protrash63 Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 10/28/2021 at 9:37 PM, XframeFX said: Ha, I did a colour change on an '80s Fleet Suburban back in my single days. Make it look unfleet to use as trade-in for my '87 Grand National which was in-transit at the time. Purchase-from-hell that evolved into detail shop from hell, taking joy rides in my new car before I got to! Ya, color change is a ton of work and endless sanding in all the crappy places like door jambs and then tons of masking when doing inside and outside different colors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 (edited) Well, very busy week with some long days so I only managed to pick off a couple small things. It all counts and I have turned the corner on the suspension. Trying to get parts organized so I can clean and paint stuff in a relatively efficient manner. Cleaned up my control arms of stray powdercoat and pressed in the balljoints this afternoon. Now its about ready to happen!! Interesting upper balljoints; never seen a dustboot cap like this and it sure secures the balljoint well. Edited October 31, 2021 by protrash63 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 So, someone talked about the good shocks and I dont know what these mystery shocks are but I am just gonna throw a set of QA1 coilovers in there... should take care of business with adjustability as well. 😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 .........and when the parts get cleaned up in the next day or so I'll be dousing this with a coat of paint also. Cleaned up pretty well I'd say, and I bet it doesn't leak either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 and before I forget, thanks to 'My First Riv' for scrounging the ST400 trans mount off his frame for me. At least a bit still lives on!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XframeFX Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 Alright, it's all coming together! Seen so many projects where the Restorer bailed partway through. It takes experience, resources, realistic timeline and planning to see a project to 90% 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 It's that last 10% that's so costly & time consuming & the attention to ALL the LITTLE details. Tom T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 1, 2021 Author Share Posted November 1, 2021 2 hours ago, XframeFX said: Alright, it's all coming together! Seen so many projects where the Restorer bailed partway through. It takes experience, resources, realistic timeline and planning to see a project to 90% Yes sir, it is coming together. This isnt my first rodeo in cars/trucks. But I may disappoint some as I am by no means a restorer. I try to focus on certain aspects to complete so the entirety of the thing doesn't get overwhelming. Still cleaning and painting a bunch of small parts for the front suspension assembly....getting close and then on to the rear. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XframeFX Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 On 11/1/2021 at 5:56 PM, protrash63 said: But I may disappoint some as I am by no means a restorer. I try to focus on certain aspects to complete so the entirety of the thing doesn't get overwhelming. Exactly. It's your car/project. Living/eating/breathing a project 24/7 is not healthy. If having it perfect, fork over the $$$ and have a crew tackle it. Handing over my credit card and pointing fingers provides for short term satisfaction. Now that it's 90%, I can actually sell it and maybe return my investment plus more, but don't want to. It's fun tweaking my Riv between drives! Before, being stuck in a garage with a project partway through and having had enough, I came close to bailing but didn't. I have seen many a Riviera left for parts, became overwhelming - key word. I've done a '56 Nomad custom from scratch when I was 19 when my friends were out having fun with hockey, going to the rec center in their beaters. I didn't anticipate the Riv would be like that Nomad. And, back then, no shortcuts learned on a global forum such as this. Probably its what kept me going! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 Long week of running so didnt accomplish much except soaking a lot of bolts and getting them cleaned up for re assembly. Couldnt get myself to buy some bolts from you know where. Takes time to get that done!! So having looked at things and talked to QA1 I had everything in place, in my head anyway, so started gettin er together today. Started out with the control arms upper and lower then stuffed in the spindles. I did NOT use the Energy suspension poly ball joint boots that I had previously posted as they were too small. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 QA1 tells you to run the coil support to the bottom, but on these control arms you put them up roughly 2 inches and its good. I was able to lift the spindle and get the nut started with out a jack to compress the spring. Also, the adjuster knob is buried in the control arm so I preset them 9 clicks which is leaning stiff with good rebound control....I couldnt pull the shock out to extend it and had to turn it back down and readjust. Shimmed the control arms just to get it headed in some direction. Went together well. Then started on the brake brackets to finish up the day. Should get some more parts on tomorrow. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gungeey Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Following along, I'm having as much of a good time as you and no bloody knuckles LOL 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 The hammertone paint actually looks pretty cool on those pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 4 hours ago, EmTee said: The hammertone paint actually looks pretty cool on those pieces. Silver vein powder coat over black, semigloss clear. It reminds me of hammertone. I had to clean almost every hole to get all the bolts thru! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, gungeey said: Following along, I'm having as much of a good time as you and no bloody knuckles LOL No major injuries on this go round!! We're not done yet, though. Edited November 7, 2021 by protrash63 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted November 8, 2021 Share Posted November 8, 2021 I must say you are doing a hellava job & your attention to detail is second to none. Tom T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 No updates on the previous projects as I have been sidetracked. Does this happen to any of you? I have to figure it out! It drives me nuts until I can do something.....anyway. So, I pulled my bucket outta a classic junkyard as a project car. They had roughly 8 parts Rivs there...while looking for other parts I needed immediately I ran into this old one. Had definitely seen better days..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 ...........point being that yes I love 65's too. So I drug home that grill with me. They gave it to me reasonably since I was relieving them of one rats nest. I had seen some pics of cars with conversions and aftermarket grills (63-64) to give them the 65 look. I'm all in! Read some threads here and I love getting to the bottom of internet myths about parts and swaps and interchanging, etc. Seems that there are plenty of questions and I'm going to solve them. First up, 63-64 grill and 65 are the same height...8.25" I think...memory here. The 63 and 65 grills are the same width as the 65 grill. I'm calling it 53.5" Your results may vary. The grill is sloped the same at 25* off vertical...Its hard to get a 63 grill to stand up as the headlite buckets are flapping around held only by the top bolt in my case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 Here is the interesting pic. The grill is relieved in the corner to clear the core support; and the 65 grill is much deeper than the end of the headlite bucket from 63. (see pic) The other difference that is noticeable on first inspection is that the 65 grill has two mounting bosses on bottom that are not needed on the 63 headlite contraption. They line up with the holes for the two bottom bolts in the headlite pod but were not stamped in relief as they musta done in 65. So, to get this grill in, I will have to grind off the mount stand offs and relieve the corners to meet the core support which is 1" deep in the far right and left sides. I believe I can use the headlite pod as a reference for marking the grill and setting up and cuts. Then on to the headlites themselves!! I've seen the square solution that I like, but what about 5.75 rounds in there? Hmmmm....... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 On to regular stuff once I figure this out!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 I think you will eventually find that using the `65 front clip is the easiest solution. Good luck! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 (edited) 8 minutes ago, 1965rivgs said: I think you will eventually find that using the `65 front clip is the easiest solution. Good luck! Tom I read this in one of the threads and couldnt figure out why. GM, overall did a pretty good job of using the same tooling. Can you tell me why this wont work? I dont want to mess up original old pieces if I can help it... Edited November 11, 2021 by protrash63 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 Plenty of people before you have done it so it has to be possible. Tom T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 The use of a complete 65 front clip is needed if you're going to incorporate the 65s clam shell headlights. The 65 front fenders have a taller opening for the clam shells and the inner fenders are designed to accept the mechanisms that open and close the clam shells, and mounts for the head lights. If you're going with something other than the 65 headlights themselves, you can probably conjure up anything that will work. But, if you have access to a complete 65 front clip, that's the best way to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 11 hours ago, protrash63 said: I read this in one of the threads and couldnt figure out why. GM, overall did a pretty good job of using the same tooling. Can you tell me why this wont work? I dont want to mess up original old pieces if I can help it... I vaguely recall the contour of the 63-64 fenders needs to be modified to fit the '65 grille...anyway, assuming you will be mounting headlights outboard and stacked in the fenders, I would think the 65 fenders would require less modification as the original location for the 65 headlghts is in the fenders Good luck! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 There is a big difference between the 63/64 front fender (top picture) and the 65 front fender (bottom picture.) There is a lot more sheet metal in the 63/64 fender above the chrome housing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 Ok, I understand the confusion. I am only interested in using the center section of the 65...which I refer to as the 'grill'. The headlites are a whole nother issue that I will not be tackling. I will come up with a solution and reuse my 63 'bezels' (?) and mount lites in some fashion. Yes I have seen Steelmans grill idea and read the phantom headlite thread. At prices Ive seen, I wouldnt want to pop for the clamshells and try to hack them in anyway!! I've got plenty of other things to spend mucho $$$$$$$$$$ on. I think we're all familiar! For instance, why is vent window rubber as expensive as the whole rest of the car? So, again , to clarify....I was hoping to achieve a phantom grill using a factory center and relocating the headlites. Thanks for all the info! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 Just to be clear, are you thinking of mounting headlights in the fenders and using an appropriate cover, or mounting the headlights on the radiator support (same general location as '63 & '64), but behind the '65 grille? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrownedRiv Posted November 12, 2021 Share Posted November 12, 2021 On 11/11/2021 at 11:28 AM, 1965rivgs said: I vaguely recall the contour of the 63-64 fenders needs to be modified to fit the '65 grille...anyway, assuming you will be mounting headlights outboard and stacked in the fenders, I would think the 65 fenders would require less modification as the original location for the 65 headlghts is in the fenders Good luck! Tom I think Tom is correct in that the 63/64 fenders are notched out for that tab that sticks up from the headlight grille assembly (the tab that seems to always break off the left side but not the right side...) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 On 11/11/2021 at 4:58 PM, EmTee said: Just to be clear, are you thinking of mounting headlights in the fenders and using an appropriate cover, or mounting the headlights on the radiator support (same general location as '63 & '64), but behind the '65 grille? I am going to stack the headlites in the fenders in some fashion, similar to others but have yet to decide on a mounting solution. I've seen the Gran Prix idea. On 11/12/2021 at 11:13 AM, DrownedRiv said: I think Tom is correct in that the 63/64 fenders are notched out for that tab that sticks up from the headlight grille assembly (the tab that seems to always break off the left side but not the right side...) Yep, good call. Mine is broken off left as well. Torque thing? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 Back on regular programming I suppose.....been still picking away at the front suspension and have it pretty much back together and just finished up the brakes before posting the update. Nothing of any note to really point out except I still need to remount the steering gear and hook the pitman up to the center link. I will begin working on the rear suspension shortly and also start tearing out the interior for the floor pan. Have to get the AC components out as well as the steering column. Bushing is broken at the bottom and have to install the new rag joint. Here it sits as of tonight. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 I wonder why Buick did not paint that “ear that breaks off” body color. Doing that would define the grill and the fenders more. I’m painting the ears, the lower bumper ( sans the license plate surrounds), an the bottoms of the turn signal housings body color on my 64. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 3 hours ago, RivNut said: I wonder why Buick did not paint that “ear that breaks off” body color. Doing that would define the grill and the fenders more. I’m painting the ears, the lower bumper ( sans the license plate surrounds), an the bottoms of the turn signal housings body color on my 64. I agree with the definition and would like to see the body color components. Do you have a build thread? I've spent more time on this site and started wondering if I put all my updates in the right spot...I went to 'Riviera' and started! I've now found build thread sections and so forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrownedRiv Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 4 hours ago, RivNut said: I wonder why Buick did not paint that “ear that breaks off” body color. Doing that would define the grill and the fenders more. I’m painting the ears, the lower bumper ( sans the license plate surrounds), an the bottoms of the turn signal housings body color on my 64. It lines up with the chrome hood molding to finish off the ends (only 64/65, for 65 the mldg was painted to match the hood) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 1 hour ago, DrownedRiv said: It lines up with the chrome hood molding to finish off the ends (only 64/65, for 65 the mldg was painted to match the hood) It finishes off the ends, but if Buick wanted finish ends on the grill, why didn’t they square off the ends on the top as they did on the bottom? IMHO, it would have been too difficult to form the fenders to fit a rounded grill and a squared off girl was not aesthetically pleasing. My $.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 2 hours ago, protrash63 said: I agree with the definition and would like to see the body color components. Do you have a build thread? I've spent more time on this site and started wondering if I put all my updates in the right spot...I went to 'Riviera' and started! I've now found build thread sections and so forth. I do not have a build thread. I took a bunch of pictures a few years ago when I got started, then I had some health setbacks and haven’t done much since. I’m hoping that I push the reboot button here in a month or so and get back on task. At that time, I’ll go back and piece everything together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGerman Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 I‘m concerned that this coilover shock carries the weight of the car instead of the coil spring resting on the lower control arm. Maybe I’m completely wrong and please correct me if so, but I think the complete front weight of the car is now sitting on the two small screws Attaching the shocks to the lower Control arm. What I‘m missing here ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 3 hours ago, OldGerman said: I‘m concerned that this coilover shock carries the weight of the car instead of the coil spring resting on the lower control arm. Maybe I’m completely wrong and please correct me if so, but I think the complete front weight of the car is now sitting on the two small screws Attaching the shocks to the lower Control arm. What I‘m missing here ? Sure looks that way, hope those are grade 8 bolts!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protrash63 Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, OldGerman said: I‘m concerned that this coilover shock carries the weight of the car instead of the coil spring resting on the lower control arm. Maybe I’m completely wrong and please correct me if so, but I think the complete front weight of the car is now sitting on the two small screws Attaching the shocks to the lower Control arm. What I‘m missing here ? Yep, you are correct. However they are not 'small screws' but grade 8 bolts and QA1 designed the mounting for the shock with an extremely heavy cross shaft. The cross shaft sits on TOP of the control arm as opposed to the shock bolting on the bottom. This is the correct application for this vehicle and one of their techs did the trial as he owns a 63 Riviera. They emailed pics to me as I had questions about the install. Edited November 21, 2021 by protrash63 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsgun Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 Enjoying this build, thanks for posting pics and descriptions. I was looking at the QA1, interesting that the adjustment knob gets buried like that. I've been also looking at Viking dual adjustable shocks too, I suspect the adjuster gets buried too. The vent window rubber is a PIA on the driver's side. I bought from a reputable company, and the left vent rubber took a lot of trimming to fit. The right just fell into place with no trimming needed. I don't think my vent frame was damaged in any way, so I suspect the mold isn't that great for the driver's side rubber. The rest of the weather stripping went in easy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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