64 Guidematic color

[riv2x4]

Just picked up a 64 guidematic set up but I need to paint it to match my interior, white and black, black dash.  Does anyone know the right black paint I need to use?  Not real worried about working, I know I need a different foot switch, more to replace tach on dash.

[RivNut]

Black, no matter what color your interior is.

[Dales90]

My saddle interior had a very dark brown dash and the guidematic was a flat dark brown

[riv2x4]

The one I got was dark brown that why I need to paint it. Flat black??????

[telriv]

Not quit flat black.  It had to be non glare when the sun was shining through the glass.

[abandg]

Ed, I have blue, red, brown, and black. They matched the dash pad color. Gene. 

[RivNut]

6 hours ago, abandg said:

Ed, I have blue, red, brown, and black. They matched the dash pad color. Gene. 

Good to know.  As I look back, I just had cars with back or white interiors.  The brochure that I have for "Dealer approved accessories" shows them only in black. 

[Chimera]

10 hours ago, abandg said:

Ed, I have blue, red, brown, and black. They matched the dash pad color. Gene. 

 

Do you have a functioning red one for a 64 to sell? 8).

[abandg]

I will check today

[NC1968Riviera]

I saw this contraption at the G-burg meet last year on a 1967 Riv. Is this a Guide O Matic device?

[JZRIV]

7 hours ago, NC1968Riviera said:

I saw this contraption at the G-burg meet last year on a 1967 Riv. Is this a Guide O Matic device?

 

 

Yes - 67 was first year for the Riv to move it to the exterior. Up to 66 was on the dash pad. Funny this is such an old option. I forget what year they first started it maybe in the 50s? Auto dimmers are now becoming standard on many new cars but engineers still don't have it perfected likely due to the seemingly infinite variables with lights and angles one may encounter while driving. I had a 67 Eldorado with it and it actually worked pretty well (for on coming traffic only) when out on a deserted road without man made fixed light sources along the roads. My modern driver works accurately about 80% of the time. Good enough to use it but still have to be ready to manually override in some situations.

Edited March 6, 2020 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[RivNut]

I turned off the Guidematic in my 63.  I lived in the suburbs with not a lot of oncoming traffic so that was not a problem.  My problem was with street lights. Every time that I would go under one, the headlights would dim. When I was no longer under the street light, the brights would come on.  Street lights were about 100 yards apart.  At 35 mph it doesn't take long to go 100 yards. Up down up down up down.  Didn't take too long to get annoying.  

[KongaMan]

2 hours ago, RivNut said:

I turned off the Guidematic in my 63.  I lived in the suburbs with not a lot of oncoming traffic so that was not a problem.  My problem was with street lights. Every time that I would go under one, the headlights would dim. When I was no longer under the street light, the brights would come on.

Why are you driving with your brights on if the road has streetlights?  😛

 

BTW, the manual says "Street lights and other extraneous lights encountered in the city are sufficient to maintain its vehicle headlights on low beam."

 

Guide-matic is one of the cool retro options, but one that I never pursued because I didn't want to drill holes in the dashpad.

[telriv]

There's an adjustment knob for the sensitivity

[telriv]

read the owners manual

[KongaMan]

I'm just yanking his chain.  I'd figure to turn it off if it got to be annoying. There's also an override on the footswitch for even more control.

 

I always thought it had that 60s Jetsons appearance, irrespective of whether it was useful or functional.  It's almost worth buying a dummy sensor and sticking it (non destructively) on your dash. 😛

Edited March 6, 2020 by KongaMan (see edit history)

[abandg]

Gabriel. I only have black and brown left. Sorry, no red. Gene.

[RivNut]

3 hours ago, KongaMan said:

Why are you driving with your brights on if the road has streetlights?  😛

 

BTW, the manual says "Street lights and other extraneous lights encountered in the city are sufficient to maintain its vehicle headlights on low beam."

 

Guide-matic is one of the cool retro options, but one that I never pursued because I didn't want to drill holes in the dashpad.

Apparently whenever I would turn on the headlights, the Guidematic was operational.  It was fairly dark where I used to live and the street lights, because they were so far apart, were pretty bright.  I adjusted the unit to its next to the lowest setting but I was still getting up down up down. The lowest setting was off, and that's where it stayed. The Riviera was my daily driver but not the "family car" so I rarely drove it on the highway.  The override is to hold the dimmer switch half way down.  That's okay in rare instances but not something you want to do constantly.  It's a neat feature because it's so Jetson's futuristic in an aesthetic way, and it will be a positive selling point, but I can't say that it will be missed.  I don't have that feature on any of my other cars and don't wish that I did.  The twilight sentinel is another cool feature and by laying a small piece of black felt over it, I had my version of DRL's. 

 

Ed

[riv2x4]

While I've thoroughly enjoyed this discussion on Guidematic's, I still need the help with the paint finish, guessing somewhere between flat and satin?  I'm not planning on mine being operable, if it is great.  I have a dash mounted factory tach and I need it to cover the holes in the dash when I move it to either the ashtray or or under dash where the cruise control is usually mounted..

[RivNut]

You're probably wise to just want it for the Kool factor. I've never retrofit one but I'm pretty sure that making one work requires a special dimmer switch.  

[telriv]

That it does

[KongaMan]

Guide-matic is one of those options (like cruise control) that's actually a system -- there's more to it than what you see.  If you want to retrofit one to your car, you need the sensor, amplifier, foot switch, and (maybe) some special harness segments.  Make sure you get it all.

[awk409ak]

Kongaman is right.  Behind the glove box box is the wholeeeeee works.  There are vacuum tubes in this system, so yea get the whole thing.  My interior is saddle too with dark brown dash, Guide-matic is dark brown to match dash.

 

Art

[Seafoam65]

On 3/6/2020 at 6:19 PM, riv2x4 said:

While I've thoroughly enjoyed this discussion on Guidematic's, I still need the help with the paint finish, guessing somewhere between flat and satin?  I'm not planning on mine being operable, if it is great.  I have a dash mounted factory tach and I need it to cover the holes in the dash when I move it to either the ashtray or or under dash where the cruise control is usually mounted..

The ones I have seen have what to my eye would be a 30 degree gloss. If you have a black interior, Krylon semi-flat black should be about right. 30 degree

gloss is one step up from flat black. 60 degree gloss is what was originally used on the air cleaner and inner fenders on 60's GM cars .The part number for the Krylon semi-flat is KO1613A07. 1613 is the short number printed on the can.

Edited March 18, 2020 by Seafoam65 (see edit history)

[telriv]

They now have more modern units to replace the tubes & whatever.

[telriv]

In comparison cruise control is much simpler to install than Guide-Matic.

[J3Studio]

29 minutes ago, telriv said:

In comparison cruise control is much simpler to install than Guide-Matic.

 

Ooog …

[KongaMan]

Like I said: it looks cool, but...

 

Get yourself a sensor and a piece of double-sided tape and be done with it.  

[riv2x4]

7 hours ago, Seafoam65 said:

The ones I have seen have what to my eye would be a 30 degree gloss. If you have a black interior, Krylon semi-flat black should be about right. 30 degree

gloss is one step up from flat black. 60 degree gloss is what was originally used on the air cleaner and inner fenders on 60's GM cars .The part number for the Krylon semi-flat is KO1613A07. 1613 is the short number printed on the can.

 

Thanks that is what I was looking for. I have the major parts, not the special footswitch.  I'm not real concerned about it working, mostly using it to cover the holes from the dash mounted tach.

[KongaMan]

1 hour ago, riv2x4 said:

I'm not real concerned about it working, mostly using it to cover the holes from the dash mounted tach.

 

Perhaps one of these would work just as well:

 

 

 

[riv2x4]

13 hours ago, KongaMan said:

 

Perhaps one of these would work just as well:

 

 

 

😀😀