TampaRiv Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Hello from Tampa, Just yesterday, I bought my dream car, a '63 Riviera. It's a very solid and complete Florida car, Teal Mist with white interior. Hasn't run in 20 years. The engine does spin, so I am gonna see if I can get the car started over the next couple of days. I am sure to be asking for help in the coming months, especially with regards to the AC system and engine mechanicals. And probably power windows an power seat and.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowvet Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Looks clean, congrats on your purchase. Everyone here is very helpful when you need help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmiddy Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Hey TampaRiv Congrats on that great buy and I wish you all the best while the resto of this good looking 63! I like the color combination quite a lot! 🤩 I got great help here in this forum while the resto of my 65 and I'm sure, you too will get a lot of very good inputs from the very nice and talented people here around! Welcome and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 (edited) Congrats. You will find a lot of knowledgeable folks here. Be sure to search this forum before you post your questions. You will often find your questions have already been asked and answered in the past. Do you know if the previous owner was a member of the ROA? The history of this car may already be familiar to some of the forum members. Good luck with your new baby! Edited March 6, 2019 by NC68Riviera (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy51 Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Looks like a great Riv! Welcome to the forum. Lots of info to be found here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Curran Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 (edited) Great color combo! Good luck and let us now how we can help. Is that a BMW 2002 in the garage? Nice as well! Edited March 6, 2019 by Pat Curran update content (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 You Sir are one lucky dude! Sittin on two of my all time favorite vehicles! Let me know when you're ready to unload that 2002. You are going to need the extra space to work on the Riv. I'm in Orlando & can be there in minutes. By the way, you need to join the ROA if you haven't already. You will find the club magazine, the Review, invaluable in your restoration. & get yourself a factory shop manual & body manual. They can usually be found on eBay in good condition. Rivnik. ps: from the look of your garage you are already mechanically inclined, so I probably don't need to tell you this, but be careful trying to start that Riv after sitting for so long. You should get rid of the old fluids especially the gas, lube the cylinders, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivdrivn Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Howdy neighbor! I’m in north Tampa for the winter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TampaRiv Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 Hi Steve, thanks for the post. You should pop down here near the airport some Saturday. I'm at richardreau@hotmail.com. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TampaRiv Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 Thanks to all who replied and welcomed me to the forum. I look forward to getting the car back on the road with your help. Rich Reau in Tampa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Nice looking car. Hasn't been on the road for 20 years? Time to start from scratch on all of your fluids, belts and hoses, brake parts, tires, and ignition components before you take off around the block. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 ANY questions on the '63 A/C system the Turbinator could probably answer them ALL!!!!!! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KongaMan Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 (edited) On 3/6/2019 at 8:01 AM, RivNut said: Nice looking car. Hasn't been on the road for 20 years? Time to start from scratch on all of your fluids, belts and hoses, brake parts, tires, and ignition components before you take off around the block. Good advice. Replace all belts, plugs, plug wires, points, condenser, and distributor cap. Drain the oil, change the filter, and fill with 4 quarts of cheap house brand and a quart of MMO. Flush the cooling system (paying particular attention to the heater core and radiator), replace all hoses, and refill with cheap antifreeze mix. Check your heater valve. If it's stuck, don't try to force it using the dash controls; the internal control arm is likely to break. Flush the brake system, remove and inspect the master, replace/rebuild the wheel cylinders, and replace the hoses and shoes. If the drums are rusty, clean them. If you decide to have them turned, make sure that they take off as little as possible. Replace the rubber fuel lines at the tank, at the fuel pump, at the filter, and at the carb with ethanol-resistant line (e.g. Gates Barricade). You should consider dropping the gas tank and giving it a good cleaning, because you just know that there's a bunch of rust inside. Flushing the transmission is a PITA (draining the pan only gets about 1/3 of the fluid), but you'll want to do what you can. If the fluid smells burnt, you'll want to drop the pan, clean it out, and go through the annoying exercise of a thorough flush. You also might want to pull a valve cover to see what it looks like inside. Check your ignition and headlight switches when the car is running. They are prone to corrosion, bad connections, and burnt wires. They can get awfully hot. Check the date code on the tires; don't get goofy on 20-year-old rubber. Yeah, that's a lot of work -- but it's nothing that you won't be doing anyway, and doing it up front may prevent a serious problem later. When you start it up, let it run until hot. IIRC, the Dynaflow circulates fluid more thoroughly in neutral than park, so you might want to drop it into N while idling. If everything looks good, nothing's leaking (save the inevitable Dynaflow drips), and you don't see any flames, take it out in the street and leave a black stripe the length of the block. Do this before you fix the exhaust, so you can announce your presence in the neighborhood with authority. After you put a few miles on it, change the oil (after the engine got good and hot and the oil is still warm) and coolant again, and refill with better fluids. Once it runs, stops, and steers reliably, go for round two: new shocks and tires, check the steering components, alignment, make sure all your switches work and the bulbs all light, etc. There's a lot of good advice on here about subtle improvements you can make in the course of your initial frenzy: dual master cylinder, upgraded shocks, changing to radial tires (tire size, alignment specs, etc.), quick ratio steering box, lighting and ignition relays, etc. Edited March 8, 2019 by KongaMan (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockinRiviDad Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 The only thing Konga forgot to say was: welcome to the forum & congrats on the sweet ride haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Oh yeah, one more thing. Take a picture of the Fisher Body data plate and post it so Jim Cannon can add this '63 to his registry. Some pictures of the interior would be nice as well. If you post the data plate, I'll decode it for you, then we can get to the options on the car that are not on the data plate. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garysriv Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 On 3/5/2019 at 11:06 PM, TampaRiv said: Hello from Tampa, Just yesterday, I bought my dream car, a '63 Riviera. It's a very solid and complete Florida car, Teal Mist with white interior. Hasn't run in 20 years. The engine does spin, so I am gonna see if I can get the car started over the next couple of days. I am sure to be asking for help in the coming months, especially with regards to the AC system and engine mechanicals. And probably power windows an power seat and.... Congrats! Sounds like you're on the same path I was, my '65 sat for over 30 years! This forum will be a great resource for you. I just got back home after visiting Treasure Island for a week, just missed ya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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