the story. I have dozens of fond memories from buying/driving antique cars cross country. I remember the days when I could get on a plane with a tote tray of tools as a carry on. Hammer, screwdrivers, test light....no problem! I was accustomed to doing road service as a fleet mechanic so it didnt bother me. As a matter of fact, I thought it was challenging and great fun. By the time I would arrive at home many of the easily repairable glitches would be worked out and I had a thorough evaluation of the automobile. I`ve driven complete beaters for many years, mostly because my skill set allows me to get away with it but also because I`d rather devote the funds I`d otherwise spend on a rapidly depreciating new car to other things like my kid`s education or my hobbies...both of which I have done my entire adult life. But there are 2 requirements before I`ll drive a beater or do a cross country recovery: a new or newer battery and tires. Those 2 items will eliminate many frustrating and potentially dangerous situations. Thanks for the story and glad to hear you arrived home in one piece, Tom Mooney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivman Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 2 hours ago, 1965rivgs said: Vicky, Really enjoyed the story. I have dozens of fond memories from buying/driving antique cars cross country. I remember the days when I could get on a plane with a tote tray of tools as a carry on. Hammer, screwdrivers, test light....no problem! I was accustomed to doing road service as a fleet mechanic so it didnt bother me. As a matter of fact, I thought it was challenging and great fun. By the time I would arrive at home many of the easily repairable glitches would be worked out and I had a thorough evaluation of the automobile. I`ve driven complete beaters for many years, mostly because my skill set allows me to get away with it but also because I`d rather devote the funds I`d otherwise spend on a rapidly depreciating new car to other things like my kid`s education or my hobbies...both of which I have done my entire adult life. But there are 2 requirements before I`ll drive a beater or do a cross country recovery: a new or newer battery and tires. Those 2 items will eliminate many frustrating and potentially dangerous situations. Thanks for the story and glad to hear you arrived home in one piece, Tom Mooney I agree Stavros, great story, AND glad you made it home OK! I have brought one home, NOWHERE near the distance you traveled and “not quite” as old, checked several things before leaving and other than adding some oil on the way I made it OK. Of course I didn’t have to weather any snow storms like you did, I might have given up after the first, or second, problem you describe too. Great story, and I too am glad you made it home in one piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivman Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 5 hours ago, RivNut said: Does that mean that we'd find cars out there with vinyl tops where the Fisher Data plate does not agree with the actual car? Heaven Forbid! There can’t be any differences from the body tag that were actually done AT the factory, that would just confuse EVERYONE where the 400-point judging is concerned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carbuff2 Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 Stavros is quite a guy, he is a trooper and as we both said it would have been easier and cheaper to trailer the car home but what is the adventure worth??????? He has a story that would be hard to match by anyone on a car vintage collector car purchase. A loosely plugged voltage regulator can cause a lot of problems. I am glad that he got home and the car made it through mountains, rain, snow and high altitudes but that is a Riviera for you. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVET Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 On 1/27/2018 at 11:54 AM, RivNut said: Does that mean that we'd find cars out there with vinyl tops where the Fisher Data plate does not agree with the actual car? I do not know as this was when I was a teenager when the vinyl tops were a new option. I do recall visiting his plant and seeing tops being stamped out on huge machines. Very noisy there! I am assuming the defective top panels were marked with a crayon or something to show they would be welded only to cars scheduled for a vinyl top. Dad passed away in 1995 after his retirement. My brother in law's Dad worked in a California (possibly in South Gate) GM plant. His Dad worked on a line and applied lead to the body seams to smooth out the weld lines between the steel tops and the body. Maybe he will remember his Dad saying something about cars that were destined to have vinyl tops applied. Small world out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyBlue Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Turns out the reason the idiot lights were not working was not because of the light bulbs, not because of the oil pressure switch, but because of the circuit board... there is a chunk missing. Heater core is out too, it was easier than I thought. My question is, I only get one speed on the fan switch, low speed. Is it the switch, or the resistor? The resistor coils do not touch each other, it seems in good shape... I have about a week before the parts get here and I really do not want to take this dash out again... I do not wish this to my worse enemy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol' yeller Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 I left a lot of skin and blood behind the dash in my '69 when I restored it. I think I had it out 4 times before I got everything to work the way it should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 I believe there are 3 versions of the fan switch; No AC, AC and auto temp controlled. They are available on ebay - NOS. With all you have going on its likely just a loose wire. Your printed circuit may be interchangeable with Electra? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyBlue Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 (edited) It is an A/C car, no auto temp. I tested the vacuum function of the switch and it holds vacuum. I found a couple of cuts in one of the vacuum hoses from the switch to the vacuum canister and also the vacuum T at the firewall was busted open on the right side... Thank God for the manual, as I am going over every single vacuum line and checking for holes and cuts. I found the printed circuit at OPGI, new for $75 and ordered one. It is on back order and it shows in stock by tomorrow... we'll see. I took the clock apart, cleaned it, lubed it and it runs now! Thant saved me $85 or so on a new quartz mechanism. The temp controller wire red tab was broken at the base of the dash, I was able to fix it. I went over all the light bulbs, one by one checking for continuity, but will double check with power on. All the A/C ducting is cleaned and ready for assembly. The radio's light bulb was out and it was scratchy, everything is cleaned and lubed now. Speaker is in good condition, dash pad is as new, found "MARCH 13 1969" stamped underneath, which I think it's cool... Fuel sender is not working, it is stuck at a little less than half. Fuel pump has been bypassed and they took power from the wiper motor to run a long a$$ 14GA wire all the way to the back of the car. Rubber fuel hose probably goes all the way to the tank too... First I need to remove the sender from the tank, see what is going on. Then I will decide if I want to replace the in tank pump with a Carter one and run it separate from the oil pressure switch, with a relay on it's own circuit. I replaced the oil pressure switch, but of course that was not the problem... So far, other than the chewed up circuit board, al the other wiring is in one piece. Antenna works, rear defrost motor works, power windows work, bench seat works. Just the 3 light on the right side of the dash were not lit: Fuel gauge light, OIL and ALT idiot lights. It also needs L exhaust manifold gasket, part of me wants to drop the oil pan and clean up the sludge too, so it might be easier to just pull the motor out... But one thing at a time... I did leave half my skin inside that dash... Edited August 6, 2018 by VickyBlue (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Sounds like you're making good progress. Check to see that Buick installed their exhaust manifolds without gaskets. I know they did on the nailheads, but I've never owned a big block that I had to do any work on. Someone else will chime in and let me know if I'm right or wrong. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I would isolate first the fuel gauge itself being “sticky”. It happened to me. Float / sender was fine. - especially since your dash is out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyBlue Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I did pull the gauge out and the needle moves freely. This car had been in storage in Fresno CA since 1984, it came out last year... it was a flip and can't imagine what the sender will look like. Found out the circuit board is 2-4 weeks out. Will keep looking for a cluster mean time. Here is the vacuum block. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 19 hours ago, VickyBlue said: I did pull the gauge out and the needle moves freely. This car had been in storage in Fresno CA since 1984, it came out last year... it was a flip and can't imagine what the sender will look like. Found out the circuit board is 2-4 weeks out. Will keep looking for a cluster mean time. Here is the vacuum block. I have some replacement GM vacuum ports available. Below is one installed on my 68 Riv. Rubber caps are included, including a 5/32nds cap for the smaller port. Send me a private message if you are interested in purchasing one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 On 8/5/2018 at 6:18 PM, VickyBlue said: It is an A/C car, no auto temp. I tested the vacuum function of the switch and it holds vacuum. I found a couple of cuts in one of the vacuum hoses from the switch to the vacuum canister and also the vacuum T at the firewall was busted open on the right side... Thank God for the manual, as I am going over every single vacuum line and checking for holes and cuts. I found the printed circuit at OPGI, new for $75 and ordered one. It is on back order and it shows in stock by tomorrow... we'll see. I took the clock apart, cleaned it, lubed it and it runs now! Thant saved me $85 or so on a new quartz mechanism. The temp controller wire red tab was broken at the base of the dash, I was able to fix it. I went over all the light bulbs, one by one checking for continuity, but will double check with power on. All the A/C ducting is cleaned and ready for assembly. The radio's light bulb was out and it was scratchy, everything is cleaned and lubed now. Speaker is in good condition, dash pad is as new, found "MARCH 13 1969" stamped underneath, which I think it's cool... Fuel sender is not working, it is stuck at a little less than half. Fuel pump has been bypassed and they took power from the wiper motor to run a long a$$ 14GA wire all the way to the back of the car. Rubber fuel hose probably goes all the way to the tank too... First I need to remove the sender from the tank, see what is going on. Then I will decide if I want to replace the in tank pump with a Carter one and run it separate from the oil pressure switch, with a relay on it's own circuit. I replaced the oil pressure switch, but of course that was not the problem... So far, other than the chewed up circuit board, al the other wiring is in one piece. Antenna works, rear defrost motor works, power windows work, bench seat works. Just the 3 light on the right side of the dash were not lit: Fuel gauge light, OIL and ALT idiot lights. It also needs L exhaust manifold gasket, part of me wants to drop the oil pan and clean up the sludge too, so it might be easier to just pull the motor out... But one thing at a time... I did leave half my skin inside that dash... Be careful with the exhaust manifold bolts. Attending church on a regular basis for at least a quarter and fasting for as long as you can stand will be necessary before you tackle the job. If it goes "south" you will be yanking the head!! Be careful ! Tom Mooney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 . . . do yourself a favor Stavros, and replace that old vacuum manifold with one from Mike S ! They are much sturdier units - I also installed the same one in my '68 Riviera. You will need heat to remove those manifold bolts, so the availability of a cutting torch is a 'must have' , to generate sufficient heat to remove exhaust manifold bolts, or you can try Tom's suggestion above? . . . a job I have avoided for a few years now, but will attempt this Fall - both exhaust manifolds have cracked ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyBlue Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 (edited) Mike, I am sorry... I wish I had talked to you earlier, I found one on eBay for $24.99 and already bought it. It will be here tomorrow. That's why I am planning on pulling the engine sans transmission, to be able to use my torch and make sure nothing breaks... I appreciate the heads up. New cam gears and double chain is also on the list, together with a new water pump. I played with the fan switch today. The vacuum function works, I tested it with my mouth, the electric portion was not... I oped up the switch plate and found out why... Crud. I cleaned up the contact points and I am getting resistance on all speeds now... Printed circuit is on its way, according to OPGI. Edited August 8, 2018 by VickyBlue (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 (edited) FYI: If you decide to use a double row timing chain, you may have to shim the '68 mechanical fuel pump, or slot the mounting holes slightly so the mechanical fuel pump arm will clear the double row chain, or just install an electric fuel pump. Edited August 8, 2018 by 68RIVGS (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyBlue Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Continued under "Me and My Buick". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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