My -63 Riviera resto/repair tread

[Weiand]

Hi, Almost 1 year ago i became a member on this Forum and posted like once. I will try to make somewhat of an intruduction of myself and then get cracking on the Riviera part.

My name is Kim and i live in Sweden by the largest lake Vänern in a small town, got a wife and 2 kids. Did grow up in the northern parts of sweden and pretty much grew up around old american cars, restoring,paintwork,upholstery all in the family. Well thats that.

 

So anyhow last year i bought an 1963 Riviera from California, was a good deal but still needed plenty of work.

 

 

 

Paint was realy bad and the interior was bad as seen in the picture. But the car was pretty much rustfree at first glance.

Loaded it up on a flatbed and got it to the garage to dig in to it, this is still August 2019.

 

And now i cant upload anymore pictures due to size, need to figure this out. Will post more as soon as i can and hope you will enjoy following my way to get it on the roads.

 

 

[Jim Cannon]

Welcome back! Good to have you here!

 

I keep a database of 1963 Riviera data plates (above the power brake booster, on the firewall). Please post a picture of yours, up close so that I can read all the letters and numbers.

 

Thanks!

 

[Craig Balzer]

13 minutes ago, Jim Cannon said:

I keep a database of 1963 Riviera data plates (above the power brake booster, on the firewall).

 

Jim

How many 63's do you have in your database?

How many 63's were made?

Inquiring minds want to know

Craig

[telriv]

40,000

[JZRIV]

Welcome back Kim. Not sure if you are a member of ROA but if not the annual membership cost will pay back many times over  especially when doing a restoration. The riviera Owners Association had 9 members in Sweden last I checked.

Good Luck with your project  

[RivNut]

The 1963 Riviera was a limited production car.  As Tom noted above, 40,000 were sold.  That was the amount allotted and everyone of them was sold.  From what I've gathered, they were sold out well before the end of the production year.   

[Jim Cannon]

2 hours ago, Craig Balzer said:

 

Jim

How many 63's do you have in your database?

How many 63's were made?

Inquiring minds want to know

Craig

 

Craig-

I have 254 cars in the database right now, out of 40,000.

 

My earliest Riv is Fisher Body number (FB number) 25. The data plate on the firewall had no manufacturing date code stamped on it. (Very early.)

 

It was probably one of the cars that they ran through at the very start of production to sort out all of the assembly steps.  I estimate it was build in the first week of July, 1962, or in late-June.  (FB 89 has a date code of 07B, the 2nd week of July.)  This was a brand new assembly line for this car, so lots of kinks to work out.

 

The latest car I have is FB 39931, built the 3rd week of July, 1963.

 

I track things in the DB like mid-model year changes to the details of the car (glove box light, spare tire location, HVAC knob design, etc.).

 

It keeps me occupied, out of trouble (mostly).

 

😎

[telriv]

Are you having FUN yet Jim???

[Weiand]

So next i wanted to see if i could get the engine to turn. And it did with ez, removed the valvecovers next just to see if all of the valves moved.

Noticed 2 valves not moving at all and gave em a gentle tap and they feelt solid, could even hear the difference in sound tapping around.

Lifted the intake and... Well you see in the picture 2 bent pushrods.

 

Pictures of the previous mentioned bad interior next.

 

 

And found some rust in the rearwindow opening and packagetray.

 

The floors and trunk are solid and the only spot that got surfacerust was in the driver footwell.

Well then life happened in varius ways and the car just sat in its spot until last weekend. So will try to take pictures as i go.

 

Jim i will upload a picture on the tag tomorrow, bedtime for me now.

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Weiand (see edit history)

[Weiand]

2 hours ago, JZRIV said:

Welcome back Kim. Not sure if you are a member of ROA but if not the annual membership cost will pay back many times over  especially when doing a restoration. The riviera Owners Association had 9 members in Sweden last I checked.

Good Luck with your project  

Will look in to that asap,

Thank you.

[RivNut]

Weind (is this the name your friends call you?)#

 

Those pushrod are bent, probably the "most bent" I've seen.  Your rear window rust is pretty typical. Not too many Rivieras produced in 63 with the rear window defogger.  Keep us posted with your work.

 

Ed

[Weiand]

Next up was to remove the engine from car and take it apart for inspection, didnt even get it on to the stand before i removed the heads.

 

 

The engine was covered in alot of oily dirt and must have been leaking from the frontcover at some point.

To my suprise only 2 bolts was stuck on the entire engine(guess it was protected by all the oily dirt)

The timing cover was sadly rotted in one place and had some major pitting going on, might try to weld it up later on.

 

 

 

I am pretty sure lifters aint supose to look like this, all the internals was found in the oilpan. covered in deep sludge.

 

Started to scrape and even used a knife to cut of all the dirt and grime before moving the engine from the garage to my home shop.

 

 

 

[Weiand]

On 7/13/2020 at 5:37 PM, Jim Cannon said:

Welcome back! Good to have you here!

 

I keep a database of 1963 Riviera data plates (above the power brake booster, on the firewall). Please post a picture of yours, up close so that I can read all the letters and numbers.

 

Thanks!

 

Here is a pic of my plate Jim, 

[Weiand]

On 7/13/2020 at 10:19 PM, RivNut said:

Weind (is this the name your friends call you?)#

 

Those pushrod are bent, probably the "most bent" I've seen.  Your rear window rust is pretty typical. Not too many Rivieras produced in 63 with the rear window defogger.  Keep us posted with your work.

 

Ed

No, rather it was lack of ideas for names and Weiand is an old speedpart company that sounds cool😁

[Jim Cannon]

7 hours ago, Weiand said:

Here is a pic of my plate Jim, 

 

Great! Thanks!

 

This is a very interesting car. It was ordered by someone who was conservative with their money. It has the lower-cost standard interior, no leather and no wood grain panels on the doors. The only options ordered on the data tag are radio, tinted glass, and that rare rear window defogger (only 4% of new '63 Rivieras had that option). There may be other cool options that Fisher Body did not need to know about.

 

Please look under the hood and tell me if it looks like the firewall was originally painted in the blue body color or in satin black. This car was made right around the transition from one to the other. I realize someone may have painted over the original paint, so you may have to carefully scrape some paint off to see what lies beneath.

 

Please also look at the engine code, stamped into the deck of the engine block, on the passenger side, to see if it has a JT or a JW (followed by 3 or 4 digits). The 425 CI JW engine would have cost more, so probably not... but maybe someone chose to put their money into horsepower, and not options.

 

Also, where is your spare tire mounted?  On the floor or up on the shelf?

 

 

[telriv]

I know you know Jim that 03A = 1st. week of March 1963 so to me this makes it a later '63 model & probably has the later upgrades that went along with it.

[RivNut]

The options that appear on the data plate are only the options that the Fisher body plant installed, or made accommodations for to be added later.  Options installed during final assembly - like wheel covers, four note horns, twilight sentinel, cruise control, etc. - do not appear on the data plate.  The Riviera did, however, include as standard equipment a number of items that would be options on other models - power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, high performance engine with dual exhausts, etc.  These you can figure out as time goes by and you read more and become familiar with your car and what other options were available.

[TexRiv_63]

Hi Kim, I'm subscribed to your project - you have a lot of work ahead! I am very impressed with overseas owners of American cars who take on restoration projects and look forward to seeing your progress.

[Weiand]

12 minutes ago, TexRiv_63 said:

Hi Kim, I'm subscribed to your project - you have a lot of work ahead! I am very impressed with overseas owners of American cars who take on restoration projects and look forward to seeing your progress.

Thank you!

[Weiand]

Something i forgot but i belive i was in serach of last year was that someone had taken the fusebox out, did order one from a company here in swe but it was wrong sadly.

 

NExt picture is from when i removed the interior and did a first clean before storage.

did come out pretty good, (might just be me not realy making the interior up high on the "todo list"

Left side as it came out and right side cleaned one time.

i suspect em to be changed, My tag says 716 - Blue vinyl, but this is blue vinyl/cloth right? correct me if im wrong.

 

This brings us to this week when i moved the engine home and started to clean it up some before i took a look at all the bores/bearings and so on.

Even got my daughter to help a little.

 

Today i took a break and baked some cupcakes and just spent time with the family, both me and the wife got vaccation and kids on summerbreak but due the Corona situation wont be traveling anything, only localy.

Tomorrow will start to remove bits and pieces from enginebay so it can be cleaned and sanded before paint.

Well i did get some good news last night, was going around the car and removed wheels and drums and found all new brake parts inside, they did have some surfacerust but still!=)

[RivNut]

Your seats have been reupholstered in a fabric that is not original. Originally the vinyl bead around the edges is the same color as the fabric.  Here's a picture that I found on the internet that shows the correct fabric.  

 

 

Different cameras and different lighting are responsible for what appears to be two different colors but their is only one light blue color.  Once you've decided what's next, Clark's Corvair makes complete upholstery sets.  They will send you samples of the materials you'd like to see before purchasing.  They send samples free to the U.S. but their overseas policy is not in their catalog.  www.clarkscorvair.  In the right hand column of their home page, you'll find a link to Riviera upholstery. You can also email them.

[Weiand]

5 hours ago, Jim Cannon said:

 

Great! Thanks!

 

This is a very interesting car. It was ordered by someone who was conservative with their money. It has the lower-cost standard interior, no leather and no wood grain panels on the doors. The only options ordered on the data tag are radio, tinted glass, and that rare rear window defogger (only 4% of new '63 Rivieras had that option). There may be other cool options that Fisher Body did not need to know about.

 

Please look under the hood and tell me if it looks like the firewall was originally painted in the blue body color or in satin black. This car was made right around the transition from one to the other. I realize someone may have painted over the original paint, so you may have to carefully scrape some paint off to see what lies beneath.

 

Please also look at the engine code, stamped into the deck of the engine block, on the passenger side, to see if it has a JT or a JW (followed by 3 or 4 digits). The 425 CI JW engine would have cost more, so probably not... but maybe someone chose to put their money into horsepower, and not options.

 

Also, where is your spare tire mounted?  On the floor or up on the shelf?

 

 

Jim, It seems that the car was painted inside and out. Checked and the firewall seems to have been blue, the blue is in the whole trunkarea even under the packagetray, and under it is the red primer they used.

The Engine is stamped JT(549)

I have not found any sparetire mount at all, I can for sure say it is not on the shelf atleast. Will check the trunkfloor when get all trash out.

[Weiand]

On 7/13/2020 at 6:29 PM, JZRIV said:

Welcome back Kim. Not sure if you are a member of ROA but if not the annual membership cost will pay back many times over  especially when doing a restoration. The riviera Owners Association had 9 members in Sweden last I checked.

Good Luck with your project  

Done!

[RivNut]

Here's a picture of the early 1963 spare tire location.  You can see where the mat was indented by the tire and the hold down loop coming up through the mat in the center of the circle.  The later 63s had the spare tire mounted under the package tray.

 

[TexRiv_63]

Kim, Ed is right about the upholstery, one of his photos is of my car. I used Clark's kit for all the seats and also their carpet, very good stuff.

[71GS]

Don that is beautiful 👆🏻Love that cloth pattern 

[XframeFX]

Kim, regarding your fuse panel, Late 1963 and 1964 Rivieras use a 14 circuit item. One side and the middle (pink) is switched 12V and the other side (red) is live 12V. The fuse clips are available from Delmarwire.com (in quantity) but only the common 16 - 18 AWG for crimping. Also, bussed clips are used and are unobtainum unless you make your own from those crimp-on clips. I'm not sure what aftermarket fuse panels are out there but, I think it would be better to go that route or find someone to send you a used harness with the rear defogger option (green tag I think).

Not far from the fuse panel is a 12 circuit Firewall bulkhead connector. DO NOT REMOVE THE BULKHEAD FROM THE FIREWALL. It has to be cut out which I did because I had a spare. I did manage to re-install but it took a long time after many tries. To remove the instrument harness, take a picture and release each of the 12 connectors from the bulkhead.

Some images I have on file;

[Weiand]

3 hours ago, XframeFX said:

Kim, regarding your fuse panel, Late 1963 and 1964 Rivieras use a 14 circuit item. One side and the middle (pink) is switched 12V and the other side (red) is live 12V. The fuse clips are available from Delmarwire.com (in quantity) but only the common 16 - 18 AWG for crimping. Also, bussed clips are used and are unobtainum unless you make your own from those crimp-on clips. I'm not sure what aftermarket fuse panels are out there but, I think it would be better to go that route or find someone to send you a used harness with the rear defogger option (green tag I think).

Not far from the fuse panel is a 12 circuit Firewall bulkhead connector. DO NOT REMOVE THE BULKHEAD FROM THE FIREWALL. It has to be cut out which I did because I had a spare. I did manage to re-install but it took a long time after many tries. To remove the instrument harness, take a picture and release each of the 12 connectors from the bulkhead.

Some images I have on file;

 

Thank you for this info, and the picture of the fusebox, it looks alot like the one i bought... Need to dig some in the pile and find it to compare. Might be able to use it=)

[XframeFX]

Early 1963 Rivieras had no center rail in the fuse panel (fewer circuits). Also, the wire harness with this early production had separate mini-harnesses for options such as power antenna and rear defogger. Your car being a March '63 might be the late production with your rear defogger built-in to the the main harness. If so, under the radio, the instrument panel harness would have a tag. Green for rear defogger and power antenna.

Red circle shows the green tag and blue circle the resistor for the 2-speed defogger. The resistor is sandwiched between the dashboard support and glovebox. Fire hazard?

Inspect your instrument panel harness. If nothing else is wrong, adding a replacement fuse panel might be feasible. Otherwise, look for a good used replacement harness. Mine was hatched in several places, too far gone.

 

John B.

[Weiand]

Been slow progress the last few days, Been taking parts of in the engine bay and started the Big list of parts i need and started to check from where i will by it.

Today i started to clean the heads and other bits for the engine in the partswasher. Noticed some kind of seal on top of the intake valvekeepers, was this stock or have they been rebuildt?

Can see in the picture the marks ontop the valves, they were dry and just fell apart in the washer.

.

Edited July 18, 2020 by Weiand (see edit history)

[Weiand]

On 7/15/2020 at 3:17 PM, Jim Cannon said:

 

Great! Thanks!

 

This is a very interesting car. It was ordered by someone who was conservative with their money. It has the lower-cost standard interior, no leather and no wood grain panels on the doors. The only options ordered on the data tag are radio, tinted glass, and that rare rear window defogger (only 4% of new '63 Rivieras had that option). There may be other cool options that Fisher Body did not need to know about.

 

Please look under the hood and tell me if it looks like the firewall was originally painted in the blue body color or in satin black. This car was made right around the transition from one to the other. I realize someone may have painted over the original paint, so you may have to carefully scrape some paint off to see what lies beneath.

 

Please also look at the engine code, stamped into the deck of the engine block, on the passenger side, to see if it has a JT or a JW (followed by 3 or 4 digits). The 425 CI JW engine would have cost more, so probably not... but maybe someone chose to put their money into horsepower, and not options.

 

Also, where is your spare tire mounted?  On the floor or up on the shelf?

 

 

Jim, I have now located the spare tire mount to be on the floor.

[telriv]

Someone didn't take too good care of this car through it's lifetime with all that sludge build-up.   Do yourself a favor & drop the oil pan & clean it out ALSO.  Probably a good time to check the timing chain & gears.

 

Tom T.

[Weiand]

15 hours ago, telriv said:

Someone didn't take too good care of this car through it's lifetime with all that sludge build-up.   Do yourself a favor & drop the oil pan & clean it out ALSO.  Probably a good time to check the timing chain & gears.

 

Tom T.

It's down to the bare block, right hand side oilgalley was filled so much it blocked 2 lifterbores. Micking everything to check clearence, crankshaft is ok but getting a polish at the most.

And in the oilpan there was so much sludge it was covering the oilpickup. This cant be just bad gas/oils back in the day, lack of oilchange aswell. In a way i was lucky that there was 2 stuck valves so i had to take it apart instead of trying to get it to run=)

[Jim Cannon]

21 hours ago, Weiand said:

Jim, I have now located the spare tire mount to be on the floor.

 

Thanks. That confirms what I had seen in other 03A bodies.

 

The earliest  body on which I have seen the spare tire up on the shelf (not on the floor) was a 03C car (3rd week of March).  If someone has photos of it on the shelf in a car earlier than that, please send them to me along with a photo of the body data plate above the brake booster.

 

.