telriv Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Supposedly the Riv. GS had springs that were 1" lower than stock with a slightly heavier spring rate & shocks to match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 (edited) I always liked the results I got on my car. The strip lines up with the centers pretty good and the 7.10 X 15 tires get the rest close. Just one problem, that was 2013, I removed the vinyl top to paint the roof correctly, then put in a new windshield long overdue, picked up some '64 standard seat frames to reupholster , and then started monkeying around with other cars. And it ain't done yet. Last night at coffee I said paint was going on this year. Edited November 14, 2018 by 60FlatTop (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K. Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 (edited) 60 Flattop I think your cars ride height is pretty darn close to correct. Ed I hear what you are saying by referring to original pictures in ads but I think Buick/GM used to weight the cars down to be level for the photo shoots. Very noticeable in the Cadillac ads and brochures back in the day. In person though, the cars sit just a little above level. Just what have noticed. Edited November 17, 2018 by Paul K. (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 On 11/14/2018 at 4:00 PM, 60FlatTop said: I always liked the results I got on my car. The strip lines up with the centers pretty good and the 7.10 X 15 tires get the rest close. Just one problem, that was 2013, I removed the vinyl top to paint the roof correctly, then put in a new windshield long overdue, picked up some '64 standard seat frames to reupholster , and then started monkeying around with other cars. And it ain't done yet. Last night at coffee I said paint was going on this year. Bernie, What did you put into your car to weight it down so the trim piece is lined up with the center of the wheels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 11 hours ago, RivNut said: What did you put into your car to weight it down so the trim piece is lined up with the center of the wheels? I bought the correct rear springs from a specialty spring winding company. I don't remember the name but it may have been Suspension Specialties. The first set was just an over the counter set and the car sat too high. My current front springs are MOOG from NAPA. As I remember the fronts were $100 for the pair, but the rears ran me about $300 plus the pair I couldn't use. The actual body weight rearward from the back seat it quite light. The heavy part is the unsprung weight of the axle. Even though the frame is heavy the greatest weight is forward. At the time of the final tightening all the suspension bushing points were spread and free from any drag on the serrations of the bushings. And the car was sitting with full weight resting on the level floor. Also, the chassis manual instructions for installation of the rear springs were followed to the letter. Spacer blocks were used between the spring and axle, with the spring ends pointed in the direction recommended. You have to do it yourself. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeJS Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 On 11/14/2018 at 12:28 PM, RivNut said: Google 1963 Buick Riviera brochure and you'll see the same stance in all of the pictures. Ed, this image (based on the date must be a '64) almost shows it riding a tad higher where the chrome strip appears to be just near top of centre of the hubs and one still sees whitewall at the top of the rear wheel unlike the ad you posted in #37...(??) Later, Mike Swick Edmonton, AB ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 The slight difference can be attributed to having an almost empty gas tank versus a full tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 Ride height is all relative to what all is in the car. My fat butt, a bunch of stuff in the trunk will make mine different than someone else's. The longer I sit in it, the more it's going to start to sag. I don't think anyone is walking around the show field with a micrometer checking rid height. If one guy is running 215/75 tires on his car and the next guy has 225/75 on his and the third guy has 235/70 on his they're all going to have different ride heights. So the first thing to do to make sure that your car sits correctly is to buy a set of 7.10 or 7.60 bias ply tires. Then another problem comes up. Which of the two sizes came on my car originally. Can anyone quote the page and paragraph from the judging manual that states what the ride height should be. The only thing that I know of that is stated is the overall height for the entire car and I don't think that's in the manual either. I just think that the cars look correct when the center of the wheel is pretty much in line with the trim strip on the side and the rear wheel arch is just a shade higher than the rim. There were also trailering springs options available back them. That could make a difference in the ride height as well. The picture above is from a test ground. Who;s to say it wasn't especially equipped for the testing purposes. My last statement. Do what ever you think is necessary to set the car at the height you think it should be. I'd spend my time worrying about the correct sized white side wall tire. Make sure that when you repaint, you use acrylic lacquer, not this modern base coat clear coat stuff. Don't be running any unleaded fuel in it either. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr914 Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 I have compared several with gs springs and height on a flat surface and reasonable gas in the tank is from the ground to the bottom of the wheel well 24 inches front 23 inches rear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeJS Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 15 minutes ago, RivNut said: There were also trailering springs options available back them. That could make a difference in the ride height as well. The picture above is from a test ground. Who;s to say it wasn't especially equipped for the testing purposes. Although the potential exists that the proving ground car was 'tailored' for a specific series of tests, and I totally agree that what's in a car, age, tires, big-assed drivers, etc, does make a difference in ride heights, but personally, I would tend to accept the test car image as a 'baseline' factory height over the ad images... Kinda like GM making their factual statement on file (#64077) and the media (aka GM ad department) creates the fake news to excite their base... ? For what it's worth, although I'm running radial tires, and 50+ year olds springs, (that have sagged a tad in the back), the ride height on my survivor '64 is still pretty close to the test car image... Later, Mike Swick Edmonton, AB ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 Perhaps we should just be happy we've all found one that can be enjoyed, no matter what the ride height. Here's a factory sales photo. This one I've already posted Here's one from the design studio that shows what the designers thought it should look like Hard to tell at this angle but I'm looking at the wheel arches in relationship to the rim of the wheel. Here's one coming off the assembly line. Probably the best picture of all to see the real stance as it was built D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 3 hours ago, RivNut said: Make sure that when you repaint, you use acrylic lacquer, Eight coats applied in 1980. We did it in the winter and made a furnace out of a 250 gallon steel tank. It had a grate you could put an assembled wheel and tire on. That rubber burns really hot. We put the panel to be painted next to the furnace. When we were done the rim and tire bead went in with the short steel, takes about 8 tires to paint a car that way. Not bad when the price of scrap is up. (This is experience. People don't just make this stuff up.) My goal is a car eligible to take 4th place. They don't give out trophies for that. I took my '60 Electra to a show and was notified I took 3rd place. The letter told me to send $35 and they'd send the trophy. So I have one trophy on my dresser. After that I figured 4th was fine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 2 hours ago, RivNut said: Here's one coming off the assembly line. Probably the best picture of all to see the real stance as it was built It is awfully hard not to make an inappropriate comment about ride height and this picture. "Restraint is my least recognized attribute." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsgun Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 On 11/14/2018 at 10:45 AM, Seafoam65 said: Ed, that is not a real commercial, nor is it even a real car! Somebody made that commercial in his living room using the soundtrack from an actual commercial. The car in the video appears to be a plastic model of a Riviera, so I don't think you can go by it for proper stance! FWIW, it's a 3d model, and the scene is rendered on computer. It's a nice model, not 100% correct but looks pro made. Probably created by a 3d model asset company. It's "curbside", no underside details. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Check out this Riviera. Let the screaming begin! From the owner: I have a 1965 Rivi that I have owned since 1996 that has been a sideline project for way too long. Getting back after it very soon and looking forward to sharing and receiving knowledge from this fine group. My car is a full kustom with 2-1/2” chopped top and several modifications already done, I hope to achieve a very difficult but possible dream of improving upon the beautiful design that came from the Bill Mitchell era of genius at GM. The ideas floating around in my head have never been done and will emulate a factory concept car. The design is an evolving process so I will share some pictures from the early 2000’s as a teaser. I felt the 92 Caddy tail lights dated it terribly so they got completely removed and a new design is coming together. Thanks again and I appreciate all feedback positive and negative https://www.facebook.com/groups/1446566178908699/permalink/2402830663282241/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Curran Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 The Thunderbird rear seat is an interesting idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsgun Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I really like the t-bird interior. One of my fantasies is using 4 front t-bird buckets, to have a 60's style custom interior with "floating" seats. I've checked out his facebook, he's moved to late 60's Eldo tail lights, and they look great. A two inch chop is about the most I like. Anything more, and they look distorted and cartoonish. The Riv is one of those cars that few changes are improvements, but I like the direction he's taking it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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