Original Alloy valve covers

[Wayne R]

Hello  fellow Buick members, i listed this on  Riviera, although my car is a 64  Electra convertible,

there is probably more members with Riviera s ,that will know what info i require.

My Electra has a 66-401 engine, and i would like to fit  these alloy  valve covers on it, that  were in the trunk,

 when it arrived from US,

First question will they fit under the   a/c compressor bracket on passenger side.

second question  are they  the original buick examples.

i looked at the repros sold by cars  inc  ,and they have the oil filler hole at the front, and

the  1 and 5/16  hole where rubber grommet goes  back near center,---cars  number is  avc536--$290.

Many thanks  for  advise.

[RivNut]

They look authentic even if they are reproductions. They will NOT fit under the compressor bracket on your engine. The 64/65 Super Wildcat engine had a special bracket to clear these covers, but that was designed to bolt to the 2x4 manifold. The 66 Gran Sport came with these covers and had a bracket that cleared them. But that was a manifold for a Quadrajet manifold.  I do not know if the bosses for the bolts on those two manifolds is in the same place as the boss on your AFB/Rochester 4GC manifold. You might have to modify the bracket you have.  

[steelman]

I am not an expert on these, but they are original. ‘66 only, as Tom M says because of the dimple to clear the air pump. I have a pair just like this. They will not fit under the AC bracket without modifying the bracket. But yes, these will fit your 401.

[Wayne R]

I want to thank    Ed  and Steve  for that information,    really  great.

As you can see by the top of the engine, i have a lot of items to tidy up and repair

on this  car ,although it does run really nice,    thank you.

 

 

 

[steelman]

If you look to the far right on the top picture, inside the cover you see a “Winter’s Foundry Snowflake”. Winters did most of the aluminum casting for GM in the 60s and into the early 70s. That means these are original pieces.

[1965rivgs]

10 hours ago, Wayne R said:

Hello  fellow Buick members, i listed this on  Riviera, although my car is a 64  Electra convertible,

there is probably more members with Riviera s ,that will know what info i require.

My Electra has a 66-401 engine, and i would like to fit  these alloy  valve covers on it, that  were in the trunk,

 when it arrived from US,

First question will they fit under the   a/c compressor bracket on passenger side.

second question  are they  the original buick examples.

i looked at the repros sold by cars  inc  ,and they have the oil filler hole at the front, and

the  1 and 5/16  hole where rubber grommet goes  back near center,---cars  number is  avc536--$290.

Many thanks  for  advise.

  Those are both `66 era covers, not reproduced to my knowledge. The repros offered by Cars are the earlier style, although there is not a pic on their website which would differentiate between `64 or `65 style.

  Considering that your engine seems to be a mix between `64 and `66 components, I would physically try to fit your current AC bracket over the aluminum covers to confirm.

Tom Mooney

[RivNut]

@Wayne RI did some comparative measurements this morning and can now tell you that the AFB and Quadrajet manifolds have their bracket mounting bosses in the same place. This means that if you were lucky enough to find a 66 bracket, it would bolt to your 64's intake manifold.

 

Ed

 

PS- I also noticed you're missing the dash pot between the intake manifold and the carburetor linkage.  

 

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by RivNut (see edit history)

[Wayne R]

Many thanks    Ed for that  about  bracket,, and yes i did know re the dash pot way back when i 

purchased this car. from photos.

And also  Tom  , yes i will try   that , but i am waiting for  a alloy valley pan cover ,

then ill do both at the same time.

Thanks Steve about the foundry snow flake---original.

[Wayne R]

Also  Ed, when  my Buick arrived  i noticed the  orange  spark plug wires,

i was not that keen on the colour  orange,  i have always liked  black

on all my other  Bucks owned  over the years.---anyway i phoned my Buick mate 

in Sacramento  and he advised me not to change these, as these are --Autolite  7.5--8.0

they are one of the best made,---so i will leave them.

He knows ---has  had   2  in  BCA National  first place, and  a Nicola  Bulgari  award.

Thank you.

[EmTee]

9 hours ago, Wayne R said:

i noticed the  orange  spark plug wires,

i was not that keen on the colour  orange,

 

The previous owner had installed a set of yellow Accel spark plug wires on my '64 GP.  Like you, I prefer my wires to be black, as the originals.  Since the wires perform well and are better quality than the aftermarket 'date-coded' wires that are available, I simply removed them and painted them black.  I used a rattle-can flat black and applied just enough to cover after wiping them first with brake cleaner.  Just be careful when snapping them into the wire looms.  It's been ~5 years since I did mine and they look as if I just did them.  

Edited April 25, 2021 by EmTee (see edit history)

[RivNut]

I bet that Autolite makes the same wire in black.😊 

[EmTee]

18 minutes ago, RivNut said:

I bet that Autolite makes the same wire in black.😊

 

Maybe so, but the flat black spray paint was on the shelf in my garage! 

[Wayne R]

Thanks for that  tip   Emtee----i might  do the same in about a month.

Buick has just arrived and might as well tell you the problems shipping  classics back in to

Australia since about couple of years ago now,.

All cars imported now have to be tested in a approved US  facility for asbestos, it could be anywhere,

brakes, head  gaskets, manifold gaskets, etc,and my Buick  all brakes shoes were removed, they had 1.1/2 percent asbestos

in them, so they throw all brake hardware in trunk, so thats my first job, --new shoes are  available here, have them waiting,

so getting brakes all back on and tested is  first ,  doing new hoses hoses as well and checking  cylinders, years ago ,on my 65

Riviera and 69 Electra i did resleeved  brake cylinders in stainless steel, never touched them for years after that. thank you.

[rodneybeauchamp]

Hi Wayne,

we are going to have more Buicks here in Australia than all of the US and Canada soon! And I hear your pain about our asbestos laws. Stopped me from importing another Buick this year.

 

Nice Electra.

 

BTW fitted the alloy covers on my ‘63 Riviera several years back and needed to fit the correct special bracket with A/C to allow for the extra height of the covers. Unsure if you can modify the original but they are around.

 

Where are you located?

Rodney 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀