Riviera63 Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 The last of the 30+ inches of snow we got in April is finally gone and the weather has warmed up so that a young (or old) man's attention can once again turn to cars. Winter has been declared officially over in central Wisconsin as the Riviera is out of hibernation. Started right up and I took it for a drive to get everything hot so that I could replace the transmission fluid that had burped out during storage. I just have to finish cleaning, polishing and waxing the wire wheel covers and we will be ready to go. It seemed as if this day would never come. Bill 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyntre Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 ???? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 That is a very nice looking 63! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj5794 Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Sharp Riviera Bill! Jim Vesely ROA #7437 BCA #39477 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share Posted May 7, 2018 (edited) Thanks for the compliments guys. I really appreciate them. I got the wire wheel covers done and on the car. We are ready for cruising. Every year I struggle with the question of whether or not I should go out and get a set of turbines for my car. I like many of you love the turbines and appreciate the unique look they give our Rivieras. I tip my hat to the guys that spend endless hours bringing a set of turbines back to life. I never can quite pull the trigger on buying a set. The money I would have to pay does not bother me. As I was putting the wheel covers on my car I realized why I never go out and get those turbines. I just love the look of my wire wheel covers too much. It happens every year and this year was no different. When I put those freshly cleaned and polished covers on the car for the first time in the spring, I step back and go "wow" those are some great, classy looking wheel covers. They fit the look of the Riviera so well. In my mind I don't think a set of turbines is going to be that big of an improvement, if any, over the way those wire look on my car. I think that Buick hit it out of the park with both sets of covers and you can't go wrong either way. Bill Edited May 8, 2018 by Riviera63 edit text (see edit history) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegart Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I have a white '63 with wire wheel covers also. I thought the turbine caps might be easier to maintain but when your wire caps are all polished they look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegart Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Do you have a white interior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 If you'll take the time, the wires clean up nicer than the cast covers. If you take them apart, there are no corners to try and clean. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share Posted May 8, 2018 13 hours ago, kegart said: Do you have a white interior? Yes and no. My car originally came from the factory with the 726 Silver interior. A previous owner had recovered the seats in white leaving the door panels silver. I am pretty much a stock purist and think that the seats should be recovered in the silver. That being said I have been told by someone in my household that they would kill me if I recovered the seats in silver. I am also hesitant to replace perfectly good upholstery with new. I do receive many compliments from people at shows on the white, black and silver combination. Most people don't know that it is not technically correct. Truth be told, I kind of like it too. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegart Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 The silver and white look good. Your seats look too good to change them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyntre Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Awesome color combo !!!!?? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyntre Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 I searched , but came up empty on a tutorial on how the wire caps come apart, and go back together for cleaning and polishing ... I am leaning more and more on using mine instead of spending huge money on restoring my road wheels ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegart Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 It takes me about 45 minutes to dismantle , polish and reassemble a wire cap. Just take your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share Posted May 8, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, pyntre said: I searched , but came up empty on a tutorial on how the wire caps come apart, and go back together for cleaning and polishing ... I am leaning more and more on using mine instead of spending huge money on restoring my road wheels ! I wish I had known I could have taken pictures of mine apart and as I reassembled them. Once you have done it is really quite easy. I'll try to give a quick tutorial. Flip the cover over. At the very center you will see 4 hex head screws (possibly 3 if you have early 63 wire covers). Remove those screws and that will release the spinner. The spinner will contain the plastic center medallion which is removable for cleaning or replacing if it is bad. Flip the cover back over. With the spinner gone will allow you to remove the 1st set of wire spokes. Pull up toward the top and it should release from the chrome center piece. Once the top is out you can pull the spokes out at the bottom where they fit into the wheel cover disc. You may have to do a little twisting to get them to release at the bottom. Flip the cover back over. You will see 8 (or 6 if an early 63 cover) hex head screws. Remove those. Flip the cover back over. With the screws out you can remove the chrome center disc. Once that is off you can remove the second set of spokes as you did the first set. All disassembled. You can now wash, polish and wax everything. If the flat black area is worn you can repaint. Assemble in the reverse order. After you do it a couple of times you can do this whole process quite quickly. I always save this for a cold, winter day when there is nothing to do. I will dig out my spare cover and disassemble it, taking pictures. I will post shortly. Bill P.S. Let me know if you need any other pictures or clarification. Edited May 8, 2018 by Riviera63 edit text (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyntre Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Thanks for the pictures Riviera 63 as they say , a picture is worth a thousand words ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyntre Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Actually ingenious how they are put together by the way !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodneybeauchamp Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Great tutorial on these covers. If I can add two things. Nah make it three. Try four, hang on Five things! 1. Good idea to mark with a texta the location of the spinner and the intermediate centre cover and the position of the valve stem hole. This helps make sure they all go back together the same way. 2. The bolts on the spinner and the cover can be quite tight and sometimes difficult to remove. Found the best was a 1/4” drive socket set with appropriate size socket. Sometimes if that did not work a small metric one did! 3. If some of the U shaped spokes are pitted or scratched, they can be flipped over to expose the clean side. 4. A small piece of sponge under the the emblem may help keep it tight in the spinner if it is loose. 5. The emblems can be touched up from the reverse side if paint has faded or chipped. I can can still feel the pain my right hand endured trying to get enough leverage on the small bolts and keeping the socket square on ?????? Rodney ????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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